Ringside in Portland

We went to the Ringside Steakhouse tonight for dinner recommended by my Insight Guide (very pricey, but delicious).  Valet parking and a wine list pages long (not recommended in any of the restaurant shows I watch -- how can you navigate a menu like that?  way too many choices!) and big slabs of meat for all the menfolk (not for me -- I can't imagine eating that much meat, if any . . .)  We had a great meal and great conversation where we recapped all the adventures we've had over the trip.  It has been a great experience.  Kudos to Mike for having organized all of it and picked out hotels and events for us to experience -- it's all gone really well.  And he's done most of the driving as well.  Jill (the GPS voice) has also done well, now that Mike has figured out the "avoidance" problem.

I got a message from Shelley, the woman who is taking care of Daisy at Balanced Canine.  She said Daisy has done well (what else could she say?) and that she is cute and got along with the other canines boarding there.  We are anxious to see her and get back to our own house.  Traveling is great but it will be nice to relax and not think about where we're going for dinner -- I personally will be glad not to have to look at a menu for a while.

At dinner tonight we talked about how we felt about our trip.  We all agreed that it has been a great experience.  My favourite thing was the Wild Animal Park in Escondido (which is associated with the San Diego Zoo).  Mike liked Disneyland the best and was sad when we had to leave.  Anthony also liked Disneyland the best and William agrees.  Of course, we all agree it was great to see Gordon and Annie and visit and hear Gordon play again (or for the boys, the first time).  It was fun to stay in all the different hotels and see California -- all the different terrains and the big cities and the small towns.  We met lots of nice people (and very few unpleasant people).  We learned a lot and will remember our adventures forever.

Traveling makes you appreciate your home, I think.  We've seen a lot of people less fortunate than we are and are grateful for our home and the things we have that keep us safe.  All the places we've been have been very exciting and beautiful, but not everyone in the USA gets to partake of those things equally.  But that is true of Canada as well.  Some of us live pretty high on the hog and others have to be content with the hoofs.  I think we can always try to do better ourselves and learn from people around us.  We need to reach out to each other and do our best to relish each moment -- listen to the music and live each moment as fully as we can.  But never forget our responsibility to each other.  It's not about the stronger dog eating the weaker dog.  It's making sure all the dogs get a good meal.

Thanks to all of you for following our adventures.  We'll see you

soon, I hope, and you can tell me how I did blog-wise.  Until then, this is Jean signing off from Portland.  Canada, here we come!