Category: Vacation

Portland with Sophie and Lance

Eileen, Madeline and I visited Portland for the very first time.  My old buddies Sophie and Lance, previously of Tucson AZ, had relocated.  It was summer, the weather way idyllic, Portland was georgeous and ragingly hip.

Sophie and Lance lived in this amazing house out in the farmlands south of the metro area, up high on a hill, huge huge windows, many many acres, a fabulous view. Lance was more a farmer than anything else.  They complained about the demands of the property.  Uh, guys . . . you need three full time gardeners for a place like this.

Upon returning home,  and as usual after a strong vacation, we immediately began making plans to move there. Sometimes I still think it’s not a half bad idea.

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Dave and Nancy’s 50th, at the Gunflint lodge

We had a pro photographer come take group pictures.  These are my outtakes. Dave and Nancy, Paula and Jeremy, Tim, Eileen, and Madeline in attendance.

Madeline was about six months old.  We schlept 100 pounds of baby gear through the Minneapolis airport on a 99F day to our rental car, then drove north for 4-5 hours to the Gunflint lodge.

I remember that Pops had paid for the Platinum meal plan at the lodge’s 4 star restaurant.  Giant breakfasts, “a little lunch” in our cabin, a five course meal every night.  There was little to be done towards burning away the 7,000 calories we were packing in every day.   I gained 10 pounds.  Great time all the way around tho.

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We stopped in at Silver Bay on the way home to visit Uncle Ed.  Here’s a few random shots.

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Snowmass, Crested Butte, Teluride

Around Labor Day 1991 we signed up for a big tennis tourney in Snowmass.  We’d already played an Aspen tourney a year ago this time of year, we knew it was a great time.  Being poor and cheap by nature, we camped in the back of our dinky little Toyota, down by the river.  The river in this case was Woody Creek.

After the tourney, we drove back to Carbondale, the headed south across Scofield Pass, then to Kebler Pass, and on in to Crested Butte, camping out of our truck along the way.

At some point, coming or going, we drove by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an amazingly deep valley carved by the Gunnison River.

Finally, we spent a very short time in Teluride.  The weather turned wet and cold.  Cheap or not, we checked into a condo to warm up.

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Orr and Pelican Lake

This was my first time up there.  Probably not for Eileen.

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