Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 21:30:24 -0700

Subject: Postcard from Portland

Dear Family and Friends,

Belated Labor Day greetings! This month's Postcard from Portland was
delayed due to a visit from friends and a trip to the dentist - but I
get ahead of myself.

Last month's PfP detailed the wonderful visit we enjoyed from Liz's
parents. August was the Herring/Woldoff/Pregel's turn to call. It was
their first chance to visit since we moved to Portland in July of '95.
My Mom flew in on Thursday (8/8) before the rest of the clan arrived.
Her plane was delayed for an hour, so we had plenty of time to talk on
the way home since the holdup put us into rush hour traffic. Traffic was
worse than usual due to an accident which closed the Marquam bridge. We
had to detour north to the Fremont bridge to get across the Willamette
before we could head south again. Liz was waiting to greet us when we
finally arrived. We had originally planned to go to Mongolian BBQ for
dinner since that type of restaurant is one of my Mom's favorites. We
always took her to the one in Orange County whenever she came to visit
us before we hit the Orygun Trail. But the dog days of summer, which
'graced' us during Liz's parents visit, saw fit to stage a repeat for my
Mom's arrival. So we opted to eat at Stanford's, where we found
salubrious salad in air-conditioned environs.

Mother and I spent the following day in Babe exploring Portland and
inspecting houses that Liz and I have seen which fall in our price
range. I also stopped into the office and introduced her to my
associates at ADP. She was delighted that they had enjoyed the goodies
she's baked for and sent to me that I've (sparingly :-) shared with
them.

Missy (my niece) and Richard (her husband) had originally been due to
arrive late Friday. Fortunately, their flight was cancelled and they
were able to take an earlier plane and arrive in time for dinner. We all
went to Tara Thai II and had an absolutely wonderful meal. Saturday
morning the five of us left word for Shelly and Mitch at the Hospitality
Inn (where the 'clan' minus my Mom were staying) that we were going to
Bon Martin in Lake Oswego for breakfast. They were coming in from the
Oregon Coast where they had been enjoying golf, wine tasting and
sightseeing. We just missed them, but they were able to find the
restaurant and join us at breakfast. The Bon Martin serves up
incomparable home cookin' - especially the homemade berry muffins. After
breakfast Mitch followed me to the Portland airport so that he could
drop off his rented car and then we rejoined the rest of the clan. We
spent the day giving them an auto tour of Portland. After cruising
downtown we doubled back on Terwilliger Boulevard, passed the lilac
gardens at Duniway Park and admired the view of Portland, the river and
the mountains from George Hines Park. They were amazed how quickly one
can transit from skyscrapers to conifers. Even though Missy and Richard
have just purchased a home, they still love looking at houses for sale.
So we went back to Tigard and showed everyone the house Liz and I like
the best of all we've seen. Then we tooled around Lake Oswego to see how
the other half lives. The houses on Wall St. (aptly named) are not to be
believed. Huge brick mansions with a commanding view of the lake *and*
Mount Hood. If only Ed McMahon would pay us a call :-) After returning
home and freshening up, we headed back to Portland for dinner. Rather
than make reservations at Jakes, we decided instead to enjoy the food
and view at Newport Bay - which floats on a dock on the Willamette. They
have a diverse selection of seafood, ranging from the razor clams which
my mother ordered to the salmon and other deep-sea treats the rest of us
picked from the extensive menu.

The following day (Sunday) started with a simple cereal breakfast at
Chez Herring so that we could get an early start on the day. We briefly
visited the Saturday Market. Shelly had read that it featured handmade
crafts by local artists. The reality is that it's a freak show populated
by drum and hackysack playing long-haired youth with tattoos and pierced
body parts - more of a journey back into the 60's. It was not their cup
of tea and we didn't stay long. From there we headed out to the Columbia
River Gorge. Unfortunately, there was no wind and thus no windsurfers -
and the view was partially obscured by gray clouds which threatened
showers. Nonetheless, we enjoyed what vistas there were as well as the
many waterfalls. With seven diverse palates to please, we passed on the
brunch at the Inn at Multnomah Falls and instead headed back to
Stanfords for lunch. We spent the balance of the afternoon catching up
on family news and resting before dinner. And what a dinner it was!
Angelo and Roses makes quite a feast. We started out with an appetizer
of pizza and graduated to gnocchi, spaghetti & meatballs, eggplant
Parmesan, you name it! We ended up taking home half of what we ordered.
The restaurant is a family operation and the sensation is that of being
invited over to Sunday dinner at your Italian Uncle's house (which is
something that was not exactly part of my Jewish upbringing - except
that the two cultures actually do have much in common, like overeating
:-).

The weekend ended all too quickly (don't they always?) and the clan
struck out for the next leg of their vacation (Seattle and Vancouver,
BC) early the next morning. We wish we could have showed them more of
the area - we barely scratched the surface. Hopefully it won't be too
long before they return.

Liz and I spent most of the following weekend just relaxing and enjoying
each others company. The one activity we did venture out for was to tour
the houses that comprise the Street of Dreams. This is a yearly feature
in Portland which showcases the finest home construction and
furnishings. At least, that's the intent. Liz and I went last year as
well and were somewhat disappointed by this year's offerings. The
location was nice - off of Skyline Blvd. in the Sylvan Highlands area
just west of Portland. The houses all had incredible west facing vistas.
But the floor plans were not at all to our liking (as if we could afford
any of them in the first place). The rooms were small and most did not
have the open feeling the previous year's houses did. In one house the
owners had let their children determine what color their bedrooms would
be painted. The little girl opted for pink - bubblegum pink. Yeow! In
another house there were numerous portraits (oil painted photographs) of
the owners and their children. I commented to Liz that their son looked
like a total geek. Soon after that I noticed a woman plumping pillows
who bore a striking resemblance to the wife in the portraits. And sure
enough, when we got to the kitchen, the 'man of the house' was there! I
hope they hadn't overheard my comments about their son!

Robert and Deirdre (two of our many cherished friends from S. Cal.) came
to visit for the Labor Day weekend. Liz and I had an absolute blast
showing them around Portland. We took them to dinner at (where else?)
Stanfords Friday night after they arrived and were joined by John
Lambert. Almost like old times at Hoagies! On Saturday, we started with
a brisk walk around the neighborhood for exercise and a light cereal
breakfast. We then did all the mandatory stuff - an auto tour of George
Hines park featuring the spectacular views from Terwilliger Blvd.,
parked in Portland and walked around town, including Pioneer Square, the
Saturday Market (which they thoroughly enjoyed), a stroll through
Waterfront Park and a visit to the many shops at the Marquam Bridge end
of the park. By then we were bushed and headed home to rest before
returning to town for a fantastic feast of seafood at Jakes. What a
meal! Thanks again for treating us to dinner, Robert & Deirdre!! Before
heading back home we spent an hour or so at Powell's Books. Robert and
Deirdre were blown away by its size - in fact we lost Robert for a
while!

On Sunday we managed to find room to stuff ourselves again with a feast
at O'Conners. Then we headed out to the gorge (a name with which we
could identify :-). This time, we went past Multnomah Falls to the
Bridge of the Gods, crossed the Columbia River into Washington, and
headed west past the Bonneville Dam to Beacon Rock. This is a basalt
column which rises 850 ft. above the Columbia. It's actually a 600 foot
vertical rise along a trail which is slightly under a mile. The trail
was built between 1915 and 1918 and is made safe with catwalks and guard
rails. There are around 40 switchbacks. It's never really steep and is
easily negotiated in tennis shoes. You do, however, get a good workout
before reaching the top where you're rewarded with the best view the
gorge has to offer. Fantastic!

We headed home totally exhausted. Liz fixed us all a yummie supper of
salad with sauteed turkey strips. On Monday we slept in - it was, after
all, a day which should be a respite from labor. After a slow start, we
headed to the quaint shops and old houses in the section of Portland
around NW 23rd Avenue. A bit more upscale than Saturday Market, but
inhabited by characters who are just as interesting. Their flight out
was at 5pm, which left enough time to stop at the Portland Brewing
Company and sample several varieties of ale and enjoy an order of
rosemary & garlic fries (to die for!) and sausage (I opted for turkey).
John was supposed to meet us there, but was a no show - bummer :-( After
Robert and Deirdre loaded up on souvenirs (shirts & beer glasses) we
sadly left for the airport. Before wishing them adieu, we joined them in
the airport for some last minute gift shopping at the "Made in Oregon"
store located in the airport's shopping mall. Liz and I took the
opportunity to secretly stash some of Jake's famous chocolate truffle
cake into their backpack :-) We also picked up some for ourselves :-)
:-)

I mentioned at the beginning of this PfP that it is late getting out due
to some dental distress. I'd rather keep this letter upbeat than use it
to kvetch, so suffice it to say it was a root canal w/bone graft and
that I'm doing okay. I was out from work for two days and have been
eating soft food. I went in today for a followup look-see, and things
are progressing normally. But full recovery will take another six weeks.
In the meantime, I'm growing a goatee rather than shave the area that's
sensitive. Liz likes it, so I may keep it!

Upcoming plans for this month include celebration of our 2nd wedding
anniversary! We'll be going to the Inn of the White Salmon, an intimate
B&B in the Columbia River Gorge. It's a place I found while surfing the
web and it looks terrific. We'll tell you all about it in the next PfP.
We are also going to be spending a lot of time looking at houses. We're
both very excited about the prospect of owning our own place and anxious
to get this ball rolling.

Some of you have asked how I'm doing in the weight department with all
the feasting I've detailed. I've gained around 15 pounds since moving to
Portland. Liz is still as trim as ever. I've renewed my commitment to
exercising and am now getting at least a half hour workout (power
walking) a minimum of 4 times a week. It'll take a few months to shed
the extra baggage - but I WILL DO IT!

To those of you who are Jewish we'd like to extend our best wishes for a
healthy and happy New Year - and to those who are not, we wish you the
same even though your calendar shows nothing special :-)


we love you all,
Sandy & Liz
-- 
Sandy & Liz Herring                permanent address: sherring@ACM.org
Portland, Oregon                   provider du jour : shh@teleport.com
Peck of Pickled Pisces ........... http://www.teleport.com/~shh/

                And that's the news from Lake Oswego,
           where the women are strong, the men good looking
               and all the children are above average.

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