Portland!

Portland, Ore., is beautiful and unbelievably green. And it was SO nice to be there in late June, when its temperatures were in the 70s and 80s -- and St. Louis was in the mid-90s! Even with a light jacket, I was actually cold a couple of times!

And poor us -- when we arrived at the deluxe hotel in late afternoon, the only room they had left was the PRESIDENTIAL SUITE! Even though we only had it for one night (they moved us to a regular room the next afternoon), it was pretty sweet (suite) all right -- two bathrooms (one with a jacuzzi), two balconies, two flat-screen TVs, a living room with a dining table and wet bar. (So that's how the other half lives ...)

The women's convention I was covering was awesome, too -- very inspirational and uplifting! Lutheran women at their finest ...

When the convention ended around noon on Sunday, we rented a car and drove to the Columbia River Gorge scenic area, about an hour east of Portland, with lots of gorgeous waterfalls and breathtaking vistas.

We had hoped to see Cannon Beach the next morning, but found out it was a little farther out of town than we thought, darn, so we drove to a nearby Catholic retreat center instead and walked its woodsy trails until it was time to head for the airport.

The five days were a nice little getaway and I'm so glad we were able to do it. Thought I'd post a few Portland photos, too!

Until next time ...
P