…and my husband knows this.  So yesterday afternoon he surprised me by looking me in the eye and saying, “happy anniversary.”  Our anniversary was six weeks ago, but we were flying from Denver to Orlando that day, arms full of bags and toddler, weary-eyed from a long day of flying.  Not so romantic.  So we made a plan to celebrate our anniversary sometime while we were in Oregon, and that he was in charge of the details.  I wouldn’t need to worry about the where or the when.  So that was that.

And so yesterday when he said that, I knew that it must be our Day of Anniversary Celebrating.  We were actually leaving from a kid’s club in a tiny town outside Eugene, where we were the “special guests.”  Instead of driving back into town, we headed north on I-5, where we landed in Portland (where he knew I’ve been wanting to go), to a hotel that I’ve ALWAYS wanted to stay.  Jodi has told me about it several times, and it just sounded so great.  And so far, it is – that’s where I’m writing this.

We are at a place called Kennedy School, an 1915 elementary school-turned hotel owned by McMenamin’s, who has fabulous hotels, restaurants, and bars all over the Pacific Northwest area.  You really should just check out the links, because I can’t do justice to the photos of the place.  We’re staying in the “art room,” complete with original wall-sized chalkboard.  There’s a Detention Bar (smoking), an Honors Bar (no smoking), a great restaurant that was formerly the cafeteria, a library, a brewery (formerly the little girls restroom), and a movie theater that used to be the auditorium.  Movies are included in the price of your stay, so last night we saw “Little Miss Sunshine,” which was much better than I expected (still a bit crass, though).  It was fun to relax on a sofa with Kabob, cup of coffee in hand, and watch a big-screen movie.  AND it was at 10:20 p.m., with no child needing me!  AND we slept in until 9 a.m.  I know!  Who does that anymore?  Big props to Mimi and Papa, who are graciously watching Chickpea – though honestly, I don’t think Kabob had to twist their arms to get them to volunteer.

So yeah…  It’s our last week up here in Oregon, and I think this overnighter was a great way to celebrate the dawning end of our travels.  It’s been such a fabulous time of meeting new people, reuniting with old friends, and gleaning so much wisdom from people who’ve already walked this road.  But we’re pretty travel weary, and we’re looking forward to being in a home of our own again, focusing on the daily tasks at hand.  That won’t be for another few months, but that’s okay…  We’re thankful for the journey we’re on.

Off to enjoy Portland!

posted: 06 December 14
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