We had a good night at the casino. We slept well, and didn’t lose any money (didn’t gamble). The morning is bright and sunny, and we are scheduled to meet Georgine at Taylor Station (restaurant) at 9. With the normal efficiency we manage to get there almost on time.
Breakfast with Georgine was great. First of all the food was really good – I had a great hamsteak. But seeing Georgine was wonderful. I’m not going to get into all the nuance – Bernard was a person I loved and admired, and he influenced me in many ways, both personally and professionally. We engineered together, sailed together, drank together. He is one of the best engineers I have worked with, and his degree – from Georgia Tech – was in Mechanical Engineering! We spent some time together in Melbourne for a very few years, around 1972-76, and saw each other just a few times after that.
Georgine and Sally-Heath have a close common bond. They both married engineers. I believe that creates a mutual bond that is very strong. At breakfast we talked mainly about family. Georgine has 4 children and is a great grandmother(!) so there was a lot to talk about and catch up on. The bottom line, though, is that both families are doing well. After breakfast we went to the house, which is everything one might expect. It has a fantastic view of Puget Sound and of Mt. Rainier (when not covered in cloud). The yard is lovely, with all kinds of flowers and shrubs. And the house is open and bright, and just feels very comfortable. We looked at pictures of the renovation Glenn has done to the Melbourne house – what a job! And it looks great. We got the tour of the house. The family room, with all the family pictures, was especially interesting to me.
The three hours we had (Georgine had a dentist appointment an hour and a half away!) seemed to fly by, and I found it hard to just take off. But that’s what we had to do.
We made a brief stop just down the road at a Museum – but it was brief because there were no displays to be seen. Then we went back to the casino, not to gamble, but to check out an Indigenous Art collection. Sally-Heath came out with a nice drawing by Bear, and she had met him – he works at the casino! From there it is down the road to Portland.
Nothing very exciting happened on the road to Portland. We intended to switch driving assignments, but didn’t because before we knew it we were very close. There was a lot of road construction along the way. Once we were in striking distance we were challenged to make several correct turns, but it turns out that with Donna’s directions we were able to drive straight to her place.
We got to Donna’s and just sat and talked for a while, catching up on this and that. I confess that I drifted off with the boys – there were 10 feet flat out on the floor. Donna has a very nice place, and actually I’d have to say that anyplace that Donna lives is going to be nice, because she decorates with her artwork and other very interesting art. It is just great seeing her again – it has been quite a while since she moved from Phoenix to Portland. She is a fun person to be around.
Dog Park Time – there is a Dog Park just a mile from Donna’s – so it’s off to the park, and I watch the boys while Sally-Heath and Donna do some food shopping. There were a lot of dogs in the reasonable size park, and this time there was no trouble. Back at the house we have an appetizer before taking off for dinner.
Dinner was in Beaverton , it was Italian, and it was excellent. We each ordered a different entre, and shared. They were all great. We had a nice meal, a lot of conversation. There was some interesting wall decoration and I hope my pictures show what it was like. We are in two cars – Donna and Sally-Heath in Donna’s car, and the boys and me in our car. I’m following Donna. We almost got separated by a traffic signal on the way home, but luckily (and with great driving skill) we managed to pull back together.
We’re home now, and it’s time for bed. We’re going to move again tomorrow! Goodnight!
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