Portland

The first weekend in September, I had the opportunity to attend a conference on Adult Weight Management in Portland, Oregon. Chris came with me. We didn't have tons of time to do much else, but we still had a good time. We were surprised when we went to board the plane, and it was so little that we had to walk outside to get on. Since it was only an hour flight, we decided to fly there the morning that the conference started, to save a night in the hotel. Our plane was on time, and at the airport we got on a train that stopped across the street from our hotel, and we were set to be there on time. But somewhere along the way the train stopped and made us all get off because there was an "incident" and the train was turning around and going back to the airport. They said there would be buses coming that would take us to the stop we wanted. Well we could never find a bus that was going as far as we needed to go. As time went by, we found out that a woman had stepped in front of the train at a stop really close to where we needed to go, and was stuck underneath it, so trains were not going that far. They finally announced that trains were going to go as far as our stop, so we got on a train but quickly realized we were going the wrong way. So we got off and got on the right train and made it to our stop. I made it to the conference about 45 minutes late. But we made it, and I was really glad that I wasn't alone and that Chris was there with me! We found the next day that the woman died.

One night after I was done we went to the Museum and Planetarium. It was a Thursday night so it closed early, at like 7, so we only about an hour there. We just did some of the free stuff-there was a science museum kind of the like the Discover Center in Boise. They have a submarine that is just sitting out in the Willamette River. They give tours of the inside but we didn't have time to do it. Chris was really disappointed. It's actually the submarine that was used in the movie The Hunt for Red October, which is one of Chris' favorite movies. 

 Of course, they had a penny machine!!

 The next night, Friday night, one of Chris' old roommates and good friends who lives in Portland came and picked us up and he and his wife took us out the eat and then drove us around Portland. This is the waterfront of the Willamette River. It's not a great picture, but it was really pretty. Portland is a lot bigger then Spokane!

On the way home on the plane we had a good view of Mount Hood from the airplane.

 I was really excited to do this Sudoku puzzle in the magazine on the plane, but was really disappointed when I realized I couldn't!

When we got home I added my pennies to my book and they filled it up! (The empty spaces are actually for quarters). This book came from Disneyland so I told Chris that I guess we need to make a trip to Disneyland to get another one! Haha, I don't think he thinks that is necessary right now!

We wished later that we would have stayed another night and had more time to spend at the museum. There is a planetarium, an IMAX theater, and a dinosaur. I've always wanted to see a dinosaur in a museum. Someday I guess! We had a good time. I got to go the a really good conference, which gave me all the continuing education credits that I need for the next 2 years, and I was glad Chris got to go with me.