Milwaukie Progress and the Fight Against Alzheimer’s

The trolley trail

It was a crazy weekend.  For starters, family from California were here for a quick visit.  There was also a lot of hullabaloo over a new light rail line opening in Milwaukie.  I missed much of the party because I worked on Saturday. Luckily, the festivities continued into the evening, when we walked on the Trolley Trail, which parallels the light rail line.  A gentleman from the Milwaukie Historical Society gave a guided tour of the features along the way.  That included artwork, infrastructure, and a Giant Sequoia. It was a nice walk on a trail usually populated by joggers and cyclists.

In addition to a hectic Saturday, we were also booked Sunday for a good cause.  After breakfast, my wife and I picked up our son and headed to the Portland International Raceway to take part in the annual Alzheimer’s Walk to Remember along with Denise’s sister and brother in law, their daughter, and her stepdad.  This event is a great cause we are proud to attend.  Our team, AKA the Jackie Chan Champions, raised hundreds of dollars to help find a cure for the disease or minimize costs for caregivers.  The weather was almost perfect.  The walk around the 1.9 mile racetrack was accompanied by a zydeco band at the grandstands and a bagpiper who apparently walked the whole route.  Some folks were pretty wiped out at the end, but very peppy cheerleaders motivated everyone at the end.  This is a great event.

The sea of purple spreads out at Portland’s 2015 Alzheimer’s walk.

After walking both weekend days, I walked some more at work yesterday to deliver mail.I have to admit, I was a bit tuckered last night.  We learned a few things about local history, did our part in fighting a disease, and played games late into Sunday night with family. I didn’t walk anywhere today.  Life is good.