The Birthday Boy and his
I had to work half the day, so we held off on most of our celebrations until Saturday, when we got the dog nice and tired and left him in the care of the cats while we went up to McMinnville.
McMenamins is a really well-known Oregon business, with over 50 pubs and hotels. We've been going to McMenamins for years - in fact, our first meal together was at their pub in Lincoln City, Oregon. Both of our 30th birthday celebrations were at McMenamins. So I thought I'd continue the tradition this year at the Hotel Oregon.
We checked into the James McBride room, up on the 4th floor. If you're not from Oregon, I'm not sure what to compare the decor to - it's eclectic and vintage and artistic. Even if you don't stay at one of their hotels, it's worth it to visit, grab a beer, and walk the halls to look at all the murals and artwork. The rooms are usually named after someone local and historically significant - Mr. McBride was the ambassador to the Kingdom of Hawaii back in the 1860s. There were little tidbits about him painted on the wall, as well as his portrait.
He watched us sleep.
My coworker came for a late dinner in the pub. She was running late, so we had a nice long chat by ourselves over some sweet potato fries. We talked for a little bit about how he's been feeling about being a 40-year-old, from a hopeful parent perspective. I'm sure it's something a lot of older potential dads feel - he's worried that the older he gets, the less he'll be able to be active and able to do all those strenuous things that dads do. He remembers his friend's dad, who was about 50 when Cory met him, the kind of dad who sat in his easy chair reading the paper in the background, present but not participatory, as his son did his own thing. Cory doesn't want to be that way. And he won't. But that doesn't stop him from being worried. Guess we need to find some more contemporaries who are in our boat, rather than the ones who are grandparents (a classmate or two - seriously) or have kids in high school.
As we were finishing dinner, my cousin and her boyfriend joined us, and then we all visited the two bars in the hotel for drinks and snacks until midnight. I have to say, one of the best parts of the whole night was when we all said goodbye and then Cory and I just ran up the stairs and were in bed before our visitors had been able to drive out of McMinnville. That was fantastic. I hate having to drive home after a late night of socializing.
The next morning we had breakfast with Cory's best friend and his fiancee, and then we headed back for home.
It was a pretty nice way to spend a birthday weekend, I think, even if that birthday was the big four-oh.
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