Day 57 - (09/13) Portland, OR ... day 19

Today was the last chance to squeeze in family fun time before we hit the road tomorrow.  Carol, Elizabeth, Barbara and Amy took the kids on a Columbia Gorge outing.  Dick and Pat stayed home.  Jacob and Anna went to school.


The first stop was at Vista House.  It's the highest point on the Columbia gorge (733 ft). 

Columbia River from Vista House

Amy, Elizabeth and Barbara at Vista House

Barbara (with Lucy), Erin, Elizabeth and Amy at Vista House

The next stop was Multnomah Falls.  We went here with Jacob and Anna back on 09/02 (see Portland - Day  8).

Elizabeth, Donna and Annabelle
on the bridge at the foot of Multnomah Falls

Annabelle, Donna and Carol play before picnicking at Cascade Locks park

Barbara checks out the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam

Lucy had fun gallivanting with her cousins.

We ended the evening with a family dinner and a time of telling funny stories about ourselves.  Note to readers:  It's a lot more fun telling your own story than to have someone tell a story about you.

We said goodbye to Kenny, Barbara and Lucy.

Map Tracks

None for today. 

Day 56 - (09/12) Portland, OR ... day 18

Everyone was up and feeling better today, though Elizabeth wasn't running on all cylinders.  Today was a big day ... Lucy's baptism.

Aunt Elizabeth performed the service.  Many of Kenny's family attended and Eric Witchey came from Salem.

The reception cake seems like a perfect introduction

Kernan Bagley (Kenny's dad) and Lucy

Pat Winans (Barbara's dad) and Lucy

Barb and Kenny make baptism vows

The children are in awe of the service

Lucy is welcomed by the congregation

A rare shot of the family

There were lots of folks from Kenny's family at the service.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to gather them for a family picture.

Eric, Amy and Barbara at the reception

Elizabeth left to preach the service at the Sunnyside Methodist church and the rest of us relaxed until time to leave for the picnic at Kenny and Barb's.  

We got to the picnic at around 1pm and were greeted with a wonderful spread of ribs, brisket, chicken wings and thighs, corn on the cob, salads, vegetables and desserts.  Apparently all of Kenny's family is skilled in the kitchen.

A picnic for an army

Micah (nephew), Zack (nephew), Aunt Laverne, 
Terry (cousin) , Kernan (dad)

Kernan III (nephew), Justin (nephew), Maureen (sister-in-law), 
don't know, Symone (niece)

Kenny and Barb's back yard ... filled with picnickers

Sheryl (sister) and Kenny

Eric, Annabelle and Pat enjoy the meal

Aunt Darlene, Aunt Dona and Barbara

Anna and Annabelle enjoy sidewalk chalking at the picnic.

The picnic was lots of fun and we met many of Kenny's family.  It'll take some time to get all of their names straight.  We hope the Bagley family will forgive us for missing or misspelled names.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Day 55 - (09/11) Portland, OR ... day 17

It appears Pat's illness yesterday was just the tip of the iceberg.  Elizabeth got sick late yesterday afternoon.  Barbara and Carol joined them last night.  All symptoms are flu-like.


Pat and Barbara are feeling better.  Carol and Elizabeth were in bed most of the day.  Amy was the cleaning warrior for the family.  Pat and Dick ran errands.


We had dinner at Burgerville for everyone except Elizabeth and Carol.


(#2) Ohio State beat (#12) Miami 36-24 ... yea!


This was a very quiet day.


We're hoping for swift recoveries because Lucy is to be baptized tomorrow.  Elizabeth is preaching and Eric will be joining us from Salem.


Map Tracks

None for today.

Day 54 - (09/10) Portland, OR ... day 16

Jacob and Anna were off to school at 8am.

Carol, Amy, Donna, Annabelle, Erin, Barbara and Lucy headed off to Portland’s Children’s Museum at around 11:30.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  The good news is that it was across the street from the Portland Zoo.  So, to the zoo it was.

Erin wonders what's in the big tank.

Ah, it's a Sea Lion!

Now, you're going to see that all lions are not Sea Lions.

These two Lions sure look regal.

Annabelle gets personal with a lion.

Donna does, too.

This lion likes to play ball.  Wanna play?

This Cheetah looks to be on the prowl.

Elizabeth worked on her sermon for Sunday.  Tim slept after working a 12 hour night shift on his nursing job St. Vincent's Hospital.  

Pat was not feeling well; he rested all day.  

Dick did administrative jobs (paid bills, reconciled statements).

We had a pasta dinner at Tim and Elizabeth's, and settled down for a peaceful evening.

Map Tracks
None for today.

Day 53 - (09/09) Portland, OR ... day 15

The kids were up early and raring to go.  The sound of a pogo stick outside the trailer woke us at 7:30.  

Jacob and Anna went to school.  Donna and Annabelle went on an adventure with Carol and Amy.

The adventure involved a TriMet trip to the Portland Aerial Tram.  They took a bus and a streetcar to get to the tram.  The tram connects the South Waterfront terminal and the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU's main campus.  It rises 500 feet and travels 3,300 feet over I-5.

Annabelle rides the Portland streetcar.

Amy and Donna enjoy the streetcar, too

OK, up we go on the tram

We made it to the top safe and sound!

(You sure get a great view form here.)

Pat watched Erin while mom (Amy) was off playing on the tram.  Dick and Pat installed a lock-set on a bedroom door.

We were treated to a concert after everyone returned home in the afternoon.  Here are the sights, you'll have to imagine the sounds.

Anna on ukulele, Annabelle on harmonica, Erin on thumb

Erin examines how to make noise come from the harmonica.

(And she did it herself a little later)

Erin applauds Anna's strumming

We had a pizza dinner at Tim and Elizabeth's

Tim went to work and Elizabeth had a meeting after dinner.

The rest of the evening was quiet.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Day 52 - (09/08) Portland, OR ... day 14

This was a quiet day.


Jacob and Anna went off to their 2nd day of school.  Dick worked on the blog and read a book Eric had loaned him.  


Carol and Dick took Elizabeth to lunch at Ya Hala.  It's a Lebanese restaurant; the name means "welcome".   The meal was delicious and the service was excellent ... a good place to visit again.


Carol picked up the kids after school and we waited patiently for the "Ohio family" to arrive.


Pat, Amy, Donna, Annabelle and Erin landed at 9pm and got here at close to 10pm.  It was a weary group of young travelers.  It was great to see them all.


Map Tracks
None for today.

Day 51 - (09/07) Portland, OR ... day 13

Today was the first day of school for Jacob and Anna.  Elizabeth and Carol took them to school, but first there was a round of picture-taking.

Rested, excited and smiling as they get ready for school.

Anna is quite a model.

Jake is a trickster, but we got a good shot.

Nothing like a little fooling around before school

A picture of Anna and Elizabeth holding a picture of Jacob.
(Now, there's an interesting way of getting all three in one picture.)

Dick worked with Kenny from 10 to 5.  We cut out a stairwell opening and cut three stair stringers.  There are a lot of cuts (e.g., opportunities to make a mistake) on three stringers with 14 risers each.  Dick did the calculations using instructions from extremehowto.com and they appear to work fine.  We'll see.

Just for fun, Kenny arranged for Dick to operate a backhoe after getting 2 minutes of instruction from the regular operator.  The good news is that it was lots of fun and nothing got damaged.  Can you hurt dirt?

OK, pick up dirt here and move it there.  Sounds simple enough.

After the school trip, Carol got her hair done and went shopping for a Lucy gift.  Hmm, there seems to have been a lot of Lucy shopping recently.

We had dinner with the family and a Swirl dessert later in the evening.

Map Tracks

None for today.