In the
evening, Bonnie took us to the press opening night for the play Cyrano de Bergerac
downtown on Navy Pier. What an excellent production it was!
Because Dug
was working out of town and the kids were in school on Thursday morning, we had
some wonderful quality time with Bonnie. Our lunch together at “Pinstripes”
proved to be an outstanding choice before she drove us to the airport.
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It was
totally dark when we approached Portland, and the millions of little lights of
the city sparkled as our plane descended. Maia met us at "Stanford’s" restaurant
in the airport for a late dinner. How great it was to be together again after
well over a year!
October 3rd, 2013, is a day we will always remember for a most unique experience. We began the day in Chicago enjoying lunch with Bonnie. In the late afternoon, we flew on Alaska Airlines across the country to Portland, Oregon, where we had dinner with our younger daughter, Maia! To have a meal with both daughters who live so far apart on the same day was certainly worth sharing by photos!
The following day Maia picked us up, and we stopped at the food cart pod at Kruger's Farm Stand on Lombard for lunch.
October 3rd, 2013, is a day we will always remember for a most unique experience. We began the day in Chicago enjoying lunch with Bonnie. In the late afternoon, we flew on Alaska Airlines across the country to Portland, Oregon, where we had dinner with our younger daughter, Maia! To have a meal with both daughters who live so far apart on the same day was certainly worth sharing by photos!
The following day Maia picked us up, and we stopped at the food cart pod at Kruger's Farm Stand on Lombard for lunch.
We headed across the Willamette River on the St. John's Bridge, the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley. Within a few minutes we drove across the Multnomah Channel on the Sauvie Island Bridge on to Sauvie Island.
As we crossed the bridge on to the island, we realized that we had wonderful views of Mt. Hood!
The island is predominantly farmland and wildlife refuge and is a popular place for picking pumpkins, hunting geese and kayaking
Farmers markets on the island were filled with pumpkins, gourds and apples.
Being on an island, one realizes that many residents either have boats for recreation or they actually live on their boats or in houses that float on the water!
At the Kruger's Fall Festival, roasted corn was one of the specialties which we decided to try. It was scrumptious!
As the sun set and the sky darkened, we crossed back over the St. John's Bridge with its tall Gothic towers.
Our next adventure took us by car along the picturesque Columbia River Gorge to the town of Hood River where we boarded the Mount Hood Railroad upper dome car.
Maia's friend, Junko Suzuki, joined us for our sightseeing day aboard the train where the views along the way were constantly changing.
Apple and pear orchards as well as vineyards covered the rolling hills all along the way.
After detraining in Hood River, Junko drove us along the Columbia River Gorge, where the natural beauty has been preserved ever since the highway was completed in 1915. At that time generous landowners donated property to create scenic retreats along the route. One of these is the beautiful Latourell Falls.
One of my favorite things to do is to keep in touch with relatives, friends, and former students throughout the world. Dana Carmiel came from Israel when she was in sixth grade, 23 years ago, to become one of my ESL students. Now she and her husband and two children are living for a while in the Portland area, and we managed to get together and enjoy a great reunion!
We brought an OHIO mug for Dana as a remembrance of her time in Cincinnati so many years ago.
Two year old Gal and five year old Lihi had a great time eating chocolate gelato!
At Proper Eats restaurant, Judy and Yoav are helping the children with the painting books that we brought for them.
Cathedral Park under the St. John's Bridge is a wonderful place to enjoy being together.
When Lihi found a little branch, she claimed,"I found my very own tree!" Her English is good enough that she has tested out of ESL classes at her school.
Gal discovered two of the tiniest flowers one can imagine and brought them to show to me. At this very young age he is bilingual.
Judy and her former student, Dana, under the St. John's Bridge...
Our final stop for the day was at McMenamins St. Johns Pub where the courtyard provided a cozy place beside the fire for a snack and unique flavored teas.
In Portland there are 41 off-leash dog parks, and Maia and her dog, Biscuit, enjoy exploring at least some of them.
In Portland we're beginning to see the yellows and reds of autumn in some of the trees. Fall seems to be about at the same point as in Cincinnati.
When Lewis and Clark passed by the Willamette River in November, 1805, they complained that the sky was so thick with birds they were unable to sleep at night. This region lies in the middle of a bird superhighway known as the Pacific Flyway. Millions of birds pass through this region each year on their north and south migrations. Migrating geese fill the sky in the photo below.
At the Audubon Society of Portland we found that they are working to protect and recover the most imperiled species and the ecosystems on which they depend.
Because this pair of kestrels is unable to be released in the wild, they are used for educational programs.
This spotted owl was rescued from the Mt. Hood area and cannot fly. It is one of the most imperiled species and is kept for educational purposes.
One gigantic redwood tree on the property of the Audubon Society attracted our attention. Maia posed in front of it to try to show the tremendous size of the tree.
Another one of the highlights of our week in Portland was spending time in the Lan Su Chinese Garden. This is a place in the midst of the city where one can connect with nature. Everything has been carefully arranged to make one feel as if one is standing in a Chinese landscape painting. The water evokes a vast lake. The rocks serve as great mountains with waterfalls and cascading streams. Plants serve many purposes in a Chinese garden. Besides providing fragrance, beauty and color, each kind of plant also conveys meaning.
Lan Su is considered the most authentic Suzhou-style Chinese garden outside of China. Most of the building materials, including more than 500 tons of rock, came from China. The garden features more than 300 plant species found in traditional Chinese gardens.
What a fun way to cap off our day--riding the tram up the mountain to look out over Portland and the surrounding mountains as dusk came and the lights came on.
One of the most interesting sights along the river was the floating houses. People who buy these homes are buying a lifestyle unavailable anywhere else. For most people life on the water provides tranquility and a respite from the trials of life itself. It also offers people the opportunity to view an abundance of wildlife not found in the city.
When we first saw this structure we thought it must be a mansion of a very wealthy family. Our guide explained that it is actually a pumping station; but it has an eight bedroom house on top of it!
Portland lies on top of an extinct volcanic field which has its center in Southeast Portland. The 40 million year old cone of one of the volcanoes is here to the right in the photo in the middle of the Willamette River. There are actually 32 cinder cones in this area!
As our boat returned to the city we viewed many of the eleven bridges over the Willamette River which represent many types of construction.
Near downtown Portland is an antique steamboat which is now a museum.
The spectacular city, mountain and river views are worth the trip.
Maia decided to try their sushi and soup for lunch and the key lime pie for dessert.
Yesterday we had explored the lovely Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. We knew it was only one city block; but it was amazing to see it from the Portland City Grill. The area with all of the trees is the Chinese Garden.
After the river cruise and lunch at the Portland City Grill, we found ourselves at The Pied Cow Coffee House to spend the evening with some of Maia's friends. Bobbi was the first of these to arrive, and we had a great time catching up with each others' lives.
Saying good-by is never easy. We only get to see Maia about once a year, and that is not often enough to be with our daughter. Maia's constant companion, Biscuit, is one of our three "grand dogs"and came to say good-by to us as well.
At the Portland Airport we were surprised to see our Alaska Airlines plane with its artist's composite of a native Alaskan on the tail.
After taking a taxi to the airport early in the morning, we had time to browse the gift shops and restaurants.
Taking off from Portland gives us one last view of the city.
After landing in Chicago, we were able to spend some quality time with our niece, Kristi Tolman, and her husband, Eric, and their daughters, Kenna and Michal.
After dinner we all had fun selecting flavors of frozen yogurt at Yogurt Land. Michal was with us at that time, but Kenna was at a birthday party.
Kenna and Michal welcomed us into their home and showed us their musical talents by putting on an outstanding performance for us.
When we met up with Bonnie, Dugan and Sage at Cozy Corner, a Chicago restaurant, the kids had a great time making bracelets together. Here Kenna and Sage enjoy each other's company.
Dugan has the gift of teaching and mentoring younger children, and Michal is one of those who enjoys being with him. In fact, she was teaching him how to make the bracelets!
Bonnie and cousin, Kristi, at the Cozy Corner
Kenna, Sage, Dugan and Michal
Dinner at a Friendship Chinese Restaurant that evening was with Bonnie, Dugan and Sage, and, to our surprise, the server brought us a complimentary dessert plate. The kids worked at cutting up these tiny desserts for all of us to share.
Maia had sent gifts with us for Dugan, Sage and Bonnie, which they are displaying in these photos.
Another highlight of our Chicago visit was to get together with Dick's brother, Cliff, and his son Andrew, at Manee Thai restaurant.
Andrew and Cliff Rosene
Andrew, Sage, Bonnie, Dick, Judy and Cliff
What would be more fun on our last day in Chicago than to go to Lake Michigan on a beautiful October day. Dugan and Sage could run and enjoy the sand and sun while we watched the waves splashing on to the beach.
When we found that The Dock restaurant had already closed for the season, we drove to the Clock Tower Cafe, which was on a golf course in Waveland Park near Lake Michigan. We basked in the warm sun as we ate a delicious meal outside on the deck.
The final day of our vacation, October 15th, involved several forms of transportation to take us from Chicago to Cincinnati. First the shuttle from our motel took us to the airport where we boarded the "L" train. After an hour on the "L" with 21 stops along the way, we got off in downtown Chicago. There we boarded the Megabus, which took us to Indianapolis and on to Cincinnati during a six hour trip.
When the bus reached the University of Cincinnati, our close friends, Jack and Sherry Schuler, picked us up to have dinner at Izzy's restaurant and then to come home. After nearly two weeks of wonderful visits with family and friends, we are glad to be home as we enjoy our memories and our photos as well.
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