Back from the Oregon Trail
Returned from Portland, Oregon, this past Monday - late - arrived at the airport at 11:04 pm, then waited for the SuperShuttle van for about 30 more - and was home around midnight. Thankfully I didn't have to go to work on Tuesday. In fact, I'm off for the rest of the week. Had thought about some day trips - to the San Antonio area - but with temperatures hovering around 103-106 F and no air conditioning in my car, I have opted for sleeping late and reading, with occasional trips to the grocery store and maybe a movie - although there's not much of interest to me these days.
The time in Portland was really very good. Actually, my sister lives in Lake Oswego, a small community just outside of Portland. She has a condo on the Willamette River with only a partial view because of all the trees. I kept wondering how they built the rather dense housing and kept most of the trees. They don't take kindly to cutting down trees in Oregon. In fact, one of her neighbors was pruning some branches that were impinging on her balcony, and someone called the cops on her.
I arrived in time for a heat wave there - it got up to 98 F one day, and stayed in the mid-90's the whole time. The wonderful thing about Oregon, though, is that when the sun goes down, so do the temperatures. Unlike Texas, where it just stays hot. We've been having 100+ temperatures for some time now, and it only drops into the mid-80's at night.
There was some degree of tension for the first couple of days about how to entertain me. The family (my sister and two of her daughters and their families all live there now) seems to see me as some esoteric type who only likes classical music, serious theatre (especially Shakespeare), and other such stuff. Well, I do like those things, but not exclusively.
When I got there, I was presented with a pile of brochures and newspaper clippings and asked to decide what I wanted to do. I hate that when I go to visit somebody. I want to see their world, not a transplanted version of my own. And I really didn't want to get into orchestrating something that had the potential for it becoming a logistical or scheduling nightmare.
And a lot of stuff going on required just that - prior reservations or a willingness to buck crowds of people - not to mention getting there and finding parking. There was a blues festival going on that sounded good. However, that was not only crowded, but tended to be an all-day outing and required decisions about blankets, chairs, food, drink, etc, in addition to just getting downtown. I might have gone on my own, but didn't want to juggle the wants and needs of 5 people.
It was interesting to watch the dynamics play out. If I brought up something that no one else wanted to do, it wouldn't be dismissed outright - just sort of forgotten. When I mentioned the casual concerts in the local park, the first question was "What time to we have to be there?" Everything seemed to be addressed with a view toward scheduling - how, when, where, what, etc.
I felt the tension in myself, but didn't stress out about it. I just quietly held out for a simpler approach, and that slowly began to take hold.
I finally convinced everyone that I didn't really need to be entertained and would rather do mostly impromptu things - if possible in the Lake Oswego area. There was a nice park nearby that had some summer events - small concerts, a farmer's market, interesting stores. There was also a trails along the river and at other local parks to walk and restaurants to explore. I would even have been happy driving around the Portland area seeing how things had changed in the 10 years I've been gone. But that was one of the options that was quietly forgotten, as was a suggested trip out to the Columbia Gorge. Extensive driving or hiking was not high on their list. I didn't push either one.
We cooked at home a couple of times (which included grocery shopping), went out to eat, walked along the river, went to the farmer's market in Lake Oswego, dropped in on the concerts in the park, and I had lots of reading time. The only in-town Portland activities were walking through the Chinese Garden in the Old Town area and exploring the Saturday Market under one of the bridges there - an open air thing that has been around for years.
In the back of my mind, I was in the market for a new pair of sandals, but not on the hunt for them. To my surprise, one of the stands at the Saturday Market specialized in just that. I saw a pair I liked (although the price was more than hoped for), and felt relieved when they didn't have my size there. But the guy said he could take my measurements and make them overnight - I could pick them up the next day. Well, I'm a sucker for "special treatment," but decided to walk around and think about it. Of course, I soon decided I NEEDED those sandals (the fact that he was rather attractive had nothing to do with it, I'm sure). So I went back and said OK. And the next day there they were. Only minor adjustments required, such as adjusting the straps, punching the holes in the buckle strap, and moving my foot around to make sure everything fit properly - lots of foot touching.
As Kathryn Hepburn said in The African Queen, I had no idea a mere physical sensation could be so . . . stimulating.
And the sandals are wonderful. And the price (which was not exorbitant - just more that I had planned on) has faded from memory. And I still feel that way after returning to Austin.
Anyway, everyone calmed down about my entertainment needs and by Friday it turned into a very delightful time. I almost wished I had planned to stay longer, but I think the time there was just about right. Any more and planning might have been required.
All in all, it was nothing special, and yet the whole thing was special.
The time in Portland was really very good. Actually, my sister lives in Lake Oswego, a small community just outside of Portland. She has a condo on the Willamette River with only a partial view because of all the trees. I kept wondering how they built the rather dense housing and kept most of the trees. They don't take kindly to cutting down trees in Oregon. In fact, one of her neighbors was pruning some branches that were impinging on her balcony, and someone called the cops on her.
I arrived in time for a heat wave there - it got up to 98 F one day, and stayed in the mid-90's the whole time. The wonderful thing about Oregon, though, is that when the sun goes down, so do the temperatures. Unlike Texas, where it just stays hot. We've been having 100+ temperatures for some time now, and it only drops into the mid-80's at night.
There was some degree of tension for the first couple of days about how to entertain me. The family (my sister and two of her daughters and their families all live there now) seems to see me as some esoteric type who only likes classical music, serious theatre (especially Shakespeare), and other such stuff. Well, I do like those things, but not exclusively.
When I got there, I was presented with a pile of brochures and newspaper clippings and asked to decide what I wanted to do. I hate that when I go to visit somebody. I want to see their world, not a transplanted version of my own. And I really didn't want to get into orchestrating something that had the potential for it becoming a logistical or scheduling nightmare.
And a lot of stuff going on required just that - prior reservations or a willingness to buck crowds of people - not to mention getting there and finding parking. There was a blues festival going on that sounded good. However, that was not only crowded, but tended to be an all-day outing and required decisions about blankets, chairs, food, drink, etc, in addition to just getting downtown. I might have gone on my own, but didn't want to juggle the wants and needs of 5 people.
It was interesting to watch the dynamics play out. If I brought up something that no one else wanted to do, it wouldn't be dismissed outright - just sort of forgotten. When I mentioned the casual concerts in the local park, the first question was "What time to we have to be there?" Everything seemed to be addressed with a view toward scheduling - how, when, where, what, etc.
I felt the tension in myself, but didn't stress out about it. I just quietly held out for a simpler approach, and that slowly began to take hold.
I finally convinced everyone that I didn't really need to be entertained and would rather do mostly impromptu things - if possible in the Lake Oswego area. There was a nice park nearby that had some summer events - small concerts, a farmer's market, interesting stores. There was also a trails along the river and at other local parks to walk and restaurants to explore. I would even have been happy driving around the Portland area seeing how things had changed in the 10 years I've been gone. But that was one of the options that was quietly forgotten, as was a suggested trip out to the Columbia Gorge. Extensive driving or hiking was not high on their list. I didn't push either one.
We cooked at home a couple of times (which included grocery shopping), went out to eat, walked along the river, went to the farmer's market in Lake Oswego, dropped in on the concerts in the park, and I had lots of reading time. The only in-town Portland activities were walking through the Chinese Garden in the Old Town area and exploring the Saturday Market under one of the bridges there - an open air thing that has been around for years.
In the back of my mind, I was in the market for a new pair of sandals, but not on the hunt for them. To my surprise, one of the stands at the Saturday Market specialized in just that. I saw a pair I liked (although the price was more than hoped for), and felt relieved when they didn't have my size there. But the guy said he could take my measurements and make them overnight - I could pick them up the next day. Well, I'm a sucker for "special treatment," but decided to walk around and think about it. Of course, I soon decided I NEEDED those sandals (the fact that he was rather attractive had nothing to do with it, I'm sure). So I went back and said OK. And the next day there they were. Only minor adjustments required, such as adjusting the straps, punching the holes in the buckle strap, and moving my foot around to make sure everything fit properly - lots of foot touching.
As Kathryn Hepburn said in The African Queen, I had no idea a mere physical sensation could be so . . . stimulating.
And the sandals are wonderful. And the price (which was not exorbitant - just more that I had planned on) has faded from memory. And I still feel that way after returning to Austin.
Anyway, everyone calmed down about my entertainment needs and by Friday it turned into a very delightful time. I almost wished I had planned to stay longer, but I think the time there was just about right. Any more and planning might have been required.
All in all, it was nothing special, and yet the whole thing was special.