We're off to Asia!

This morning we are leaving for 3 weeks in Singapore, Viet Nam and Bali. We look forward to seeing some new places (Hanoi and Halong Bay), and visiting old friends in familiar places (Singapore and Bali). We will publish posts along our journey to keep in touch. Our friend Trink, will be joining us next week for the Bali portion of the trip. The picture was taken on a sunrise climb up the Mt. Batur volcano in Bali in 2007.

Fall in Portland

One of the best things about living in Portland is the fall. When Shaun, Josh and I came up on a "preview" trip before moving here, we came at the peak of the foliage season and loved the beauty of the city and the crisp, clean air. We fell in love and never even went to see the other "candidates" for our next place to live. We bought a loft and six years later, we are still here and still in awe of the beauty and kindness of our surroundings. Last week, we drove to Multnomah Falls with our friends, Sheryl and Oliver, and enjoyed the scenery there. The tree is on NW 23rd Ave.--one of many amazingly beautiful ones.

The Girlfriends

October 10-13, I went to Lake Tahoe with "The Girlfriends". We are 5 friends who met while working together at HP in 1986. We started off having lunches together, and quickly decided that an hour wasn't enough time, so started going out for dinner. In 1996, we decided that wasn't enough time either, and started spending a night away. We're now up to 3 nights at a time! We have been through marriage, birth of kids, kids off to college (with one about to graduate ), divorce, coming out, illnesses and deaths of parents, cancer, and just about anything else that life has to offer. We have been there for each other through all of life's challenges. We have spent weekends in Half Moon Bay, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Portland, Seattle, a cruise to the Pacific NW (Vancouver and Nainaimo BC), Las Vegas and others. It really doesn't matter where we go because most of the time, we are just hanging out talking, laughing and keeping each other humble. Good friends are truly one of life's kindest blessings. These "guys" are the best friends one could hope for.