Portland Trip, Part 2

We enjoyed our trip to Portland, Oregon and Lacey, WA. Finishing up from my previous travelogue post, the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) was a resounding success for FOSSology and FOSSbazaar.

I was able to get a conference badge for Alex. He enjoyed playing with mine so much, I thought he'd like one of his own.

Alex had a lot of fun just playing at the hotel

He tries to fill some big shoes

On Thursday while I was at the conference, my parents and my Aunt Kim took Alex to the Portland Zoo.

At the petting zoo, Alex got to meet the rabbit

Alex was at least as interested in the rabbit's carrot!

The goats didn't have any carrots, but they were pretty interesting anyway

Alex seemed to get the biggest charge out of the aquarium

Grandma and grandpa reported that he just sat there in awe, saying "Ohhhh... Ohhhhh!"

Of course he didn't have to walk the whole time

And he enjoyed sampling his very first snow cone

Before leaving for Lacey, Washington, we stopped at Aunt Regina's for a visit

Here are me, Charlie (the dog), Aunt Regina, Grandpa, Alex, Aunt Kim and Carla mugging for the camera

Then it was off to visit Great Grandma Stangel at her new house at luxurious Panorama City. Alex took a few hours to get used to the change, but he quickly warmed to GG'ma and her comfortable home.

We had several outstanding meals, including traditional irestirits (nobody really knows how to spell that)

Alex discovered Grandma's wheeled suitcase and enjoyed wheeling it around

On Saturday afternoon my Uncle Darrell took me and my Dad out on his sailboat


It was a gorgeous day and fantastic sailing.

We sailed over to Boston Harbor, and past a WW2-vintage Navy tugboat under restoration

Back at Panorama City, Alex leads us on a pleasant walk around the park-like grounds


On Sunday we drove Grandma and Grandpa to the Troutdale Airport before heading back ourselves to PDX. Alex got to inspect Grandpa's plane and have a turn at the controls

Thanks again to everyone who made this trip such a joy! I look forward to doing it again soon.

Portland Trip, Part 1

Alex is fascinated by escalators. He took his first ride on one at DIA before our flight.


Pre-flight, Alex points out the plane we'll be flying on. "Thissss."

Alex enjoyed our flight to Portland. It was the first time he stayed awake for the whole flight. There was a mother and her two kids sitting ahead of us. The 2 year-old boy slept the whole way, but the 5-year girl, Jacquelin, was enamored with Alex, and vice-versa. They played and talked for the last hour of the flight.

My parents met us at the airport. They flew in to Troutdale earlier on Friday, braving the wildfire smoke smothering Northern California.

Here, Alex and Grandma ride the MAX train


On Wednesday morning I met up with the folks from work at OSCON to staff our booth for FOSSology and FOSSBazaar.

My manager Phil (left) and my colleague Bob (right) at our booth

Before leaving for Portland, I did some research to try and find out where the old Heister plant was located in Portland, where my Grandpa Bill (my Dad's Dad, and Alex's middle-namesae) worked from the 1950s through the early 1980s. The plant was torn down soon after he retired in the early 1980s, eventually replaced by a shopping mall. Still, I hoped to find a remnant, or placard, or some indication of this industrial past and personal connection.

On Wednesday evening I dragged my parents and Alex out on an adventure across eastern Portland. From the Convention Center, we rode the train East to the Hollywood station, then walked about 10 blocks west to the address for Heister I'd found in an old industrial equipment catalogue.


Perhaps not surprising, but much to my disappointment nonetheless, there was absolutely no sign of the old Heister plant at the location of what is now the Hollywood Fred Meyer store.


Still, thanks to modern big-box retail store design, I imagine the interior of the Fred Meyer might actually look something like the interior of the plant used to. Alas, it seems I'll never know. Ah well. May old memories rest well.


The evening was not completely lost. There was a litle neighborhood park right across the parking lot from the Fred Meyer, so we stopped there to let Alex play. He enjoyed it greatly!

Another Busy Weekend

A lovely picture of Dana and Alex sitting on a big rock at Officer's Gultch - You'll need to click on the picture to zoom in and see the detail

Susan, Herb, Dana and Alex at Officer's Gultch

Last weekend Grandma Susan and Grandpa Herb visited us in Frisco. We had a blast

We took a drive up to Officers' Gultch, just two exits up I-70 from us.

Alex likes big sticks

We also drove over the mountains to Leadville to have a look around.

On Saturday evening we hopped aboard the Dillon Water Taxi and rode across Lake Dillon from Frisco to the Dillon Marina. Alex thoroughly enjoyed his first powered boat ride. He discovered a splashy play area at the aft of the boat where the water splashed up through the deck. The captain also let Alex play with a push broom during the trip.

Later we stopped into the Tiki Bar for a cocktail,

Dana and her Mom sharing a toast

then strolled to the playground.

Alex plays on a spinning seat

Dana plays on the tilty spinning seat

Dana, Herb and Alex all swinging on the swings!

Alex enjoyed the off-kilter spinning chairs at the park:

Busy Weekend

This weekend Grandma and Grandpa Leite and Uncle Mike came to visit. We had a blast! We cooked several meals together, played with Alex a TON, and had some lovely outings. It all culminated with a BBQ dinner last night at the townhouse.

Grandpa, Dana, and Uncle Mike debate the best grilling techniques

Alex takes a liking to stick ball

Alex "shares" his corn with me.

Dana is the Queen of the 'Q when it comes to S'mores

Pictures are courtesy of Mike's camera. I'll post s'more pictures when I get the files from M&M.

Alex Climbs

Alex loves to climb. He climbs on top of boxes, he climbs on top of tables, he climbs up and down from the sofa, the bed, and has completely mastered the stairs.

The other day I was updating the blog (naturally) in the living room, and keeping my ears open for any signs of trouble. Alex sounded content and busy in the kitchen, probably reorganizing one of the cabinets. After 5 minutes or so I thought I had better check on him, so stood up and walked to the kitchen. There I saw him standing on the dishwasher, which he'd opened himself, holding onto the countertop, and munching away on a carrot he'd purloined from a bunch we'd just bought at the store and left on the counter.

He was quite satisfied with himself. I was amazed and a little scared -- what else could he get into? It's hard to be upset with him when he's getting into carrots!

Adventures with Alex

Today Ryanne was out of town for her Dad's wedding, so I took the day off and hung out with my son. Maybe you've heard of him? Alexander William?

Our original plan was to ride the free Summit Stage bus in the morning and tour Frisco, Silverthorne and Dillon, and then rent a bicycle and trailer in the afternoon and explore some of the many bike trails around here. As it was, Alex took a 2+ hour morning nap from 10am-12pm, so we had to abandon the bicycle plans. It was for the best anyway, as we had to make a Target run.

So we hopped on the bus just a block from our house and rode to the Frisco bus station, then hopped another bus into Silverthorne. From the Silverthorne station it was just a two-block walk to the Target. We got some dark chocolate M&Ms. Yum!

Me and Alex on the bus in Silverthorne

From Silverthorne, we hopped the bus to Dillon, just up the road, and just UP the picturesque Frasier Valley.

The Summit Stage is perhaps one of the most redeeming man-made creations in all of Summit County. You can ride the bus for free just about any time of day from 5:30am to 1:30am, and you can get close to just about anywhere you'd care to be. In fact all of the ski resorts are served by the bus, as well as commercial and residential hubs.

We were planning to ride over to Dillon and catch the water taxi across Lake Dillon back to Frisco. But because of the thunderstorms all day, the water taxi was not running. Stranded, as it were, we were forced to enjoy the late afternoon at the Tiki Bar in Dillon. The Tiki Bar has a rather nice little happy hour.

The loneliest tiki bar in the world

We were about the only people at the all-outdoor bar and grille, on account of the inclement weather. That was just fine with us, as it gave us time to relax, bond, and take in the arcadian landscape.

What a great Doors tune - I hadn't heard it in years!

Heavy wather over Dillon, Colorado

And from whence it came

Despite the chilly climes, with temperatures in the low 50s, Alex managed to stay well bundled-up thanks to Daddy's foresight in packing the diaper bag.

Unable to beat a retreat to Frisco on the water taxi, we hastily looked up Mommy's law firm's number in the phone book and called for a rescue pickup. Mommy soon arrived in the trusty Civic and had herself a rum runner (hey, it was still happy hour!), and then we all trundled off to the warm interior of the Red Mountain Grill.

Yum. I swear our day really only involved 2 drinks... they just came at extremely crucial moments!

We decided to let Alex pick up the tab this time

Remembering Bob

One year after, we miss you Bob.