A report on my birthday week:
I spent most of the week training some Dept. of Transportation people in Seattle, WA. I decided to take the train because I had never done so. It was a nice change of pace and the scenery was beautiful.
The Portland train station, built in 1896, is one of the oldest continually-operating train stations in the country. One of the highlights was gliding past the Tacoma Narrows bridge just before the sun set.
The training was at the Henry Jackson Federal Building. It was very busy and a bit stressful, but I was to spend some time checking in with some old friends. Part of the fun included dinner with artist and buddy Marjorie Masel, her boyfriend, and a family friend from Chile. They took me out to a lovely dinner in advance of my birthday.
Thursday afternoon I had a few hours between my last training session and my train back to Portland, so Marjorie and I went to the Frye Museum for an exhibit about puppets titled, appropriately, The Puppet Show. A few interesting things, but the highlight was hanging out with Marjorie and discussing art. I returned home pretty tired on Amtrak Thursday evening.
On Friday, our friend Maggie from Washington, DC, arrived for a short visit. We picked her up at the airport and, after a lunch stop, went directly to Multmomah Falls, our favorite Oregon Wonder. On the way, we stopped at Vista House, built in 1916-18 as a view point over the Columbia River Gorge and a “comfort station” for visitors. (More on Vista House in a later blog post.)
After a short rest, we headed to Hopworks Urban Brewery for dinner, where I watched Mike and Maggie test 10 new micro-brews. Guess who was the designated driver.
After dinner we headed to Mock Crest Tavern to see our favorite band, Sneakin’ Out, in their first engagement since returning from the national tour that took them to Carnegie Hall in NYC, Wolf Trap in Washington, DC, and several other great locations.

Saturday we dragged ourselves, and Maggie, to the Portland Japanese Gardens, a tour of the city, and dinner at our place. Then we headed to the Living Room Theatres for a showing of Coraline in 3D, then to Voodoo Donuts before heading home to collapse and feast on donuts.
On Sunday, we drove Maggie through some of our favorite neighborhoods and had brunch at Vita Cafe, in the Alberta Arts District, before heading to the airport to drop her off. We had a great time with Maggie, though I’m sure she is as exhausted as we are.
Train travel, good food with good friends, art, movies; gifts from Mike, Mom, and Marjorie; cards from friends and relatives; calls from Mom and some siblings; flowers from Liv and Scott and the world’s most perfect grandbabes; a visit from Maggie the Party Lady. What more could one ask for a birthday week?