We've had a whirlwind of visitors since we moved to Portland - I guess our family really misses us! The latest to check out our digs was Josh's dad, Bill. His saga started when he left Milwaukee on the Amtrak, headed for Portland over a 2-day ride. He says the train wasn't all he had hoped for - sleeping in the sitting position, not enough time to explore the various cities where they stopped along the way, and (my favorite story) college-aged kids sitting in the "premier viewing seats" while watching movies on their laptops! - but it was an adventure to say the least. We didn't do too many touristy things with Bill, like we did with the "Moms", but he did get to see some of the city. Highlights included browsing the most awesome book store in the world (Powell's), a couple trips down Hawthorne Blvd. to shop and explore, a mandatory visit to the Saturday Market, a fun hike at the Audubon Center in the rain, his first Voodoo donut experience, a father-son trip to Astoria (in bad, bad weather), and even his own private self-made walking tour of our neighborhoods where Josh was left wondering "is Dad ever coming home?"... funny how the child becomes the parent as you get older! We also had fun trying out our fireplace for the first time*, sitting around listening to music & playing cards, and grilling Bill on some of his favorite childhood memories. Oh, and he even watched 50 First Dates with me! Bill was a real trooper, adjusting to whatever the day threw at us as we were off interviewing and doing volunteer work. He had just happened to come during a time when we needed to get serious about joining the working stiffs of Stumptown.
A big thanks to Dad-In-Law for all the snacks (unhealthy of course!) and fun presents he spoiled us with while here! An extra shout out for our "new" used 10 speeds that he had fixed up for us at a local bike shop... these Portland hills are no match for us now!
*The first night of the fireplace was so fun, we decided to try it again! This time around, I must have closed the flue instead of opening it because all of the sudden smoke was pouring out of the fireplace, quickly filling the house with that wonderful campfire smell. The good news is... our smoke detectors work... the bad news, they are really, really loud! When I asked Josh to open the front door to let some of the smoke out (while I'm head first in the fire, burning my eyeballs, trying to rectify the situation mind you), he must have heard, "Josh, save yourself and the dog too!" Josh, Bill and Cobain run to safety on our front porch while I whisk around the house, disabling the alarms (read: pulling alarms off the walls cuz the damn things won't turn off!), and comforting Hurley who is glued to my side. What's the saying... oh yeah, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"... guess that means I'm superwoman now!
For pictures of our time together, go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=jjkraujalis&target=ALBUM&id=5551785384570979569&authkey=Gv1sRgCKu8ua2LtY3wxAE&feat=email
