Mel and I went to Portland for the weekend. On Saturday we zipped up I-5, dropped off our stuff at the hotel in Lake Oswego, and then headed for "Downtown" to watch the Rose Festival Starlight Parade. After a minor detour—O.K., I was looking at the Willamete River instead of giving Mel directions—we arrived in the Pearl District and found a Transit Mall map for downtown. We were only about 15 blocks from where we wanted to be to watch the parade.
So, back in the van and about 13 blocks later the perfect parking space was available. Maximum meter time was 90 minutes, but with a Disabled Parking placard you can park anywhere and pay nothing. Like I'm fond of saying, "Membership has it privleges." A mere one and a half blocks down Morrison street and we were on the parade route.
The parade was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. and we were there at 5:30. Three hours…seems like more than enough time to find a great spot. Not! As far as we could see up and down the street the curb was lined with chairs and blankets. Ahh, but wait, there was a temporary police barricade set up right at the corner and apparently everyone assumed that meant no sitting, etc. Being the brave type I tapped a transit mall security officer on the shoulder and with my best poor little quadriplegic look asked if we could park behind the "fence." He said, "Help yourselves." It turned out perfect. The rain held off and we enjoyed watching the lighted "floats" (actually trailers pulled by trucks), the cheesy groups (like the 35 or so people dressed in Star Wars costumes with a banner that read something like "55th Galactic Warriors Brigade") and the marching bands. I caught myself counting the sousaphones in each band. (I played sousaphone in marching band from 5th grade through High School.) The largest high school band had 180 band members, plus a big drill team and a big flag team. And 8 sousaphones. I was impressed. And all the sousaphone players are sweating 'cause lugging a huge brass horn and playing it takes some work.
The parade wrapped up at 11:00 pm and we headed back to Lake O. to our room. It's the first parade I have watched in person since‚—man, how long has it been? I had a great time with my sweetheart.
Sunday was a "high pain day" so I was on the rack. Fell asleep at 2 and woke up at 3 p.m. with no pain. So, we connected with our friends Fred and Erica and went to their church's evening service. It's the same as their morning service. Had a great time worshipping God and hearing from His word.
Monday . . . woke up with zero pain so we hit the ground running (or rolling in my case). Met my mom and Jerome at Olive Garden for lunch. Soup, salad and bread sticks. Mmmmmmmm! Yeah, they have lots of stuff on their menu, but that's one of my favorites.
Got home in plenty of time to meet up with my good friend Nate. He and I were headed for our regular Monday evening dinner when he noticed the van wasn't running right. Now mind you he's a former Air Force F-16 mechanic so he knew the transmission wasn't working right before the "Check Engine" light came on. First gear is all it's gonna use. We turned around, came home and parked it. I guess Mexican food will have to wait for another night.
There you have it! The adventures of Jack and Mel in the big city. Plus the tale of the failing transmission. Praise God it waited 'til we got home from Portland!
2 comments:
Wow, Jack you beat everyone with the longest entry! Good story, glad you liked the parade. We went dancing instead of the parade.
So glad you and Mel were able to have a fun getaway before the van broke down. Glad to know it's fixed now! Ummm...one correction though. Being the airplane expert I am, let me clarify...Nate was actually a F-16 mechanic. What's the diff between F-15 and an F-16? I couldn't tell ya of course but as his wife, I know I'm supposed to know that(Quentin worked on F-15's).
Post a Comment