Oregon
This is the third post about our summer vacation.
Dan's uncle Irv picked us up from the airport in his BMW convertible. That was a fun ride (even if I couldn't hear a blessed thing or participate in conversation)!
When we arrived at Irv & Shirley's, we were escorted to the "luxury suite," a madeover room that used to belong to their son David. We relaxed for a little while, and then dinner prep began. Dan's cousin C.J. and her boyfriend came over, and it was the first time in 8 years that the cousins had seen each other. We had a great meal outside (main course: grilled wild salmon) followed by some good conversation inside.
Tuesday, we went to Portland for a walking tour. We learned a lot about the city and its roots (including the fact it isn't named Boston because of the results of a best-out-of-three coin flip contest). We also saw the first "postmodern" building, designed by Michael Graves. We also dropped by where C.J. works for a quick visit so Irv could look at her car. We had another lovely supper, courtesy of Shirley's delightful cooking.
Wednesday, we went to a thrift store. I'm such a snob. I hate thrift stores. Really, though, the scent was disgusting. In the afternoon, we went to see an IMAX film called Mystery of the Nile. That was fun. After that, Dan & I went to the hospital to visit his grandmother. Again, the evening ended with good food. Yea, Shirley!
Thursday, Dan, Irv, and I headed to see Mt. Hood. Darn that mountain. We went first to Mirror Lake, where I captured a breathtaking photo of Mt. Hood reflected in the water. After lunch, we hiked up the Tom Dick & Harry Mountain. This inside girl was really peeved by the time we got to the top. We found out later that TD&H is 1,500 feet in elevation above where we started, and the hike is 6.4 miles round trip (from Mirror Lake, evidently). By the time we reached the summit, I'd lost my will to live...er, I mean care. I didn't care about the vistas. I didn't care about seeing Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens. I was too exhausted to feel anything but fatigue. And we still had to come down off the daggone thing. Mountain hiking is not for this princess.
While we were off losing several pounds (no joke, Dan & I each lost a couple of pounds with that hike), Shirley was taking care of her mom/Dan's grandma, getting her checked out of the hospital and getting her home. So after we showered and got the majority of the grime off ourselves, we got Chinese food and went to Grandma's apartment. We had a nice visit there, and Dan got to spend several minutes talking with (mainly listening to) his grandmother.
Friday, I stayed at the house alone. First of all, I was really tired. Secondly, though, my tummy was hurting. The other three folks went to see the Columbia River Gorge, and I read books and napped. That's a good life, huh? :) I'd pretty much had my fill of the great outdoors. We had another great dinner. After that, we picked some blueberries at the neighbor's house, and we invited him over to have ice cream with us. Chuck was such an interesting man...retired fire fighter, lifetime resident of Portland. I think he enjoyed the company, and we enjoyed meeting him. After Irv walked him home (the man's nearly 90, though you'd never know it!), we all gathered 'round the piano and sang hymns for about 30 minutes. That was a great memory.
Saturday, really early, we went to the airport and started our 10-hour journey home.
All in all, it was a really relaxing vacation. It was great to get away, really away, from everything before Dan got down to business looking for a job. And it was great to be away from my job for some down time. Can't beat that!
Dan's uncle Irv picked us up from the airport in his BMW convertible. That was a fun ride (even if I couldn't hear a blessed thing or participate in conversation)!
When we arrived at Irv & Shirley's, we were escorted to the "luxury suite," a madeover room that used to belong to their son David. We relaxed for a little while, and then dinner prep began. Dan's cousin C.J. and her boyfriend came over, and it was the first time in 8 years that the cousins had seen each other. We had a great meal outside (main course: grilled wild salmon) followed by some good conversation inside.
Tuesday, we went to Portland for a walking tour. We learned a lot about the city and its roots (including the fact it isn't named Boston because of the results of a best-out-of-three coin flip contest). We also saw the first "postmodern" building, designed by Michael Graves. We also dropped by where C.J. works for a quick visit so Irv could look at her car. We had another lovely supper, courtesy of Shirley's delightful cooking.
Wednesday, we went to a thrift store. I'm such a snob. I hate thrift stores. Really, though, the scent was disgusting. In the afternoon, we went to see an IMAX film called Mystery of the Nile. That was fun. After that, Dan & I went to the hospital to visit his grandmother. Again, the evening ended with good food. Yea, Shirley!
Thursday, Dan, Irv, and I headed to see Mt. Hood. Darn that mountain. We went first to Mirror Lake, where I captured a breathtaking photo of Mt. Hood reflected in the water. After lunch, we hiked up the Tom Dick & Harry Mountain. This inside girl was really peeved by the time we got to the top. We found out later that TD&H is 1,500 feet in elevation above where we started, and the hike is 6.4 miles round trip (from Mirror Lake, evidently). By the time we reached the summit, I'd lost my will to live...er, I mean care. I didn't care about the vistas. I didn't care about seeing Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens. I was too exhausted to feel anything but fatigue. And we still had to come down off the daggone thing. Mountain hiking is not for this princess.
While we were off losing several pounds (no joke, Dan & I each lost a couple of pounds with that hike), Shirley was taking care of her mom/Dan's grandma, getting her checked out of the hospital and getting her home. So after we showered and got the majority of the grime off ourselves, we got Chinese food and went to Grandma's apartment. We had a nice visit there, and Dan got to spend several minutes talking with (mainly listening to) his grandmother.
Friday, I stayed at the house alone. First of all, I was really tired. Secondly, though, my tummy was hurting. The other three folks went to see the Columbia River Gorge, and I read books and napped. That's a good life, huh? :) I'd pretty much had my fill of the great outdoors. We had another great dinner. After that, we picked some blueberries at the neighbor's house, and we invited him over to have ice cream with us. Chuck was such an interesting man...retired fire fighter, lifetime resident of Portland. I think he enjoyed the company, and we enjoyed meeting him. After Irv walked him home (the man's nearly 90, though you'd never know it!), we all gathered 'round the piano and sang hymns for about 30 minutes. That was a great memory.
Saturday, really early, we went to the airport and started our 10-hour journey home.
All in all, it was a really relaxing vacation. It was great to get away, really away, from everything before Dan got down to business looking for a job. And it was great to be away from my job for some down time. Can't beat that!
