From Rubber To Roses

Philadelphia Visit October 2010

2011-04-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

This is a very delayed post. So sorry!

It was my first trip to Philadelphia and Andrew's second. We were there for Matt & Claire's wedding on Saturday, but got into town early on Friday morning so we would have some time to explore the city. Andrew's cousin, Kelley, organized a tour of Independence Hall & it's grounds for a big group of us. It was very interesting and informative, and the day was absolutely beautiful, but we were bummed that the outside of the Hall was under restoration and surrounded by scaffolding - it didn't make for great photo ops. After the tour of Independence Hall and Congress Hall we headed over to the Liberty Bell for another dose of history. Then we broke into separate groups and Andrew & I headed back to the hotel to meet his parents. We grabbed some lunch and spent the afternoon with family at the hotel. That evening Andrew's aunt Brenda had reserved a private room at a local public house for those of us not attending the rehearsal to have dinner. It was great getting a chance to catch up with everyone. The next day, Andrew & I went off on our own to explore Philadelphia. We grabbed some lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. (Philly cheesesteaks of course!) Then we headed over to view the remnants of Benjamin Franklin's house and print shop and see his museum. I must say Franklin was an interesting, but odd guy. Afterwards, we took a carriage ride through the historic area of Philadelphia and Society Hill. It was a fun and educational experience all in one. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

Matt & Claire's Wedding, 10/23/10

2011-04-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is a very delayed post. So sorry!

We had such an amazing time at Matt & Claire's wedding in Philadelphia. The ceremony & reception were both at the Union League right in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. It reminded me of the club where Patti & Jeff had their reception in Washington D.C. Dark wood and carpet - very old boys club style. The difference was that the Union League had a portrait of every single Rebublican president hanging on its walls...oh, and a couple Whigs too I think. Everyone enjoyed taking pictures in front of Richard Nixon's portrait the most.

We did not attend the ceremony as seating was very limited but of course we were at the reception. They had a fantastic meal complete with cake topped with KISS figurines representing Matt & Claire. It was the perfect cake-topper for them. Claire's father gave one of the best Father of the Bride toasts I've ever heard. And the band was awesome! The dance floor was always full. Claire's Outlaw Induction was pretty brutal, but she handled it well. Welcome to the family Claire!

Girl's Fall Outing at Kruger Farm, 10/17/10

2010-10-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous day at Kruger Farm this past Sunday! It was the perfect Fall day - sunny and 60. For $8 each we got entry into the corn maze, an ear of roasted corn, a caramel apple and a pumpkin to take home - a great deal we found at livingsocial.com. When we arrived we decided to hit the corn maze first and found 7 of the 10 markers in the maze before calling it good and deciding it was time for some roasted ears of corn. Some of the ladies also made a stop at the beer cart to help quench their thirst. After our corn, we headed over to the U-pick flower fields for a couple photo ops and then hopped in line to grab our caramel apples. We took our sweet treats with us out to the pumpkin patch to each find that perfect pumpkin to take home with us. It was such a good day!

Sarah & Adam's Wedding Reception, 10/9/10

2010-10-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we helped Adam & Sarah celebrate the beginning of their lives together. They actually got married in August on Maui, but the ceremony was only attended by immediate family, so their good friends Audra & Dan hosted a Portland reception for them on their farm. It was a fun, laid-back affair - BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, a variety of salads and cake in the party barn! Luckily, the rain let up partway through the evening and we had a great time sitting around the bonfire and watching people attempt to make it across the slack-line. Congratulations Sarah & Adam!

Prost Oktoberfest, 10/3/10

2010-10-11T15:54:00.001-07:00

Since we weren't lucky enough to be able to go to the real Oktoberfest in Germany with Weylan and Josh, we had to settle with Prost's inaugural Oktoberfest. We had such a great time! Prost is always a great place to hang out and is one of our favorite East side bars. For Oktoberfest, they had their usual German beers on tap but also had a tasting of all the local microbreweries Oktoberfest's. They had a variety of "keep the glass" specials, vendors selling German clothing and souvenirs and a variety of food options. Jamie wore her beer maid outfit and only got confused as a waitress a dozen times.

Local Natives Concert, 9/25/10

2010-10-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

After our long, grueling day on the bike, we had the Local Natives concert at Wonder Ballroom to attend. Luckily, we got there right when the doors opened and were able to get front and center seats in the very limited seating in the balcony. There was no way I was going to stand the entire time after that bike ride. It was our second time seeing Local Natives in concert and they were even better than we remembered. We also really liked both opening acts - The Union Line and The Love Language - and ended up buying both bands' CDs.

Hood River Harvest Ride, 9/25/10

2010-10-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, Andrew & I participated in another organized bike ride. This one was through the Hood River valley and was an extremely well-organized ride. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky and a high in the upper 70s - perfect weather for biking.

The ride started at the Hood River County Fairgrounds in the heart of the valley and from there you had four different loops you could ride - or make any combo of the four. If you completed all four loops, it added up to a century. Andrew & I made a goal to complete three of the four loops for a total of 60 miles.

We arrived at the fairgrounds around 9:30am and decided to start with the green loop, which was a little over 16 miles through rolling hills of orchards up to Panorama Point park. It was the perfect start to the ride. After completing the green loop around 11:30am, we stopped at the Fairgrounds for an early lunch (turkey sandwiches, lentil salad and brownies) before taking off on the 26 mile blue loop out to Parkdale and through a bunch more orchards. We reached Parkdale around 2:30pm and it was time to decide whether we were going to do the 18 mile orange loop up to Cooper Spur Village. We decided to tough it out and grind through the seven miles uphill to the Village. We reached the village around 3:45pm and then had a 22 mile trek back to the Fairgrounds - but the majority of it was downhill. We finished the whole ride just before 5pm, putting not only 60 miles behind us, but 5000+ feet of vertical climbing as well. It felt like a great accomplishment!

Next year I want to add the fourth loop up to Lost Lake to the ride and complete the century!

Birthday Camping Weekend At Nehalem Bay

2010-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I had the best birthday weekend camping on the coast with Andrew, Lisa & Jon-Michael. We stayed at the Nehalem Bay State Park campground and it was amazing. The weather was perfect all weekend long and our campsite was just a short 5-minute walk over the dunes to the beach. So we had so much fun spending lot of time on the beach and enjoying the Pacific Ocean.

Friday night Andrew and I got to the campsite a couple hours before Jon-Michael and Lisa. So we setup, prepped dinner and then headed to beach to play fetch with Chase and watch the sunset. It was awesome - we found a huge, deep tide pool that Chase just swam back and forth in - he loved it! The sky was almost perfectly clear with just a thin line of clouds on the horizon. So the sunset was beautiful. After sunset, we went back to our campsite to play cards, have a salad appetizer and wait for Lisa and Jon-Michael. When they arrived, we had a late dinner - bleu cheese burgers! Yum!

Saturday we woke to beautiful clear skies. The morning started off right with breakfast sandwiches, fruit and coffee. After breakfast we took our morning trip to the beach to play fetch with Chase and toss around a frisbee. Next, it was time to hop in the cars to drive a few miles up 101 to the North Neahkahnie Mountain trailhead. We hiked the 2.5 up 1300 vertical feet to the pinnacle at the top. Chase was not such a fan of the little space to move at the top but the views were well worth it. After trekking back down the mountain, we headed back to camp to clean up and have an early dinner because our plan was to hit the beach for bocce ball, sunset and a beachside campfire. After another awesome cheeseburger dinner (complete with the best tomato-basil-mozzarella salads I've ever made) I got the best surprise - a homemade red velvet cake that Lisa & Jon-Michael brought all the way from Portland! I have great friends! After we all recovered from our sugar comas, we packed up the gear and headed to the beach. The guys tossed around a football for a bit before we played bocce. I have to say, for someone who claims to have never played the game before, Jon-Michael dominated and he & Lisa buried Andrew & I in the sand. It was bad. So after getting creamed in bocce, it was time to relax and build the campfire. We had a blast just sitting around a roaring fire, listening to the crashing waves, studying the millions of stars in the sky, sipping red wine (and RC Cola) and making s'mores. It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

Sunday morning we awoke to more sunny blue skies. We made breakfast sandwiches and scrambled eggs (mixed with all the leftovers). And, since it was my actual birthday...we had leftover cake for breakfast too! After breakfast, we packed up camp before heading to the beach for one last game of bocce ball and a last dip in the ocean for Chase. At this point, Chase had become pretty comfortable with the waves, and was more than willing to fetch a stick from the open water. He was doing really well until the tide started to come in and all of a sudden a huge breaker formed behind him and our puppy disappeared under the surf. We were convinced he was coming out upside down, but nope! He made it out okay but was a little more timid about going in after that. Bocce was a repeat of the night before - Jon-Michael killed and he & Lisa won (but at least it wasn't a huge of a blood bath as before). After the beach, we headed back to camp, loaded up the cars and headed into Manzanita for lunch before heading back to Portland. We had lunch at Bread & Ocean and cute little bakery and deli that serves all local and fresh food. The best part is they have a big wooden picnic table out front which is excellent for enjoying lunch - communal style - with other dog owners and their pups. We met a family there and their two Goldens who were out in the surf all morning too! After lunch, it was time to head back home to Portland. But my birthday fun didn't end there - I still had my special birthday dinner to look forward to.

Sunday evening, Andrew took me to Paley's Place for dinner. We had a full six-course meal accompanied by some Domaine Drouhin 2007 Pinot Noir. First course - Octopus & King Crab Salad, second course - Charcuterie of three meats (testarossa, stuffed pork shank, jamon iberico de bellota), third course - dungeness crab risotto, fourth course - entrees of cedar-planked king salmon and spit-roasted pork shoulder, fifth course - chef's choice of five cheeses, sixth course - watermelon sundae (and a couple glasses of dessert wine on the house). It was the perfect end to a fantastic birthday.

Kym & Matthew's Portland Visit, Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-09-19T10:00:00.001-07:00

We had a fantastic visit over the long Labor Day Weekend with Kym & Matthew. They were are first friends to visit Portland, so we wanted to make sure we showed them everything Portland and the surrounding area has to offer. They got into town Thursday evening and left early Monday afternoon, and in my opinion, we crammed a lot into those few days. Following is a list of the things we did and be sure to check out the slideshow of our adeventures below!

Attended the last regular-season Timbers game in the USL division.
Between the four of us, sampled food from 16 different food carts around the city – including Addy’s Sandwiches, The Whole Bowl, Koi Fusion, The Sugar Cube, Brunchbox and the Smokin’ Pig.
Hit the Portland sugar hot-spots of Voodoo Doughnuts, Saint Cupcake & Pix Patisserie.
Introduced Kym & Matthew to their first (and best) French macaroons from Pix.
Browsed the hundreds of shelves at Powell’s Books.
Had massages and facials at the Aveda Spa downtown.
Took Chase to the dog park twice.
Had Stumptown from three different locations.
Got photos taken at the photo booth in the Ace Hotel lobby.
Ate the famous Pok Pok chicken wings at The Whiskey Soda lounge.
Sampled beers at eight local microbreweries.
Walked up and down the rows and rows of roses at the International Rose Test Garden and still didn’t see it all.
Saw a movie at McMeniman’s Kennedy School while munching on pizza and had a beer beforehand at the Boiler Room bar.
Hit the PSU Farmer’s Market early, did a ton of grocery shopping there and had Pine State Biscuits for breakfast.
Made an amazing Saturday dinner from our Farmer’s market purchases and weekly CSA bundle - including fresh salmon roast, fresh pasta, tomato-basil-mozzarella salads, chanterelle mushrooms, fresh bread from Pearl Bakery and peppers de perdon from Viridian Farms.
Had an awesome Indian fusion dinner at Vindahlo.
Took the scenic drive around Mt. Hood and made stops at two historical landmarks - Vista House and Timberline lodge.
Had Snowcap Dream hot chocolates at the Ramshead Bar at Timberline.
Stopped in Hood River for lunch at Double Mountain Brewery.
Took two hikes – one to the top of Multnomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge and one around Trillium Lake at Mt. Hood.
Picked a bucket of earlygold apples and fed the goats at Draper Girls Farm in Hood River Valley.
Spent Monday morning enjoying the Chinese Classical Garden.

Summer 2010 Recap (Reader's Digest Version)

2010-09-15T19:29:00.002-07:00

It has been a super busy summer, which explains why I haven't updated the blog since...uh...June. So, I decided to do a quick Reader's Digest recap of our summer. I have included links to the Picasa web albums for various events if you'd like to check out the photos. So buckle up, this is going to be a quick whirlwind ride!

Friday night mojitos & Pambiche with Ashley & Justin - I sti
ll remember when Ashley called me that Sunday evening in June to give me the news that she & Justin were moving back to Kansas. In all honesty, it was very hard to stomach. I was very sad to know that our first and best Portland friends were moving away. But, I realized it was important to spend as much time with them as we could so right away we set up a double-date for that upcoming Friday to make mojitos using fresh mint from their yard and have dinner at Pambiche, a favorite Cuban restaurant of ours. After dinner, we had a nightcap at Migration Brewery. [Click here for photos]

Ed & Laura's wedding - We met Ed & Laura through the Portland Timbers. They have had season tickets for the seats next to us for the past couple years and because we saw them lots each summer, they have become friends outside of our Timbers soccer world. So, we were excited to receive an invite to their wedding. It had to be on of my favorite weddings I've been to. The whole day was very Ed & Laura - super fun & casual, an iTunes playlist of their favorite music playing from Ed's MacBook served as their DJ, a selection of old-school cameras to use at the reception for capturing memories, a vegan cupcake tower for dessert, fresh mini herb gardens in green pyrex pots for centerpieces - it was all so fun. Their food was amazing too - some of the best food I've ever had at a wedding. It was a buffet catered by Phresh - all the dishes were organic and gluten-free and all but one dish was vegan - and the one dish that wasn't was free-range chicken. [Click here for photos]

Jake's Voicebox birthday - Voicebox is an awesome concept. It is a bar with rooms you can rent out for having your own karaoke party with your closest friends - so you can make a total idiot out of yourself without embarrassing yourself in front of complete strangers. We had a blast celebrating Jake's birthday there. Then, after everyone had enough karaoke, we hit a couple bars in the Alphabet District. [Click here for photos]

Organic Brew Fest - This is just one of many of many beer fests that occur in Portland each year. But this one is a definite favorite of ours. It's super casual with lots of people hanging out on the lawn at Overlook park, sampling beers and food from local food carts, while listening to local bands. Lots of fun!

Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders - We didn't get to attend the cross-division match between these rivals last year, so when we found out they were playing against each other this year again at PGE Park, we snagged some tickets. Although the Timbers lost, it was still a lot of fun, especially considering the game went into OT - c'mon Sounders, you're an MLS Team playing an USL Team - you almost lost. Next year, when both the Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps are MLS, we will have an awesome Pacific Northwest soccer rivalry going!

Las Vegas - In celebration of Rafia Dental's 5th Anniversary, Dr. Rafia sent us all to Las Vegas for the Fourth of July long weekend. We had such a great time hanging out at poolside at the Trump Tower (where we stayed), exploring the strip, seeing Cirque de Soliel's Ka, partying at Tao Beach and sipping Margaritas at Margaritaville. [Click here for photos]

Ashley & Justin's Farewell Party - There was no way we were letting Ashley & Justin go without a proper send-off. So we hosted a going away party for them at our apartment. And we finally had a chance to use the second floor patio - first and really only time we have in the two years we lived there. [Click here for photos]

World Cup - We were serious World Cup watchers this year. We recorded almost ever game we could, watched games on our computers via ESPN3, downloaded the World Cup 2010 apps to our iPhones, met in local bars at the crack of dawn to watch the games live with friends - it was so much fun! I even managed to watch a majority of the games live while I was in Las Vegas, getting up early after a night at the clubs to crawl to a local sports betting bar to watch the games. I even got Tascha and Wendy into soccer!

Hike to Kings Mountain Summit - In preparation for St. Helens, Andrew and I decided to tackle this difficult hike in the heart of the Coastal Range. We reached the trailhead around 12:30PM. It was warm out but not too warm - maybe upper 70s. But the fact that the majority of the trail is shaded kept us cool. We started up the trail and realized pretty quickly this was going to be a TOUGH hike. And it only kept getting steeper. We stopped at each elevation marker for a photo op. The breeze kept up which we were very thankful for. The trail was VERY STEEP at the top and required some definite use of the hands. Things were also tricky at the summit due to some loose gravel and the temperature felt like it went up 15 degrees when you lost the shade. We only saw two hikers coming down as we were on our way up. We reached the summit in 2hrs, 15min. The views from up there were spectacular. The skies were clear so to the east, there was no missing Mt. Hood. To the west spread the coastal range and you could see the Pacific Ocean beyond them. Spent some time looking around (and enjoying a Clif bar) before heading back down. We saw four more hikers on our trip down, including one lady with her Corgie. It took us about an hour to get down and I have to say down was much harder than going up. My quads were on fire and at times I couldn't feel my toes. [Click here for photos]

Timbers vs. Manchester City - We were very lucky to have an English Premier League team like Manchester City come to play the Timbers. Because the game was scheduled after the baseball schedule was already set, the Timbers couldn't play at PGE Park because there was already a Beavers game scheduled. So they made the Manchester City exhibition game available to season ticket holders only and they played the game at the University of Portland's stadium , which only holds 6,000 spectators. It was so cool to see a game in such an intimate setting -especially such a big name team playing our local team. Laura even got her Manchester City jersey signed by her favorite player! [Click here for photos]

International Beer Fest - Yes, another beer fest! We spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with friends at this beer fest in the North Park Blocks. It was very laid-back, just hanging out eating good food and drinking good beer. [Click here for photos]

Maegan & Kayo's wedding - Our first visit to Boise was for Maegan & Kayo's wedding. It was a very hot Friday evening in Boise, but gorgeous. And the park gazebo where the ceremony was held was the perfect backdrop for a ceremony full of personal touches including readings near and dear to the couple and a fun intro given by the bride's sisters. Afterwards, we all headed to the Boise Depot for the reception. What a cool venue for a reception! We had such a great time catching up with Nick too. The next day we joined the bride, groom, family & friends in floating the Boise River. [Click here for photos]

Last double date with Ashley & Justin - It was bittersweet going out for our last double date with Ashley & Justin. We had an awesome dinner at Vindahlo - an Indian fusion restaurant just blocks from Ashley & Justin's Portland house. We then had dessert at Sweet Masterpieces - a chocolate & wine bar up in the Pearl. We made a quick stop at Mary's so Justin could get a t-shirt for his Portland T-shirt collection and then headed back to our apartment to watch The Hangover. [Click here for photos]

Nicole & Josh's wedding - We had a great visit with Andrew's family while we were in town for Nicole & Josh's wedding. The wedding was so much fun and the day was absolutely beautiful, but of course the after party was all anyone could talk about. Brian - we will have a rematch in October. We are definitely looking forward to Matt & Claire's wedding! [Click here for photos]

Bridge Petal - This year, Andrew and I participated in the Providence Bridge Petal. It's this awesome organized bike ride where they close various roads and bridges throughout downtown Portland and you bike over all the different bridges - including the two highway bridges! We signed up for the 36-mile, 10-bridge ride, so we got to ride over all the bridges - from the Sellwood all the way up to the St. Johns (except for the Broadway since it was under construction and the Burnside which they keep open for car traffic). [Click here for photos]

Natalie's Estate Winetasting - We had our quarterly wine club event at Natalie's and this time, Jake & Lisa joined us for the festivities. The food and wine was excellent as usual, and Andrew and I were very happy to get our three additional bottles of awesome red wine. After the tasting, we had dinner and more wine at a wine bar in the heart of Dundee.

Climbing Mt. St. Helens - This was the hike we had been waiting for. It was time to summit Mt. St. Helens. We stayed overnight at a very rugged resort in Cougar (Mom & Dad - this is not your type of "resort".) But, despite the not-so-wonderful resort, the bed was comfortable and it put us within a half-hour drive of the trailhead. We got to the trailhead around 6AM and met Andrew's two co-worker's, Tom & David. We were expecting a very hot day (high of 96 degrees) so we were all carrying 3 liters of water each. After everyone was ready to go, we set off up the Monitor Ridge trail from Climber's Bivouac at 6:20AM. The first couple miles was a steady but not too grueling climb up through the woods. But once we reached the tree-line, it was a different story. We were then faced with the first of several boulder fields we would need to climb. So, for the next mile and a half, we alternated between hiking straight up the ridge through scree and climbing monstrous boulders. The views were spectacular - Mt. Adams was off to the left, looming in the crystal clear sky. And because of the these of blue skies, when you turned around to face south, you could see Mt. Hood in the distance and Mt. Jefferson way beyond that. The last mile of the hike was pretty much straight up through deep scree - and this was definitely the hardest part of the hike. When we finally reached the top, we were dog-tired but it was well worth it. Mt. Rainier appeared directly North, right in front of us. And we were staring down into the deep, huge crater - where you could easily see the new cone forming and where vents were still steaming - signs that we were standing atop a still very active volcano that had erupted only 30 years earlier. It was an amazing feeling! After spending a half hour at the top, taking photos and enjoying the views, we turned around to head back down the mountain. It was very slow-going and harder going down than it was going up. We finally reached the trailhead again at 3:15PM. It took us just under nine hours to complete the hike, including a half hour stop at the stop. We would definitely do the hike again! [Click here for photos]

Kristen's Farewell Party - We sadly had to say good-bye to another good friend of ours who left us for a job at The North Face in San Francisco. I can't really say I blame her though 0 I would kill to work for The North Face. But, we saw her off in style with a get together at Prost! - a favorite German bar of ours. [Click here for photos]

Girl's Night Out at Fenouil - In honor of Coco Chanel's birthday and a visit from her French Aunt, Sara organized a girls only happy hour at a local French restuarant - Fenouil. We had an awesome time sitting on the patio there, sipping sparkling wine and enjoying oysters on the half shell, cheese and mussels. It was a perfect Thursday evening!

Moving To A New Apartment - And in case we didn't have enough going on this summer, we decided it would be an excellent time to move into a new apartment. But, now that the hell of moving is over, I can say we are very happy in our new place. It's 20 blocks North of our old apartment, still in downtown but in a more residential area of downtown and much closer to bars, restaurants and my work. We are still right on the streetcar line and have a Safeway grocery store across the street. And the best part - it's a brand new apartment building! [Click here for photos]

Still Creek Camping - Our second camping trip of the season was back to Still Creek, to th exact same campsite we had last year. But, because Ashley & Justin had already moved by this point, our friend Lisa, and her friends Rolando and Todd joined us. We had a great time, especially hiking around Trillium Lake! [Click here for photos]

Jamie's Birthday Party - Happy Birthday Jamie! We had to celebrate our social coordinator's 28th birthday! So Katie had us all over to her apartment complex for a party in their community room. We had an awesome fajita dinner complete with sangria. After hours of partying in the community room, we headed to Life of Riley's - a bar just a few blocks away from Jamie & Weylan's place - for some more partying.

Kickball 2010 - It was a good season. I decided not to play this year because...well, I stink at kickball. But Andrew played and the team made it all the way to the championship game - only to fall to a team of 22-year-olds. I think they did very well! I am sure that their blinding pink shirts help to distract all their competition - don't they look like a box of highlighters?

Gorge Ride, 6/12/10

2010-06-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

So I did it. I completed my first organized bike ride yesterday. With Andrew, I bike just shy of 40 miles and climber 2900 vertical feet along the beautiful Historic Columbia River Highway between The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon.

The ride organizer, Friends of the Historic Columbia River Highway, did an awesome job putting together the ride. There were five stops along the ride - two water stops and three rest stops. Each stop had water and restrooms and the rest stops also had a ton of snacks (fruit, bagels with nutella and peanut butter, muffins, dried blueberries, chips, pretzels) and Gatorade. The route was well marked with neon pink signs and they had volunteers at each turn helping to direct traffic. Back at the Discovery Center at the ride's end was a sack lunch for those riders who had purchased them ahead of time and free ice cream for all riders. The ride map is below.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the scenery was spectacular. We began the ride at the Discovery Center in The Dalles. There we registered, picked up my T-shirt and prepared for the ride. We began the ride heading West along the Route 30 (the Historic Columbia River Highway) to Mayer State Park where we began the climb up to Rowena Crest. It was a steady climb, never reaching more than a 5% grade, but it was definite work and well worth the amazing views. The highway snaked back and forth up to the Rowena Crest viewpoint, where we reached our first water stop. We got off the bikes, filled our water bottles, took in the views and headed on our way. Next we continued through some rolling hills, enjoying more breath-taking views and headed down to Mayersdale Estate where we reached our first rest stop. After a quick break at the beautiful estate, we continued onward through orchards and down to the town of Moiser. Once through the town, we turned off of Highway 30 and continued along Old Columbia River Road, a section of road that had been closed off to vehicle traffic and turned into a bike and hike trail. The trail was perched high above the Columbia with more breathtaking views and included a section that went through some amazing old, recently restored tunnels. We took some time along this section of the ride to pull off at some of the various viewpoints for some photo ops. At the West trailhead, there was another rest stop and this was also the turnaround point. So, after a brief stop, we turned around and began the trip back to the Discovery Center. It was great getting to see all the beautiful scenery a second time and we got to hit Mayersdale Estate again. On the way back we skipped the water stop at Rowena Crest and just had fun with the decent back down to river level. By the last couple miles of the ride, my legs were locking up on me and every petal stroke was serious work, but I made it. And it was well worth the effort.

Camping at Silver Falls, 6/4-6/10

2010-06-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went on our first camping trip of the summer with Ashley & Justin. On Friday evening after work, we drove the hour and a half drive down to Silver Falls State Park near Salem. We were extremely worried about rain considering the record-breaking wet May we had and have already have reached the average monthly rainfall for the month of June, but the gods were nice to us and kept the rain at bay until we were packing up on Sunday morning.

Friday night after we had set up camp, we hung out and talked for a bit before cooking brats up for dinner. Then we had a simple, laid-back night of sitting around the campfire making s'mores.

Saturday, we got up to a beautiful sunny day and decided to start the day off after breakfast with a 10+ mile hike from the campground to the Trail of Ten Falls (AKA the Canyon Trail). It took a good four hours once you factored in the many stops at each Fall for photo ops, but it was well worth it. The waterfalls were flowing fast considering all the recent rain and were absolutely spectacular! After the hike, we returned to the campsite to rescue the dogs who had been napping in the cars since they were not allowed on the trail. We had some lunch and took some time to relax, read and nap. Then we took a evening walk with the dogs along a dog-friendly trail to an off-leash pet exercise area in the park to give them a chance to run off some energy. Then, it was back to camp for a cheeseburger dinner, another campfire and more s'mores.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the rain finally came back, but since we were all snuggled in our sleeping bags (and had no rivers running through the tents) we didn't mind. It was a truly wonderful weekend and a great way to start off the summer!

Winetasting, 5/22/10

2010-05-24T14:55:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday, we had our first Wine Club event at Natalie's Estate Winery in Newberg. Jamie & Weylan joined us for some wine tasting and a pulled pork & teriyaki chicken lunch. We sampled five different newly released wines and also got to watch some hula dancers too. After Natalie's, we decided to do some tasting at the Chehalem Tasting Room right in the heart of downtown Newberg. We sampled twelve different wines there and each took a couple bottles home with us. Andrew and I are tasting again next weekend at August Cellars!

Doggie Dash, 5/15/10

2010-05-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, a group of us and our dogs participated in the 23rd Annual Oregon Humane Society Doggie Dash. It was totally crazy - I have ever seen so many dog in one place before. But, we had a great time! Our group consisted a quite a mix of dogs - we had a Boxer, a Border Collie, a Corgie, a Springer Spaniel, a Border Terrier, a Golden Retriever & a Teacup Yorkie. We participated in the 2.5 mile Bridge-to-Bridge walk and all the dogs made it the entire way - even little Buddy! We raised lots of money for the Humane Society - thanks to all who donated!

Jen's Birthday @ Davis Street Tavern, 4/30/10

2010-05-24T14:53:00.002-07:00

Davis Street Tavern has become a new favorite of ours for sure. Jen has organized two awesome dinners for us there - the last one which was to celebrate her birthday! For $35 per person, you are served 5 courses each consisting of 2 or 3 different options, complete with wine pairings to accompany each course. And the food is absolutely fabulous!

Multnomah Falls Hike, 4/24/10

2010-05-24T14:53:00.001-07:00

Hiking season is here! We decided to start with a traditional 4.5 mile loop around Multnomah Falls. So on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, Ashley, Andrew & I loaded the dogs up and headed to the Falls. It was perfect weather and the perfect temperature - the only downfall was that the trail was PACKED! We still had a great time though. We only have a few months to prepare for Mt. St. Helens!

First Timbers Game of the Season, 4/17/10

2010-05-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

PTFC! PTFC! It's that time of the year again. Soccer season is in full swing and we of course have our season tickets for the Timbers. Although they have been a bit of a slump recently, they came out of the gate on fire, winning their first games with ease. We have such a great time at the games - win or lose. We start off meeting everyone at the Bullpen for drinks before heading to PGE Park for the game. Afterwards, the evening wraps up at another local bar. Hopefully, the Timbers finds their way back onto a winning streak here soon. It would be nice to have a winning season for their last year in the USL before moving to the MLS in 2011.

80s Night, 4/9/10

2010-05-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love the 80s? Every month or so, Lola's Room hosts 80s night and people get all decked out for it. On this particular evening, 80s night was hosting Prom at the Crystal Ballroom so it was a super big event. Even though Andrew & I did not actually go to Crystal Ballroom that evening, we did meet everyone at Jamie & Weylan's for a pre-party. It was fun checking out everyone's outfits!

Amy's Visit to Portland, 4/5/10

2010-05-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I received a message from Amy saying she was going to be visiting Portland over her spring break. Amy was the very first person I met when we moved to Hudson when I was in the 4th grade and we have managed to remain friends throughout the years. Amy has a desire to move to the Pacific Northwest one day, and Andrew & I were happy to show her & her boyfriend, Craig, why the Pacific Northwest is a great place to be. We explored the city for bit, visited Deschutes Brewery & had dinner at Pok Pok, one of our favorite restaurants. It was a great visit!

Easter Skiing, 4/4/10

2010-05-24T14:48:00.002-07:00

I have to say, this was not the best ski season. It was rather warm and the snow wasn't great. But man, did we get hit with some spring storms! Our last day up on the mountain for the season was Easter Sunday and the snow was coming down fast a furious. It was so much fun skiing in all the fresh powder and the mountain wasn't crowded at all. It was the perfect end to the season and a great way to spend Easter.

Portland Protests, 3/28/10

2010-05-24T14:48:00.001-07:00

As a pretty liberal city, Portland has seen its fair share of Protests. The most recent string was protesting police brutality and one of the more extreme protests (involving several arrests and damage to property) happened right in our neighborhood. All of the photos below were taken from our apartment window or from the sidewalk in front of our building. I must say these protesters were organized - they had fliers they were passing out explaining what they were protesting. I scanned one and included it in the slideshow below.

Kansas State Watch Party, 3/27/10

2010-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

With Dayton in the NIT (yes, they won but that still only makes them the 66th best team in the country) we decided to support our Kansas State friends and rooted the Wildcats all the way to the Elite 8 where they unfortunately met their demise against Butler. Hey, they made it further than Ohio State. We had a blast wearing the purple in honor of K-State and blended right in with the alumni at Life of Riley during the watch parties. Well K-State fans, you had a good run this year. And remember, there's always next year.

America's Got Talent, 3/18/10

2010-05-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Have I ever seen the show? No. Do I ever plan on being a regular viewer? No. But when we found out Mary had tickets to see one of the Portland filmings for this upcoming season, we thought we might as well go out of morbid curiousity. I got to say, it was pretty entertaining. The best part was watching all the PAs, crew, Nick Cannon and Sharon Osbourne scramble to catch 20 Chihuahuas loose in the theater while Howie Mandel sat Indian-style in his chair, absolutely terrified. The season premiers June 1st with the LA auditions, but I will keep you posted on when the Portland episode will air.

Mt. Bachelor Ski Weekend, 2/26-28/10

2010-05-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally made it to Mt. Bachelor. Ben rented us a big house in Sunriver for the last weekend in February and 15 of us drove down from Portland on Friday ready to spend a full weekend of skiing Mt. Bachelor. Needless to say, we definitely kept ourselves busy off the slopes too - playing cards and drinking our fair share of beer and Mad Dog 20/20. While on the slopes, Sean (who called it a day early on) kept a table clear for us on the patio of the lodge bar. It was gorgeous the whole time we were there - sunny and blue skies. We got in some serious skiing and also got to spend some time exploring the town of Bend. We will definitely be making this a yearly tradition!

Girls Night Out at Nostrana, 2/18/10

2010-05-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Every month or so, all the girls get together to spend some quality time together - no boys allowed! This past February, Jamie orchestrated an awesome dinner with 20+ of us at Nostrana, an Italian restaurant on the East side. A bunch of us got gnocchi (since it was the Thursday night special) and quite a few ventured to cut their own pizzas with scissors. Honestly, cutting pizza with scissors is a brilliant idea. It was a wonderful evening of girl time.

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-05-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well, our Valentine's Day was pretty low-key this year because Andrew was sick. So we spent a relaxing evening at home - carryout from a local restaurant and a couple of movies from Netflix. Maybe next year we'll spend the night out on the town.

Superbowl Sunday, 2/7/10

2010-05-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

Tracy was a gracious host for this year's Superbowl between the Colts & the Saints. He must have had close to 70 people at his house at any given moment throughout the evening. Most of us were rooting for the underdog and were rewarded when the Saints won. Jamie entertained us with her Chiefs blow-up football helmet and Sean won some money in the poll. It was a great evening of friends, food & football!

Winterhawks Game, 1/30/10

2010-05-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Zac was awesome in arranging an evening to see the Winterhawks play at the Rose Garden. A big group of us first met at Life of Riley to watch the Kansas State vs Kansas University game. Then, a bunch of us left for the Winterhawks game. We had such a great time and it didn't hurt that the Winterhawks won! After the game, we headed to Bailey's Taproom for some drinks. It was a fun night!

My LASIK Eye Surgery

2010-01-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it - I had LASIK eye surgery. It was years of waiting, but so worth it! I really wanted to make sure my eyes had changed for several years before I invested so much money in the surgery. So on January 14th, I had the procedure done at OHSU's Casey Eye Institute. I have to say, it is truly amazing being able to see without glasses or contacts. I have been so blind my entire life - this is truly life changing. Being able to see the alarm clock in the morning, skiing without my contacts drying up, camping without having to struggle taking contacts out in a dark tent by flashlight - how liberating! But, I still have to deal with the precautions and side effects of the surgery - drops, dry and itchy eyes, and being ultra careful not to rub my eyes or get water in them. But it's worth it!

Rose Bowl 2010

2010-01-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Ohio State had won the Big Ten which of course meant they were headed to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on January 1st. At that time though, the Pac 10 had not been decided. When we found out that it would be either U of Oregon or Oregon State in the Rose Bowl with Ohio State, and that the civil war game between the two Oregon teams would decide who won the Pac 10, I was ecstatic. We were having a Rose Bowl Party for sure! Oregon ended up beating Oregon State in the civil war on December 3rd and they were off to the Rose Bowl. I had so much fun prepping for the game - I made sure that both Ohio State and Oregon were fairly represented in the decor (although I was of course rooting for OSU). And we had a good 50/50 mix as to who was rooting for each team. We had a great time - it was a good game. And the Buckeyes won over the favored Ducks!

Christmas 2009 in Milwaukee

2010-01-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

This year, we spent Christmas in Milwaukee. It had been two years since we last visited so it was a long overdue trip. As always, the week went way too fast, but it was wonderful catching up with the family. We got to meet the two soon-to-be new relatives, Claire and Josh, who will be marrying into the family this year. We also met Nora and Alexis who were both utterly adorable! Besides spending some much needed quality time with family, we also took some time to experience as little bit of the city. We spent one afternoon at the Milwaukee Public Museum with Matt, Claire and Brad. It was a nostalgic trip for the guys who reminisced about the days of making the rattlesnake shake at the native American exhibit and watching the claymation dino video in the dinosaur exhibit. Another afternoon, Andrew, Beth, Paul & I went to the Harley Davidson museum which was super cool. It had everything from the beginnings of the company in the early 1900s to present day. Of course, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with family festivities. We had excellent food, held another family auction (raising close to $2000 for charity) and played lots of games - including a round of the Newlywed Game with Matt & Claire vs. Nicole & Josh. As always, we were very sad to leave everyone but are looking forward to seeing the family again in both July and October this year for the weddings!

Blind Pilot & Edward Sharpe Concerts

2010-01-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of December, we attended two awesome concerts. The first concert was Blind Pilot (photo below) - a local band that has been getting noticed on the national scene recently. They've had several TV appearances and played last summer at Austin's South by Southwest music festival. We actually discovered them through a friend of mine from a scrapbooking message board - she went to high school with the lead singer. To listen to one of my favorite songs from them, One Red Thread, click here. It was an awesome show.

The second band we saw (only a few days later) was Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. They are out of L.A. and like Blind Pilot, are started to get noticed on the national scene as well. Andrew & discovered them through NPR's tiny desk concerts. They are a fantastic hippie ensemble. To see they network TV debut performance on Letterman click here. They perform "Home" - a favorite of mine! We also really enjoyed the first of the opening bands that night. They are called the Local Natives and are from L.A. too. Look for their debut album early this year but in the meantime, here's their song Airplanes. Another fabulous show!

Holiday Ale Fest 2009

2010-01-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

This year, we finally made it to the Holiday Ale Fest. During the first week in December, about 40 breweries (both local and national) set up in Pioneer Courthouse Square under a tent next to the big Christmas tree, and pour out samplings of their high-octane winter ales. Ashley, Justin, Andrew & I decided to go the first night to get our hands on the best selection. And since it was Wednesday, we avoided the weekend crowds. We met up with Zach while we were there too and the five of us ended up grabbing a late dinner afterwards at Leaky Roof. All in all, a good night!

Annual November Winetasting

2010-01-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend means only one thing - it's time for the annual winetasting event! Each year, Anusha coordinates a day-long trip to Oregon wine country. Thanksgiving weekend is one of the biggest tasting weekends of the year and we take advantage by renting a party bus (complete with karaoke) and visiting several local wineries. This year we headed up to the Hood River wine region along the Columbia River gorge and visited three wineries - Cathedral Ridge, Pheasant Valley and Springhouse Cellars. It was another awesome time and we took full advantage of the coolers full of beer and karaoke on our way to each winery and back to Portland. I think we all had our fill of alcohol by the day's end.

Orphan Thanksgiving 2009

2010-01-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

This year we again spent the Thanksgiving holiday with our local Portland friends who also did not have family in the area. Zach was so gracious to host and we had a feast with all the usual trimmings - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberries, green beans, pie...and of course football!

New Moon!

2010-01-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a Twilight junkie. I admit it. So, I of course was among the many who flocked to the theaters in November to see the second installment of the Twilight saga - New Moon. And as a diehard member of Team Jacob, I was very excited for this movie. Was it cheesy? Yes. Was it full of overacting? Yes. Was it full of unrealistic special effects? Yes. Was it fantastic? Yes.

Above: Sarah, Katie and Jamie at Regal Cinemas in Pioneer Place with the New Moon poster.

Our trip to Washington DC!

2009-10-31T15:11:00.002-07:00

I was very excited when I received an email months ago from Jeff telling me he and Patti were engaged. Then, I found out the wedding was in Washington DC (where Patti is originally from) and was even more excited because I had NEVER been to DC! So, when Andrew and I were making plans to travel cross-country for the wedding on October 17th, we decided to build a couple days into our trip to go out and see the DC sites. Plus, we wanted to incorporate time to see Andrew's cousins Brian and Erin who live in the DC area.

So we took the wonderful red-eye out on Friday night and had one layover in Atlanta before landing in Baltimore. Andrew's friend from high school, Meagan met us at the airport and we headed to Ruby Tuesday for lunch and some time to catch up with her. She's currently living in Baltimore and working on her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins. After lunch, Meagan dropped us off at the train station where we boarded for the 45-minute ride to DC. After arriving in DC, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Sofitel, located right in the heart of DC. Andrew left to go pick up his tux a few blocks away and I took a quick power nap before we had to get ready for the wedding. When we got off the elevator in the lobby on our way to the ceremony, I was so excited to see Artie standing there. It had been almost two years since we'd seen each other and with him living in Germany, I had no idea when we'd see each other next. He introduced us to his long-time girlfriend, Nele who is extremely sweet! We boarded the bus to head the church and it was unfortunately pouring down rain. The cermony was absolutely beautiful though and Jeff was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. The look he had on his face when Patti walked down the aisle was priceless and Patti was a stunning bride. We headed over to the Metropolitan Club for the reception and everything was 4-star. Wonderful cocktail hour, excellent dinner, great atmosphere, an expresso bar during dessert and a well-stocked bar. It was so much fun to reconnect with friends from the past like Ben (and his new wife Leanne), Brian (Jeff's best friend from college and his Best Man) and Rob. The dance floor was full the entire night and we closed down the club. Everyone was exhausted so we all hit the sack soon after getting back to hotel.

The next morning, Andrew, Artie, Nele and I planned to spend the day together site-seeing around DC. After brunch at Cosi, we started with a trip to the Holocaust Memorial museum. It was a sobering yet eye-opening experience and considering the heavy topic and graphic history, I have to say the museum was very well done. After the museum, we decided to explore the reflecting pool side of the National Mall. We started at the Washington Memorial and then headed over to the World War II Memorial. Next we walked along the south side of the reflecting pool down to the Lincoln Memorial, which was probably one of my favorite things we saw in all of DC. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln, the view from the steps of the Washington monument over the reflecting pool, seeing the spot where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech - it was inspiring. Next, we headed over to the Vietnam War Memorial which was also a sobering experience. The number of names on the wall of black granite - all those people who gave their lives in the name of freedom. Before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we took a stroll by the White House for some photo opportunities. While there we got to see a member of the First Family - Bo the First Dog!! When we got back to the hotel, Andrew and I had to get ready to meet the family for dinner. We were meeting Brian, his girlfriend Marisa, Erin and her husband Ben and Andrew's aunt Becky and uncle John (who were in town for a conference) at Brasserie Beck, an excellent French restaurant. Dinner was so good and we had so much fun visiting with all of the family.

The next morning, Artie, Nele, Andrew and I grabbed breakfast at the Old Post Office building before Artie and Nele had to get on the road to head to Philadelphia. Then Andrew and I headed over to Ford's Theatre to get a quick photo before boarding the site-seeing tour bus. The bus took us all over to see all the major sites in DC - the National Mall, Foggy Bottom, Embassy Row, Georgetown, the National Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, Capitol Hill and of course the National Mall. It was a hop-on, hop-off tour so Andrew and I had our planned stops in mind. We first got off at Georgetown to walk along M Street past all the shops and to grab a quick lunch. Our next stop was at Arlington National Cemetery. We got tickets for the tram that took us around the cemetery and we got off at two of the stops offered - one at the Kennedy Grave Site and the other at the Tomb of the Unknowns. When we got back on the tram after the Tomb of the Unknowns to head back to the Visitor's Center, we sat down and all of sudden I hear, "Megan!" I turn and sitting across the aisle from us are Kathy and Matt Haubert. Talk about a small world!! After the cemetery, we got back on the bus to continue our tour. The next stop we got off at was Capitol Hill. There we took lots of photos in front if the Capitol and then headed over to the Supreme Court to look around. We then got back on the bus and got off at the Smithsonian American History Museum. There we saw the original star-spangled banner, explored the pop culture exhibit, saw many artifacts from the lincoln era, walked through the First Ladies and American Transportation exhibits and saw Julia Child's kitchen. We decided to call it a day after that. We grabbed a quick drink at bar before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Brian and Marisa. Brian met us at the hotel on his way home from work and we took a cap up to his and Marisa's apartment. We had a quick drink at their place before grabbing dinner at a restaurant right downstairs from their place. We wrapped up the night early though since both Brian and Marisa had to work the next day and Andrew and I had an early flight.

It was a great first trip to our nation's capital! And it only took me 28 years to get there!

Our 5th Anniversary Trip to Newport!

2009-10-31T15:11:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I had a wonderful weekend trip in Newport, Oregon to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. On our actual anniversary, October 9th, we headed out to Newport that evening after work and arrived in Newport in time to have a late dinner at April's, a quaint local restaurant in historic Nye beach. After dinner, all we had to do was walk across the street to our hotel - the Silvia Beach. This is the hotel we stayed at six years ago while in Newport on our Western US Road Trip. It is a unique place because it is literary-themed with a 3rd floor library, each roomed designed around a particular author and a restaurant called the Tables of Content. That night we stayed in the Edgar Allan Poe room and it was FREAKY!! Stuffed ravens all over, black and red wallpaper, red velvet curtains and bedspread, a bricked-up closet and a pendulum swinging above the bed. So much fun!

The next morning, we had a good breakfast down in the Tables of Content restaurant before heading out to Yaquina Head. We took a 3 mile walk around the Peninsula - up the hill to get a view of the surroundings and then down towards the quarry to see the pelicans. Next, we headed over to the Historic Bayfront to walk around before having an excellent fresh seafood lunch at Local Oceans restuarant. Then we headed to the Newport Aquarium for the afternoon. The special exhibit was called "Oddwater" and focused on those creatures found in the deep seas - lots of cool and unique marine species to see and some we could even touch. After the aquarium, we headed over to Rogue's brewery to hit up the warehouse sale and for happy hour. Then we headed back to the hotel where we planned to have dinner at the Tables of Content. Before dinner though, we headed down to the beach to watch sunset. We had dinner there six years ago and the food was good and it was fun because you eat family-style with other guests and play "two truths and a lie." It was just as fun and the food was just as good as we remembered it. That night we spent in the Herman Melville room - complete with it's "large white" king-sized bed, ship portal mirror, model ships and whales all over the room.

Sunday morning after breakfast and checking out from the Silvia Beach, we decided t walk along the beach for a bit and then walk around historic Nye Beach, ducking in and out of all the little shops. We had lunch at the Chowder Bowl (a Newport favorite of ours) before heading back to Portland.

It was a great weekend!

Mom & Dad's Visit To PDX, 9/2009

2009-09-27T11:37:00.001-07:00

Just like last September, Mom and Dad decided to take a week to come visit us in Portland. Although, they weren't here over my actual birthday, they came the week after to celebrate. Here's a recap of what we did while they were in town...

Wednesday. Andrew had to work, so I had Mom & Dad to myself during the day. We first took a morning walk up into the West Hills. I took them on Chase's and my standard three mile loop and they had lots of fun taking in the great views and checking out the amazing homes up on their stilts. We had an awesome breakfast at the Heathman hotel - Dungeness Crab Omelets and Salmon Hash. Yum! We then headed down to Dundee (my personal favorite town for wineries in the Willamette Valley) and did tastings at three of the wineries there - Erath, Lange and Tori Mor. When we came back to PDX, we decided to head to one of Mom & Dad's favorite places from last time for happy hour - VQ. Andrew met us there for drinks and appetizers. We ended the evening at A-Pizza Scholl's, possibly the best pizza place ever, with lots of good microbrews, awesome pizza and Caesar salad! After dinner, we met Ashley & Justin at Pix Patisserie for dessert and a nightcap.

Thursday. Andrew had this day off of work so we decided to do the scenic drive around Mt. Hood. We started with a drive down Hwy 30 and stopped off at Vista House - which is basically an ornate rest station that was built way back when. Next, we headed onto Multnomah Falls, one of the most famous of the many picturesque waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge. We did the two mile round-trip hike to the top of the falls. The first half up the many switchbacks was fairly strenuous but well worth the views from the top. After the falls, we drove on to Hood River where we stopped at Full Sail brewery for lunch. We sat out on the patio and watched the wind surfers while sipping on some beer and enjoying our food. Next stop after lunch was Pheasant Valley winery for a quick tasting and Draper girls farm to pick up some apples, pears and cider for a snack on the road. We then headed on to our final stop - Timberline Lodge. There we walked around the lodge for a bit and headed up to the Ram's Head bar for a drink. Then it was back to Portland to quickly get ready for dinner at Leaky Roof and the Timbers game. Coincidentally the Timbers played the Cleveland City Stars that night - Portland won.

Friday. This day did not go as I initially planned because we received a surprise package at our door around 10AM - the Roger Haas custom-made headboard that used to be in Dan's room. I was speechless. So after Mom & Dad got back from a morning walk on the waterfront, they helped me set the new headboard up. By then it was lunchtime, so we headed back to the waterfront to meet Andrew for lunch at McCormick & Schmick's. That afternoon, Mom, Dad & I headed to the Columbia Outlet to do some serious shopping - we got lots of good stuff! We then took Chase for a walk in the South Park Blocks before heading to Ringside, a nationally known steakhouse, for dinner. Everyone enjoyed their dinners immensely, especially the famous Ringside onion rings. After dinner, we picked up some chocolate truffles from Sweet Masterpieces and headed back to the apartment to watch Jack Nicholson in The Shining (since we had just been up at Timberline Lodge the day before).

Saturday. We woke up to a very rainy day. But, despite the rain, we still decided to make a quick trip to the farmer's market. Mom & Dad were good sports standing there in their Columbia Jackets in the "beautiful" PacNW rain. But we came back with lots of goodies - some groceries for Andrew & I for the upcoming week, Oregon hazelnuts, Stumptown coffee and breakfast burritos! After drying off, we got all packed up and ready to head to the coast while Andrew dropped Chase off at the kennel. We set off for the coast and as we headed over the Coastal Range, the rain started to lift. We were greeted by sunshine when we reached the coast - a very rare thing to see on the Oregon Coast. We began our coat trip by taking a walk along Cannon Beach all the way up to Haystack Rock. After the walk on the beach, we headed into town to Bill's Tavern to watch some football and have some beer. Then we (or more accurately Mom) did some shopping. After that, we headed down to the Ocean Lodge to check in. The lodge was decorated in a Northwest feel and both of our rooms faced the ocean and had balconies with amazing views of Haystack rock. We decided to split a bottle of wine out on the balcony before heading to dinner at The Bistro. While we were enjoying our wine, we noticed how low the tide was and decided to go check out the tidepools at Haystack Rock. So we set off for a short walk on the beach before dinner. The tide pools were full of sea anemones, starfish and mussels. One surfer even found a crab! We stuck around examining the tide pools long enough to catch the gorgeous sunset as well. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. At The Bistro, in the tiny little restaurant, we had a fabulous seafood dinner while listening to a local musician play the guitar.

Sunday. It was a beautiful morning on the Coast. We started the morning with a good continental breakfast at the Ocean Lodge before checking out and heading up to Ecola State Park. There we took a three-mile round trip hike from Ecola Point to Indian Beach. All along the hike we had great views of the shoreline as well as the Tillamook Rock lighthouse. After the hike, we headed up the coast to Seaside and had lunch at Goose Hollow at the Cove. The original Goose Hollow Inn in Portland is only blocks from our apartment and is know for its ruebens. And the ruebens at the sister restaurant were just as good. After lunch we continued north to Fort Stevens State Park which sits on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Fort Stevens was originally established during the Civil War but is best known as the only mainland fort to ever be fired upon during World War II. At the state park, we were able to roam the remains of the military fort - the barrack foundations, the batteries, the war games building (now a museum) and an old Indian log home. It was very interesting to learn about all the histry of the fort. After we finished at the fort, we headed elsewhere in the park to check out the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale and also to head to the viewing platform to see the mouth of the Columbia River. After we finished at the state park, we drove to Astoria and checked into the Cannery Pier hotel - a gorgeous hotel that sits where an old cannery used to be out in the Columbia River. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is right next to the hotel and we loved being able to sit right out on the pier in the river with a glass of wine and watch the amazing ships go up and down the river under the bridge. For dinner that evening, we headed right across the parking lot to the Bridgefront Bistro - a fabulous restaurant that also sits where an old cannery once stood. There we had yet another amazing seafood dinner.

Monday. We started our last day with another good continental breakfast at the hotel before heading out for Cape Disappointment, across the river in Washington. So we crossed the 3.5 mile Astoria-Megler bridge and after a couple detours due to construction finally made it to Cape Disappointment, where we took a mile-long round trip walk to the Cape Disappointment lighthouse, one of the few remaining active lighthouses in the PacNW. From the lighthouse, we had amazing views of the mouth of the Columbia. It was absolutely amazing to see where this mammoth river met the Pacific Ocean. We also took some time to check out the Interpretive Center, where we got to delve into the history of the Lewis & Clark expedition and the treacherous shipping industry. After Cape Disappointment, we had lunch back in Astoria at Baked Alaska - the owner/chef started his culinary business as a mobile soup car in Alaska before settling in Astoria. I had quite possibly the best fish tacos ever. We then headed back to Portland, picked Chase up from the kennel and took him to the dog park up at Council Crest to run around a bit. It also is the highest Western Point in Portland and offers amazing views of the City and the Cascades (including views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens). After the park, we had our last dinner at Pambiche, a favorite Cuban restaurant of ours. We ended the night with NFL football and leftover birthday cake (Carrot Cake from Pearl Bakery) back at the apartment before dropping Mom & Dad off at the PDX Airport Clarion hotel.

An unexpected surprise!

2009-09-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

On friday morning when Mom and Dad were in town, I was on my way to the gym (Andrew was at work and Mom & Dad were walking along the waterfront) when I was stopped at the elevator by our apartment manager. He told me not to go anywhere because there was a huge package downstairs that was being delivered to us. The next thing I know, there is a delivery guy stepping off the other elevator wheeling a HUGE box. While I struggled to hold open our door for him while keeping the dog in check, I asked what the heck it could be and he said the delivery slip said it was a headboard. I know right away it was one of my Dad's custom headboards and I started to cry. I quickly signed for it, leashed up the dog and ran down to the waterfront to find my parents. When I saw them, I ran up and tackled Dad in a hug - he was so startled and didn't even know it was me! I told them how excited and appreciative I was and the whole story of how I almost wasn't there when it was delivered.

Turning 28...

2009-09-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

So, here I am - 28 now. To celebrate, we had a laid-back get together at our apartment on Saturday. Andrew, being told all the cool kids have theme parties, decided that we were all to wear green as a theme, to honor my obsession with all things green. In a way, it could have been viewed as a halfway to St. Patty's Day party also. It was a lot of fun - we watched lots of college football, downed beer and wine, snacked on munchies and enjoyed an awesome carrot cake from Pearl Bakery.

There were lots of people in attendance with birthdays around this time of the year. Pictured above are four of us - Ashley (Oct. 1st), Sean (Sept. 10), Justin (Sept. 7) and me (Sept. 12). Two others not pictured were Kristen (Aug. 25) and Jamie (Aug. 30).

Ecola State Park Hike & Cannon Beach Camping

2009-09-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took our last camping trip of the season. We headed out to Cannon Beach to Wright's Campground with Ashley, Justin and Lisa. Although it was rainy a bit on Friday and Saturday morning, we still had a wonderful time. Thankfully, Andrew and I had bought the picnic table shelter because we would have been miserable without it. On Saturday, we took a nice 3-mile hike from Ecola Point to Indian Beach and back along the coast of Ecola State Park. It was still damp, but the sun did eventually come out to greet us for a bit. For you Twilight fans out there, Indian Beach is where they filmed the beach/surfing scene in the movie.

Cheesemaking fun!

2009-09-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

One night a couple weeks ago, Andrew and I went over to Ashley & Justin's to make cheese. We were actually successful in creating our own homemade rosemary mozzarella, although it was looking a little sketchy at times during the process. It was tasty and just as good as (or better than) the fresh mozzarella you get at the grocery store. It was a lot of fun to make too!

Colorado Bike Trip, 8/09

2009-08-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Bad Blogger Alert!

2009-08-16T16:36:00.002-07:00

Yes, I have been a TERRIBLE blogger. It's been since (a'hem) March since I last updated the blog. And now, NINETEEN posts later, we are back up to date. I promise I will not let it go that long again without updating. So, I hope you'll take some time to review these latest posts. I don't expect you to read them all, but there are lots of photos to check out too!

Rafia Dental in Seattle!

2009-08-16T16:36:00.001-07:00

I am lucky to have a boss that believes in the importance of fun team bonding. This past weekend, Dr. Rafia sent out entire team (front desk, assistants and hygienists) to Seattle for a fun-filled weekend of sight-seeing, good food, shopping and baseball! On Friday afternoon, we board the Cascade Amtrak train at the Portland Station ready for the 3.5 hour trip up to Seattle. It was such a great way to travel - so much more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than flying and driving! Dr. Rafia put us up at the Hyatt Olive8 - a new hotel right in the heart of downtown Seattle. We had until Sunday morning to tear the city up. Here are the highlights....

A pre-dinner drink Friday night at Urbane - Olive8's restaurant & bar.
An awesome Sushi & Asian-Pacific Northwest fusion dinner at Red Fin.
A visit to the Space Needle (Tascha & I braved the 510' elevator ride to the top).
A monorail ride from the Space Needle back to downtown Seattle (for Tascha & I).
Lunch and several beers at the Pike Place Brewery & Pub.
A walk through the Pike Place Market.
A visit to the famous Pike Place Fish Counter where Tessie got to serve customers & throw fish with all the guys working there!
A quick walk by the original Starbucks.
A visit to the Seattle aquarium where Tessie & Kim also got to get there faces painted.
Some shopping in downtown Seattle (including a stop at H&M since we don't have one in PDX).
Tickets to the Mariners/Yankees baseball game Saturday night for Tessie, Kayla & Kim. They had fun even though the Mariners lost 5-2.
A 100% comped dinner & drinks at Urbane Saturday night for Wendy, Tascha & I due to a major credit card blunder on the hotel's part.
A run-in with the New York Yankees as they were getting off their bus and heading into their downtown hotel. We just happened to be walking by.
A crazy hour of Long Island Iced Teas and beers at Von's.
Late night Happy Hour for the baseball girls at Dragonfish.
And of course, the round-trip train ride to and from Seattle.

A visit to Mesa Verde.

2009-08-13T00:20:00.003-07:00

Just last week, Andrew flew down to Durango, Colorado where he met his Dad, Paul and brothers, Brad & Peter, to embark on a 4-day, 300+ mile bike ride through Southwest Colorado. They had a great time on the ride, met lots of other riders, had the chance to explore fun towns including Telluride and even had the chance to take a side trip to Mesa Verde National Park.

While at Mesa Verde, they toured two of the amazing Native American cliff dwellings - Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Mesa Verde is full of rich history and is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area. (I am speaking from personal experience as I visited the park in 1998.)

I hope to post more photos from the actual ride as soon as the photographer (aka Paul) sends us the photos.

It's Thriller, Thriller Night...

2009-08-13T00:19:00.001-07:00

Leave it to our friend Jamie to come up with one of the most creative activities for our monthly Girls Night Out. She arranged for a friend's husband to teach all of us the zombie dance from Michael Jackson's Thriller video. We rented out a studio in NW Portland on July 29th (the same day PDX had a record high of 110 degrees) and all got together to dance like zombies. We had a blast and our instructor and his wife even gave out awards. I won "Best Back Row" and my prize was a VHS copy of all the music videos from Michael Jackson's Dangerous album - sweet! I must also mention that the organization of this event and Michael Jackson's untimely death was merely and coincidence. Jamie had this planned prior to June 25th, 2009.

Skin Visible

2009-08-13T00:18:00.001-07:00

What do you think of when you hear there is a special exhibition at an art museum? Well, I am sure it isn't a exhibit focused around tattooing. But, that is exactly what the Portland Art Museum had going on as a special exhibit this past July. For one weekend, the art museum hosted "Skin Visible" - an exhibit on tattooing as art. On Saturday, they even had a show as part of the exhibit and we bought tickets for that as well. It was a sort of documentary of tattooing in Portland, a fashion show, burlesque show, fire dancers and acrobats all rolled into one - pretty cool! Then afterwards, you could meet the various performers and check out their tattoos as well as visit all the booths set up by the local tattoo shops. This is definitely the type of event where it's pretty safe to say "only in Portland."

A Night of Coraline & Chocolate!

2009-08-13T00:17:00.000-07:00

Andrew & I have wanted an excuse to try out Living Room Theaters and we figured the need to see Coraline in 3D was a perfect reason to go. So, one Wednesday night this past July, we met Justin & Ashley for a double date at Living Room theaters. Coraline was a fun movie and I'm glad we took the opportunity to see it in 3D. What made the movie even better was that it is a movie out of Portland, with many of the creative minds behind the movie being locals. Laika (the production company behind the film) is based in Portland and since I know many Laika employees, I recognized many names on the credits so that was pretty cool. After the movie, we decided we needed some dessert so we headed over to Sweet Masterpieces for some truffles and red wine.

Still Creek Camping, 7/17-19/09

2009-08-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

It was time for Ashley, Justin, Andrew & I to o on our monthly camping trip and we headed back up to Mt. Hood, but camped at Still Creek campground instead. Our campsite was awesome - far apart from our neighbors and had the creek running right along the back of the site. The dogs loved having the water to wade in and the extra space around our site allowed for some extreme bocce ball! We had a wonderful weekend of camping. We had some great camping food, lots of good beer and wine and a campfire and s'mores both nights. On Saturday, Andrew went on a long bike ride up to Timberline lodge and around the Mt. Hood area while Ashley, Justin, the dogs and I headed to Trillium Lake for a hike. We also had the opportunity to take some great photos of Mt. Hood and checked out a preserved pioneer cemetery. On Sunday, before heading out, we took one last hike on a trail right near our campground. It was definitely another successful camping trip.

Beth & Paul's Visit, 7/09

2009-08-13T00:14:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful Beth & Paul were able to come out and visit it again so soon! It was also wonderful getting to spend the Fourth of July holiday with them. The first day they got here, we spent some time at Goose Hollow Inn catching up on life over a couple pitchers. That evening we took them to a favorite Cuban restaurant of ours, Pambiche, for a tasty, filling meal. After a viewing of Twilight (since Beth had never seen it), we all turned in for the night since we were taking off early the next morning for the coast.

We decided on the way out to the coast the next day to stop in wine country at two of our favorite wineries - Four Graces and Erath for some tasting. Erath was even having a holiday special - 10 tastings, a BBQ lunch and a beautiful pinot balloon glass all for $15. It was a good thing we stopped for a bit because we spent a good two more hours stuck in traffic on the way to coast. After getting settled into the house and taking some time to read and nap, we headed up to Lincoln City to have dinner at Mo's - an Oregon Coast institution. We first stopped by Devil's Punchbowl (a geological formation on a rocky section of the coast) for a quick visit before arriving at Mo's. Beth spent our time waiting for a table perusing the gift shop for all things "crabby," and once we were seated Paul didn't hesitate in ordering a hot chocolate with the works.

The next day, the Fourth of July, we headed down to Newport for the day. We had breakfast at the Whale's Tale and walked along the Bay Front, enjoying all the little shops and also watching the fishermen unload today's catch. We also took some time to visit the Yaquina Head lighthouse and recreation area which was beautiful and very educational. Our next stop was the historic Nye Beach area for some more window shopping and a walk along the very foggy and cold beach. We also showed Beth & Paul the Sylvia Beach hotel where Andrew and I stayed on our trip out West six years ago and we also took some time for a late lunch and a couple games of Euchre a nearby Irish Pub. We then headed over to Rogue Brewery for dinner before heading back to the house. We decided not to stay for fireworks due to the fog.

The next morning, we got up early to go whale watching with Carrie Newell, the same lady Andrew and I went whale watching with last October. It took some time, but we eventually found Vinny, a young 2-year-old whale, off the coast a ways. We were even lucky enough to get fluked (see the whole end of his whale's tale as he dove). After whale watching, we picked up Chase and headed back down to Newport for one last romp through Nye Beach and lunch at the Chowder Bowl before heading back to Portland. It took a good three hours to get back to the city with all the traffic, so by the time we did arrive home, everyone voted for a good walk through the West Hills followed by a low-key night at home with carry-out and cards.

The next day we spent in Portland and started the day off with another hard walk through the West Hills. After that, we came home to get cleaned up and headed off to explore the International Rose Test Garden up at Washington Park. Andrew, Beth & Paul then took a trip to the Columbia Outlet while Chase and I hung out at home. When they all returned, we headed up to the Chinese Gardens, something Andrew & I had yet to do - what an amazing place that is! While in the gardens, it is so easy to forget you are in the middle of a city. After the gardens, we headed to Higgins for dinner before wrapping up our evening.

Overall, it was a great visit!

Bark in the Park Timbers Game, 6/28/09

2009-08-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

So this year, we purchased season tickets to the Timbers, Portland USL team. This season has been great and the games are always a blast. It doesn't hurt to have the crazy Timbers Army, a team in first place (as of 8/13/09) and high prospects of the team joining the MLS in 2011. We have spent many Thursday and Saturday evenings at PGE Park watching the Timbers play, but the game on June 28th was extra special because it was Bark in the Park which means we got to take Chase to the game with us! Each season, PGE park designates a few Beavers (AAA baseball) and Timbers games where you can bring your dog. It was a lot of fun and Chase even sported his Timbers pride by wearing a scarf.

Camping at Clackamas Lake, 6/26-28/09

2009-08-13T00:10:00.000-07:00

Ashley, Justin, Andrew & I made a pact to go camping once a month through the summer. So, in June we ended up back at Clackamas Lake campground only one site over from where we camped last year. We had a great time returning to our old stomping ground, even if we couldn't quite remember how to get there initially. We had a great weekend of camp food, hiking, lounging, swimming (for the dogs) and biking (for Andrew and a little for me too).

Time for some kickball!

2009-08-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our friends have played kickball in the Underdog Sports league for the past few summers and this year Andrew & I joined them. There is something pretty hilarious about watching grown adults play a kids recess game. We had a blast playing this summer, even though we only made it to the first round of playoffs.

Backyard cookout at Mom & Dad's (6/14/09)

2009-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Because we were only in town for a few days for the weddings, that Sunday evening Mom & Dad had a backyard cookout so we could have the chance to visit with family and friends. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but at least we got the chance to see everyone, no matter how brief the visit was!

Two Weddings, One Weekend in Ohio.

2009-08-10T11:28:00.001-07:00

By this point Andrew and I are pretty used to going stag to weddings. It happened again this past June that we had two different weddings on the same weekend. Lucky for us though, they were both back in Akron, Ohio which means we were able to be in the same city, even though we attended separate weddings. My best friend Katie's wedding to Evan was in downtown Akron at the Greek Orthodox Church and as her Matron of Honor, I was by her side throughout the festivities. Andrew headed down to Norton (a suburb of Akron) to attend the wedding of his college roommate Andy to his long-time girlfriend Emily. Both weddings were fabulous but Andrew and I are looking forward to attending a wedding together for once.

Northern California Trip (May 2009)

2009-08-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

We decided (sort of spur of the moment) to take a one week trip around Northern California - hitting San Francisco, Napa Valley, Redwood National Park and some sights in between! It was great to visit San Francisco because we got to spend time with my good childhood friend, Kym. Here are the highlights from our trip...

We stayed in Kym's Marina District apartment in San Francisco and got to enjoy her amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts & Alcatraz.
Our first night in San Francisco we took a nice long walk with Chase down to the Palace of Fine Arts and Chrissy Fields.
The first full day in San Francisco we got to experience Bay to Breakers, a San Francisco tradition. It's a 7-mile race from the Bay side of the city to the ocean side and consists of everything from serious runners, people who want to run it to get a good time, people in costume running for fun, naked runners, people who jump in from the sidelines to join the race (like we did) and parade floats at the very end. It was a crazy time!
We ended our Bay to Breakers 5-mile walk with a picnic lunch on the beach.
That night we headed to the Haight-Ashbury district to eat at one of Kym's favorite tapas places.
The next morning, we began with a trip to Lombard street - the crookedest street in the world.
We headed up to Coit Tower to check out the views and see the murals.
A quick visit to the Cable Car museum gave us the history of these legendary methods of transportation and now a San Francisco staple.
A trip to China Town was in order to see the China Town gate, get some lunch and visit the fortune cookie factory.
We had to see Union Square and Andrew even did some shopping at Niketown.
Just because we were tourists, we had to ride a cable car and took the line from Union Square over to Fisherman's Wharf.
Time for a break at the Buena Vista sipping on Irish Coffees!
Next we checked out Ghirardelli Square and had some chocolate.
A walk home to Kym's was in order after all the treats we had so we walked back by way of Fort Mason.
Chase loved running off leash at the Presidio.
The next day we had to drop Kym off at the airport for her flight to Arkansas.
We took the required trip to Alcatraz. It was so interesting to learn the history of Alcatraz - from it's time as a military fort to the attempted reclamation of the island in the 1970s by the Native Americans.
Andrew and I then took a bus tour that took us to all the major sites - Fisherman's Wharf, the Financial District, Union Square, City Hall and the Opera House, Golden Gate Park, Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies, Haight-Ashbury, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts.
We took a couple breaks along the bus tour - one to tour the Japanese Tea Garden and one to take photos at the Golden Gate Bridge.
That night we went out to dinner in the Castro District and got some photo ops of the famous Castro Theater and Harvey Milk Plaza.
The next day we got up to continue our travels to Napa Valley.
We crossed the Golden Gate and went to Point Bonita for some photos of the Golden Gate with the city behind it.
Next, we stopped in Sausalito for a morning walk and had lunch at an awesome pace right on the harbor.
We stopped at Gloria Farrer in Sonoma for a quick glass of sparkling wine.
Our next visit was to Hess to sample some bold reds and see the collection of modern art there.
Time to check in at our B&B, the Beazley House. It was a wonderful place to stay and was the perfect place to stay with Chase.
That night we had dinner at Bistro Jeanty - yum!
The next day, we tasted at three wineries - Chimney Rock, Mumm Napa & Domaine Chandon.
Dad organized a VIP tour for Andrew & I at Chimney Rock - we had a personal one on one tour of the vineyards & winery, got to do some barrel tasting and then had a formal tasting complete with cheese and fruit pairings.
Lunch was at the esteemed Bouchon.
The next day we hit V. Sattui winery on the way back north.
We took our time driving up to Redwood, stopping for a couple picnics along the way.
At Redwood the next couple days we walked the trail through the Ladybird Johnson Grove, took many of the dirt road scenic drives through the redwoods, took a trip out to Point St. George to take in some awesome views of the Pacific & took Chase over the Smith River for some play time (where he made friends with a chocolate lab).

Multnomah Falls Hike (5/10/09)

2009-08-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Our last visit to Multnomah Falls was pretty chilly (it was in January after all) so one warm Sunday in May, Andrew, Ashley, Justin & I set out with the dogs to take a hike at the Falls. We did a 5 mile loop that include a short side trip to the top of the Falls. We got to experience some awesome views of the Columbia Gorge and got a good workout too!

Pink In The Park (5/8/09)

2009-08-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

One Friday night in May, we all got together at PGE Park to watch the Beavers, Portland's minor league baseball team, play. The best part of the night was the fact that all proceeds from the game went to support the Mary Kay charitable foundation. Jamie, who is a Mary Kay consultant, organized the festivities for us and even got us some cool pink t-shirts! We also found out that the same night was "Bark in the Park" and you were allowed to bring your dog to the game. Even though we didn't have Chase with us, we still had fun socializing with the other dogs there - including a pretty cute bulldog.

The Shins were at Crystal Ballroom (5/7/09)

2009-08-09T21:57:00.001-07:00

We got to see yet another awesome concert at the Crystal Ballroom - The Shins. Ever since their song "New Slang" appeared on the Garden State Soundtrack, I have been in love with this band. Their play just great chill out kind of music. So, we were lucky enough to score tickets to one of the two sold-out shows they played recently in Portland. Andrew, Ashley, Lisa and I all had a great time!

Super Busy Scrapping!

2009-03-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been a bad blogger lately. At least with updating this blog. But, I have a valid excuse. Lately, I have been consumed by all things scrappy. This past February 1st, I began a six month Design Team term at Crop Addict. Then, March 1st was the first day of a six month Design Team term at Serendipity Scrapbooks. Besides beginning two half year long design team positions, I also served as a guest designer for a month at two other sites - Scrap 4 Life and Feeling Scrappy. So, needless to say, most of my free time at home has been dedicated to scrapping. I am so excited to have the honor to serve as a designer for these amazing sites. Becoming a design team member had been a personal goal of mine for awhile now. Please be sure to check out my work and read all about my jump into the scrappy world on my Scrapbooking Blog!

Aubrey's Art Show!

2009-03-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Our friend and neighbor down the hall, Aubrey, is a very talented artist and we had the privilege of attending a gallery opening of hers a couple weeks ago. Aubrey has had the opportunity to showcase her work in several galleries around Portland and I must say her work is truly amazing. The photo below is of myself, Aubrey and Ashley in front of a couple of Aubrey's pieces.

Back to Florida!

2009-03-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

So Andrew and I won a trip to Orlando awhile back and we had 18 months to use it. So, even though we had just visited Orlando in December 2007, we went back last month for five days. But, this time we threw in some extra side trips. Highlights of our trip included:

Seeing Blue Man Group
Visiting Kennedy Space Center
Getting a chance to spend time with my parents who had happened to plan a trip to Florida at the exact same time
Taking a trip to St. Petersburg to see Mary Ellen, Morris, Eva, Amy, Buddy and Claire
Finally having Mary's awesome Caribbean dinner
Spending two days at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Skiing Timberline.

2009-01-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

So, because our last ski trip was cut a little short and because I wasn't feeling so great last time...and mostly because Andrew couldn't wait to use his new skis and boots again, we decided to head up to Mt. Hood again this last Sunday. But this time, we decided to ski Timberline. It was the perfect ski day. There was fresh snow, it wasn't too cold and the slopes were not crowded at all. We had a wonderful day skiing and got a ton of runs in all over the resort. It was also pretty cool seeing Timberline lodge looming in the fog with snow piled up to the second story windows...it totally looked like a scene straight out of The Shining.

Girl's Night Out At Pok Pok.

2009-01-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

So last year, Maria made a New Year's resolution to have a girl's night once a month. This month marked the one year anniversary of that resolution and it's great to say the tradition in still going strong.

This month we all got together for dinner at Pok Pok. It was an awesome turnout with sixteen of us gabbing up a storm and chowing down in the private room. Thanks Ashley for organizing such a fun evening.

A winter hike at Multnomah Falls.

2009-01-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous winter day so we decided to take a trip up to the Columbia Gorge to hike the trail up to the top of Multnomah Falls. It was in the mid-40s and sunny...but windy! Still, it was a great day for a hike. The total distance was only a couple miles, but the climb was straight up! There was a small section if the hike that was pure ice due to the moisture on the trail from the Falls. That made it pretty interesting.

Our Mt. Hood Weekend Ski Trip.

2009-01-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Andrew and I packed up our ski gear and headed up to Mt. Hood for the weekend. We both had brand new gear and Andrew had new skis and boots to break in. We stayed at the Mt. Hood Hamlet Bed & Breakfast which was only 15 minutes from the slopes and had gorgeous views of the mountain from its windows. Friday night we checked into the B&B before heading to the town of Hood River to have dinner at Full Sail Brewery. Saturday we had a delicious breakfast in the B&B's dining room while reviewing the ski and weather reports that the innkeepers had printed out for us. Then we got ready and headed out to the Mountain. Because the innkeepers already gave us lift tickets and a parking pass, we were able to get right onto the slopes. Because it was a beautiful sunny day and because the lift leading up to the top half of the mountain was down, the slopes were extremely crowded. But, we did find an old school two person chairlift to ski which actually led to quicker trips then the neighboring express lift because there was no line to wait in. At one point during the day, Andrew and I were skiing separately and I rode the lift up with a very nice snowboarder. We struck up a conversation and I found out he had graduated from UD in 1995 - small world! Anyways, we had a great day of skiing and called it a day around 4pm. We headed back to the B&B to relax and shower before heading out to dinner in the neighboring tiny town of Parkdale. We went to brewpub that made their own microbrews and had good mexican food. Then it was back to the B&B to watch a movie before bed. The next morning, the weather report for the slopes was rain, so we decided to forgo a second day of skiing and headed back to Portland instead.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

We had a nice, relaxed New Year's Eve spent at Ashley and Justin's house just hanging with them, Paula, Amanda and Olie. We just enjoyed each other's company while sipping various adult beverages. It was great ringing in the new year with a few close friends!

Christmas in Ohio!

2009-01-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

We spent a fun whirlwind week in Ohio celebrating the Christmas holiday. We made it out of Portland only one hour before the airport shut down due to weather so we were very lucky we made it. The following list and slideshow shows the highlights of our week back home.

We made it to Ohio only one hour late.
Dan couldn't drive or lift anything for the whole week because he got his appendix out on the 19th.
We made a trip to the Winking Lizard for beer and wings with Laurel and Matt.
We celebrated Pammy's birthday at Nana's.
We got to spend lots of time with Cece and Cameron.
We saw Katie & Evan's new house.
Caitlin & Mark had us over to their new house for lunch and to visit with them and Noah.
Mom, Nana, Beth, Pam and I had a spa evening at Mario's.
I had an allergic reaction to the facial I had.
We went out to the Lizard (again) to see Amee, Matt, Namesh and Narali.
Katie and I got manicures.
I learned how to drive a stick shift on Kevin's truck.
We made it to Life Center a couple times - our old stomping ground.
Andrew got really good at the X-Box 360 ATV game.
We had the traditional Christmas Eve celebration with the Schlegel family at Mom and Dad's - complete with the beef tenderloin dinner, Kris Kringle gift exchange and annual viewing of A Christmas Carol.
Mom finally got what she wanted for Christmas - NOTHING!
Christmas morning we went to church at Mother of Sorrows.
We came home and opened up gifts - Dan got lots of tools, Dad got a Garmin, Andrew got a watch, I got facial gift certificates (uh-oh), Mom got a necklace and Kevin got every Stalone movie ever made.
We had Christmas Day dinner at Grandpa & MJs. MJ had the house looking immaculate.
The Haas family auction raised over $4,000 for the Salvation Army.
We went over to Nora's for a post-Christmas chili dinner.
Kevin celebrated his 19th birthday.
We played Mario Kart on N-64 for old times sake.

Feliz Navidad!

2008-12-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

I was going through photos from last December's trip to Orlando with Mom, Dad and Andrew and found this video clip. I thought I would share it to help get everyone into the holiday spirit. This is from the New York section of MGM Studios and they call it the Spectacle of Lights. Click on the image below to view the video!

From Miscellaneous

Brace yourselves...we are not sending Christmas cards this year.

2008-12-01T23:44:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I am a slacker. With the craziness of November and December, I just decided to "simplify my life" and not send this year. I figure 80 handmade cards from last year makes up for it. I figure you have seen every recent photo of Andrew and I through the blog and know everything that's been going on with us. Basically, everything that would be in a Christmas card. So, because I am too lazy and crazed to send cards this year, I thought the least I could do is post a virtual card...so here it is!

Thanksgiving Weekend Wine Tasting.

2008-12-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

What a fun time we had the Friday after Thanksgiving. While the rest of the US was busy fighting the mobs in search of the latest and greatest Tickle Me Elmo, 16 thirsty 20-somethings met up at the Doug Fir restaurant to hop on a party bus for some wine-tasting fun. Anusha has organized the event for the past few years and the girl knows what she is doing for sure! She had an itinerary of four wineries lined up to visit and we had a blast. Amoung those we visited we August Cellars and Ferraro Wines. At August Cellars, we ran into the owners of Toluca Lane - the tiny vineyard we discovered when Mom & Dad were visiting. The owner remember Andrew & I which was pretty cool! Between wineries, we had plenty of adult beverages available for consumption on the bus and we had karoke! Needless to say, the further we got into the day, the more popular karoke became!

Orphan Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T23:39:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Normally, this would be the year we would be in Milwaukee for the holiday, but with the recent move, flight costs and lack of time off, it just wasn't going to be feasible. But, Beth and Paul were in town only a couple weeks earlier, so we did get to see them.

So, instead of celebrating Thanksgiving with family, we celebrated with friends. We had an orphan Thanksgiving - for all of us who didn't have family in the area with which to celebrate. So, twelve of us got together at Ashley and Justin's house for the traditional feast with all the trimmings. We even got to experience our first ever deep-fried turkey thanks to the mad turkey-frying skills of Zack and Weylan!

Chase, you are such a goof!

2008-11-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

Chase loves his new home in Portland. Here are a few recent photos of him adapting to his new home!

Beth & Paul's Visit to Portland.

2008-11-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to have Beth & Paul visit us for Andrew's birthday. We had such a great time, but as usual, the visit was much too short and time flew. They arrived safe & sound on Thursday at mid-day, which was also Andrew's birthday. They took the Max into downtown and Andrew met them at the Max stop to walk back to our apartment. The three of them spent some time walking around downtown Portland while I was at work. It was a gorgeous Fall day without a cloud in the sky. Andrew and Chase showed Beth and Paul some of our favorite downtown sites including the South Park Blocks, Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Waterfront and had lunch at South Park Seafood. They then came up to meet me at work up in the Pearl and we grabbed a beer at Bridgeport microbrewery before heading to Le Happy for dinner.

The next day, I had to work, so Andrew took Beth & Paul to wine country. It was another beautiful day. Before they drove down to the Dundee Hills though, Andrew took them for a well-balanced breakfast at the Portland institution that is Voodoo Doughnuts. Andrew had the infamous maple-bacon creme stick and Beth and Paul each had an Oreo-concocted doughnut known as the Ol' Dirty Bastard. After surviving their sugar-induced comas, they headed down to Dundee for their 10AM tour and tasting at Domaine Drouhin. They loved the winery and were lucky enough to have Mark as their guide, the same gentleman who gave our tour back in September. After Domaine Drouhin, they had lunch at The Bistro before tasting at Ponzi, Argyle and Cana's Feast. After a full day of wine tasting, they headed back to Portland in time to rest up a bit before dinner. That night we had dinner at Ringside, a restaurant known as one of the top ten steakhouses in the country. It was indeed fabulous. We all had wonderful meals - New York strip, rib-eye and prime rib.

On Saturday (again a gorgeous sunny Fall day), we headed to the Farmer's market for some breakfast and groceries. Paul & Beth had so much fun exploring our outdoor grocery store. After the market, we headed down to Lake Oswego to do some shopping at the Columbia Outlet store. Needless to say, we DID NOT leave empty-handed. After shopping, we headed back to town and took the streetcar up to the Pearl and had a late lunch at Rogue, another microbrewery. It was then close to the time of our Portland Underground tour, so we headed over to the tour's starting point at Hobo's restaurant in Old Town. The tour was an hour and a half review of the underground history of Portland. If you have ever seen a travel or history show on Portland, you have had to have seen something about the Portland underground. Basically, back in the 1800s Portland had a multi-level maze of rooms and tunnels under the downtown buildings and streets. This underground world held all the vice Portland was known for - opium dens, brothels and illegal bars during Prohibition. They also served as thruways to the waterfront for the enterprises of bootlegging and Shanghai-ing (the practice of drugging men and forcing them into servitude as a ship's crew member). The tour was extremely interesting and a lot of fun. After the tour, we had a drink at Hobo's before heading back home to relax. We had dinner in (thanks to a quick trip to Safeway) and played some Euchure before calling it a night.

Beth and Paul had a flight out at 9AM Sunday, so the four us were on our way to the airport at 7AM. Like I said before, it was a wonderful visit - just too short!

Mt. Hood Scenic Drive

2008-10-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and took a 140 mile scenic drive up the Columbia Gorge and around Mt. Hood. Ashley and Justin joined us for the day and we had a blast. We started up on I-84 along the gorge, making our way to Hood River. It was really windy and the perfect weather for wind surfing - so we got to watch several wind surfers on the gorge. When we got to Hood River, we picked up Route 35 and headed south along a section of the drive know as the Fruit Loop - a 35 mile stretch of orchards and wineries. As we made our way along the drive, we stopped at various view points for some photo ops and fruit stands to check out the goods being sold. Our first big stop was at Pheasant Valley Winery - a small Columbia Valley winery with many varieties of wine including a tasty and not too fruity pear wine. Our next big stop was at Drapper Girls orchard where we did some apple picking and came back with buckets of Fuji, Gala and Cameo apples. We also got some of their world-renowned apple cider for the road. The next stop was at Albertson's Farms for a hard cider tasting where we each walked away with our favorite bottle of hard cider. We continued our drive up into the Hood National Forest where we caught breathtaking views of Mt. Hood, stopping at various spots along the way to take some photos. We made our last stop at Timberline Lodge, a gorgeous wooden lodge that was built in the 1930s as part of the WPA program and dedicated by FDR in 1937. It is also known as the hotel used for all the oudoor shots in Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. We took advantage of the lodge's breathtaking views and headed up to the top floor to have a drink at the Ramshead bar while taking in the view of Mt. Hood's peak. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

A new definition of "moving."

2008-10-25T15:22:00.003-07:00

So this morning we were heading to the farmer's market, a typical Saturday event, and we turn onto the South Park blocks and see a house in the middle of the road! It seems that a little over a year ago, this historical house was moved to a temporary location a few blocks away so that underground parking could be built at it's original location. The parking deck had been completed and they were now moving the house back to it's original location - above the parking. It was crazy to see them moving this whole house. There were guys up in the trees of the South Park Blocks, cutting down branches and moving them out of the way so they could get the house through. It was a really cool thing to watch.

A night of Fall fun on Sauvie Island!

2008-10-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

Last night we spent another awesome night with Ashley and Justin at Sauvie Island. This island is full of farms and parks and is very popular in the Fall with its pumpkin patches and corn mazes. We headed over to the Field of Screams first - a haunted corn maze that was really fun. Ashley gets pretty jumpy in haunted houses, so it was really fun getting the haunts to jump out and scare her! The maze was well put together, they really divided you up into small groups to allow for more of a fear factor, and they had lots of haunts in the maze that used both props and sets to scare you. We had a blast. After the maze, we headed to another farm to buy some pumpkins and get some dinner. We had some awesome BBQ for dinner and finished it off with caramel apples for dessert. We bought some cute Cinderella pumpkins too and Ashley got some gourds to decorate their house for when they host Thanksgiving. After our adventures on Sauvie Island, we headed back to our apartment to hang out with the dogs (Olie and Chase were having another play date while we were gone) and watch some Scrubs and sip some spirits. It was another fun night out exploring Portland!

West Hills view in the Fall.

2008-10-25T15:07:00.004-07:00

The weather is still holding up nicely and we are taking advantage of every minute of it that we can. So earlier this week, it was 70 degrees and sunny when we got out of work, so we took the opportunity to take a walk up into the West Hills to check out the views during the Fall season. We were able to see three of the peaks that day including Hood and St. Helens. And the gorgeous, colorful trees interspersed among the cityscape were amazing.

Photo booth fun!

2008-10-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, we had another fun filled evening with Ashley and Justin. Ashley had class that afternoon, so Justin, Andrew and I headed to Portland Nursery's annual apple tasting. They had 80 plus varieties of apples and quite a few varieties of pears to sample and many of them available for purchase. By the time we made it through the tasting line, we probably consumed two apples and one pear apiece. Afterwards, we drove back to Ashley and Justin's house to pick up Ashley and then we headed to Hopworks Brewery for their Hopfest. If you can't devise from the name, all the beers being sampled were along the more "hoppy" line. Next, we headed back to Ashley and Justin's to pick up Olie, their dog, before heading over to Roots Brewery for a drink and appetizers. After that, we headed back to our apartment to drop Olie off for a play date with Chase. Then, we hopped the streetcar and headed up to Deschutes Brewery for dinner and - yep, you got it - more beer. After dinner, we were all at our limit for food and beer so we headed over to Stumptown Coffee Roasters next door to the Ace Hotel for a caffeine jolt. While there, we jumped in the photo booth in the hotel lobby to snap some shots. On the first try, the machine started so quickly after popping in the cash that the first frame was nothing but Justins's shirt - funny! After coffee, we headed back to our apartment to see how the dogs were and to drink some cold H2O while we played a game of Trivia Pursuit. It was a fun night with our best buds!

Celebrating our anniversary with a trip to the coast!

2008-10-25T15:06:00.003-07:00

Andrew and I just celebrated our fourth anniversary on October 9th and to celebrate we spent a long weekend on the central Oregon Coast. We took off on Saturday morning and drove to Tillamook to start our adventure. The first stop on our list was the Tillamook Creamery - one of the most well-known cheese and ice cream producers on the West Coast. We took the self-guided tour, tasted the samples of cheese and finished off the visit with - what else but ice cream cones! After that we drove out to Cape Meares to check out the lighthouse, the views of the Pacific and the Octopus tree. We then continued along a scenic drive south that led to Cape Foulweather - another viewpoint that offered spectacular views of the Pacific. We continued the drive down to the next stop on the list - the Devil's Punchbowl - a geological formation of eroded rock surrounding a caldron of angry salt water churning along the edge of the ocean - very cool! After that, we headed south even further to Yaquina Head and climbed the famous lighthouse out at the end of the peninsula. By this point, it was getting late, so we headed back North to Depoe Bay and checked in our B&B - the Harbor Lights Inn. It was right on the harbor (obviously) and our room was very cozy. That night we went to dinner at The Bay House - a restaurant known as one of the top three in the whole state of Oregon. We had a wonderful dinner and even picked up a bottle of 2006 Ken Wright pinot to take home with us.

The next morning after a great breakfast at the inn, we headed down to Newport to walk around the shops along the historic bayfront. We had lunch at Moe's before heading over to historic Nye Beach for a walk. Our next stop was Rogue Brewery's headquarters, where we stocked up on lots of merchandise at their Columbus Day weekend warehouse sale and had a few drinks at their bar. While at the bar we watched the Packers beat the Seahawks and played a game of Battleship. After the bar, we headed back to the inn to get cleaned up for dinner. We headed to a restaurant in Depoe Bay called Tidal Rave and had a great dinner while admiring stunning views of the Pacific. After dinner, we headed back to the inn, and decided to head down to their bar. The innkeepers, Bob and Beni and their sister-in-law D'arcy were there talking to a couple other guests. The guests left to head to dinner and we sat and got to known our gracious hosts over a couple glasses of wine. We were there for a couple hours just talking and enjoying the company. Sometime during the conversation, we brought up whale watching and Beni mentioned that they know of of the best whale watchers along the Oregon Coast. So Bob called up Kerrie Newell, a marine biologist who has been featured on PBS, to see if she had any availability for a tour the next day.

Monday we had another great breakfast and found out from Bob we were scheduled for a whale tour at 11am. So, since we had some time, we headed back down to Yaquina Head to see the Quarry. We were the only people there and the quarry was full of sea otters and lots of seabirds. It was so cool being so close to them. We then headed back to the Depoe Bay harbor to get ready to set off on our whale watching. Bob, Beni and D'arcy even decided to join us! Karrie was extremely knowledgeable and had been studying the whales off of the Depoe Bay coast since 1992. We were only out on the ocean five minutes when we found four whales! They were so close to our boat and we just sat there in awe for an hour as we sat there and watched them surface every few minutes in between feeding. Karrie has named all the whales and we saw Scarback, Zebra Stripe, Stretch and a newbie that was unnamed. It was absolutely amazing! After whale watching it was time for us to head home, and we decided to make a quick stop at Sokol Blosser winery on the way home to pick up some more of their black fig vinegar that we absolutely love.

Happy Birthday Ashley!

2008-10-25T15:06:00.001-07:00

Ashley and Justin got back from their honeymoon in Spain only a day before Ashley's birthday, so we celebrated with them a few days later - after the jet lag had time to wear off. We had a great night out on the East Side, only a few blocks from Ashley and Justin's new home. We started with a drink at matchbox while we waited for our table at Pok Pok to come available. We then had a fabulous dinner - yes, we got some chicken wings!

After dinner, we headed over to Victory, one of Ashley and Justin's new favorite haunts. This bar has a cool atmosphere, wide selection of drinks and great small plates of food. We obviously did not partake in any of their food this time around, but we did enjoy sampling several items off of their extensive beer list.

Congratulations Jamie & Weylan!

2008-10-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Two of our new Oregonian friends, Jamie and Weylan, just got married in Rome on September 2nd. Us and many of their friends and family obviously couldn't be in Rome to celebrate with them, so after their honeymoon in Italy, they had a reception back in Manhattan, Kansas for their hometown friends and family and then the following weekend they had a gathering at one of their favorite bars, Life of Riley, for all their Portland friends. We had a great time celebrating with the newlyweds!

Mom & Dad visit PDX!

2008-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate to have my parents be our first out-of-town visitors. They came in for a week of fun and even made sure to schedule their trip so they would be in town for my birthday. They arrived Tuesday, September 16th late at night and to the poor weary travelers it felt like 1:30am! So that evening we went back to the apartment to give them the grand tour and for a bedtime snack. Then they headed to bed which was only three floors up because we rented them an apartment in our building.

Wednesday Andrew and I had to work, so we sent Mom & Dad off on their own armed with a map, guide book and Streetcar fare. They had a fabulous day seeing the sites - taking a walk along the waterfront, touring the Chinese classical gardens, having lunch at Veritable Quandry, shopping in the Pearl (and making sure to stop at Powell's books) and then visiting me at the end of the day to see the office before we headed out to happy hour at Deschutes and dinner at Piazza Italia.

Thursday was again a work day for us, so it was the perfect day to send Mom and Dad on their day trip to Cannon Beach. They loved every minute of it. They had perfect weather - even the locals said that - and they made use of it by heading to Escola State Park to see Haystack Rock before heading into town for lunch and some shopping. They headed home late in the afternoon just in time for dinner at Pambiche - an awesome Cuban restuarant that has quickly become a favorite. Ashley and Justin also joined us for dinner and I was so happy to introduce our new BFF's to my parents.

Friday (my birthday) I had the day off so I got to join my parents in touring Portland. Our first stop was for breakfast at Voodoo Doughnuts - the crazy hippie doughnut shop that cranks out gooey concoctions like Captain Crunch doughnuts and Maple Bacon cream sticks. We decided to walk up to the shop which meant it took about a hour but we needed to work off those calories. We also stopped to eat the doughnuts at Pioneer Courthouse Square - another Portland must-see. After breakfast we walked through the South Park Blocks before dropping Chase off at home. Then we headed to lunch at - Vertiable Quandry! Mom and Dad loved it so much they wanted to go back. What was even better was that Andrew joined us for lunch since it's so close to his work! After a fabulous lunch, Mom, Dad and I headed up to Pittock Mansion - a Stan Hywet style estate created by the founder of the Oregonian newspaper. The mansion's architecture and furnishings were absolutely amazing, but the best part, in my opinion was the views. From the West Hills, and particularly Pittock Mansion, on a clear day you can see five peaks of the Cascades - Rainier, St. Helens, Jefferson, Hood and Adams. We saw four of them - the fifth was hidden by a tree. After the mansion, Dad made a comment about not seeing too many roses in the Rose City, so I took them to Washington Park to see the Rose Test Garden. Surprisingly, the roses were in decent shape for it being September. After the rose garden, we headed back to the apartment to change for dinner and meet up with Andrew. We first headed to Higgins for a pre-dinner drink and then onward to Portland City Grill. This restaurant is on the 30th floor of the tallest building in Portland and has sweeping views of the city and the scenery beyond. We had a fabulous booth with a picture perfect view of Mt. Hood out one window and Mt. St. Helens out the other. The food was fabulous as was dessert. They even brought me their bread pudding with a candle in it and sprinkled the table with confetti to help celebrate my birthday. It was the end to a wonderful day with my parents.

On Saturday morning, we headed to the framer's market to get some breakfast and show Mom and Dad one of our favorite things about Saturday morning in Portland. We had tamales - all different kinds - with tortilla chips, yum! Then we walked around the market a bit so Mom and Dad could see where we do our produce shopping. After the market, we hopped in the car to head down to wine country for the next few days. Our first stop was in Dundee at Sokol Blosser winery where we did both a tour and wine tasting. It was a very unique environmentally friendly winery with some traditional Pinot Noirs, fun blends and fabulous vinegars. After Sokol Blosser, we headed to Four Graces winery. This winery was much smaller and was named after the owner's four daughters. They made five Pinot Noirs - one four each of their daughter and the reserve pinot for their son. After that, we headed to the Ponzi Tasting Room where we sampled several of Ponzi's wines but also had the opportunity to taste a pinot noir from a tiny winery called Toluca Lane. The owner/winemaker and his wife own only two acres of vineyard to produce their wine and it was one of our favorites! After lunch, we headed across the street to Argyle - another well-known Oregon winery that makes a great deal of sparkling wines. This offered us a nice break from all the pinot noir we had been tasting. Next we headed up to Archery Summit, a very Napa-esque winery up on the hill with acres of gorgeous vineyards and a beautiful patio on which to sit while sampling their wines. It was then time to head on to Brookside Inn, our B&B, to check in and get ready for dinner at Cuvee. This French restuarant was very small and intimate and had very good food.

On Sunday, we headed back to Archery Summit for a tour. Their facilities were amazing, especially the caves. We then headed up to one of the most famous wineries in Oregon - Domaine Drouhin. This French winery bought land in Oregon back in the 1980s after a Oregon pinot won second place at a wine tasting event in France. We made sure to do a tour here too to see how the "big guys" make their Oregon pinot. Next, we headed across the road to Domaine Serene - the only winery ranked number one along with Ken Wright Cellars for Oregon by Wine Spectator. Here we sampled many good wines before heading back to the inn to get ready for dinner. That night we headed to Painted Lady - a restaurant housed in a beautiful victorian home that showcased a pre-fixed tasting menu that was amazing.

Monday was a more casual day in wine country. We first headed to the Carlton Tasting Room where we sampled a variety of wines from different wineries including a pinot noir from Andrew Maresh a 24 year old third generation winemaker. Dad also took this opportunity o ship some of his purchases back to Ohio. Next, we headed across the street to Solena winery for a private tasting of many varieties of their wine including pinot gris, pinot noir, syrah and red zinfandel. At this point, we were getting a little tired out of tasting so we headed down to McMinnville - a small historic town in the middle of wine country. We spent a good part of the day exploring the shops all the town's main street and also had a great lunch a brand new Mexican resturant - literally, it was their first day open - and Andrew had one of the spiciest meals he's ever had. At the end of the day, we decided to have a drink a McMinamin's Hotel Oregon - a funky old style hotel in downtown McMinnville with a rooftop bar with sweeping views of Oregon wine country. Dinner that night was at Tina's - an American bistro that was our favorite of the wine country restaurants.

Tuesday was Mom and Dad's last day in Portland. We checked out of the inn and headed over to one last winery - Tyrus Evan. This is another Ken Wright label named after his two sons. They make every variety of wine except for pinot noir as to not compete with the Ken Wright Cellars famous pinots. After our tasting there, we headed back to Portland to grab lunch at Pok Pok - a thai restaurant that doesn't serve your standard American style thai food. Our favorite were the chicken wings a dish that has received acclaim from Bon Appetit magazine. After lunch, we wanted to get closer to the airport so we could drop Mom and Dad off easily without battling rush hour traffic, so we headed to Ikea which is only about a half mile from the airport. Andrew and I needed a new wine rack to house our spoils from the weekend trip and Mom and Dad had never been to an Ikea before. What a fun place! After Ikea, it was time to say good-bye and we dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport. It was sad to see them go, but we had such a great time showing them our new home.

Chase's First Trip To The Beach!

2008-10-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

In preparation for my parents upcoming visit, we decided to take a day trip to the Oregon coast on September 6th to investigate where we should send them when they come into town. So we hit two towns along the coast that were pretty much a straight shot west of Portland. We first headed down to Manzanita - a small sleepy coastal town with quaint shops and restaurants and a gorgeous, almost empty beach. We picked up a Chuck It along the way to use to play fetch with Chase, but of course we have a retriever that doesn't retrieve, so it didn't get much use. After grabbing lunch at Bread and Ocean and playing on the beach for awhile, we headed north to Cannon Beach. This town is known for its boutiques and art galleries and we thought it was the perfect place to send my parents for a day trip - not only because of all the shopping but also because of the gorgeous Haystack Rock.

We sold the house!

2008-10-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

So after some serious back and forth after the home inspection with both the buyers and the bank, and a one week delay in our closing date, we finally closed on the house on Friday, September 5th. We did end up taking a hit on the house, but based on what has happened in the financial world the past month, we truly did sell it in the nick of time.

A new ritual - Saturday mornings at the PSU farmer's market.

2008-09-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

So it's true. We have become hippies. But it is not so much a choice as it is a way of life out here. You pretty much have to work hard not to eat locally grown organic produce in this city - it is just that available. Andrew and I are so fortunate to have the best of the many farmer's markets in the greater Portland area only a few blocks from our doorstep. Every Saturday morning at the very north end of the Portland State University campus they have the most fantastic farmer's market. We head to the market every Saturday morning with a pocketful of cash and our reusable grocery bags. First we eat breakfast, which we choose from one of the many awesome vendors on site - mediterranean, tamales, pizza, organic oatmeal, biscuits...lots of good stuff to choose from. After we finish our breakfast, it's time to shop. We have our favorite booths where we stop every week to stock up and each week we usually find a new gem with a fabulous tasty treat. We always seem to come home with certain staples - berries, peaches, lettuce, bell peppers, scallions, sweet onions, tomatoes and basil. But, my favorite part of the market is at the very end of our morning, when I get $15 to spend on an absolutely huge flower arrangement lovingly assembled by one of the sweet Asian ladies who seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to flowers. I love Saturday mornings at the market - it is a true weekend treat.

Riding the streetcar.

2008-09-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

We really don't drive much anymore. Living in the city allows us to keep the car parked safe and sound in the parking garage most of the time. Andrew walks to and from work everyday. And I ride the streetcar everyday to and from work. Ahh, the streetcar. Yes, it can be crowded and smelly and full of panhandlers, but it is a free and convenient mode of transportation.

On this particular evening last weekend, Andrew and I were coming home from dinner and drinks out in the Pearl. I felt it was important to document our journey home on the streetcar.

Gretchen & Jason's BBQ!

2008-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Gretchen & Jason are two of our new friends here in Portland. Jason is another K-Stater and Grethen, believe it or not, is from Bay

Village - a suburb of Cleveland. Small world! Anyways, the two of them are engaged with a wedding on the books for next June and they just purchased their first home in NE Portland. So, to celebrate their new home, they invited friends over for a BBQ a couple Saturdays ago. Everything was delicious - BBQ pork and chicken, potato salad, green bean salad, orzo salad and raspberry pie. Yum! The company was good too - so good that Andrew and I stayed hours longer than planned!

Our first PacNW camping trip!

2008-08-24T17:20:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago, we packed up the camping gear and headed an hour and a half east into the Mt. Hood National Forest Ashley, Justin, Andrew and I took the dogs up to Clackamas Lake campground - a secluded campground that sits just Southeast of Mt. Hood itself and connects onto the Pacific Crest Trail. On the drive up, the weather was terrible - foggy and rainy the whole way there. But, by the time we got there, the rain had let up and it looked like the clouds were clearing. We set up camp and had a few beers before the guys headed to the store to pick up some firewood and propane for the cookstove. While they were gone, Ashley and I held down the fort at camp and watched as the rainy morning turned into a crystal clear day. When the guys returned, we cooked up some Sloppy Joes for lunch - yum! After cleaning up from lunch, we headed out for a hike to Timothy Lake - a gorgeous mountain lake about 2.5 miles from our campground by way of the Pacific Crest Trail. Along the hike, we stopped frequently to admire the scenery and snap lots of photos. When we got to the lake, we let the dogs off their leashes for a swim. When we got back from the 5 mile round trip hike, we got started on cooking dinner - brats and home fries. We worked up a nice campfire to cook the brats over and continued the fire throughout the night. Of course, we broke out the smores later on too.

Sunday, we woke up to gorgeous sunny skies and cooked up some breakfast burritos and campfire coffee using the French Press. After a yummy breakfast and digesting around a morning campfire (it was a cool morning) we broke down camp before heading out for a quick walk to Clackamas Lake. This lake was very different from Timothy Lake - it was surrounded by marsh and was a blue-green color. We again let the dogs jump off the boardwalk for some swim time. After we got back from our walk we packed up the cars and headed back to the city. The drive back was beautiful and we had a gorgeous view of Mt. Hood during part of the drive.

Flugtag Portland, 8/2/08

2008-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never heard of Flugtag, let me explain. Flugtag is an event sponsored and organized by RedBull. I don't know about you, but I have never touched the stuff and never plan to but know enough about the compliment to Yager that their tagline is "Gives You Wings." So, RedBull started their flugtag - an event that happens in major cities nationwide where teams build various "flying" contraptions and launch them and themselves off a runway and into a major body of water to see how far their invention "flys." This year was the first year Protland had a Flugtag and teams came as far as Seattle and Bend to compete. There were 750 entries and only 31 were selected. Admittance into the event is free and the papers said attendance was upwards of 60,000. We first explored the plane yard to take the chance to look at the designs and teams up close and personal before taking our seats. We were able to get seats right in front with a little stealthiness past the guards. (Thanks Weylan.) They kicked off the event with a Jimi Hendrix style Star Spangled Banner and a helicopter flying above which released three parachuters down into the crowd (very cool!) We watched 18 of the 31 "planes" take off before calling it a day. My personal favorite was Team Lego. The guys all dressed up as lego guys and flew a lego airplane - it was awesome. The viking ship tanking into the river was also pretty spectacular. If you ever have the chance to attend a Flugtag near you, I highly suggest it - it's definitely worth battling the crowds!

Oregon Beer Festival 2008

2008-08-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, the celebration of Oregon Craft Beer Month (July) culm- inated in a massive beer festival. Seventy-five microbrews from all over were present with their award winning beers. A Milwaukee favorite, Sprecher, was even there with heir maibock. The festival took place on the Tom McCall Waterfront and lasted four days. We were there with the rest of the crowds on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was so packed that you couldn't really "taste" the beer so we opted just to get full pours because the lines were so long. But, we still had a good time. After we tired of the festival, we headed to a favorite hangout - Kell's Irish Pub for dinner and then over to Bailey's Taproom for a nightcap. All and all, it was a fun day!

Our house is under contract!

2008-08-04T08:21:00.001-07:00

We have a signed offer ...finally. We are taking a decent size hit, but we need to sell the house and this soft market is not helping. Also, the first time home buyer (which is our target market) is having a hard time receiving financing with all the banking trouble. So we accepted this offer realizing it might be awhile before another comes along. We are excited though because we know the home will be in good hands. A newly divorced mom with a daughter and three dogs will be moving into our home. She grew up in Hudson and her parents still live in Hudson. She also wants her daughter in the Hudson school system. And our house offers a big backyard with an invisible fence for the dogs. It seems our house is the perfect fit for her. The inspection is scheduled for early this week because she wants to close as soon as possible.

I got a job here in Portland!

2008-07-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

Back in May, a pediatric dentist back at home (who is a good friend and collegue of my Dad's) told me he has a good friend with a dental practice here in Portland. For those of you who don't know, my Dad's an orthodontist and I managed the offices back home for the past three years. So, Dr. Pollock suggested I send my resume to his friend (Dr. Rafia) here in Portland to see if he had a position or knew of anyone in the field who did. Well, I spoke with Dr. Rafia's client services/office manager back at the end of May and they didn't have an opening at the time but she said send my resume anyways.

So three weeks ago, I send them the resume. A couple Thursdays ago, she calls me and says she's accepted another position and wants me to come in and interview for her job. Holy Cow! So last Tuesday morning I interviewed with the Doctor, stayed the rest of the day to shadow, and received a call that following Wednesday morning offering me the job. I went up to the office that day to fill out paperwork and my first day was last Thursday!

Sand in the City!

2008-07-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. Andrew and I have been ultra busy. Andrew's becoming more familiar with work and starting to feel like he's making contributions at Regence. He's been there for one month now and got a good report from his boss. I have dived head first into the job search and have an interview coming up on Tuesday.

This Saturday, we went to the farmer's market in the morning. We stocked up on lots of good stuff like lettuce, marionberries, zucchini and Rainier cherries. Then we went with Ashley, Justin and the dogs down to check out Sand in the City at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Every July, they trek in tons of sand and master sand sculptors create masterpieces in the middle of the city. It was pretty cool - my personal favorite was the section dedicated to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, especially the sand sculpture of the Great Wall. After checking out the sand sculptures, we headed to the waterfront for a drink at Thirst. Later on that night, Andrew and I headed up to the Pearl District and had dinner at Deschutes Brewery.

Poor Cece...I am sorry I am not in Ohio to protect you.

2008-07-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

So, I got this clip from my cousin today. Enjoy.

We spent our Fourth of July on the Oregon Coast with some new friends.

2008-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

For holiday, we were invited to spend the long weekend at a house on the Oregon Coast. Needless to say from the photos above, we had a blast. There were 11 of us all together - Andrew & I, our friends from our apartment building Ashley & Justin, and their Kansas turned Oregonian friends Weylan, Jamie and Jake, Jake's girlfriend Lisa & friend Joel who were in from Kansas for the holiday, and two more of Jamie's friends Rob and Anna.

We had a great group who, although did not know each other totally at the beginning of the trip, became a close knit group by the end. The house we stayed in had just been remodeled this year and was perfect for all of us to sleep comfortably. The weather wasn't fantastic throughout the weekend - a good amount of rain - but it did stop long enough for several walks on the beach and for the big fireworks display on Friday night.

We all caravanned from Portland out to our house in Lincoln City. When we got there, we broke open the beer and sat out on the deck just getting to know one another. When the weather cleared up a little more, we decided to head down to the beach for a walk. The water was very cold (which is typical for Oregon) so no swimming for us - just beachcombing. Along the way though, we saw a couple police who got their mule stuck in the sand, so being the good samaritans we are, the guys helped push them out. When we got back, we all watched Super Troopers and napped a bit. Then, Lisa and Jamie made us an early dinner of fajitas before we headed into town for the big fireworks display. We spent some time beforehand drinking at an oyster bar and enjoying the music Jake & Lisa had selected from the jukebox ($5 got you 24 songs!) Once it got dark, we headed down to the beach for the public fireworks display. While we were walking over, we kept getting buried further and further in a cloud of fireworks smoke and had no idea what was going on. When we got to the beach, we saw where it was coming from. The beach was full of hundreds of people and most of them had built bonfires and brought their own fireworks which they were setting off. At certain points, it got so crazy that I was afraid any war veteran on the beach would start having flashbacks. (Ashley has a video clip of it, so if I get my hands on it, I will post it here.) Around 10pm, the public fireworks display started, so everyone stopped setting off their personal arsenal to watch the big guns. After the show was over, we decided to wait out the traffic and patroned two local establishments - Eleanor's for some salt water taffy and Tiki's for some beer and fish tacos. When we got back to the house, we mellowed, watched some movies, set off some of the fireworks we brought and played Apples to Apples.

The next day, we awoke to rain. But after breakfast, one group decided to head down to the beach anyways while another group headed into town. Andrew and I were with the ones who hit the beach and luckily, as soon as we got down there, the rain stopped for a bit. It was also low tide, so we had fun combing the rocks looking at all the little sea critters that were stranded in the tide pools. After our walk on the beach, we decided to head in to town for some lunch. We hit Moe's, an Oregon Coast staple with multiple locations along the coast and known for their clam chowder. Actually, Andrew and I visited their Florence location on our road trip back in 2003. We all had the clam chowder and several of us dared the raw oysters. All I can say is...I did it. It was okay, but not something I'd order on a regular basis. After lunch, Ashley went to her glass-blowing class while the rest of us went grocery shopping. We then headed back to the house to watch TV, play Apples to Apples, Taboo and Twister. We cooked brats and mac 'n' cheese that evening and just vegged out.

The next morning we awoke to sun - of course it was sunny on our last day. Over breakfast, talk of the guys jumping in the ocean was brought up. So, it was decided we'd take one last trip down to the beach so the guys could jump in the ocean. Now keep in mind, the Pacific ocean is much colder than the Atlantic, and along the Oregon coast, it hardly gets warm enough to swim in - but the guys went in regardless. After they came out, Jamie, Lisa and Ashley decided to go in too. I stayed put on the beach and was extremely happy with my decision. When we got back to the house, we packed, cleaned up and headed back to the glass studio so Ashley could pick up the float she made. Afterwards, we had one last meal at Kiylo's before we headed back to Portland.

The West Hills Walk

2008-07-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening, Andrew, Ashley, Justin and I took the dogs on a pretty grueling walk in the heat and humidity up into the West Hills. It's only a few blocks to get to the base of the hills from our building, but then it's pretty much straight up. Literally, we had to walk up a staircase that seemed to go on forever - okay maybe it was about 10 flights. The West Hills area of Portland is the coveted area for a beautiful home and the house there are truly amazing. A few of them were for sale and ranged in price from $900,000 to $2.1 million! The best part of the walk was when we would round the bend of on of the streets and come across yet another amazing view of the city. No wonder these homes are sought after. The views are breath-

taking!

After our walk, the four of us went to see Forgetting Sara Marshall at a Mission Theater - $3/show, and they serve microbrew beer and dinner. It was a blast! We are looking forward to spending time with Ashley and Justin this upcoming holiday weekend at the coast. It will be fun to meet more people too and the house we rented looks pretty cool - check it out.

We have some new friends!

2008-06-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

We have made some very good friends that live here at Museum Place - actually right on our floor! In particular, Aubrey and her dog Shu-Shun and Ashley, her fiancee Justin and their dog Olie. Ashley and I have taken Chase and Olie on multiple walks together and last Thursday evening, Andrew, Ashley, Aubrey and I took all three of our dogs to a local dog park to play. They had a blast and it was nice to let them run leash-free for awhile.

Yesterday, Ashley and I spent pretty much the whole day together. We took the dogs on a late morning walk, then came back to the apartments and changed to go to an aerobics class at the gym. When we got home, we showered and ate lunch then Ashley came over to our place with Olie so the dogs could play while we watched Best In Show (which Ashley had never seen) and we searched for a kennel for the dogs.

We are heading to the coast for the July 4th holiday so we had to work hard to find a kennel for a holiday weekend on such short notice. But we did! And Chase and Olie had a blast playing together - they are definitely best friends!

Late in the afternoon, Ashley and I took the dogs on another walk to the ATMs to get cash for our double date later that night. We went to a beer tasting at Overlook Park up in the Northeast section of town. We got to sample lots of good beer and listen to some good tunes. After the beer tasting, we headed over to Amnesia the Brewing company and got some food and more beer. After finishing up a couple pitchers, we headed back to the Southwest end of town of went to a very cool small bar called Tugboat for - you got it, more beer! The bar had a band playing and the coolest thing about it was all the shelves they had lined with books of all types. It almost looked like a library too! After a couple glasses there, we headed back home to Museum place and Ashley and Olie came over to hang out for a bit. (Justin was the smart one and went to bed.) We hung out and chatted until 2:30am before we all decided to call it a night.