Portland, finally!

When we went silent a couple of months ago, the postings had not quite reached Portland. I didn't mean to abandon you there but various events cropped up in real time and lack of internet access and then other events that you will get to hear all about in future posts kept me away from the blog.

But, back to where we were. It's Monday, July 11th, and we and Timmber Wolf are rolling along beside the Columbia River right into Portland. Our destination is the Pheasant Ridge RV Resort in a suburb called Wilsonville. It's a nice little park, possibly better than our first choice which was full.

We arrived in the afternoon and first on our schedule was to get a car rented so we could go see my son and his wife and our brand new grandson. We got a Dodge Durango which I promptly hated. For those who did not know, my left hip has become quite a problem and in fact surgery is scheduled after our return. This makes getting in and out of vehicles especially on the passenger side a bit difficult. With the seat moved all the way back I could get in and out of most vehicles. With the Durango though, moving the seat back exposes a metal rail with a nice sharp corner. Over the next few days I managed to scrape up the back of my leg on that corner several times!

Next stop, my son John's apartment and my brand new grandson, Luca, born June 25th, and of course his darling wife TK. We ordered take-out Chinese so we could just sit and visit and simply spend time together. Luca is the sweetest baby for sure!! Eventually Geoff and I went back to the RV park and Wolf. The next night John would come visit us and the night after all of us went out to dinner together. It was a great visit and I have no pictures taken during that time because I always get too busy just being there and forget to take any!!

Our plans had meant to include a two day trip down to southern Oregon to meet a cousin and spend some time in Eugene where I lived for a few months many years ago. We had to scrap that plan. I wasn't feeling great and needed to rest and Wolf was due for a servicing which we managed to get scheduled for first thing Friday morning. This did give us some down time including a chance to catch up on laundry, again! That seems to be a never ending chore when traveling.

Having the rental car did mean we could get out some and do a little shopping, including souvenir hunting. Some how this little white ceramic elephant I spotted at a Target no less seemed like just the right thing to represent Portland and baby Luca. Maybe because he weighed 8lbs 12oz when he was born! No, more likely the simple innocence of both the elephant and Luca. 

Portland and its suburbs are nice. They feel clean and look pretty and I can see why many people love it there but some how Geoff and I did not like it that much, some how we weren't comfortable or something. 

The photo here at the end of this posting is not in the timeline as it was taken several weeks later during the third week of August at Luca's first kite event, the Washington State International Kite Festival. My son John is a champion professional kite flyer and gives lessons, holds workshops and of course attends numerous kite events. So, of course his son Luca was only a few weeks ago when he attended his first kite event! I am surprised he wasn't born with a kite in his hand.

Time to get that maintenance done and then head out back towards the east, only three main stops planned before we head home: Yellowstone & Old Faithful; Encampment, Wyoming; and Mount Rushmore!