November 14, 2008

• I’m in Portland!

  Well this is just delightful and absolutely surreal.

  As you may recall, I am in Portland for a conference.  The conference is about Sensory Integration and you can read the brochure here:  Alert Program.  This has implications for me both as a teacher and as a parent, so I’m very excited.  I have it on good authority that this is an excellent conference.  Can’t wait!

  Scott picked me up right at 3:30 today and whooshed me off to the train station in Seattle, no problem.  Sat for a bit over an hour waiting to board, bumped into an acquaintance who is also attending the conference, got on the train and headed out to Portland.  On the train I got to listen to my seatmate compulsively calling her children who apparently are staying with their grandmother while she gets the UHAUL because she doesn’t have a car and and if her daughter thinks she’s going to get any money to solve her medical problem, she better call her father, blah blah.  Sheesh!   Didn’t put me in a knitting mood, that’s for sure.  I just took a little nap. 

  Arrived in Portland, got a cab with my back-home acquaintance to our hotels.

  My Hotel Is SO Cool!!! It’s the Hotel deLuxe, and it’s … wow, it’s just the coolest thing.  It’s a classic Hollywood, art-deco, sort of boutique hotel with outstanding service and unbelievable charm.  Looky here I found a slideshow of the place.  The website is here. You walk in and there’s a giant wall-size panel of Cary Grant, and it’s just lovely.  The staff is spot-on.  Very knowledgeable and friendly. 

  The Hotel deLuxe was created as a tribute to the Hollywood era of
  glamour and romance, while paying a respectful nod to today’s
  filmmakers. All the design and detailing is based on the architectural
  and decorative arts of the 1920’s through the 1940’s.

  So, the room is just adorable.  I come in to jazz music, retro furniture floor-to-ceiling green curtians with windows on two sides.  Scott got us a special corner room with “views”.  I want to take this room home with me.  I want to decorate my house like this hotel.  In my next life, when Interior Design is something I am capable of accomplishing, perhaps.

  So all along the halls of the hotels are movie stills, annotated.  Each floor is dedicated to a different artist.  Outside of my room are photos from It Happened One Night and Arsenic and Old Lace. Awesome!

  There is an ipod docking station in my room, so I am listening and relaxing.  Lucky that I forgot to take my not-charged iPod out of my bag! 

  Tomorrow morning I’ll hop on the “MAX” which will take me straight to the convention center.  Trying to decide if I should get a real breakfast or eat whatever they have at the conference. 

  Wish me luck!  Scott will be taking the train out to meet me tomorrow while Grandma Lynn watches the kids. 

  It just feels so odd not to have to do anything for anyone except myself.  And of course you, dear blog reader.  Thirteen days of blogging!

  A photo for you:  the hotel phone has button that says “make it so”
  

  Good night!

  • 2:08 am
  • 3 Comments