Bon voyage!

And we're off on Jane's first plane trip...well, the first one on which she has to deal with ear pressure, anyway. It's going to be a splendid weekend, albeit much too short.

Some fun facts about Oregon:

- Michael and I were both born in the town of Dallas. Only, for him it was Dallas, TX, whereas for me it was Dallas, OR.

- The flight from Atlanta to Portland is five hours long. From Atlanta to Amsterdam was nine hours, meaning it takes more than half as long just to fly across the country as it does to fly across the Atlantic. (Years ago, when we lived in Oregon, relatives from Holland came to visit my grandparents in Maryland. One day, while they were planning their itinerary, they said, 'Oh, let's go over to Oregon and see Jon and Olga.' What a surprise it was to them to realise that not all distances in the US are as easily drivable as in the Netherlands.)

- Oregon was admitted to the Union on February 14th, 1849. So this day always has special significance to me as Oregon's birthday, and not as some romantic holiday. (As I've told Michael, however: I'll still take the chocolates.)