We’re coming to Portland for part of Spring Break again. My kids fell madly, deeply in love last time. We are there from March 15 – 19 and we’d love to see you.
I read the message and smiled. It was from a high school friend, Heather.
I changed high schools for grade thirteen, after spending 1982-83 as an exchange student in Denmark. At my new school, I fell in with a fun group of like-minded friends, but as we all went of to different colleges and universities, we lost touch. Heather was one of them, as was her husband, Wilson. He and I worked together at our local pool. They didn’t start dating until after high school and we had lost touch long before they married. A few years ago, we reconnected on Facebook and I discovered they’d moved to Vancouver B.C. Funny how we’d all ended up on the West Coast. They were in Portland in 2013 for Spring Break and we saw each other for the first time since 1984.
Today, we met up at Portland Saturday Market and, despite rain in the forecast, it was a perfect Spring day. We started as a large group, then wandered around the market for a while in smaller groups. Heather and I wandered looking at the various artisan booths, sharing stories of being 50-year-old women looking for jobs and books we love. We regrouped after wandering and purchasing what needed to be purchased, then walked to Karam’s, a Lebanese/Syrian restaurant. In true Portland fashion, they offered gluten free pita, but we didn’t order it.
After lunch, I was ready for a nap so I returned home and they went on to explore more of Portland. All in all, it was a great start to Spring Break.
booksandbassets 
I lived in Portland from 1989 until 2006 and so I can imagine exactly where you were meeting your friend! It’s fun to be able to pick up with friends we thought we lost. That’s something that has been a benefit of social media.
Uplifting piece! Love the idea of reconnecting with old friends! My husband and I will add Portland, Oregon to our wish list, We hope to visit the West Coast soon – maybe our focus will be Oregon and Washington instead of California!
Reconnecting with friends reminds us of our younger selves. What a great way to start your break!
It is always great to reconnect with friends we haven’t seen in a long time. One of the perks of Facebook. Glad you were able to get together.
That sounds like a lovely start to your vacation. Portland is such a dynamic city and wandering the Saturday market with friends is the best! I hope the rest of your break is just as rewarding!
It’s so amazing you get to begin a week of relaxing and refreshment catching up with old friends. Here’s to many more happy reunions! 🙂
Sounds like a great way to start spring break. Here’s to a whole week of this! (especially the naps!) 🙂