If You’re Going

If you’re going to Portland (Oregon), I suggest the following things:

 

• Visit an old friend, one you haven’t seen on, oh, eight years or so.  Pick up your verbose relationship right where you left off, to the detriment of a good night’s sleep (even if this is the first overnight trip you’ve taken since the birth of your youngest child and a full night’s sleep was part of the attraction of leaving in the first place), but with perhaps a touch more depth than before.  You are, after all, much older now and with more varied life experience.
• Make sure that said friend is the type who will make you feel uncommonly welcome.  Examples of how to do so: bake special cookies for you; open lovely bottles of wine to share; purchase gifty things from beauty stores for you.
• Spend time in the following places because they are delicious and/or beautiful and/or really interesting and/or great places to facilitate nonstop conversation: Cadillac Cafe, The Chinese Garden, Petisco.
• Remember to get one photo to memorialize the weekend because you knew you’d be angry with yourself if you didn’t.

 

 

What?  What?  There are other things to do in Portland?  I do not believe you.