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

Chicago was the first leg of our California Zephyr trip. Robin and I met at the Atlanta airport on Friday July 7th for a 2:30 flight to Chicago. It was a fairly short flight and we flew first class so we could have a little more leg room.

All I could think about after getting to the Chicago airport was where the nearest bathroom was, but it took Robin about 20 seconds to see the Lego vending machine. It was hard, but I did convince to use the restroom first.

After checking into our room at the Hampton Inn in downtown Chicago we took Uber to Gino’s Italian restaurant for their, must have, deep dish pizza. It was a beautiful evening, low 70’s, and we got a table outside along the sidewalk. It was fun talking and just watching all the different people walking by. Our server recommended an appetizer since the deep dish takes 40 minutes – so we did. Thirty minutes later our server comes up and says the kitchen lost our appetizer order and that she was rushing it through. Ten minutes later when she brings our appetizer she informs us, that she forgot to enter our pizza order and she was rushing it. Our server was upset with herself she comped our entire meal, which was nice but Robin and I didn’t care because we sipping a beer enjoying ourselves.

Saturday morning in Chicago was cool and overcast – with rain predicted. We decided to go to the Field Museum of Natural History and what a treat. We spent a little over 6 hours at the museum and saw these exhibits – Evolving Planet, Dinosaurs, Sue the T. Rex, Fossil Prep Lab, Meteorites, Gems, and Geology.

We also saw a special exhibit on life’s greatest mystery: Death. The ways that we experience death, celebrate life, and wonder about what’s next are part of what makes us human— yet it’s also a subject we often push aside. At the Field Museum’s newest exhibition, you can explore perspectives on death and life through culture, science, and art.

Before heading over to the Union Station on Sunday we made a short visit to Millennium Park. Millennium Park is a 24.5 acre public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago near the Lake Michigan shoreline. The park opened in 2004 intended to celebrate the third millennium and features a variety of public art.

It was January pf 2023 when I decided I wanted to take a train adventure and started to do some research. Robin had traveled on the western section of the California Zephyr and suggested that might be a good trip – Chicago to Emeryville, CA. After doing my research I bought my ticket on a sleeper car in February – departure date of July 9th. Shortly after buying my ticket Robin said he wanted to go and then, of course, Greta didn’t want to be left out so she hopped on the train when we pulled into the Denver station on Monday morning. Many life things happened from February, when I bought the ticket to July. Robin started a new job with the National Park Service in Macon, GA, bought a house, sold a house and moved – all in May to July 7. Greta spent an epic two weeks in France and got home just a before the train rolled into Denver. This wonderful trip had three distinct parts; Chicago, Amtrak and Camel Valley and it was so much fun spending time with Robin and Greta.

Sunday morning, just before noon is when Robin and I decided to head down to Union Station in Chicago for our 2PM departure on the California Zephyr train to Emeryville CA, just out side San Francisco. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks away, but we wanted extra time to see the fabulous Union Station.

The present Chicago Union Station opened in 1925, replacing an earlier union station built in 1881. The station is the fourth-busiest in the United States, after the Pennsylvania, Grand Central Terminal and Jamaica station in New York City, and the busiest outside the Northeast Corridor. It handles about 140,000 passengers on an average weekday, including 10,000 Amtrak passengers.

The Amtrak person at the check-in station recommend checking one or both of our bags because the roomettes were small and our wouldn’t fit. She said there was a small luggage hold area in each car, but it tended to get full quickly. We decided to pull a few items from my bag, put them in Robin’s bag and check mine. Amtrak had a very nice lounge where we could store our luggage and enjoy some snacks and drinks while we waited for the train.

Our roomette was on the upper level, which in my opinion offered better views. The stairs were very narrow and steep. The dining car and observation car were both located on the upper level. Each car had a bathroom located on the upper level but, the showers were on the lower level.

Sleeping was a little tight in the roomette for two adults – there wasn’t enough to sit upright on the top bunk, which made it feel a little claustrophobic.

A few images as we followed the Colorado river.