August 24, 2005

• 
  

  
  Hover the mouse over some pictures for descriptions.

  At 6:15am on Saturday, the plane left
  the gate in the dark with a steady rain and a sleeping passenger, who
  was questioning his sanity for picking an early flight. There was a
  girl in the airport, though, who kindly spent a couple of days with me.
  In fact, we hit up Portland right away, going to a funky Greek
  restaurant where I looked like a lumberjack.

  We checked out the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
  in Portland where we struggled to understand the basic principles of
  sharing colored pencils and being good losers with paper airplane
  contests (ok, so I struggled to understand...).

  
  And we live in an oh-so-connected world! Driving through Portland,
  Esther comments that the campus pastors in Portland live just a couple
  blocks from where we were. Stop in I say! In moments, I met Vic and Kathy who were also visiting with Kathryn and Chelsea (pictured below except Kathy).

  Quick tale: Vic was skiing this past winter with my Chi Alpha campus
  pastor who would later tell me about Vic - and from there I found Vic's
  Xanga site....through Coffeedrinkinfool? I dunno....where I left a
  comment. Vic left a note back about how great Esther's blog was as she
  was posting from overseas about her experiences in Jordan. So here I am
  meeting the link for getting to Oregon in the first place! Well, God
  had something in mind, but I know we were all happy to have played a
  part (Kathy's version of this).

  
  After
  a fun time at their house talking about Chi Alpha, gardening in the
  Pacific Northwest, and remodeling in their house, we were on the road
  for a teeny tiny 177' waterfall. The Silver Falls State Park excursion was great because I was able to kick it with big trees - the obvious highlight to my day.

  

  Then I found out my antics were caught on camera.

  

  We ate at a fine dining establishment that night
  then caught up with Esther's long-time friend Katie and her buddy Rory
  for a brief night out in the metropolis of Corvallis (the rest of the
  world is a suburb of this city). My first brew with symbolism of the
  old man/new man was tasted in this town: Rogue Dead Guy.
  Having felt suitably cultured in the local ways, the night was
  curtailed due to my extreme jetlagging sleepiness. The Chi Alpha boys
  house was just the place with an open couch and huuuuuge screen TV.
  House captain Josh and his fiance Kirsten were chilling with Mike...

  
  And the 4 of us took off to Calvary Chapel after breakfast.
  It was a great outdoor service that by its very nature escaped so many
  stereotypes that I was distracted the whole time. Get this: no revival
  tents! How crazy is that? Simple originality.

  So afterwards, I got to meet Esther's Nana and head out with the XA
  gang to the coast where I lucked out in the weather department! It was
  sunny and beautiful and breezy - which was not what I was told to
  expect! Still, I didn't bust out the Speedo. Sorry, folks.

  

  

  

  We had lunch with Jamie and Alisha, campus pastors for Oregon State
  University, but contractions kept Alisha from being able to make it to
  the beach.
  Hurray for new families, though! After the beach, my tour of Esther's
  friends continued with more Chi Alpha people - her campus pastors Russ
  and Beth where pizza and conversation kept me going for hours. And more
  driving. And more talking. Then video clips on the big screen with Dan
  at what - 4am? I couldn't believe Esther made it through the weekend on
  6 hours of sleep!

  In the morning, it was a teary goodbye to my new blood brothers and a
  drive up to the airport with stops at her Nana's house and mom's house
  where I surveyed the landscaping work I'll have to do on my next visit.
  It was a splendid trip, and I hope I get invited back!

  

  So you've read this - now see what Esther had to say. [Part 1] [Part 2] And subscribe to her site for a steady stream of solid posts. Hey, I'm sure glad I did!

  • 5:47 am
  • 31 Comments