Thur Jul 9. The meet up in Portland!

We got to the Hilton Garden minutes before the Zonies.  The Shapiros were across the street in the Marriott.   They pulled in within the 1/2 hour.  Everyone took about an hour to settle, then we met in the lobby of the Hilton.  We decided to take the MAX (lightrail) into the city.  People we met in Cannon Beach told us about the Waterfront in Portland.  So did people we talked to in Eugene.  Seemed like a good place to go for dinner.  When we got to what we thought was a Waterfront stop, we walked around for just a few minutes and realized we were in the midst of an area where there were apparently a lot of homeless people.  Not really what we were thinking of.  After talking to a motorist, we realized we should have gone to the Pearl District, about a mile walk away.  We walked to the Pearl and after some kerfuffling, decided on a Greek place - Eleni's (or something like that).  We shared a bunch of Mezzes, a half chicken, a salad and a few beers.  Then we went to the Powell Book Store and schnied for about 30-40 minutes.  A short walk got us back to the red line west back to Sunset Station, where we parked our cars.  Long day.  Exciting to get together with everyone before the wedding Saturday in Newberg.  Actually some of us are getting together for brunch tomorrow morning.  We'll also be connecting with Garret - just back from a stint in Bulgaria.

The Eastern Contingency brunching at Elmer's in Beaverton OR