Family and Food – Portland, OR June 18-22, 2021
It was a joyous reunion with LCR’s brother Steve and his
wife Maria in Portland. Steve moved his
car so we could pull up the truck and trailer in front of his house. We had not seen them for a few years and it
was great to catch up. We were glad to
see them doing so well despite many medical and physical challenges over the
past year or two. Some electronics
equipment had been sent to their house, and one of the first things we noticed
with amusement was that our packages were in good company - Steve and Maria,
like us, get everyone else’s mail. Both
houses still receive mail and packages for people who moved out years ago. On Friday evening we had baked catfish, rice
and a veggie stir-fry for dinner. On
Saturday numerous other family members dropped by. (LCR and I were grateful for showers and did
laundry, which is a bit of a problem on the road – it’s not a lack of
facilities, but of quarters. Apparently
there is a shortage. Information I found
online at the start of the trip suggested many campgrounds have gone to a
touch-free system using bank cards since COVID, but we have yet to see
one.) We went shopping and son Chris,
who is a talented cook, fixed a huge feast involving about a two-foot chunk of
Pacific salmon and shrimp skewers, Brussels spouts and spinach. Everyone’s drink of choice was provided. Some of us figured we would likely never have
to eat again, yet we agreed to assemble the following day for Father’s Day
brunch.
The plan was to eat and depart for points south, but on
Sunday we awoke to find someone had smashed the back window of the truck. There was glass everywhere. I did hear what sounded like a bang in the
early hours of the morning, followed by a shut car door, but the sounds did not
sound close enough to cause alarm, so I went back to sleep. No one saw anything and security cameras did
not catch anything on that side of the street.
Maria’s dear friend Connie had come by and she and Steve
kindly helped with the cleanup, because there was glass on the street and everywhere
in the car, including inside a suitcase and duffel bag I was keeping back
there. The window was apparently smashed
manually – there were bloodstains on LCR’s jacket, which had been on top of the
stuff in the back seat. Nothing was
taken though there were items of value in the car. Theories ranged from random violence to
possible retaliation against our camping on the street, because Portland has a
huge population of homeless people who have encampments all over the city,
virtually taking over some areas to great resentment. Whatever the cause, the result precluded us
leaving, since it was impossible to find anyone to fix a broken window on a
Sunday, especially Father’s Day. We did
talk to a company that agreed to do it Monday at 11 a.m. The window was neatly taped up with plastic
and duct tape. You should never, ever
travel without duct tape!
Father’s Day brunch was huge and full of family and
food. We ate pretty late, around 2:30 pm.,
and were amply rewarded for our wait with smoothies involving kale, banana,
ginger, mango and ice. The menu was eggs
cooked to order, hash browns and grits with shrimp, and three kinds of
sausages. Some had mimosas but once
again there was a choice of beverages.
After that, nearly everybody napped at some point.
LCR had a zoom court appearance on Monday morning, which did
not conflict with the auto window repair company because they did not
come. Around the time we were expecting
them, they called to say the window glass they had was not the kind that was
tinted to match what we already had on the car.
They could supply the right glass at 3 pm on Tuesday. I was not too happy about this because I felt
we had parked there and imposed long enough, but our hosts were adamant that it
was no trouble and everyone agreed that having clear glass tinted after the
fact would not be a good idea. So we
stayed, after LCR removed his zoom shirt and tie, and watched an action movie
with Steve and Maria in the evening.
It was getting very hot.
On Monday everyone mostly just hung around not moving much, trying to
keep cool. LCR and I did some research
and writing in the trailer. For dinner
we ordered pizza from a terrific place called Flying Pie. As usual we ordered too much, but since
various people stopped in, it all got eaten at some point. I ordered one of my favorites, a small
stuffed spinach pizza, which several people enjoyed who had not had it
before. Connie came by with a yellow
meat watermelon which I had never eaten before.
It was refreshing and sweet.
The glass people did not appear until nearly 5 pm, but when
they did come they did a really nice job, cleaning yet more broken glass out of
the car and street. On the bright side, not
only did the window look great, but the back seat was now clean and more
organized than it had been before. I
really wanted to get on the road by then, being mindful of the saying that fish
and company stink in three days! Though
I think some thought we were crazy for setting out so late, we said our
goodbyes and went forth at around 6 pm.
We were glad to go and sorry at the same time. It was a privilege to see the Watkins side of
the family and just hang out with family, kids, dogs, discussing this and that,
family gossip, I mean news, world events, matters both great and small, and
even get a window into a bit of family drama.
It was a warm and wonderful visit.
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