Portland

April 27th

After a month in Sebastopol, we are on the road again. We left this afternoon after Kathleen got home from work. It feels good to be out again. We drove to Yreka tonight, and are staying at the Rain Rock Casino. The Casino has an entire parking lot for RVs, and it’s free.

April 28th

We were anxious to see Megan and Bridget, so we woke up early and started driving. The instant we crossed the Oregon border, it started raining, and did not stop all day. Gas is $1 cheaper in Oregon, which helps. We arrived at Reeder Beach RV Park at around 4:30, and Melinda and Tim were already there. Our Campsite is amazing. We are backed right up to the Columbia River, and there are a pair of Ospreys nesting on a post in the river behind us. Megan came out and met us as soon as we arrived, and we all had dinner together.

April 29th

After Breakfast, all of us (Tim, Melinda, Mia, Kathleen and I) got into the truck and went to see Megan’s apartment. She is living in the St. John’s neighborhood of Portland, a few miles from campus. We finally got to meet her roommate Peggy. She is very nice. We gathered Megan, and went to lunch at McMenamins Pub. After lunch, we drove into Portland and visited Powell’s book store. It is one of the largest independent book stores in the US. The store takes up an entire city block, and is so large that you can get lost in it. We had dinner back at the campground, and Megan’s boyfriend Noah joined us. He’s a nice young man, and he played cards with us late into the night, before going home. Megan and Kathleen drove to the airport to pick up Bridget at midnight, because her flight was delayed two hours.

April 30th

We didn’t get much sleep last night, because Megan, Kathleen and Bridget didn’t get home until after 2am, and we stayed up talking until after 3am. Megan and Bridget drove back to the airport this morning to pick up their friend Charlie. Kathleen and I took a nap this afternoon, then everyone came back in the evening for dinner. Our neighbor at the campground, had a daughter graduating from the University of Portland nursing school today. They had a big party at their campsite this evening.

April 1st

Graduation Day!!! We all met at the University of Portland Campus, for the graduation ceremony. Tim, Melinda, Charlie, Noah, Peggy, Kathleen, Mia and I sat on the most uncomfortable bench seats in the stadium for the ceremony. One of the highlights of the ceremony was the Commencement Speech. It was given by the Big Bang Theory actor, and UP alumni, Kunal Nayyar. It was a funny and inspiring speech that received a standing ovation from the entire stadium. Megan received her diploma, and looked beautiful in the process. After the ceremony, everyone came back to the campground, were we a had a party with pizza, champagne, and chocolate cake. The party lasted until 9pm.