Denver & Portland

Bryn & Grant at home

Charlie, the Big Boy

As always the best part of returning to Denver is seeing our family once again.  Bryn and Grant are doing well.  Both are working very hard to make Grant's Electric a success--Grant in the field and Bryn in the office.

We think Charlie missed us; we are sure that we missed him! We were away nearly four months and in that time he changed so much.  He now talks in full sentences and is almost potty trained.  He has mastered his balance bike, and his inherent daredevilry and fearlessness keeps our hearts in our throats. He has moved up from the Twosies Class to Preschool at his daycare.  In short, to quote Charlie himself, "I am a big boy. I don't need your help. Sit on the bench."

Larry, Erin, Bryn & Sue

Erin is back home safe and sound from her yearlong sojourn in Pakistan. It was an interesting and educational experience, but one she would not want to repeat.  During the last couple of months there, the political situation was very tense, and she and her colleagues were on lockdown almost all of the time--meaning they could only be at work or their homes or apartments.  It was a great relief for all of us when she left on August 23rd.

Erin spent three weeks of home leave with us here in Denver, relaxing and recovering, but has now returned to DC where she will be posted for the next couple of years working as a State Department liaison to the Organization of American States.

Ashley & Sue at the Saturday market

Less than two weeks after arriving back in Denver, we were off again for a 10 day trip to the Pacific Northwest and Canada.  The impetus for the trip was a long planned reunion with a group of friends we first met in New Orleans nearly 45 years ago; we'll talk about that in our next blog

But our first stop was Portland, Oregon for a visit with Ashley Brown, the daughter of our good friend, Anita (readers of the blog might remember that she shared part of our trip to Italy during Spring 2013).

We have known Ashley since she was a baby, and think that she is one of the kindest and most interesting young people that we know.  We were honored that she wanted us to visit and was willing to host us in her home. She is a warm and welcoming host and a great Portland booster.

We had never visited Portland before, and with Ashley as our enthusiastic tour guide, we discovered that the city is as quirky but as fun as its reputation. Ashley made us an incredibly delicious dinner on the night of our arrival, with local corn and grilled peppers and invited some of her friends to share it with us. Sitting in her backyard, enjoying a lovely summer's eve, was a perfect introduction to the town and Portland lifestyle.

The City of Roses

What a great foodie city!  The Saturday morning market on the campus of Oregon State was a treat for both the eye and the tastebuds--highlighted by a breakfast featuring home-made biscuits and mushroom gravy.

After the market, Ashley took us to Powell's--an independent book store that covers an entire downtown block and seems to have every book there is in print.  We separated and wondered about to our heart's content: two hours hours seemed to fly by.

Breaking Bad entry in the Adult Boxcar Race

Then it was on to the Portland Adult Boxcar Race which takes place annually in the city's Mt. Tabor park. It's a great opportunity for silliness and fun, and thousands of Portland residents use it as an excuse for a laid back picnic in the park. Our favorite entry was the "Breaking Bad" RV.

Portland is called the City of Roses, and Ashley, knowing how much we like gardens, insisted we visit a beautiful rose garden that just happened to be in her neighborhood.  Even though August isn't the best time of year to view the garden, it was beautiful and smelled woderful.  Our day ended with a memorable Thai meal at one of her favorite restaurants.

Clearly, two days are not enough to sample all that Portland has to offer, so we have promised Ashley that we will be back for a longer stay. She may live to regret her offer.

Early Sunday morning, Ashley put us on the AmTrak train to Seattle and Vancouver.  We were pleasantly surprised with the comfort, modernity and cleanliness of the train--too bad we had to disembark in Seattle and transfer, after a two hour delay, onto a bus that then took us on to Vancouver.

We arrived in Vancouver in the late afternoon and easily found our way to our AirBnB apartment, which was roomy, clean and comfortable and an easy bus or taxi ride into the center of town. We continue to be great fans of AirBnB, though not every experience has been as good as our Vancouver stay.