Portland, OR 7/07

Snowshoeing in shorts, sans snowshoes, across Mount Hood

Harry the Cat wanted to go with us on our excursions


This photo's for you Mr. T. (Pike Place Market, Seattle)



The following article was prepared by an honored guest writer, Westward Ho. I only made minor changes to protect the unsullied. Thanks for the great summary of the trip out west, Ms. Ho, and if anyone ever wants to join the ranks of "guest writer" on this blog, please let me know - I would welcome the help! I keep thinking it's time to wrap things up with this writing effort and move on to the great American novel, but we'll see. I told myself I would try this for two years and see how I felt after that - that two years is fast approaching so I will accept all comments, suggestions, input and wisecracks.

Courtesy of Westward Ho:

Several of my Atlanta friends were here in Portland last week visiting me and the great state of Oregon. We had a total blast. 5 women traveling together could be challenging, but we managed to have a great time without much fuss. We spent the first weekend here in Portland checking out all of the fine establishments …beer…food…wine...shopping. You know – the good stuff in life. We hit one of the best restaurants in Portland – Andina – a wonderful Peruvian restaurant.

Next it was off to wine country for a bit of tasting and then on to Bend. The scenery was amazing as we traveled along Highway 22 and 20 and went along a river valley. We made our way to Deschutes National Forrest and through a huge burn area. The effects of forest fires last for decades, and out here each summer it gets bone dry because it doesn’t rain much in the summer. We stayed in Bend at a place called McMennamin’s in a little cottage called “The Nunnery”. (Fitting for a bunch of women, don’t you think?) The next day we drove up through the canyon lands and into the Mount Hood National Forrest, where we stayed at the Timberline Lodge up on the mountain. Mount Hood has skiing all year round. The lodge is up at around 6,000 feet, just 5,000 feet from the Peak.

We ended the trip with a drive through the Hood River Valley and into the Columbia Gorge, where we hiked, saw wind surfers going nuts, and saw the amazing waterfalls. It was a blessing to spend such good times with people I love. It really makes me value good friends.

And here's my two cents: Westward Ho treated us like Princesses, beer-drinking Princesses, but Princesses nonetheless. She picked us up from Amtrak in Portland since we had flown into Seattle. Then she drove us all the way back to the Sea-Tac airport at the end of the trip. She stocked the fridge with just about every Portland brew possible, which is quite an achievement given the number of breweries in the state. She let us drive her car while she was at work one day so that we could traipse around town and tour a distillery (Kali's kids go to school with the distillery owner's brother's kids). She gave up her bed and slept on a blow-up mattress. She didn't chastise us when we stopped to fill up the tank and went into the bakery next door to claim a free fried apple pie (since the sign on the door said free pie to anyone who's driver's license ends in "8" and mine does). She took us to some excellent restaurants and we saw some of the most amazing scenery. She loaned Doc. B. her walking stick when we were on a hike with some very narrow trails. She read us meaningful poetry and still had the ability to laugh when Tequila followed it up with a quote from Dr. Seuss.

Thanks for the great time Westward Ho!

Photo Op

This is one of those situations where there is so much to write that I don't know where to start. The trip out west, to Seattle and Portland, was an excellent time. Words can't sum it up at this moment, it's still all settling in. But here are some photos - just a few of the over 200 - that were taken by the members of the traveling crew: Westward Ho, Tequila, Kali, Doc. B. and me.

More to come...

State of the Union

Good morning friends and family and Happy July 4th!

Mrs. T., my Tuesday night yoga partner, is out of town, so I decided to walk home from class last night rather than hitch a ride. It's a nice 30 minute walk so it's a good way to continue my blissful state after a yoga session with Bill. But the path home is along one of the trashiest streets in Atlanta - DeKalb Avenue. It parallels the MARTA train and is essentially a 24 hour a day landfill. After I vowed to carry a trash bag with me the next time I walk this stretch, I recalled a conversation Doc B. and I had with baby sis who visited us this past weekend.

She was explaining to us the premise of a magazine called Found. They publish items upon which people have stumbled. Wait, that's just really getting old - they publish things people have stumbled upon. It all started when one of the magazine "founders" had a note left on his car that was clearly meant for someone else. You can go to the website and read all about it.

So I continued my mindful walk home but also began to keep an eye out for anything interesting that might present itself. Sure enough, right as I was nearing Shawn Mullins' old house, I found the above invitation. The center fold was still in it but it was covered with dirt and there was a foot print on the back of it.

Several things came to mind when I found this wedding announcement. First, it's two women I don't know and thus a reminder of the wonderfully large community in which Doc. B. and I live. And second, it was close to Shawn's old house and he has a great song called "Ruth and Mary" that Doc. B. and I put on our commitment ceremony CD.

But the irony hit most strongly. It also occurred to me that on the day I found this piece of memorabilia, it was the day before Independence Day - a day our "founding" fathers marked freedom for all. And here are these two women heading off to Canada to get married...

NOTE: It was also the day after Scooter Libby Liberation Day but that is just too much for me to get into today - I'll leave that to the legitimate political bloggers...