Christmas in Portland, Friday to Wednesday, Dec. 21 - 26, 2018

Patty and I flew to Portland Friday afternoon.  Ben was still at work when Martha picked us up at the airport.  We got to their home and got settled in our rooms.  Saturday, we all went to Planet Granite and Patty and I had lessons in belaying and climbing - that included climbing part way up the rock climbing wall (but not very far).  After the hour long lesson, we watched Ben and Martha scamper up the various walls - Ben's long limbs made it look easy, but Martha was just as quick and agile, maybe even more so.

Saturday morning, Ben and Patty shopped at The Meadow, a gourmet grocery store, to get some goodies for the planned meals on Christmas eve and day.  Saturday evening, the four of us went to Curious Comedy Showdown for a couple of hours of improvisation - quite fun and interesting, including popcorn and drinks.

Sunday afternoon, we went to Escape Games PDX for an hour of Sherlock's Secret Escape room - an hour of dozens of puzzles and enigmas to solve to get out of the room.  It was a team effort and we just made it after being given a few hints and a short extension of time.  We then went to the main Powell's Book Store for a couple of hours before going to the Living Room Theater for dinner while watching the movie "Shoplifters."

Monday morning, I went out for a walk that included a stretch along one of the roads where the Trimet trains run.  I was amazed at the amount of new construction of large multifamily apartment/condo complexes.

On a prior trip, the four of us had dinner Patton Maryland - now there is a large brown, four story complex just to the south and a large green, five story complex just to the north.

As I continued north, there was another huge complex that required two photos to get it all.

And some of the local artwork reminded me that I was back in Portland.

As I went south, I passed the Polish Library Association and St. Stanislaus Polish Catholic Church, both of which brought back warm memories of my November trip to Warsaw and Lipowy Most with Angloville.

Christmas eve, the four of us went out for a walk to see the Christmas lights different people had out.  Many were pleasant, a few overdone and one just done wrong - there are no penguins at the north pole.  I sent this photo to Megan and she got a chuckle out of it.

Ben and Martha had their living room decorated for Christmas.

We had fun opening gifts Christmas morning.

Ben and Martha gave Patty a couple of framed photos of Mr. Shadow.

We had much good food to eat at Christmas brunch - thank you Martha!!

Christmas afternoon, Ben took me to Swan Island, where he and Mr. Stowe went for a run.  He had wanted me to learn about "The Captain's Walk" and the history of Swan Island.

After checking out the two trails and signage, I then walked back to the house.  I passed by the headquarters for Daimler Trucks North America - a beautiful campus with nice gardens even this late in the year.

On a walk during the daylight, Ben took Patty and me on a loop that crossed over I-5 and that took us by the Statue of Liberty - it was not lit up when we went by after dark, so we had to come back in the daylight to get a photo.

One of our gifts to Martha was to join me in a build with the Fuller Center in Puerto Rico.  We booked flights and hotel, and registered for the build.  While at Powells, I got Jose Andres' book and read it over the weekend, then left it and a guide to Puerto Rico for Martha to help plan the three days we will spend in San Juan before going on the build.

On Wednesday, we packed up and Ben and Martha brought us to the airport around 5:00.  While we zipped through TSA, Patty had me take a photo of her with this store display which we then sent to others joking about the line being so slow I nearly died.

We got home a little before midnight after a wonderful week in Portland.  Thank you Ben and Martha for a wonderful Christmas.