weekend in astoria

I just got back from a weekend in Astoria, Oregon. It was a work-related event; I was to introduce from stage the evening's piano recitalist in a benefit concert for an old, renovated vaudeville theater called "The Liberty". It was about a 2 hour drive from Portland, and the scenery was stunning.

The event was nice, too. It was a small theater, with a shamefully sparse audience, so my jitters from stage were kept to a minimum. I did an OK job. The concert was phenomenal, though. The pianist, Yakov Kasman, played Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". His interpretation of the latter was just exquisite -- he treated several traditionally-loud wall-of-sound passages in a very hymn-like way. It's wonderful to hear fresh readings of familiar works.

There was a reception afterward with free booze and hors d'oeuvres, and we got to schmooze with the money people in Astoria. One little old man fell in love with me.

Afterward we drove across the Columbia River to a little town called Ocean Park, Washington, where a coworker's friend has a house. We drank more wine with her, stayed up until midnight, and then crashed. When we woke up we went to Leadbetter Point State Park for a one-mile hike full of bird-watching and nature. It was amazing scenery. My photos do not do it justice. We also went to the ocean, a quaint little 1800s town called Oysterville and then had brunch at a really nice restaurant on Willapa Bay called The Ark.

We then headed back to Portland, tired and unshowered. All told it was about a 24-hour trip. It was really nice. Fantastic scenery, a great concert, and a wonderful opportunity to get to know a couple of coworkers better.

Woo!