How on earth is it already August 24th? I'm seriously going to have to put my foot down and insist this month stop moving so quickly. That means that we're only 9 days away from stepping on that plane to Brussels! I'm so excited that I don't even know how I'm going to sleep at night as the week nears its end. Jesse has an intense work schedule the day before we leave (Wednesday, Sept. 2nd), so we've set a strict deadline for packing. Everything must be ready and in the suitcase by Sunday, Aug. 30th -- as in six days, oh crap!
As if we didn't have enough to do, a couple of months ago we signed on to take a rafting trip down the Deschutes river with a few of our kickball friends. I have to admit, I was a little leery of camping and rafting all weekend, however, I had to remind myself of how much fun I had tubing down the Shenandoah with our friends in D.C. I'm glad I got over my initial reservations, because I had a blast. We drove down on Friday night to a campground in Mt. Hood National Forrest, pitched our (borrowed) tent and unrolled our new self-inflating camping mats. When my parents were visiting they gave us an early anniversary gift, which in turn funded two wonderful nights of sleeping outdoors. The last time we went camping, we bought cheap foam mats from Target and after the first night of restless sleep (and aching hips) I was ready to go home. While the mats only inflate to about a 1/2 inch in height, they are pretty darn awesome. I slept like a log.
Saturday morning we got up, had a little breakfast, and shivered into our bathing suits (it was barely 60 degrees at the campsite). The drop-off point was about a 30 minute drive and not long after breaking through the canopy of the forest, the landscape turned into burnt hillsides dotted with a few trees and houses. It reminded us a lot more of California than the lush Oregon that we've gotten used to in Portland. Thankfully, the sun was out and the sky was crystal clear -- we wouldn't freeze to death on the river.
As for the river, it was absolutely beautiful. I didn't bring my camera, because I didn't want it to get wet, so these two images are borrowed from Google Maps. The Deschutes is a lovely blue-green color and rolls along (in the section where we were rafting) with a few small rapids. We got on the river about 1pm and floated along with oars in hand to direct the raft to the best rapid spots. Of course, with Jesse on the boat, he ensured that we got the best turbulence possible by bouncing the raft over rocky spots. Luckily, we never turned over. We reached our end destination around 4pm and had already decided that it was so much fun that we definitely need to do it again. The sun was extremely hot, but I'm pretty sure none of us got a sunburn (thanks to the liberal application of sunblock). We all had plans for a rockin' party back at the campground, but reality hit when we were starving and dead tired by 6pm. In an attempt to rally, a fire was built and we played games, but there was no rescuing the evening.
Next time? Party first, then raft. And yes, there will be a next time.
Last night Jesse's good family friend, Tracy, was in town on business. After her meeting, she met us over in our neck of the woods for a walk and dinner. We took her up to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden (I know, I was just there last weekend, but I could definitely go every weekend this time of year). The sun finally broke through the clouds and all of the roses were glowing in the sun and smelled delicious. This time, I remembered my camera and found a couple of contenders for Jesse's mom's garden:
The Grandifloria "About Face," Winner of the World's Highest Rose Award. It has a bi-color pedal and is absolutely gorgeous. It has a nice smell too. Definitely worthy of Mary Ann's garden.
The Floribunda "Julia Child," also a winner of the Worlds Highest Rose Award. This rose is a beautiful buttery color and has the most amazing fragrance. The AARS describes as licorice, but I thought it was more like a spicy banana. It's amazing how rose scents can vary. After the gardens, we walked around the Pearl District, stopping to peer into my favorite tile shop, Ann Sacks. For dinner, we decided to check out a Vietnamese restaurant that I'd been eyeing for a while and it was delicious! I had such a nice time last night just walking around in the nice June weather and getting to know Tracy a little better. It felt a bit like a kick-off for the coming weeks ahead. Larson & Serena landed in Portland this morning, our friends from D.C., Kyle and Sally arrive on Monday. We won't actually have anyone staying with us for now, but there will be lots of activities! I can't wait!
Yeah, I totally spaced out on my blogging duties for the past few days. It certainly wasn't because I lacked material. We were incredibly busy this weekend (in a good way). This activity was due in part to the fact that I couldn't think of enough excuses to get me out of cleaning the apartment, and also, it was a holiday weekend with an abundance of beautiful weather.
Saturday morning I was feeling antsy and having a hard time figuring out what to do. Jesse suggested a bike ride, which at first sounded horrible, but once I was out in the cool breeze I couldn't get enough. Our initial destination was a bakery on Division Street, but about a mile into the ride, I decided that I wanted to make an afternoon of our excursion. We never made it to that Division Street bakery, but found something just as good -- if not better. The bike route headed down to Sellwood and by the time we arrived, I was ready for lunch. So, we stopped at the Grand Central Bakery for snacks. With two sack lunches in hand, Jesse and I made our way to the waterfront park and splayed out in the grass. It was great. My chicken salad sandwich (with fresh tarragon and asparagus) was outstanding. Jesse's turkey, cheese, and sweet chutney sandwich was also top-notch. Feeling refreshed and re-energized, we turned back for home with a slight detour in the Clinton/Division neighborhood. On the way, we met up (fortuitously) with our friends Anna and Brian (and their son) on an afternoon stroll. After walking them to their car, we continued with our bike ride to 62nd Avenue. In case you're wondering, our round trip ride on Saturday clocked in right around 21 miles. It was tiring, but surprisingly, I was not very sore.
Sunday was all about cleaning. I don't want to talk about it anymore. However, the apartment looks really spiffy and ready for the oncoming wave of guests in June.
As a treat for cleaning all day on Sunday, I decided that we needed a special outing on Monday. We decided to take a loop around Mount Hood (about 160 miles round trip). It was mostly a drive to see what's out there, since we've never really been any further east than 122nd Avenue in Portland. Our trip yesterday was stunning and surprising. Surprises? Well, people were skiing. Skiing in May? Absurd! Mount Hood is incredible, however, I learned that I probably will never feel comfortable driving there before the end of May.
These two photos were taken near the top of Mt. Hood at Timberline Lodge. The lodge was built by hand by WPA workers between 1936-37 and is a National Historic Landmark. Look familiar? The exterior was also used to film the movie, The Shining. I really enjoyed walking around and ogling the interior spaces outfitted with timbers, giant iron gates, and hand made furniture and textiles (also planned and executed by WPA workers). I know I'm a giant dork, but the huge snow piles still make me gasp. OMG! The snow is still up to the roof in May. Unbelievable.
After Timberline Lodge, we continued around the west side of Mt. Hood and made our way back home. We stopped off to cross the Bridge of the Gods into Washington and checked out a potential destination, the Walking Man Brewery. There doesn't seem to be much to do in Stevenson, WA other than walk around the 4-block downtown and sip some brews next to the Columbia River. That's ok though, the Bonneville Dam (also a National Historic Landmark) is just down the road and a totally awesome way to spend the afternoon. Two NHL's in a day? My total geek fantasy trip.
Wow, I totally sound like a lame travel website, but really, the Bonneville Dam might have been the highlight of my whole day. I was almost giddy at the raw power harnessed by the Columbia River, not to mention the underground viewing area to watch live salmon swim upstream on the engineered fish ladder. Seriously, I saw fish that were at least 2-feet long and nearly flipped my shit (along with the surrounding 5-year-olds) when a gigantic steelhead whisked into the viewing area. It was amazing and I can't wait to go back when the salmon are spawning. I might have to take a sedative before I get there though, so I won't jump up and down and scream at the sight.
On our way home we decided to take one more detour (which proved to be our undoing). The sandwiches ran out at the dam, but I couldn't resist the prospect of experiencing one of the most spectacular vantage points in all of the Portland area at Larch Mountain. Unfortunately, the access road to the picnic area was closed at the 10-mile-marker due to snow. SNOW! We would have had to hike four miles (up hill both ways heh) in snow in order to see five of the most outstanding peaks in the cascades including, Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, and on a clear day (it was spectacularly clear) Mt. Rainier. I guess that will just have to wait until next time.
We hopped back in the car and headed home totally exhausted. It was an awesome trip and I can't wait to explore the area further when we have guests in town. I've already reserved a couple of books on the Oregon Trail at the library so we can scout out a few of the existing portions of the trails left in the area. I can't wait to trade Jesse for a buffalo hide to survive the long, cold Oregon winter.
A view from the top.
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty convinced there would be some other natural force that would prevent us from getting to the top of Multnomah Falls yesterday. However, this time around we weren't impeded by snow and ice, or gale force winds. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a hike. Graham and I would slow down to check out the cute pooches on our way up to the top (and young ladies would slow down to check out Graham in a similar fashion). Luckily, we had Jesse keeping us focused by leading the charge at break-neck speed. At some points, I felt that I was running up the hill rather than hiking. I don't think they were doing it on purpose, but my stride is a lot smaller, meaning that I had to go double-time to keep up.
After making it to the top and catching my breath, we continued on for the rest of the 5 mile loop. The hike was absolutely gorgeous. It rained pretty much all last week, so everything was lush, which made up for the paths being quite muddy. Green moss coated the trees and rocks and the sound of rushing falls felt kind of like a fairy tale. It would have been the perfect setting to take a cheesy nature photo for a poster featuring elves and pixies. I'm pretty sure Little Red Riding Hood walked through this forest to get to her Grandmother's cottage.
We actually saw quite a few animals: a snake, two chipmunks, a giant slug, a few woodpeckers. And a pair of striking bright red bugs. I didn't realize this until I took a close-up shot, but they appear to be mating. Score! Nature in action. I felt a little bad when my flash went off (and the red-eye reduction feature to boot), but they didn't seem to be bothered. Does anyone know know the type of bug?
It was a great afternoon. This morning, though, I woke up with incredibly sore legs. It's like I climbed a mountain or something. I think I'm going to have to walk it off and stretch a little so I'll be in tip top shape for the "Cheers to Belgian Beers" festival this afternoon.
Yesterday, I spent a good part of the early afternoon indoors doing laundry (I was running severely low on underwear supply), but the payoff was a walk down to the waterfront to see the cherry trees in bloom. The weather was perfect; 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. J called me on his way out of the office and met me near the Steel Bridge, where we parked his bike and took a nice walk in the sun. When I pulled out my camera to capture him riding in his work outfit, he said, "oh god, are you going to blog about this?" I promptly told him "yes" and that he better look cute. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Portland. Jesse is just one of hundreds who ride to and from the office in their work outfits.
For a minute, it was hard to tell whether I was walking along the Willamette River, or along the Tidal Basin in D.C. Of course, the show is not nearly as spectacular as the Jefferson Memorial framed by pink puffs, but it was pretty great. After our stroll along the rows of cherry trees, we had to haul home to make the tip off of the final NCAA basketball game -- UNC vs. Michigan State. I really didn't want to fill out a bracket this year, but J (and his brother, E) goaded me into submission.
I spent a few hours one night reading about the teams and made a couple of risky selections that eventually paid off -- Villanova beating Pittsburgh in a nail-biter of a game and Michigan State edging out Louisville. I am happy to report that I won this year's bracket and E's girlfriend, Lea came in second place. The ladies dominated. Sweet.
Anyway, we closely watched the game clutching bowls of homemade salmon and leek chowder that I whipped up. The inspiration for chowder on such a warm day? Well, I had a few leeks leftover from our trip to the farmers market and have had salmon on the brain ever since we went out to breakfast with J's parents at Kenny and Zukes. Besides, it was published in the April edition of Bon Appetit (1995), so I knew it couldn't be too heavy. And it wasn't. It's made with milk and only a touch of cream, so it's more silky than creamy. Definitely worth four forks! I made a few changes here and there, like adding corn, reducing the cream, adding a bit of Parmesan, and subbing equal parts wine, chicken stock and clam juice. I also think I might add a clove or two of garlic next time. However, other than that, the recipe was spot on.
Oh, also, I finally captured the elusive "La Pussy Wagon" on camera. We enjoyed a good chuckle with J's parents over breakfast one morning when we spotted it for the first time on Irving Street. Yesterday, it was parked under our window and the sun was just right! Ahh. It's watching you!
As if we didn't have enough to do, a couple of months ago we signed on to take a rafting trip down the Deschutes river with a few of our kickball friends. I have to admit, I was a little leery of camping and rafting all weekend, however, I had to remind myself of how much fun I had tubing down the Shenandoah with our friends in D.C. I'm glad I got over my initial reservations, because I had a blast. We drove down on Friday night to a campground in Mt. Hood National Forrest, pitched our (borrowed) tent and unrolled our new self-inflating camping mats. When my parents were visiting they gave us an early anniversary gift, which in turn funded two wonderful nights of sleeping outdoors. The last time we went camping, we bought cheap foam mats from Target and after the first night of restless sleep (and aching hips) I was ready to go home. While the mats only inflate to about a 1/2 inch in height, they are pretty darn awesome. I slept like a log.
Saturday morning we got up, had a little breakfast, and shivered into our bathing suits (it was barely 60 degrees at the campsite). The drop-off point was about a 30 minute drive and not long after breaking through the canopy of the forest, the landscape turned into burnt hillsides dotted with a few trees and houses. It reminded us a lot more of California than the lush Oregon that we've gotten used to in Portland. Thankfully, the sun was out and the sky was crystal clear -- we wouldn't freeze to death on the river.
As for the river, it was absolutely beautiful. I didn't bring my camera, because I didn't want it to get wet, so these two images are borrowed from Google Maps. The Deschutes is a lovely blue-green color and rolls along (in the section where we were rafting) with a few small rapids. We got on the river about 1pm and floated along with oars in hand to direct the raft to the best rapid spots. Of course, with Jesse on the boat, he ensured that we got the best turbulence possible by bouncing the raft over rocky spots. Luckily, we never turned over. We reached our end destination around 4pm and had already decided that it was so much fun that we definitely need to do it again. The sun was extremely hot, but I'm pretty sure none of us got a sunburn (thanks to the liberal application of sunblock). We all had plans for a rockin' party back at the campground, but reality hit when we were starving and dead tired by 6pm. In an attempt to rally, a fire was built and we played games, but there was no rescuing the evening.
