Day 87, Wednesday the Conference begins

I woke up at 7:15am and realized that the conference didn't actually start until noon.  I had the entire morning free.  I got ready for the day and went down for the continental breakfast, which was actually very nice.  I had an English muffin, a bowl of cereal, some fruit, scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice.  They had fresh hot waffles that you could make, but it was too early for syrup.


For the rest of the morning, I thought it would be fun to drive to the old neighborhood in South Salem and see our old house.  My folks had moved us to Salem in 1970 to 1974 and it has probably been 20 or more years since I had last driven through the old neighborhood.  My best friend at the time, Cody, lived in the house across the street and his parents had build the house in the early 60's and they still live there!


Our old Spanish style house built in 1970, Salem, OR



I had no problem finding the neighborhood and our old house look just as good it did when it was new. Our house was a Spanish style, with a double archway that lead into a large interior courtyard and the front door.  The back side of the house opened up on an extensive patio system and lots of landscaping.



The Davis' house across the street, and they still live there.

It was so fun to see the house and that it was meticulously maintained.  Across the street was the Davis' house and talk about perfection.  The house was flawless and the grounds immaculate, just as they were 40 years ago.  I parked the truck and went to the front door to see if they were home, but they were not.  I left my card on the door and wrote a short note.  I was sorry not to have been able to have said hello.

The neighbor was still as spectacular as I had remembered it, with big homes on large yards.  Every home had plenty of room for families with kids to play and grow up.  I have very fond memories of the neighborhood and it was really nice to see it again.

It was time for me to head back to the hotel and a long day of conference sessions and networking with the other participants.

What a great day!