This weekend was the 2nd annual women's birthday getaway to McMenamin's Edgefield--this year to celebrate Mom's 70th birthday. We picked up Nadine at the train station in the afternoon and made our way off to Troutdale. Once there, we checked into our room and sat around and chatted for awhile before perusing the great gift shop and playing a game of pool in the pool bar. (Mom told us that she had never played pool before, so we decided we had to do it. One needs to have a first-ever at age 70! Nadine won.) Then we headed off to dinner in the Black Rabbit Restaurant. The Black Rabbit is an upscale establishment, although in typical Northwest style, it's perfectly acceptable to wear jeans.
I had found some birthday tiaras and noise makers in the gift shop--the perfect accessory for a celebratory birthday dinner. The purely astonishing thing was that our waiter said not a word about our tiaras. He was exceedingly serious. Not a word! We each ended up having the scallops on a bed of quinoa with spinach and sweet potatoes, and they were very yummy! After two weeks of Phase One of the South Beach Diet, I had my celebratory glass of red wine. I always have beer when I go to McMenamin's establishments, but I must say that their wine has improved a great deal over the years!
The lovely young birthday girl in her tiara!
Posing after dinner
Sadly, it was a rainy weekend in the Northwest, but after hanging out in our room for awhile, we went down to the winery to listen to some music, and then decided to brave the soaking pool in the rain. Fortunately the rain had lightened up a bit by then to sprinkles. It turned out to be very relaxing, even though we had a cold walk back and forth from the hotel portion.
We knew that we were all feeling our age when we started yawning before 11:00 p.m. In fact, the younger women were yawning before the birthday girl! (Our excuse: children and jobs.) So lights out around 11:30 p.m., but we could not go to sleep.
The problem: creaky bedsprings and floor. Above us. Yes: sex. And it went on and on...only to stop briefly...a reprieve...and then start again. Rhythmic. Insistent. Creaky. Bumping. Lovely. Just what you want to hear when you're trying to go to sleep. Someone else's sex life. Finally they stopped, and peace.
In the morning, we had breakfast again in the Black Rabbit, checked out, and headed back into Portland. Our plan was for Nadine's husband and her boys to come to Portland on Saturday so we could celebrate with the whole family. Unfortunately, two of the boys were not feeling well, and soon both Nadine and David started getting sick too. David cancelled their trip, and Nadine planned to head back on the train, while she started feeling rotten herself. But in the meantime, we headed for Northwest Portland to explore NW 23rd. We stopped for tea in Starbucks:
And dropped Nadine off at the train station. By the time she reached Tacoma, she felt horrible...so it was probably a good thing she went home so she could recover. But we had six very disappointed boys. Nick had been peering out the window on Saturday morning, saying "Where are my cousins? I don't see them!" and Kieran wanted to know why Nadine and David and kids couldn't move to Portland.
That evening, we had a birthday dinner for Jeanne, a woman at our church who we've become friends with in the past year. She does child care on Sundays and has developed a nice relationship with the kids. She's got a great sense of humor and laughs a lot! It was fun to help her celebrate her 62nd birthday! Mike helped Kieran bake a cake, and I helped him with the frosting.
Blowing out the candle
Mom and Chris with her birthday pie
I had found some birthday tiaras and noise makers in the gift shop--the perfect accessory for a celebratory birthday dinner. The purely astonishing thing was that our waiter said not a word about our tiaras. He was exceedingly serious. Not a word! We each ended up having the scallops on a bed of quinoa with spinach and sweet potatoes, and they were very yummy! After two weeks of Phase One of the South Beach Diet, I had my celebratory glass of red wine. I always have beer when I go to McMenamin's establishments, but I must say that their wine has improved a great deal over the years!
The lovely young birthday girl in her tiara!
Posing after dinner
Sadly, it was a rainy weekend in the Northwest, but after hanging out in our room for awhile, we went down to the winery to listen to some music, and then decided to brave the soaking pool in the rain. Fortunately the rain had lightened up a bit by then to sprinkles. It turned out to be very relaxing, even though we had a cold walk back and forth from the hotel portion.
We knew that we were all feeling our age when we started yawning before 11:00 p.m. In fact, the younger women were yawning before the birthday girl! (Our excuse: children and jobs.) So lights out around 11:30 p.m., but we could not go to sleep.
The problem: creaky bedsprings and floor. Above us. Yes: sex. And it went on and on...only to stop briefly...a reprieve...and then start again. Rhythmic. Insistent. Creaky. Bumping. Lovely. Just what you want to hear when you're trying to go to sleep. Someone else's sex life. Finally they stopped, and peace.
In the morning, we had breakfast again in the Black Rabbit, checked out, and headed back into Portland. Our plan was for Nadine's husband and her boys to come to Portland on Saturday so we could celebrate with the whole family. Unfortunately, two of the boys were not feeling well, and soon both Nadine and David started getting sick too. David cancelled their trip, and Nadine planned to head back on the train, while she started feeling rotten herself. But in the meantime, we headed for Northwest Portland to explore NW 23rd. We stopped for tea in Starbucks:
And dropped Nadine off at the train station. By the time she reached Tacoma, she felt horrible...so it was probably a good thing she went home so she could recover. But we had six very disappointed boys. Nick had been peering out the window on Saturday morning, saying "Where are my cousins? I don't see them!" and Kieran wanted to know why Nadine and David and kids couldn't move to Portland.
That evening, we had a birthday dinner for Jeanne, a woman at our church who we've become friends with in the past year. She does child care on Sundays and has developed a nice relationship with the kids. She's got a great sense of humor and laughs a lot! It was fun to help her celebrate her 62nd birthday! Mike helped Kieran bake a cake, and I helped him with the frosting.
Blowing out the candle
The next day we had a brunch for Mom to celebrate her birthday with the whole family. I made a "breakfast pudding" (with bread, oats, dates, raisins, eggs, and milk) and served it with raspberries and blueberries; an avocado-crab salad served in avocado shells; and turkey bacon. Dad contributed some potatoes. Yum. I was lazy on the dessert front, though: lemon meringue pie from Thriftway! (Mom loves lemon meringue pie.)
Mom and Chris with her birthday pie
So all in all, a mixed weekend--full of good times, but some disappointments (Nadine and David not being able to join us). They will just have to continue Mom's birthday celebrations at a later date...always nice to stretch out a birthday!
Hey Marie!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, fun blog! And yea, earplugs for overnights at the Edgefield! You heard more than me, yowzer.
What a fun thing to do to celebrate your mom's birthday....
cheers,
jill