WOO HOO! WHAT A BLAST! I got to spend a full weekend with some of my favorite girlies in one of my favorite cities…
Thursday…
I flew into PDX and picked up a rental car. Drove to my long held friend of 20 years, Lola, and picked her up. We drove to SE Hawthorne, a fabulously funky neighborhood. Lunch at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant and tons of catching up…
Lovely Lola…
We spent all day exploring the stores along this boulevard. We had an early dinner at Costello’s Travel Caffe, (I love this place), then went to a movie and saw "Love Happens". We ended the evening with my giving Lola a lesson on Facebook and she showed me the rough cut of an incredible documentary that her company (Dawson Media Group) is creating about a California Native American tribe that is petitioning for recognition by the US government. It is a stunning piece of work, and although it is being created for a private audience, I really hope that it will be available to the public audience. It is such an important part of history, especially California’s.
Friday…
Bidding a fond farewell and big hug to my LoMalo, I drove back to PDX and waited for my WA state/North Bend buddies, Carol and Kirsten, to arrive.
After they picked me up, we headed to McMenamin’s Edgefield in Troutdale, OR, just 15 minutes outside of Portland. David and I had stayed here many times years ago. The place was already sold out a couple months before the trip, but they had a hostel room that we ended up staying in. It was fine, but oddly enough, the other women staying in the hostel were already asleep when we came in and then were still asleep when we got up in the mornings, so we had to almost always stay quiet in the room. We have already booked for next year and will have our own room with a private bath.
We dropped off our luggage and headed for Multnomah Falls. The weather could not have been any more perfect. Sunshine, with an Autumn nip in the air…
Roll on, Columbia…
Carol and Kirsten. Love ya!
A gorgeous, meandering, country drive tooks us through quite a few other waterfalls before reaching majestic Multnomah Falls, the second tallest year-round waterfall in the nation, (620 feet! I think Yosemite Falls is the tallest, but I am not certain.)
Me and Carol in front of the falls…
Group pic on the bridge that separates the upper from the lower falls…
We returned to the Edgefield and went to their spa, where Kirst and I were treated to 30 minute massages, and Carol got a pedicure. As a retired Licensed Massage Practitioner, I admit I am a bit picky when it comes to massage. I have to say I had the best massage I have had in a VERY long time! So, if you are ever in Portland, and are staying at the Edgefield, and decide to get a massage, ask for Amanda.
A pub dinner at Edgefield’s Power Station Pub…a tour of the grounds…then on with the swimsuits and a soak in the soaking pool. A beautiful star-filled night, warm pool, and great conversation equaled 3 hours in the pool!!
The pool during the day…
A little artistic embellishment that saturates the property…
Saturday…
Beeline for Portland’s Saturday Market, a huge gathering of Portland’s fine artisans. I think we hit pretty much every booth, and each of us walked away with some unique items.
We spent the afternoon, shopping the boutiques on NW 23rd Ave. (AKA "trendy-third.") . The fact that the weather held out for us is nothing short of a miracle.
Killer dinner at the "best deli in the world", according to me, Elephant’s Deli, then back to the Edgefield. We went to their winery for some tasting, then took some snacks on to one of the side porches that have rocking chairs and adirondacks. Security had to kick us off because the porches closed, so we moved to this lovely groves of tree laced with white lights, with picnic tables. We continued our conversation there until it got too cold to stay outside. We decided to move into the "Little Red Shed", a tiny bar on the property. There we enjoyed our decadent chocolate desserts we had purchased at the Deli and stayed their until we were kicked out due to closing. After that, Carol left for bed, and kirsten and I found a sitting room off the Black Rabbit restaurant and talked until 1:30am. (Remember, we could not go to our room and talk because we were in the hostel.)
Sunday…
A decent breakfast at Edgefield’s Black Rabbit restaurant and we headed 30 minutes south to the outlet mall in Woodburn. Most important, we headed to the CAbi outlet! (angels singing in the background…)
Carol and Kirsten dropped me off at the airport, and although it was hard saying goodbye, I don’t know if I could have survived another day 🙂 We got the most out of this weekend! Looking forward to next year!
