rivka

(Soon to be followed by the multi-part series How I spent the week that my LiveJournal was filled with trip reports and candy disasters.)

Tuesday, October 30
I woke up slightly sad on Tuesday, our last day in Portland. Of course, it was cold and rainy. I had wanted to show Misha more of downtown Portland, despite his inexplicable failure to be captivated by the majestic figure of Portlandia or by that landmark in postmodern architecture (read: "ugly as sin") The Portland Building. I thought that Pioneer Square might have a better chance at charming him, with its quirky, comfortable design and its echo corner and the statue of the umbrella guy. But no one wants to hang out in Pioneer Square in the chilly rain - particularly not thin-skinned Memphians.

So we settled for a quick lunch at Koji's downtown. (At least we hurried quickly past Pioneer Square on the way.) Koji's was much the same as it always is: we sat elbow-to-elbow with strangers at the next table over, and heaven help you if you needed a water refill, because the waitresses had their hands full. As it always is, however, the sushi was fantastic. It was a bit of a disadvantage going there with Misha instead of Wynona, because Koji's strong point has always been exquisite maki, and Misha doesn't like most maki because of the intrusion of vegetables. Wynona and I usually get multiple rolls to share, for a diversity of tastes. However, I certainly had no trouble devouring a salmon-and-salmon-egg roll by myself - and I'm not one to complain about a nigiri-heavy meal, either.

After lunch we started driving south. I was gratified throughout the trip to find that I can still manage to navigate the streets and highways of Portland, given that I moved away in '95. So I managed to find the I-5 onramp in the pouring rain, narrowly avoiding an accident with a police car which had just turned on its siren, and we found our way to Albany, Oregon.

We went to Albany to see our friend Jezebel, someone we've both known for years through alt.callahans but only recently met in person. She has an absolutely gorgeous house with a still-producing garden, tucked away on a quiet street. It was a lovely and calming place to spend the last day of our vacation. We actually took a nap before dinner, in a guest room with sky-blue walls sponge-painted with clouds. Jez and her sister made a wonderful dinner - pasta with chicken and roasted tomatoes, peach pie, and the only preparation of beets that I imagine I will ever, ever eat again, in a salad with arugula and gorgonzola cheese. Much wine and Talisker were consumed. We talked about Scotland (where Jez's sister lived for ten years), and about how the newsgroup we used to share has changed and left us feeling alienated, and about Jez's life in the theater, and about the perversity of university employers, and in all it was a lovely evening.

Wednesday, October 31
We got up Wednesday morning and had a leisurely breakfast with Jez. Has she ever mentioned, in alt.callahans, that she's an excellent cook? She's an excellent cook. Then we drove back up to Portland. We figured we would need to get to the airport by 1 for a 3pm flight, given our airport security experience at BWI. and we'd worked out that we'd need to catch the 12:30 light rail to get there by 1. So we were a little rushed as we came back into the city.

I had wanted very much to visit Burgerville while we were in Portland. It's an Oregon and Washington fast food chain with absolutely incredible food - milkshakes made of real milk and ice cream, for example, and flavored with things like fresh berries. The Tillamook cheeseburger, with real Tillamook cheddar from a farmer's cooperative specializing in high-quality cheddar. It's not McDonalds, is what I'm saying. Unfortunately, neither of us was particularly hungry after Jez's delicious breakfast, so we settled for a quick zip through the drive-through to get a solitary cheeseburger.

We left Wynona's car in a movie theater parking lot next to the light rail line, by prior arrangement. Then we had one of the most hassle-free trips to the airport I've ever experienced: step on the train, which is set low enough in relation to the platform that it's easy to load rolling luggage (or a wheelchair); zip through the streets of Portland in a clean, uncrowded car; arrive right at baggage claim without wading through traffic. It took us about five minutes to clear security in PDX - apparently the west coast isn't as security-conscious as the Baltimore-Washington area; who would have thought? - so there was time for one last Nostalgia Experience: a stop at the airport branch of Coffee People. This is the Northwest coffee chain that should have taken over America, not St*rbucks. They have marvelous coffee drinks. My favorite is the Velvet Hammer, a mocha made with Ibarra chocolate. *sigh*

Our flights home were uncrowded and uneventful. At 1:40 we arrived in Baltimore, collected our luggage and our car, amd stumbled into the apartment about 2:15. You know the rest, including the flood.

It was a good vacation. Not long enough, but it left me with a wonderful relaxed happy glow. We'll have to go back - probably in August next time, in hopes of better weather. Thanks to Misha for coming with me, and thanks to the rest of you for sticking it out through this long series of recaps.