September 5 – 10, 2023
The last time I saw my cousin Sela was in 2003, she and her daughters, Ellen and Lauren, came to Athens for for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. For 21 years, Pam and I were promising to return the favor and visit Sela at her home in Portland Oregon. But, life happens and we never made it to Portland.

Arrival Tuesday, September 4th
I arrived in Portland around 4:30 PM – Sela picked me up and drove us, in her all electric, Volks Wagon ID4, the short, 20 minute, drive to her house. After getting a tour of the house, Sela fixed pasta with freshly made pesto and a beet salad with goat cheese for dinner. I hung out in the kitchen talking and catching up while Sela prepared dinner. We ended our evening with a mile or so walk to the Salt and Straw ice cream parlor for some incredible ice cream – the evening temperature was perfect.

Day 1 – Wednesday, September 5th
My brain did not get the memo that we were on west coast time so at precisely 6 AM east coast or 3 AM west coast time I woke up. I tried for a little to go back to sleep but finally gave up and decided to go downstairs and read for a while. All was good until 6AM when my phone buzzed telling me it was time to check-in for my flight to Atlanta. I had a moment of panic – I apparently entered the wrong return date when I got my tickets. A quick look on my Delta showed there weren’t any seats left on the fight I wanted back to Atlanta. I decided to call Delta to see what was possible. I got a nice representative who got me a seat in first class on the flight, I wanted, back to Atlanta – crisis averted.

Sela usually gets up around 8AM but on Wednesday she had some workers coming at 7AM to remove an old water heater so she set her alarm for just before 7AM. We had a steel cut oats and blueberry bake that Sela made and coffee for breakfast. The workers were on time and had the water removed very quickly so we were able start our adventurous day around 9AM. We decided to drive the short distance to the Columbia Gorge for some hiking. I quickly found out however, no hiking trip was complete unless you stopped at Pips for some tiny donuts before you start out. Pips, is a cute donut shop that makes, small tiny donuts to order. They also have many different types of home-made Chai. It was interesting to see the being made and coming off the conveyor belt. We ordered our chai and half a dozen donuts and where on our way to the Gorge.

Our first stop was at Latourell Falls where we found a picnic table and ate our donuts before embarking on a 3 mile hike around the falls. We then proceeded further into the gorge to breath taking Multnomah Falls. It was getting pretty late after getting to the Multnomah Falls and we had to get back to shop for dinner, with Karen and Barry, so we didn’t stay long. We had decided to cook fish skewers on the grill so we went to Sela’s favorite fish market the Flying Fish and got some fresh tuna. Hanging around the kitchen talking and cooking with Karen, Barry, Sela and Ellen was a lot of fun that night – much more so than going to a restaurant. Pear tart was prepared for dessert and that’s another story.

Day 2 – Thursday, September 6th
We had decided to pack a picnic lunch and meet Karen and Barry up at Timberline Lodge on Thursday morning. Our timing with Karen and Barry was perfect because we both got up there at the same time, just before 11AM. A guided tour of the lodge started a 11AM so we all decided to take it. After the very informative tour we decided to have a coffee and snack in the lodge café. Just as we were finishing at the café Bruno the iconic St Bernard lodge mascot was seen outside so, we all rushed out for a photo. After Bruno, Sela and I embarked on a, close to 4 mile hike up around Silcox Hut. Karen and Barry had to get there rental car back so they only went a short way with us. Sela and I had part of our lunch on a picnic outside on the lodge around 5PM.

After leaving the around 6PM we drove, about an hour, to the Ferment Brewing Company for a beer and something small to eat that we could share – we got smoked salmon dip and spinach beet salad. We got home around 9PM and we were both pretty exhausted.

Day 3 – Friday, September 7th
Lets head to the coast! Friday morning we were having our coffee and trying to decide where we wanted to go and hike today – Mount St Helens or go to the coast both were about a 90 minute drive. We decided to go the coast and hike in the Cascade Head Preserve and then go to the Sitka Sedge State Natural Area. But, before we could start our trip we stopped at Sela’s favorite coffee shop. Extracto where I met the owner and got a tour of his roasting room and saw his 1953 roasting machine. The drive down to the coast was beautiful – lots of farms and vineyards. In between the two hikes we spent abut 25 minutes charging the car. We finished hiking in the incredibly beautifully Sitka Sedge around 7PM and then drove the short distance to The Pelican Pub and Brewery where each had a cup of of clam chowder and salad and we split a tuna poke appetizer. Then, we drove the 2 hours home and with traffic arrived around 10PM.

Day 4 – Saturday, September 8th
Easy, not much driving, rest day! We started a day with a visit to the Tabor bakery for a morning indulgent. Then we proceeded to main Portland Farmers Market downtown and OMG there were so many vendors with so many different products; breads, cheeses, fish, veggies, fruit, jams, grains etc….. After the farmer’s market we went down to the river where there were food trucks and a smaller market. We had lunch and beer here then walked down to see part of the dragoon boat races. After lunch