Friday was a drive from Hines, Oregon to Mt. Hood. No presentation this day and we'll be staying at the Timberline Lodge for 2 nights. It will be nice to not have to pack up and get back in the car immediately. This drive reminded me a bit of the train trip from Sydney to Perth, where the road was straight and the scenery was unchanging for miles and miles. That railtrip in Australia has the longest stretch of straight tracks in the world. The road from Hines to Bend is a long monotonous stretch.

The scenery started to change on the drive from Bend to Mt. Hood. We travel through beautiful pine forests as the altitude gets higher and higher. When we arrive at the Timberline Lodge at 5850 ft., it's a blustery day and the lodge is surrounded by snow. The Lodge is beautifully constructed. Built in 1937 by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the depression, it is a comfy place to snuggle in and enjoy their signature Hot Chocolate!

We enjoy a wonderful dinner complete with sorbet and a surprise bite of filet for an appeitizer! They say in the service industry, creating surprisese is one of the keys to WOW service! Are you creating surprises for your clients?

There is skiing this time of year on the slopes of Mt. Hood. A little over an hour from Portland, family and groups come for the day. On Saturday, there was a large group of handicapped skiers enjoying the slopes in special ski contraptions. Each of the mornings started out sunny, with clouds below us and as the days wore on, the clouds increased, but the weather is pretty balmy. We bought some gloves and had a snowball fight to Lly's delight!

Lily was thrilled the Pool and Spa, even though they were outside, w!ere warm and fun! I was happy to have a little downtime and just relax....

Life is good!