The rain continued as we drove through the Columbia River Gorge , so sightseeing was not primo , but the scenery was still worth the trip . The drive was a long one — four hours — but the rain finally let up as we left the gorge with only intermittent showers the remainder of the trip . A driving north wind kept us alert long into the night hours . Finally , we arrived and Mark was indeed delighted to see us safe and sound . And yes , we enjoyed those sausages from Otto ’ s for that late night dinner ! Yum , again !! Walla Walla is a neat place to visit . With a population of 32,000 plus , it ’ s kind of west coast Southern California style , kind of NW Washington style , and certainly a great small town . The geography of the area is prairie , has generally a dry climate with gently rolling land tucked between the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the coast and the Cascades inland . This is definitely wheat country with a good shot of wine country , too , based on the number of local wineries in the area . We spent most of Sunday at the nursery . I loved walking the aisles checking what was growing and blooming at the time . Of course , I saw Phalaenopsis , and I was equally impressed with their Paphiopedilum , Oncidinæ , and even Cattleya . Eventually , I began selecting plants to ship home , so the day was full for me . I carefully picked my four boxes of plants ( 200 + plants ) selecting from the excellent assortment Mark and Joan had available . Sunday we did have some fun time , too , as we took the afternoon off and enjoyed the cinema with James Bond ’ s latest , “ Skyfall ”. Monday was more nursery time and getting the plants packed for their shipment home . Meanwhile , everyone else was packing orders received over the weekend via the internet . Seems that internet sales are very brisk for them . On Tuesday , Joan was headed back to the Portland seller with a plant delivery targeted for Thanksgiving sales over the upcoming weekend . Along with my four boxes , she had a van full of 3-inch and 4-inch blooming plants for their customers in Portland . On Tuesday , we arose early so I could catch my flight departing the Tri Cities Airport in Pasco , Washington . It was a 40 minute drive from Walla Walla , so not too far , but certainly with better connections to other airports than Walla Walla . We dropped Joan at the nursery , and she headed to Portland airport to drop off my boxes , then to make her deliveries . Mark drove me to the airport . My connections were directly into Minneapolis from Pasco then on to Nashville . This turns out to be a great route to go on Delta / Northwest , especially in the spring through fall , though winter travel through the Minneapolis hub can be tricky in snow .
I arrived at the Nashville airport at 6:30 PM with my plants following me in at 7:30 PM . Laura picked me up outside baggage claim ; we had a brief dinner locally then headed to the Southwest Air Cargo office to pick up my plants . By 8:30 PM , I was back home unpacking my plants from the trip getting them settled in for their upcoming growth and flowering in the Tennessee sun .
26 Phalaenopsis | First Quarter | Volume 23 | 2013
I ’ m already looking forward to my next trip to the NW to visit again with Mark and Joan .
Region 12 - Piedmont – West VA , Kentucky , Virginia , NC & SC – Linda Thorne This region has no events scheduled at this time but Linda is preparing for and looking forward to a robust orchid show season . She will be on the hunt , keeping her eyes open for impressive Phals and Phal news to share with you . Watch this space !
Region 13 – Florida – Joan Viggiani
Region 14 Mid-Atlantic , Northeast - DC , Maryland , DE , Pennsylvania & NJ – Directors Les Werner and Mitch Paroly The IPA Spring Members Meeting will be held in this region during the SEPOS Show and Sale Friday , April 12 to Sunday , April 14 at the Academy of Natural Sciences , ( http :// sepos . org / sepos _ 009 . htm ). SEPOS has a long tradition of fine spring shows at King of Prussia Mall and Longwood Gardens featuring extraordinary orchid displays and many excellent vendors . This year ’ s event — in the new venue — promises to be no exception . IPA is privileged to couple our spring meeting with this established event . Additional information about this event appears on pages 6 & 7 .
Region 15 – NY & Eastern Canada – Marilyn Shapiro
Region 16 – New England – Carri Raven-Riemann A combined Regions 15 & 16 Report . Mark your calendars now for another great September fall weekend of IPA Regional Meetings in the Northeast ! The New England Region ( Region 18 ) will once again be co-hosted by the New Hampshire Orchid Society in Bedford , New Hampshire , on Saturday , September 14 , 2013 . The same program will then be presented to Region 17 in Ballston Spa , New York , that Sunday , September 15 , co-hosted by the North Eastern New York and Mid-Hudson Orchid Societies . We ’ ll be following the same format as our previous two years , activities to begin at 8:30 am with a continental breakfast , sales tables open , and two presentations before lunch . After a mini-auction of select plants , our afternoon session finishes with our third speaker and an always popular round-table discussion , adjourning at 3 pm . A small registration fee covers the cost breakfast and lunch with our two IPA Regions providing the speakers as a benefit for everyone .
For our 2013 meetings , we ’ ve invited Norman Fang of Norman ’ s Orchids to present Part II of Moss Growing Culture — Part I was extremely well-received two years ago , and Norman will be covering in greater detail the secrets to success of growing in moss . Our second speaker will be Tom Harper of Stone ’ s River Orchids covering the influence of Phal . species on today ’ s hybrids . Carri Raven-Riemann will once again bring everyone up to speed on the newest directions in breeding as seen at the recent 2013 Taiwan International Orchid Show and several nurseries in Taiwan .