Veronica, Portland, & Fourty ...

This year, a few of us turn 40. It is pretty exciting. I am not afraid of turning 40. It means new and exciting aspects of life. There are things that I thought would have happened by now, but that won't hold me back from trying to experience other things.

This year, my friend (Veronica) decided to celebrate her birthday in Portland. So, she bought a ticket and started planning visits to friends and to different Portland locations. I told her that Seattle was only about 2.5 - 3 hours North ... we decided that I would drive down and we'd have a car. What fun!

I was traveling during the week for work and coming home late on Friday from meetings in Denver. I was able to turn around and get on the road to get down to Portland on Friday night. It had been a busy week (I took on extra meetings and visits to cover for my co-worker who had a family death). I figured out that I got an average of 2 hours of sleep per night. I visited 8 different States during the week. So, I was tired when I rolled into PDX. But, that aside, we didn't slow down once!

We were able to visit with a friend of V's from HS. She hadn't seen her since then, either. She has 2 fun daughters and was a delight! We met her at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Crazy! It is right downtown off of the River. Fun stuff and what a day for people watching! We had breakfast with an old co-worker of ours (LaNae). We ate at the Stepping Stone Cafe (Man vs. Food). The "Man"cakes were HUGE!

We decided to head up the Columbia River to a Gorge. We went to Multnomah Falls and hiked to the top. BEAUTY! It was a beautiful day with only a light sprinkle to cool us down. It got the hiking fever back into both of us. I hope to get a lot of hiking done this year! We went back and capped it off with a night of Sushi for dinner. Yum!

Sunday was fun as we went to a local church meeting. The speakers were Samoan & Tongan. Neat experiences. We then went out to the beaches at Cannon Beach. The weather couldn't have been any better. It was still April, but WOW! Sunny and clear. The water was cold and refreshing (we only walked in it ... we're not that crazy!). We ended up walking for several miles down the beach and back. We were sad to leave.

Monday was spent in Portland. We had breakfast with one of Veronica's friend's step Mom. She was an intelligent and engaging person. It was neat to meet her and have breakfast. The place we wanted to go was closed, so we went to Beaterville. It was a nice place. She even got Green Eggs (no ham). Yum! We then went downtown for more Sushi and Voo Doo Donuts (Man vs. Food, again). Good Things come in Pink Boxes. We spent time at the Japanese Gardens ... serene and peaceful in downtown Portland.  We made a quick trip down to Crate & Barrel for Veronica (passing the Portland Temple) and up back to the airport. For me ... back home again to a busy week.  Thank you, Veronica, for having a birthday. Thank you, V, for inviting me to enjoy the weekend with you. I had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it. Hey ... 40 is the new something. Let's enjoy!