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!