Thursday, March 11th

I have to begin this post by saying that this was by far the most stressful day of our trip, though not without beauty and adventure. We had been told by several Portland natives that we had to at least drive to the Columbia River Gorge and look at some of the famous waterfalls, and that it was something that had to be done with a car, since public transit doesn't go that far outside of the city. We were also due back with our car by noon, and told the falls would be a mere 30 minutes beyond the city, which was already an hour or so North from where we had been staying in Newberg. Having left Newberg around 9:00, we figured we could make it to the Falls, spend 15 minutes or so taking it in, ew and aw at the beautiful scenery along the way, and make it back to the hotel by 12:30 or so. Yes, this would require us turning the car in late, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, and as long as Hubry and I could leave the hotel by 1:00 (at the latest) we would still make it to the Hilton 5 blocks away in time for his paper presentation (which was the reason we made the trip to the Pacific Northwest in the first place).

After driving and driving without seeing any of those clearly labeled Fall signs we were promised, we started getting a bit nervous. But we had already driven so far, and we must be so close, so just a few more exits. You know how these conversations go. We finally decided we absolutely had to get off at the next exit and turn around or we would be late getting back to the city. It so happens that just off the exit was the quaintest Post Office I have ever seen, and since GranJan was looking for some stamps we made a quick stop (we were turning around in their parking lot anyway). While inside procuring the stamps, Hubry asked about the Falls and the nice lady said - Oh, you're at the right exit. They are just a few miles up the road! Well there was no way we were going to turn around a few miles from the falls we had driven so far to see. So back in the car, and down the road.

We came to the first Falls: Wahkeena Falls. It was beautiful, and the mossy green forest floor mixed with the dewy rain made it that much more so. But we only had time for a quick photo from inside the window

and we continued further until reaching the goal: Multnomah Falls. It was truly breathtaking and magical. We all jumped out of the car, pulled tight our rain jackets and hoods, and quickly followed the path to view the base of the Falls. Of course, it was worth the drive and the time spent taking pictures (though I'm not sure Benjamin understood why we wanted to stand in the rain to look at more falling water), though it added stress to the rest of our day.




We hurried back in the car, all glad to have seen something so grand, and I stepped on the gas to try to get us back in as timely a manner as possible. Once we got to the hotel we had to check in (and we weren't sure we would be able to check in early at all). Fortunately they were able to find two rooms side by side that we could check in early to. We had to empty out the rental car so that Hubry could return it and get back to the hotel by 12:45 in order to get ready so we could leave by 1:00. In the meantime I had to get ready, nurse the baby, make sure GranJan had propper instructions for kids naps, make sure kids had some lunch to eat, etc. At 12:45 I got a call from Hubry that he was still waiting for the final check-out paperwork at the rental car office, which was a several block walk from our hotel.

OK, I started getting a little nervous (actually, that is an understatement). I was throwing things here and there - getting little Bro's pack-n-play set up, Hubry's clothes together. He got to the room around 1:05, quickly composed himself, we flew out the door, down the elevator, grabbed the taxi waiting outside the door, and arrived to the Hilton at 1:20. Did I mention that Hubry was supposed to meet with his panel for the very first time at 1:15, that he was the one who organized the panel, that he was one of a few grad students who had received a prestigious travel grant to come to the conference, that he still had to get his powerpoint set up, and that he didn't have a chance to do a final run-through of his presentation!!! He was able to find his registration packet and make it to the presentation room by 1:22. How he managed to walk in with such calm and composure is beyond me, but the Lord worked it all out, and Hubry did a wonderful job reading his paper about the change in the late 19th century of the horticultural society in the South and how this influence / effected peach production, etc. I was very proud of him, and we both let out a huge sigh of relief when it was over!