Anne's nephew Alan came to visit us Thanksgiving week. Alan lives in Bangalore with his wife Sharine and their (soon-to-be-arriving) baby. He works for Siemens, and in November, he attended a big conference in Las Vegas. This was Alan's first visit to the States, and I am sure it was interesting to kick things off in Sin City. Luckily, we were able to provide him with another view of our country here in the Pacific Northwest.
After the conference concluded, Alan flew to Seattle. We picked him up the Friday before Thanksgiving and then rendezvoused with Susan (Anne's sister who lives Vancouver) for some sight-seeing. Our itinerary started at Pike's Place Market with stops at the fish market, the Ellanos cart and the first Starbucks. Next, we visited the Gum Wall, a Starbucks Reserve store, the Seattle Public Library, which is impressive both for its architecture and its holdings, and the Amazon Spheres.
The following day, we toured the Boeing factory - Alan studied aerospace engineering so that was at the top of his list - and then took the ferry to Bainbridge Island before heading home.
After we got back to Portland, we had dinner at Apizza Scholls (Portland's best pizza) followed by Salt and Straw (Portland's best ice cream - Alan bravely sampled the sweet potato and turkey flavor) and then it was time for Alan to meet Raja. They seemed to hit it off.
The next morning, we went to Coava Coffee (Portland's most pretentious coffee) and Voodoo Donuts, because you can't visit Portland without going to Voodoo. At that point, the sun was peeking through the clouds, so we decided to go across the river to see our new house in Camas. From there, we continued along the Washington side of the Gorge to Beacon Rock. We hoped to show Alan more of the Gorge, but the weather had stopped cooperating so we turned back. We rounded out the day with dinner at Ecliptic Brewery
Tuesday brought more rain so we focused on indoor activities, primarily Powell's Bookstore, which Alan gave two thumbs up. In the evening, we had dinner and watched a movie at McMenamins Kennedy School.
Wednesday, we had better luck with the weather, so we drove up the Oregon side of the Gorge to see the falls, and then crossed over the Bridge of the Gods before making our way back to Beacon Rock. The wind was blowing hard, but Alan showed his Pacific Northwest mettle, and we made it all the way to the top.
After our hike, we did a little a little cooking in preparation for Thanksgiving and picked up a Christmas tree. Finally, in the evening, we met up with Mei and Daniel's family for dinner at Duck House. Whew! Sunday, Lei, Mei and Lei's mom, Alan and Anne
Last but not least, we had a huge Thanksgiving Day Feast with Candace, Steve, Nicky and Elliot. This was Alan's first Thanksgiving, and we did it right with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, corn pudding, cornbread muffins, cranberry sauce, three kinds of pie and homemade ice cream.
Friday was reserved for another American tradition - Black Friday shopping. Then early Saturday morning, we put Alan on a flight home via Singapore. Once he gets to India, he'll be headed to Kerala to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. We can't wait to hear more about that adventure!
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