On to Portland!

The Drive Across America was to be another major part of the post-COS trip and the birthday celebration. As I said, I already had the route in mind, and that was because of Annals of the Former World, John McPhee’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning book. I love John McPhee! I used to think he was a geology professor who wrote well, and then I found out he was a writing professor who liked geology – but I guess I first got to know him through his geology articles in the New Yorker. These became books – Assembling California, Basin and Range, Rising from the Plains, and In Suspect Terrain were compiled for this book, and a new section added so that the entire country was covered (plus, geology had advanced since his last book to the point where there was something about the middle of the continent to discuss). It’s a geological history of the U.S., as seen while crossing I-80. When I first formulated the idea for the Drive Across America, I realized that I had a lot of friends concentrated along I-80. I had wanted to read the book (in fact, I think I have a copy in storage) but it seemed like a great idea to read it while I was crossing the country on I-80! I had a copy sent to me at Martha’s. Another nice thing about the idea of a Drive Across America is that I was unenthused at the thought of domestic air travel with my heavy bag. With a car, I could add a heavy book to the heavy bag – and visit my friends! And do something I had always wanted to do but wasn’t sure I would ever have the time to do. And I could visit my friends!


I had a couple of good friends who I wanted to see who were too far from I-80. One is my friend Terry, and I decided to fly to Portland, OR from Los Angeles, leaving the big green bag at Martha’s. It was great to see her and her family. She’s working on a new business, and I had a chance to put on my marketing/consulting hat and brainstorm some ideas. We watched silly movies and took a couple of walks in the dusting of snow. Went into Portland and explored the funky 23rd Street shopping area, had more Mexican food and savored Moonstruck chocolates. I’d like to get to know Portland better. It was too short a visit, and I felt that way all across the country. This blog is more about the places I’ve been and things I have done, but what was more important in many of the stops was the friends I saw and time I spent with them.


Back at Martha and Susan’s, I spent the next day getting down to business – reserving a car, getting distances and directions, making room reservations and inquiries, figuring out who would get what of the things I brought back, downloading pictures into my increased-memory computer. I’m glad my hostesses were so welcoming and accommodating – I needed all the time to regroup and adjust. We also went out - had our traditional manicure/pedicures and went to another favorite, Kate Mantelini.