Waiting on UPS

At Portland Fairview RV Resort, Portland, Oregon...

We weren't able to do much sightseeing today, as we had to stay in and wait for UPS to deliver our  two-week collection of mail from home. Oddly, the park doesn't hold in the office UPS shipments for their guests. They are delivered directly to the addressee at the RV space.

However, the wait provided a chance for Sandy to catch up on the laundry, so the washer/dryer was humming in the back of the bus for most of the day. She also gave me a haircut, which hopefully made me look even more handsome! Yes, she has been cutting my hair for 39 years; I don't think I've paid for more than a couple of haircuts in all that time. Well, now that I think about it, I probably have paid rather dearly for those haircuts. But she's worth it!

My contribution was to cook up a batch of taco soup for lunch. We were more than ready for something Mexican, having been away from Texas for so long, and it turned out really well, if I say so myself.

The UPS driver didn't make it to our space until about 5:00 p.m., after which we got dressed and drove to Acadia, a Cajun restaurant on Fremont Street.

There were hits and misses with Acadia. One problem is that its theme is upscale Cajun food. Now that is a real oxymoron in my way of thinking. The food enjoyed by real Cajuns is hardly upscale, but it makes up for it in flavor.

Sandy ordered fried catfish, but it was served on petite hominy and a tomatillo sauce reduction. That's just wrong; catfish is supposed to be served in a plastic basket with some French fries! It was quite good, however, but way too pricey with all the frou-frou stuff.

I ordered barbequed shrimp, but it was not the usual fiery concoction that would be faithful to south Louisiana bayou cooks. It was served in a mud-colored wine sauce that wasn't spicy at all. It tasted pretty good, but it certainly wasn't what I expected, and the presentation wasn't very appealing. I didn't bother to take a photo.

The star of the meal was the bread pudding, served hot with roasted pecans, a luscious bourbon sauce and fresh whipped cream. It was beyond good, but it didn't save the restaurant from being excluded from the favorites list. If you go there, go just for the bread pudding. Or two.

Acadia's storefront on Fremont Street:

After dinner, we strolled in one of the many parks in Portland, this one named the Peninsula Rose Garden. It was a perfect evening, the temperature 73 degrees. Fortunately, the heat wave at our arrival in Portland lasted only one day, and it has been very pleasant here ever since.

And here is the prettiest rose in the garden:

Tomorrow we must head for Seattle to get ready for the Alaska cruise. However, there are things in the Portland area that we still want to see, so we'll probably stop here on our way back.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.