July 1--The cry of the nocturnal groat cluster

[zyzyly]

I got back from Portland on Thursday night. It was a nice little trip, and we learned some stuff we can use down the line. Thursday's session was kind of boring--how to use CSV files, and we skipped out an hour early so we could drive out to McMenamins Edgefield to have some lunch before heading to the airport for our flights.



McMenamins used to be the poor farm, and now it is a hotel/gardens/concert place. I love coming here whenever I am in the Portland area. The Mcmenamins people have places all over the Pacific Northwest now. They restore historic properties and turn them into places where you can eat, drink, sleep, and explore. They make their own wine and brew their own beer.

We had lunch, sans beer and wine, and walked around the gardens.



They have a big garden where they grow a lot of what they serve.



The inside of the main building is decorated with all sorts of whimsical artwork. Each hotel room door has some sort of something painted on it. Black rabbits are a recurring theme, and there is a Black Rabbit bar in one of the buildings.



The Grateful Dead is another theme, and there is a sculpture of Jerry Garcia in the gardens. I first came here back in 2005, at the very start of my Ghost Journey across Canada and the US. I stayed with some friends of my first wife for a few days, and they brought me out to McMenamins on the night before I left. We stumbled around in the dark looking for the Jerry Garcia sculpture, and eventually found it.

My traveling companions dropped me off at the airport and I caught my flight home. Malida picked me up, and it was, as always, good to be home again. The next morning I had to get up early and do a skills lab for my new summer group. There are only 10 of them, so it was manageable. They asked a lot of questions about how the semester will go. I have a lot of questions too. I have two more days to pull it all together before I start my vacation time on the 4th. We leave for Thailand on the 6th.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday getting stuff ready for the trip. I typed out our itinerary and printed up all our reservation documents. Most of the stuff is on apps now, but I still like to have a piece of paper, just in case. My camera stuff is all packed up in my travel camera bag. It weighs exactly 7.5 kg, which is the max for carry-on luggage. I have a smaller bag with my headphones, book, etc. I'll pack my clothes and stuff on Thursday. I always do that last.

I need to do some sprinkler repair before we leave. It was 103 yesterday, so I deferred until this morning when it is cooler. The vegetable garden continues to amaze. It will likely be an overgrown mess by the time we get back.

Comments

[randomdreams]

I wonder if the black rabbit is a reference to Watership Down: I've noticed a correlation between watership down fans and deadheads.

[zyzyly]

I don't know--now I am curious about it.

[wantedonvoyage]

I love McMenamin's. We went to a few of them when I was in Portland and Seattle a few years ago.

[zyzyly]

They have places all over. I have always wanted to go to the Kennedy School, but never have.

[wantedonvoyage]

I believe that's one we hit. It's in NE Portland and they were showing Sixteen Candles in the auditorium.

[gurdonark]

that's cool that you typed the itinerary

that garden looks great

[zyzyly]

I'll put the typed itinerary in our bags in case they get lost. One of my favorite things to do when planning a trip is to write out a list of the days we will be traveling, and then filling in the blanks to where we will be.

[elainetyger]

If you ever feel like posting it, I would love to see the itinerary. I used to do them all the time when I'd travel with my family, sometimes buying both Fodor's and Frommer's guides to read in the months beforehand, and then rearranging my handwritten notes and then typing it. It's harder to find printed guides now, especially any with self-guided walking tours.

[zyzyly]

Here it is! Malida's family lives in Ubon, where we will spend most of our time. We will take some short trips from there during our time. Pakse and Don Det are across the border in Laos, and we will spend three or four days traveling there with her cousin and family, who are visiting from Germany.

I keep travel notebooks with notes about places we go and where we stay, people we meet, etc.

[elainetyger]

I guess when you are traveling for that long, you keep it simple. So many places! This year, almost everything is in Google calendar on my phone. Here is my last typed itinerary, last year's Xmas walk [we ended up stopping at Bloomie's and not continuing to Grand Central]:

8:30am: Paris Cafe, 6 W32 (5/6)
34th/Broadway Macy*s
38th/5th Lord &Taylor
42nd/5th --> 6th Ave Bryant Park
43rd/Broadway (Times Sq Urban Space)Gingerbread Village
50th /6th --> 5th Ave RockCenter/Lego World/Anthropologie
5th/50th Saks 5th Avenue
5th/55th Henri Bendel
LUNCH BREAK HERE – Pazza Notte (6/56) or Rue 57 (6/57)
20 W 57 Mackenzie Childs
5th/57th Tiffany’s
5th/57 --> 58 Bergdorf Goodman – 2 sides of the street
Mad/61 Barney’s
Lex/59 Bloomingdale’s
Lex/42 Grand Central -- Holiday Market, NYTransit Museum Holiday Train Show