Marianne's Reunions
October 22
Written December 8
Dear Friends and Families,
John usually writes the diaries, but this is mine, Marianne's, because I attended a high school reunion Oct. 20-22 and spouses were not included.
On my way to the class reunion, I was introduced to Oregon by a college roommate and lifelong friend, Gale Ambur-Stewart. Gale picked me up at the Portland airport and, although she wasn't a part of the high school reunion, volunteered to drive me over to the coast. Gale and her husband Joe have settled in a home right on the Columbia River, under the famous Steel Bridge. From the Stewart terrace you can see the traffic overhead, barges carrying their cargo on the river and, across on the other bank, trains passing with their freight. There is even a jogging path right in front between them and the river. There is never a moment that something isn't happening. Portland is an enjoyable city to visit and it looks like a great place to live.
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Gale had invited me to stay in their beach house,
and we had ample time to reach our destination, so Gale provided a tour of
Portland first before heading over to Gearhart. Gale, Joe, and I had dinner
in a local Italian restaurant. The next morning Gale and I got a leisurely
start and wandered our way to Newport, stopping in Cannon Beach for lunch.
There was a little bit of a Carmel feel to the beach town. It was my first
time driving along that part of the Oregon coast and I was mesmerized by the
wild beauty of it all.
At
the end of the drive south, we reached Newport. I thanked Gale for her generosity
and she left on the three hour journey back to Portland. There was hardly
enough time to say good bye to Gale before I was swamped by my old Santa Catalina
girlfriends. Not having seen some of them in over 40 years made the greetings
especially emotional.
But that's another story.
Marianne