Oregon trip, v. 4

For this year, PJ suggested that we reprise a favorite trip - our Oregon tour - I heartily agreed - so we pretty much retraced our steps from our visits in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (discussed here).

The formula we've been following:

--fly to Portland, pick up car, drive straight to Astoria for late lunch
--three nights at Cannery Pier Hotel; day trips in the area; wander around town
--drive to Welches (near Mt. Hood) and spend two nights
--hiking (Mirror Lake, Tamanawas Falls, in-town wandering)
--drive to Portland (via Hood River); get rid of car; spend three nights
--wander Portland
--interesting lunches and dinners throughout (and plenty of brewery stops)

We added one new hike (after Thursday's lunch in Hood River) - this was a loop in the Columbia Gorge area - around Horsetail Falls - just gorgeous.

The trip (September 10-18) was delightful, as always; in fact, we both felt that we enjoyed it more than ever.  Traveling together like this never gets old.  Very good luck with weather, restaurants (including old favorites and some very good new ones), travel conditions, hotels, hikes, etc.

A few looks from 2016 (not repeating photos posted in prior years, except when I occasionally do):

Columbia River slides past Astoria; Megler Bridge; Cannery Pier out in the water.  Walking the hills.

As we return from our walk, this huge vessel is heading toward the Pacific (PJ in pink top near the hotel)

Then we step inside . . . lovely room, you feel that you open the door and step right onto the river . . . 

From that same hotel room balcony, as sun sets later that evening.

Fortunate timing gets us to the best seat in the house for sunset on Mt. Hood (at Timberline Lodge)

Tamanawas Falls amazes; the entire loop hike is quite fine.

PJ checking out Horsetail Falls (Columbia River gorge)

A view along the Horsetail Falls loop hike - we'd never quite gotten to
this classic view of the Columbia River/Oregon Trail.

PJ skittering back to trailhead (last portion of the loop tracks the old highway).  

Returning from Mirror Lake:

some special visitors

As discussed here, our family has had the good fortune to be in touch with Luxembourg-based relatives since the early 1980s.  Primary contact points were Claude Lanners and his wife Mariette; we also had met their son Michel.  We have now learned first-hand - certainly not to our surprise - that that the deep sense of connection extends to another batch of Lanners family members!

At Claude's instigation, a few years ago I became a social media friend with his grandson (Daniel Ruiz).  Via that link, Daniel advised that he and his family (father Jose Ruiz, mother Martine Lanners, sister Laura Ruiz) would be visiting the western part of the US, including the Phoenix area.

So:  we had to get together.

Showing the relationship across the generations.

PJ put together a lights-out southwest-style dinner.  Chris and Dharma attended (unfortunately, all the other locals were out of town over Labor Day weekend).  Our guests arrived around 5p - we talked nonstop until 11:30p - would happily have continued - couldn't have been nicer.

They immediately recognized our prominently-displayed Luxembourg goods - and brought us some appropriately-labeled beverages (per below photo).

We shall look forward to resuming the conversation when we get to Europe!

Only from Luxembourg . . .