The Evening of the Day

The boys arrived in Portland, checking into a Millennial laden hotel. I got the usual Python question ( did you know you look like J Cleese) in the elevator. After that we needed to decompress . We considered the options – exercise in 90 degrees, sleep, go to a bookstore? We settled on a wine bar.The owner imports Hawaiian stock to his Oregon vineyard to deliver a delightful Pinot Gris. We learned all this from the even more delightful Tracy who, to a Beatles soundtrack dealt with a full house, chopping cheese and charcuterie, sorting almonds and pouring wine.As in this small world she had dated a Shropshire lad, cared for her parents in Beaufort and worked in NYC and Barcelona. Already a stage two SOM, she is working the wine bars while studying for the next level ( master SOMs are level 4). The boys listened attentively and felt that their educational requirements demanded a final instructional sample before preparing for dinner.A quick shower before slipping into some dazzling evening wear and they were hiking up the streets of Portland – Blair hit 20,000 steps yesterday – to meet Jamie and Steve.Again in the small world category we had met these friends of Ian’s daughter Emma in Santa Fe on our earlier drive west! Now they’ve moved to Portland. As you will notice Blair always gets the pole position in these photos! Great food and chat as we resampled the Drouhin we had tasted in Bend.I snuck in for a squeeze before we pushed on. The day ended in Le Petit Oiseau for a final instructional nightcap with Tracy who recommended we detour to the coastline en route to Seattle. Anders had suggested visiting the Spruce Goose out there too. The evening was concluded with toasts to her late Dad , my Kate and the sequence alignment of Ian’s new survival protein with that in the Naked Mole Rat: but that’s another story.