We arrived in Portland yesterday at about 8:15pm. By the time we got to Aurora and hit the sack, we had been up for nearly 25 hours straight. A long day, but I vaguely remember us floating over Greenland on the way over the Atlantic. I went out like the proverbial light, but Kristen couldn't fall asleep right away. That's normally the case. I can usually sleep through anything (except daylight). We both woke up around 5:30am, but willed ourselves back to sleep for another two hours.

First order of the day was to go to an American supermarket/department store to stock up. It was great to again be in a true haven of capitalist virtue. We loaded up on caffeine at the Starbucks INSIDE the department store, then went down each aisle of the supermarket "division", loading up on all the various things we had been missing (like Quaker Oat Squares and NW microbrews).

Another craving we'd been having in the weeks leading up to this trip was for Taco Bell, a craving we ended up taking care of today as well. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, it was a less-than-sensational taste experience. Sometimes you hit a Taco Bell that just doesn't put the burritos or whatever together correctly or it's lukewarm or overcooked. Today was one of those days, but it was still pretty good.

Jake invited me to go with him to fly his Cessna from the Aurora airfield to Lenhart's (sp?). The plane had been repaired for a problem with one of the radios and now needed to go back to it's hangar. Of course, I jumped at this opportunity. Any time I can "head up there" with him, I'll do it! Lenhart's is only about 3 minutes from Aurora (by air), but we flew around for a bit first. Did a steep ascent to above the fog/smog layer and then a 70-80 degree turn or two, pulling a couple of Gs. Felt all of my internal organs sink into the soles of my feet. I don't know how fighter pilots do it without going unconscious! Even at 2-3 Gs, my peripheral vision started to flutter. Before we headed to Lenhart's, we flew over the house and I was able to take a picture of it.

Back on the homefront, the ladies of the house were decorating the christmas tree and drinking egg-nog. By the time we got back, they were done and relaxing in the living room. A beautiful tree and the house smells of pine-needles. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I drove to Hubbard to have a quick rummage in our storage room, say hello to our stuff. Grabbed Kristen's Johnny Mathis Christmas CD, my Agneta Felskog Christmas tape, a box of assorted aged homebrews, and the serving line for the two 5-gallon kegs of beer that have been safely kept at the house. I plan to bottle them on Friday.

Kristen made Bruschetta and shrimp-salad for dinner tonight. A light meal to make up for our naughty lunch. Delicious!

-RP-