March 24,2020
My amazing nephew Jesse, and his beautiful wife Gina, have been top of my mind since the Coronavirus surfaced in the news. 
They are expecting their first child in two weeks. With so much unpredictability surrounding capacity in hospitals; there’s uncertainty and a great level of anxiety surrounding this happy event.
We visited these two lovebirds last summer, enjoying three jammed packed days in Portland, Oregon.
Jesse settled in Portland several years ago, after having graduated from Arizona State University and riding his bicycle cross country from his home in New Jersey. Yes…his bike…solo. I did say he was amazing.
We left Montana (see blog posts from last July) on Friday July 12th, flying out of Missoula into Salt Lake for a short layover, then on to Portland. Here’s the Great Salt Lake from the puddle jumper we rode from Montana to Utah.
And Mount Hood from the Delta 737.
Jess and Gina fetched us at the airport and drove us to the Nines hotel. The Nines is a beautiful property, part of the Luxury Collection Hotel group. Check in with the concierge was easy peasy and we were in our room on the Club floor in minutes.
We decided to try and dine at the Urban Farmer, a renowned steakhouse located in the hotel. The restaurant offers a range of beef options including grass-fed Oregon beef and pasture-raised grain fed beef. Are you kidding me? Friday night in downtown Portland? At one of the most popular restaurants? No tables, no options…until my sweet nephew sweet talked the hostess into allowing us to dine in “The Library”. We were fortunate that the Library wasn’t booked.
It’s a cool, casual space, lined with books and furnished with comfy leather chairs and sofas, that folks book for small get togethers. We ordered a lot of food, including oysters.
Looks like Jesse had steak, I ordered soup and a salad.
No clue what Timmy and Gina ordered. I do remember that the food was really delicious and plentiful. We spent the entire evening in the Library catching up. Our waitress was delightful, checking in frequently and refreshing our drinks.
The next morning we skipped the Club floor buffet and headed straight to the Urban Farmer for breakfast. The previous evening was so amazing we had high hopes for breakfast. We were not disappointed with the Dungeness Crab Omelet and potato rosti.
Jesse and Gina fetched us after breakfast and took us on a tour of their favorite places.
Timmy and I have visited some pretty spectacular waterfalls, including Iceland and New Zealand… but none equaled the ones that Jess and Gina shared with us. Why?
Because we were with these two.
Their love for each other and joy for life is so endearing.
I love this family selfie.
This is a great photo because it looks like Timmy and Jess were hiking for hours. They were not.
Multnomah Falls …Columbia River Gorge.
Oregon has over 500 wineries.
Jess and Gina took us to two of their favorites, Marchese and Hood Crest
Next up, our tour guides drove us up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.
If you follow this blog, you know Timmy loves large doors.
Thank you Gina and Jesse for a wonderful day
Next morning found us back at the Urban Farmer
Gina and Jesse fetched us and we headed off to the Portland Weekend Market.
After wandering the market, we walked to the waterfront.
Then we headed to
Next up we took a long winding drive up to the Pittock mansion. The views were amazing as were the gardens.
Gina left us and we headed to a really cool Rose garden.
We ended the day at one of Jesse’s favorite restaurants, Andina.
He knows how much we love Peruvian cuisine
We ordered a variety of dishes, each more delicious than the previous one.
I just love this face
Next morning, we stopped for coffee in the club lounge before Jesse drove us down to the coast.
I’d wanted to see the Haystack rock at Cannon Beach ever since Sue Anne’s first visit to Oregon.
The weather was typical for Oregon’s coast.
After a lovely lunch…(can you believe I failed to take pics?) we headed for Tillamook Creamery.
Jesse dropped us back at the Nines, and headed to a soccer game; tuckered out, we ordered room service from the Urban Farmer.
The next morning, Gina and Jesse offered to drive us to the airport, we demurred and Ubered. Delta provided a very nice lunch for the uneventful flight home.
We loved every minute of the 3 days we spent with these two soon to be parents.
We are looking forward to meeting our new grand nephew …yes it’s a boy! We had plans to return to Oregon again this July and celebrate the latest addition to our family. These plans are obviously going to be delayed. If folks stay home, we can stop the spread of the virus and families will be able to celebrate milestones once again.
Stay home. Be well. Be kind.
