Austin Powers

Another day of food, fun & heat.  We started our day with a drive to the state capitol building and our own self-guided walking tour.  Of course it was under construction and they had scaffolding set up around the dome but we still managed to take some neat pictures.  Next we found a parking spot at the trail entrance to Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake).  It's a trail that follows the shore of the Colorado River - not the same Colorado River flowing through the Grand Canyon.  It was too hot to do much walking and I was dressed in a skirt so that nixed the idea of renting bikes, but it was still an enjoyable walk.

By this time we were hungry so we went to Home Slice Pizza which we saw near the Continental Club & Guero's.  What a great pizza joint!  It's got the college feel like Woodstock's and the freshness of Pizza My Heart.  I ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza with a Boylan grape soda.  I don't think I've ever heard of the soda company, but it was a delicious grape soda made with cane sugar.  And the pizza slice was wonderful and had a cornmeal bottom crust.  We sat at the bar and got to watch the guy toss up the dough which is always fun to see.  :-)

After a pit stop at the hotel to use the gym and shower we headed out for an awesome night on the town.  Our first stop was Antone's, a blues club founded by Clifford Antone who was a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan.  We went to see our second BlueBonnet's performance.  They rocked the stage again but I didn't think this performance was as good as Tuesday's.  Maybe it was the smaller, older crowd...

We watched the first two songs of the next act's set before heading out to dinner at Fado Irish Pub around the corner.  I ordered a Smithwick's to wash down my Smithwick's flavored mini burgers.  The beer was refreshing as usual but I could not pick up the flavor of the beer in the burgers at all.  A bit of a bummer, but then I really wasn't expecting much.  Before we decided on Fado for dinner, we noticed a small outdoor stage set up between two other buildings in the area.  I wanted to check it out after dinner, but unfortunately no one was playing yet so we walked back to Antone's to see what was going on in there.  I think if I had known anything about blues music I would have really appreciated what was going on in there - two female artists were doing a duet on stage and they said they hadn't worked together in years.  The audience was loving it and I really enjoyed what I heard.  But like I said...  I know nothing about blues and so I can't tell you who they were or what they were singing.

We left Antone's after that song and again walked around the block and found our way to that outdoor stage.  A great cover band was playing so we watched them from the sidewalk for a few songs.  I found out they are called Suede.  Mom and I both enjoyed them because they rocked out the classics as well as current songs.  Very cool.  Even cooler was the venue - Cedar Street Courtyard.  Check out the link to see what the venue looks like during the day.

The night was young and we wanted to see more Austin so we decided to take a pedicab tour of the immediate area.  The guy we chose to ride us around was working his first shift ever and we were his very first customers so that was kind of special.  His more experienced co-worker rode along beside us to point out some of the cool stuff around us.  They intended to take us down 6th Street where all the action is, but couldn't because the police had the road blocked off to traffic.  Apparently every Thursday thru Saturday night the street is closed down for pedestrian traffic only.  That should tell you how hip it is.  This was just a Thursday night and there were thousands of people out on the streets and in all the different bars & clubs.  It looked like a scene from an MTV spring break - sans naked people.

We got out of pedicab and headed east.  The first place we found that looked interesting was Friends Bar.  They had a live band playing - Sam Riggs Band.  They were just okay for me.  I think they played some covers (none of which I recognized) and an original song that I had no way of knowing.  We left after about three or four songs to walk around more.

We poked our heads into a couple of places to see what they were like and made our last stop at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.  By far my favorite stop for the evening!  This dueling piano bar was very similar to others I've been to but this crowd was so much fun. The place was pretty crowded when we first arrived (thinned out a lot by 2:00 A.M. though).  There was a young guy standing next to us at the bar that was so drunk I'm still trying to figure out how he never fell down.  He was swaying so much he was actually losing his drink due to it sloshing over the sides.  He was a fun character to watch because he knew all the songs and was very into it.  My mom requested some Go-Go's music so the blind musician came up with a medley for us that you can watch here.  Too funny!  The other cool thing to happen here was when someone requested they play Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA."  They called people up to the stage who have served for our country and the rest of us in the audience stood on our feet and belted out the tune.  A very cool sight indeed!

So we called it a night when Pete's closed down and I was sad to make it my last night in Austin.  We knew there was nightlife down there but we never expected anything like 6th Street.  There is truly something for everyone in that time.  No matter what your music scene is, Austin is the place for you.

All My Ex's Live In Texas

...Well one of them does anyway.  Seriously.  But thinking about George Strait has got me thinking that I still haven't seen cowboys walking down the street.  Guess that's just not going to happen - even in Austin. Mom and I both slept in since we partied so late last night.  Lunch was our breakfast at The Salt Lick in Driftwood which I had heard about from Man Vs. Food.  Adam didn't do an eating competition here, but he raved about their open pit barbecue and yummy burnt ends.  I enjoyed their bread.

After lunch we explored more of Texas Hill Country and did a wine tasting at Driftwood Vineyards.  I wanted to go there because their website professed "spectacular views of Hill Country."  Unfortunately we were caught in a nasty thunderstorm when we arrived.  We sat in the car for about ten minutes trying to wait it out but gave up and eventually braved the weather to go inside and try some wine.  Nothing spectacular but it was a really pretty property and we had fun.  The storm cleared while we were inside so I snapped a few pictures when we were done tasting.  Very pretty place.

The concierge at our hotel suggested trying the Mandola winery in Driftwood so we went there next.  We found out they are in the process of becoming Duchman Family Winery.  Where the last winery had a beautiful property this one had a beautiful building.  The interior was decorated to make you feel like you were at an Italian vineyard.  I also think these wines were better in quality.  We enjoyed them so much we each ordered a glass of our favorite and snacked on their free cheeses.

After this it was time to take a breather at the hotel. Then we got ready to have dinner at Güero's Taco Bar in downtown Austin.  I was able to order my plain cheese quesadilla for just $1.99 so that made me happy.  Neither Mom nor I were totally happy with our margaritas - they weren't bad... they just weren't great.  We walked across the street after dinner to take a couple pics of the Continental Club that we didn't get last night.

Then Mom and I hopped in a cab and went to The Broken Spoke for line dancing.  I didn't catch the name of the band playing but they were pretty good.  Unfortunately everyone was two-stepping instead of line dancing.  I was hoping to get out on the dance floor a bit.  But I did get to try my first Lone Star longneck - not that it's anything to write home about.  And after all this we called it a night.

Thinking about longnecks got me thinking about "Longneck Bottle" and because I heard him on the radio today, Garth Brooks is tonight's media mention.  Amazon is not letting me link his Double Live album though which is my favorite.  His studio albums are fine but he is one of the few artists who actually sounds better live.  He brings so much more energy to the recordings that way.

Austin City Limits

More food!  Met up with family for an early lunch at Texas Land & Cattle - another steak house.  Mom and I split the lunch burger which didn't completely fill up either one of us.  I insisted on swinging by Billy Bob's Texas - the world's largest honkey-tonk located in Fort Worth.  I have to admit it's kind of dead early in the afternoon on a Tuesday, but what can you do?  We had fun sipping a Blue Moon while walking around and checking out the joint.  This place has everything!  Pool tables, dance floor, arcade games, concert stage, a disco saddle instead of a ball hanging from the ceiling, slot machines, and a real bull-riding area.  Not a mechanical bull station.  A dirt floor with hay where cowboys come to ride real bulls.  It was weird to see but it looks like it'd be a fun place to check out when it's busy and happening.

We were hungry for a snack on the drive to Austin and saw a billboard for Whataburger.  My mom knew I wanted to go there because I saw Josh Brolin talk about it on Jay Leno about two months ago.  I was hoping it would be like In-N-Out.  And it is - kind of.  It's like a not-so-fresh Jack In The Box burger meets In-N-Out.  We hopped back on the road and started talking about getting some wine for the hotel room.  I frantically called Eddie and had him search for wineries in the area only to find out they were already closed for the day.  But luck was in our favor and we saw another important billboard advertising Korks Wine & Spirits.  They had a nice little selection of wines from Texas so we bought a few for the trip.

We checked into our beautiful hotel on the University of Texas at Austin campus and relaxed for a few minutes before hitting the town.  We went to the historic Continental Club to see the BlueBonnets perform.  Clem Burke of Blondie filled in on drums and after the show Kathy Valentine took a minute to pose for a photo with us.  This was a fun show but I was tired crawling into bed at 3:00 A.M.!

I would have made the BlueBonnets my media mention, but they're not available on Amazon.  And neither is Kathy Valentine.  So I'll talk about Chely Wright.  I only knew her because of "Single White Female."  My mom had plenty of time in the car on the way to Austin to introduce me to her.  I did enjoy the few songs I heard - especially her cover of Chuck Berry's "C'est la Vie" which you would recognize from the famous dance scene in Pulp Fiction.  I'm now interested in reading Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer to learn more about Chely's life because my mom definitely made it sound like a good story.

Dallas Cowboys

After spending a whole day in Dallas, I am convinced no honest-to-goodness stereotypical cowboys live here.  I wanted to see men wearing Stetsons, Wranglers, belt buckles, and cowboy boots.  I've mentioned before that I love wearing my cowboy boots so I made sure to bring them on this trip.  In fact, I wore them all day yesterday and I was the only person on my Sunday evening flight bound for Dallas wearing boots.  That kind of bummed me out but I figured I would see people wearing boots today.  Nope.  Well, my uncle Michael did.  But that's it.  No other boots to be seen today.  I've been told we're more likely to see cowboys in Austin so I'll hold out 'til then.

Anyways...  I'm sure you'd like for me to get off my cowboy rant and tell you about my day.  My mom and I only had plans to meet with our family at the hotel and we had about an hour to ourselves in the morning so we headed downtown to the infamous Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated.  It was kind of surreal to be there as a tourist almost celebrating such a tragedy.  What surprised me was seeing that they have a white "X" painted in the middle of the street in the spot where the fatal bullet hit.  I took this picture of the book depository while standing on that "X."  When I get home I want to find some JFK documentaries on Netflix or YouTube and watch everything while the layout of the plaza is still fresh in my mind.

Not sure what to do with the family, we were happy when one suggested going to Saltgrass Steak House.  I ordered chicken strips and swapped out the fries for a mini cast iron skillet of macaroni and cheese.  The chicken tenders were cooked perfectly but I did not care for the mac n cheese and only managed to eat one noodle.  My mom liked it though so people with normal palates would probably enjoy.  Everyone went back to the hotel after lunch where we digested our large meals with good conversation.

As it got later we needed a change in scenery.  Several hours had passed and some of us were starting to feel hungry so we went downtown to the Iron Cactus Mexican restaurant and tequila bar.  I didn't find any of the entree items appealing so I chose to have dessert and boy did I make the right move!  I hope I can find a place in Portland that does Rollo de Canela because it was amazing.  Basically cheesecake wrapped in a crispy cinnamon/sugar tortilla and drizzled with caramel sauce.  Mmm...  My mouth is watering just thinking about it now.  

Off the food for a minute...  Today was truly special getting to spend so much time with family.  While I'm looking forward to moving on to Austin tomorrow, I'm a little sad to be leaving Dallas without doing more touristy things and really checking it out.  To wrap things up, today's mention will be in honor of our fallen thirty-fifth president.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - and Buses Too!

Texas trip day one.  Being a new transplant to the Portland area has one big disadvantage - I don’t have any friends close enough to beg for a ride to the airport 40 minutes away.  And since Eddie was at work, I was SOL and on my own.  I decided to give the whole Tri-Met system a try and found a bus & light rail schedule that would work to get me to the airport on time.  I walked a half mile from my apartment to the bus stop and paid $2.30 which covered my bus and light rail fares.  It was a 40-minute ride from my house to the Beaverton Transit Center where I caught the light rail.  The lady driving the bus was awesome.  A couple of her regulars boarded the bus while I was on and she was super friendly with all of them and she’s one of those people who just loves their job - even though you might expect someone in that position to not love their job.  Then I hopped on the light rail and saw parts of Portland I had never seen before and really enjoyed relaxing during the 1-hour trip.  BUT...  I was way too cautious with my planning because I was paranoid something would go wrong so I planned to get to the airport three hours before my departure time.  Needless to say, I was quite bored at the airport.  But PDX is a really nice airport.  And now that I know Rogue has a restaurant in one of terminals, the airport is even cooler in my book.

Not much to say about Dallas so far.  It was well after 10:00 P.M. when we checked in so we just ran up to the room to throw our bags down then went to the lobby bar for drinks and a snack.  We also met with some family members that I haven’t seen in over twelve years during my last trip to Texas.  And since I’m running on just three hours of sleep, I am going to bed.  And because of this my media mention will be lame (my lack of creativity is lame, not the media mention itself).  So my mention is the title of this blog.  What a classic!  “You’re going the wrong way.  You’re gonna die.”  ....  “Wait, how do they know where we’re going?”  Love it.  But going back to the title of this blog, I did in fact travel by all four of these modes of transportation today.  Busy, busy, busy.  Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.

Movie Week

When this week began I had no intentions of making it all about movies...  It just turned out that way.  I was really bored at home this morning and when it started heating up in the apartment I decided to get out of the house for a few hours.  I had been wanting to see The Girl Who Played With Fire - the second installment in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy.  I saw the first film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo just over a month ago when it came to one of the independent theaters in Portland.  I have loved both films so far and am anxious for The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest to be released in the States this fall.  I absolutely love this series and know only a handful of people who like it too.  So if you're reading this and enjoy the series, let me know because I'd love to chat about it.  I think the Swedish film adaptations have been perfect and I worry what Hollywood will do to them.  I know Daniel Craig is in talks to play Michael Blomkvist which didn't sit well with me at first, but the more I think about it, I think he'll be okay.  I think Hollywood will try to tone down some of the violence (and many of the American reviews I have read complain about the amount of violence), but if you've actually read the stories you know how critical these violent scenes are to the whole story.

I was expecting this movie to run close to three hours with the previews (like the first movie did) but when I got out of the theater in just under two hours and it was still scorchingly hot outside, I decided to find a cool place to read before heading home.  I was parked near Southpark Seafood and saw they had sangria on their happy hour menu so I went inside.  It's a swanky place with a relaxed bar room.  The burger sounded too good to pass up (local Carlton Farms beef and white cheddar on a toasted sesame seed bun).  They cooked my burger well instead of medium rare, but that was okay.  It was oddly seasoned - I've had another burger seasoned this way but I don't remember where.  It's something I'm not too fond of.  But at least the fries were good.  They were really brown though.  I'm not sure if that's because they soaked them in vinegar before frying?...  Not sure what makes fries brown.  They were definitely fresh and very crispy, but not in an over-cooked kind of way.  That's why I think they soaked in vinegar or something.

Lazy Day

Another lazy day today...  I slept in again since I was up late last night.  I did spend a couple hours walking around town to take care of my errands.  It's so nice being able to walk to the pharmacy, Fred Meyer, and the post office (and so much more) just from my apartment.  Once Eddie got home from work we hopped in the car and headed to Canby, OR where we met my family for dinner to celebrate Chris' birthday.  He discovered El Chilito, a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, while doing some work in this area.  We commandeered three tables outside and enjoyed our meals in the warm evening air.  After dinner we drove over to Walt City Park just a few blocks away where we had homemade apple pie and vanilla ice cream.  And that was my day.  The only other thing I accomplished was watching Guarding Tess.  I had never seen it but it was on my Hulu queue and was about to expire so I thought I'd give it a try.  The movie was fair but I realized one thing: the more movies I see starring Nicholas Cage, the more I start to like him.

Despicable Me

Today was a bit of a lazy day since it is Eddie's Sunday.  We stayed up late last night and so we slept in too late this morning.  When we finally did get up and moving we decided to walk to Bridgeport Village and watch Despicable Me.  Comparing this to the other animated film I recently saw (Toy Story 3) I didn't care for the plot of Despicable Me that much.  That being said, I did find the humor of this film to be superior to Toy Story 3.  I laughed quite a lot.  But maybe that was because Eddie and I were sharing an adult beverage...  We stopped at Whole Foods on our way home and I picked up some ground beef and a couple strips of bacon.  I wound up cooking my burger in bacon fat which I have never tried before.  I don't think it imparted any flavor, but it did cook the burger faster and the burger stayed hotter longer.  BUT...  I feel really gross now because between the burger and three strips of bacon, I probably consumed several tablespoons of nasty bacon grease.  I got Eddie hooked on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares last night so we'll probably just finish out the evening watching that.

Forest Grove

Nothing really special to report today.  Eddie and I went to the gym this morning then to Men's Warehouse for him to get fitted for his tux for Sean & Heather's wedding in San Diego next month.  Then we headed out to Forest Grove where we had lunch at El Torero because I had an Entertainment Book coupon.  They have no website and the reviews on Yelp are not good so I won't link them, but Eddie and I enjoyed the food.  Granted, I only had a plain cheese quesadilla.  Despite the bad reviews, Eddie and I enjoyed our meal.  We shared chips and a margarita before eating our entrees.  After lunch we had a wine tasting at Montinore Estate where I just applied for a job.  Their tasting room is beautiful and their wines are pretty good.  Keeping my fingers crossed about the job...

We didn't do anything special tonight but we did watch the 2-hour special from Deadliest Catch.    Tonight's episode was the second-to-last of the season and also the special episode that they attributed to Captain Phil Harris' life.  I cried quite a bit during the episodes tonight.  I believe it is impossible to watch Deadliest Catch without being drawn to Captain Phil.  He was a special man.  Wish I could have had the pleasure of actually knowing him, but so glad Discovery Chanel was able to capture his last few years on this planet to share them with the rest of us.

Oh yeah.  I also wore my cowboy boots today (third time this week).  If you don't already own a pair, I highly recommend you get out and purchase some.  They feel so good to wear - at least once you get used to their tight feel.  They force you to walk with attitude and confidence and I love it!

Powell Butte

Another good day today...  I wanted to keep things simple today so I spent the morning relaxing around the house and taking care of easy chores.  Around lunchtime I headed out for a 90-minute hike at Powell Butte Nature Park.  I was hoping to get some good views of Mt. Hood, but it was too cloudy today.  The trails here are really short, but they have good views.  My hike would have been faster but I spent ten minutes helping two girls who were lost (I wound up giving them my map to help them get out) and my last thirty minutes were spent behind a group of four on horses.  So that was nice and stinky.  Overall a pretty good little hike.  I'd like to return and check out the section of the park I didn't get to see today.

My media mention isn't very creative...  Remember the radio station up here that plays Def Leppard all the time?  Well on my way to the hike they played Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and then on my way home they played Ozzy's "Crazy Train."  So I took that to be a sign for today's mention.  Blizzard of Ozz is one of the first CDs I ever burned (from my friend Josh in high school) and I loved it!  Lotta great stuff on this album...

Probably not doing anything else the rest of the day.  Eddie and I went on a nice walk last night so maybe we'll do the same tonight.  We shall see.

Grape 'n Grill

Today was fun!  Sokol Blosser was having their third annual grape 'n grill BBQ event so I decided to check it out since the weather was perfect.  I saw on their website that it was kind of cowboy themed so I was thrilled to bust out my cowboy boots for the day.  They were also passing out free bandanas which Eddie and I sported quite well.  There was nothing special about the tasting for me since I have tried all of these wines dozens of times but it was still nice to enjoy them outside and with a Sol Pops coconut cream popsicle to cool me off.

They also had a fun 3-piece bluegrass band playing - GTM String Band.  It was the perfect mellow music to have playing in the background.  I enjoyed them so much that I purchased their CD.  This is my media pick for the day, but since Amazon doesn't sell their album, I can't put up a link for it.  So why did I link Oasis, you ask?  My shuffle played one of their songs when I was at the gym this morning and it made me remember how much I really liked this album.

Enjoy!  :-)

Portland International Beerfest

Today was just an all-around great day.  Since I worked out inside a gym yesterday I wanted to get outside today and treat myself to a bike ride.  It wasn't much of a bike ride since I took care of so many errands while out, but I still had fun.  After my first errand I rode out to Cook Park in Tigard where I found a little bench overlooking the Tualatin River.  It was the perfect spot for me to have lunch and read my book.  I also had my first Fred Meyer shopping experience which was incredible.  It was exactly as I had anticipated (a souped-up Target with an actual grocery & produce section) but it was still amazing.  And just like Target...  I walked in intending to purchase only two things and left after spending more than $100.  But it was worth it.

The main event for the day was heading downtown for the Portland International Beerfest held in the North Park Blocks in the Pearl District.  I don't think Eddie and I tried any international beers tonight because all the local beers were so good.  The best part about this fest is that the admission we bought tonight is valid all weekend.  I probably won't actually return, but it's nice to know I can go back with my wristband and commemorative glass and get in for free whenever I feel like it.

I did something special for today's media mention.  I read Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting - my all-time favorite book.  My aunt read this book in college and passed it down to me when she finished her class thinking I would enjoy the story.  I think I was in fifth or sixth grade when she gave it to me.  I absolutely fell in love with this story and made it a point to read the book at least once year all through high school.  I don't think I ever read it once during college so it was a very nice experience to pick it up after a decade and read it again.  It's a very quick read - just over 100 pages and it tells the sweetest story.  I also finally watched the movie the other day so the story has been on my mind.  This is one book I will never, ever get tired of reading.

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Today's adventure doubles as my media mention.  I didn't accomplish much today, other than a trip to the gym.  But tonight I finally got to see the third installment of the Twilight saga - Eclipse.  For me, the movie did live up to the hype.  I've heard many people say this is the best movie yet and I'm inclined to agree.  There was a lot of action (probably to appeal to the boyfriends who get dragged to see it) but I was mostly interested in all the back stories and histories of our beloved Cullen family members.  Happy I finally made it out to see this one.  :-)  And I bet Eddie's even happier that I didn't drag him along.

Bastille Day

Happy Bastille Day!  Today Eddie and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary.  Usually we get to plan something fun and elaborate like a little vacation, but since I am out of work, I asked Eddie to plan & pay for the festivities.  He was sly and dropped hints leaving me to believe we'd be having dinner at the Lucky Labrador brewpub which left me feeling disappointed.  But sneaky Eddie had a nice surprise planned.  He took me to Iorio Restaurant across the street from Lucky Lab.  Iorio is a beautiful Italian restaurant that serves handmade pastas that are made fresh daily.  We had one of the biggest meals ever - we never order every course when we go out, but tonight was special.  We started with a round of cocktails (huckleberry martini and a limoncello & prosecco mix) with an order of their house-made focaccia bread.  I ordered plain fresini pasta and Eddie ordered the same thing but had it jazzed up with sauce & protein.  Eddie also brought along a bottle of '02 Sokol Blosser Watershed single block pinot noir to have during the meal which was was absolutely delicious.  It has aged so well.  Then we really splurged with dessert.  Eddie ordered an espresso and we shared warm cookies w/ milk and a glass of port.  This was definitely one of the best meals I have ever had.  I was really glad that we made a point to go on a long walk this afternoon otherwise I'd be feeling really full and gross right now.

We decided not to use the GPS to find our way home and instead opted to drive around and get lost.  We explored a lot of SE Portland and saw a bunch of fun restaurants we'd like to check out.  While driving, one radio station was doing a special throwback to 1998 and played Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)."  Eddie had never heard the song before, but after listening to the words for the first time in over a decade, I decided that this should be tonight's media mention because of it's great message.

Seattle Adventure with Shaunna & Her Mom - Day 2

This morning we explored the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle.  They claim to be "The Center of the Universe" though the only reason I can find for that is their city motto is basically to express peculiarities.  Shaunna took me to see the troll under Aurora Avenue and we took a few fun pictures.  Fremont is a cute area to walk around, but possibly more fun on a Friday or Saturday night.  We did see a lot of fun and random art work on the streets so that was nice.  

Then we headed out to Gas Works Park where we had an incredible view of downtown Seattle.  We even got to watch an amphibian plane land in the water which is something I had never seen before.

We still had a couple of hours to kill before my train departure so we drove around Alki Point and had more good views of downtown.  I love this photo because after the Space Needle on the left, as you scan to the right the buildings start out small and then get taller and taller until you reach the last building on the right.  Then it was time to head back towards Pioneer Square to catch my train.  We just happened to park next to the Klondike Gold Rush National Park display so we went inside their free museum and explored for a few minutes.  It was interesting to read about Seattle’s history with gold.

Today’s media mention is The Clan of the Cave Bear.  Shaunna’s mom asked me on Sunday when we were at the Purple Moon Inn if I had ever read this series (they had a copy of one of the books inside the inn).  I had never even heard of the series but it sounded interesting.  When we arrived in Depoe Bay later that day, we happened to park near a used bookstore so Shaunna’s mom bought it with the intention that I pass it along to Shaunna when I’m done.  I’m not far in at all - it’s a bit of a slow start.  But I hope it gets going so I can get into it soon.  I guess I have 2.5 hours on the train I could spend reading that.

Eddie picked me up from the train station and surprised me with a walk to Rogue where we shared some beer and appetizers.  I really enjoy walking around downtown Portland.  It is so pretty and there are always fun people to see.

Seattle Adventure with Shaunna & Her Mom

Shaunna, her mom, and I drove up to Seattle this morning.  We stopped at a rest stop along I-5 which made me think of Randy Woodfield aka the I-5 Killer.  Thankfully nothing happened to us and we were safe.  Funny thing on the way up...  As we left Portland and got closer to the Washington border, we noticed a huge blanket of clouds that seemed to be hovering only above Washington leaving Oregon with clear, blue skies.  Thought that was kind of funny.

We drove around Seattle a bit and found a cute Mexican restaurant to have lunch at.  I'm not positive, but I think it was called Guadalajara and is located in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle.  The server thought I was silly for ordering my plain cheese quesedilla without guacamole or sour cream.  Then we spent some time at the Ballard Locks where we learned about the connecting of Puget Sound to Lake Washington and Lake Union via canal and how the locks operate to allow ships to come up or down to the water height of the body of water they are about to enter.  The locks also keep the salt water of Puget Sound from mixing with the fresh water of the lakes.  Then we got to see the locks in action and watched them both raise and lower boats to the appropriate water height for passage.  I’m sure that doesn’t make sense to anyone who has never been, but I don’t think I can do an adequate job explaining it, so if you’re really interested, read more about it here.

After the Locks we explored Pike Place Market and the wharf area.  I got some yummy olive oil that I tried when I was up here with my sister a few weeks ago and I also bought some good tea.  One of Shaunna’s favorite stores is Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which is very interesting inside.  They have two dehydrated human body remains which was certainly odd to see.

When we were done exploring we went back to Shaunna’s sister’s house to relax for a bit in the Green Lake neighborhood in Seattle.  When we were ready to head back out we decided to do the 3-mile walk around the lake.  It was a beautiful thing to see as the sun was starting to set.  Greenlake Bar & Grill was on our way back so we sat on their patio and enjoyed a round of beers and sweet potato fries.  Our evening ended with a card game at the house.

Today’s media mention comes courtesy of Shaunna.  During our drive up to Seattle she played Adele for me.  She first heard her one day when wandering around the cute streets of Laguna Beach.  I only heard a few of the songs, but her voice is awesome.  If I remember her when I get a job, I’d like to download the album.

Oregon Coast - Lincoln City

What fun we had today!  We started out with a special visit to the Sokol Blosser winery where Eddie poured us their delicious wines then gave us a grounds & barrel room tour.  Then we headed down to Lincoln City and the coast.  Our first stop was to meet with the owner of the Purple Moon Inn because he is an old family friend of Shaunna and her mom.  The inn is super-cute and as close to the water as you can get.  Shaunna and I want to get a group out there to spend a few days because it would make for a wonderful vacation.

Next order of business was lunch.  Shaunna's mom suggested Mo's which is famous for their chowder.  I of course did not have that and instead opted for a burger.  I figure it's time to get serious about finding my favorite burger joints here.  The burger was one of those heavily charred patties  that you would expect to find at any beach.  While those are not normally my favorite style (I prefer thicker patties cooked medium or medium rare), these super-cooked burgers do have their time & place.  And it was served with battered & seasoned fries.  :-)  In all...  A good value for the kind of burger you'd expect to be eating on a hot summer day at the beach.

We headed to Depoe Bay after lunch to walk around and decided to go on a whale watching tour.  We just happened to get there a few minutes before the boat's departure time so we paid our $16 and boarded the ship.  Unfortunately we did not see any whales, but we were thrilled to be bouncing around in the ocean on a boat.  There was a taffy store next to the dock so we dropped in and walked away with a small bag of salt water taffy, a giant bag of cotton candy, and a bag of deliciously warm caramel corn.  Such good treats!  We walked around for a bit more before heading home.

Since I was out all day I did not have any time to read a book or watch TV or a movie so I have no media mention that is coming to mind.  I'm trying to think of a special song we heard in the car but all I can come up with is Def Leppard.  I like them.  I do.  But while living in Southern California, I would only hear their songs come on the classic rock radio station very rarely.  Maybe only a couple of times a month.  Since Eddie and I have been living in Portland, anytime I listen to 105.9 The Brew, a Def Leppard song will come on the radio.  After three months that just gets annoying.  We heard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" on our way to Lincoln City this morning.  As a side note...  Eddie and I can't figure this radio station out. They seem to be obsessed with hairbands.  It is the most bizarre thing to be hearing that stuff on the radio constantly.  None of my classic rock stations in So Cal or Nor Cal ever played this much hairband stuff.  So weird.

My Visitors

Shaunna and her mom came out to visit from Spokane, WA today.  They spent six long hot hours in the car just to get here and then they took me out for a beer.  So, so sweet.  I suggested going to Juan Colorado which is a cute Mexican restaurant within walking distance from my apartment.  I hadn't been and thought they would be the perfect people to check it out with.  We had a nice round of very cold beers and good chips then came back to the apartment where Eddie treated us to some good Sokol Blosser wines.  Not the most flattering picture of me, but you can see we're having fun.  :-)

As our catch-up chatter wore down, we decided to put on a movie.  Shaunna's mom came prepared with a copy of The Blind Side.  I was excited to see this one because I bought the book a few months ago but haven't been interested in starting it.  I was also curious to see Sandra Bullock's award-winning performance and I was completely shocked to find out Tim McGraw was her co-star.  He looks so different without his cowboy hat.  Since I enjoyed the movie I will probably bump up the book to a higher position on my reading list.  Should be fun.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun road trip day!  :-)

Into Thin Air

Tonight's entry will be short.  I just wanted to take a moment to tell you about a book I read today.  I started Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air before bed last night and couldn't wait to wake up this morning to finish it.  It's Krakauer's personal account of the 1996 Everest disaster.  He was one of the few climbers who summited on the fateful day of May 10, 1996.  Nearly half of his crew perished during the storm that struck them at the top of the world's tallest peak.  I wasn't sure I'd be interested in reading about mountain climbing since that is an activity I would never take part in.  But I had read one of his other books, Under the Banner of Heaven, and thought I might be okay with his Mt. Everest account.

I have nothing else to write about at the moment because it has been so hot the past two days that I have not wanted to do anything.  At least today it stayed cooler in the apartment than it did yesterday...

Fun Food for a Hot Day

Eddie and I skipped date night yesterday - mostly because I was tired and because my plans would interfere with the soccer game so Eddie promised we could go out today after the game.  I had to modify my original plan slightly, but everything worked out okay.  I apologize in advance for this entry being mostly about food.  We decided to make chicken nuggets and rice before the Spain / Germany soccer game started today.  Our lunch turned out to be quite delicious.  I played around a bit and made half of the chicken nuggets with a parmesan & panko crust.  So good.

After the game we went out as planned.  I had found UU Yogurt online and really wanted to give them a try so I took Eddie to downtown Lake Oswego.  It's called "UU" because U serve it and U top it yourself and then they charge you by weight.  Eddie and I each weighed in around nine ounces and our total bill was just over $8.  I got half chocolate / vanilla swirl, half Oreo w/ Oreo cookie topping, and a dollop of cheesecake flavor to try.  Eddie got half Oreo and half cheesecake with coconut topping.  They had a red velvet cake flavor that I want to try next time.  This was the perfect treat for such a hot day.  My initial plan was for us to walk around part of the lake with our frozen yogurts, but it was too hot and the path had no trees so I was worried about getting burned.  We wound up eating the treats on a bench looking out on the lake which was a nice thing to do.

Since I wasn't ready to go back home I suggested walking around the area to check it out.  One of the first places we came to was 5 Spice Seafood Restaurant & Wine Bar and it just happened to be the start of their happy hour so we went in.  I ordered a glass of grenache blanc and Eddie ordered one of their Campari & gin cocktails.  They were low on the Campari so they gave us his drink for free.  And because they did that for us, we decided we should order some food so we munched on their cheese plate.  I didn't care for it much.  The roasted Marcona almonds were great, but I didn't care for their soft cheese and the taleggio was so funky.  I was hoping it would taste like parmesan but it did not.

For today's media pick I am going with a true classic - I Love Lucy.  When Eddie was getting ready to cook the rice he asked me how much I wanted.  I said I didn't know because I've never cooked rice so I don't know what a standard portion is.  And then I started chuckling because it made me think of the infamous chocolate factory episode where Lucy & Ethel have to get jobs and they work at the chocolate factory.  But while they're doing that, Ricky and Fred are home preparing dinner for the girls.  I think they are cooking chicken and rice but neither one knows how much rice to cook so one of them says, "Well, I like rice.  Maybe we should do one pound per person" which of course turns into a disaster.

Keeping with today's food theme...  I think I'll finish out the evening catching up on Top Chef (Washington D.C.) and Hell's Kitchen.

Heading Home

The drive back was mostly uneventful.  We stopped for breakfast in Boise at Moon's Kitchen Cafe.  It is located just two blocks from the state capitol building which is beautiful.  Service was slow, but the cafe was really cute and the food delicious.  I had the french toast special for $6.95 (2 slices french toast, two eggs, and two big strips of smoked bacon).  After breakfast we walked to the capitol building to take a picture.

After gassing up in Boise I put on one of my road trip compilation CDs.  I have a bunch of them in my car and have no idea what's on any of them since I haven't listened to them in years.  Funnily, I picked the CD that opens with Lynryd Skynrd's "What's Your Name."  The first line in that song happens to be "Well, it's 8 o'clock in Boise, Idaho" and I just started laughing at that.  I don't think I could have planned that better.  Justine and I tried thinking of other Idaho-related songs but only came up with B-52's "Private Idaho" and unfortunately neither of us had access to the song at the time.

We eventually made it home safe and sound.  I was tired but met Eddie for dinner at Deschutes Brewery in downtown Portland.  I actually had a really awesome hamburger but it never occurred to me to take a picture for the blog.  Drat.  It was really good.  The meat was tender and cooked perfectly medium rare.  I'll be back though and get a picture then.

Twin Falls, Idaho

Woke up this morning feeling fine...  and ready to tackle Twin Falls.  Unfortunately Justine was tied up with homework for several hours so I had to go off and explore on my own.  We were staying just a few blocks from Main Street so I started there.  I realize it was a Sunday morning and a holiday nonetheless but there was no one out on the streets.  Absolutely no one.  And I couldn't find a single shop, cafe, book store, or restaurant open for business.  Feeling moderately defeated I decided to walk around some more.  I went up and down the main drag for about thirty minutes but never encountered any people or activity so I headed back to the house.

I was feeling hungry so I picked up some snacks from my car and walked to the local park where I sat and read for a bit.  There were a few people at the park but only because church had just been let out.  By the time I finished my first chapter, everyone had gone.  I did have one visitor though...  This huge golden dog waltzed up to me and plopped down on the grass next to me.  I'm so thankful he didn't try to jump on me or lick my face and so I didn't mind him chilling with me for a little while.  When I felt I had gotten enough sun, I headed back to the house and took a little nap while Justine finished her homework.

Early in the afternoon we set out to explore.  Of course being in Twin Falls we had to see two waterfalls.  The first and my favorite was the wondrous Shoshone Falls.  I was not expecting it to be anything like Niagara Falls.  Shoshone isn't as massive as Niagara but it was very impressive.  I'm used to narrower waterfalls like you see in Yosemite.

Centennial Fall was just a short drive away.  What was unique about this visit was seeing the waterfall in a way I'd never seen before.  I actually got to walk behind this fall.  The cool mist felt so good as we made the very short hike from the car to the fall.  I was most amazed with the roar of the fall.  It seemed like such a small fall compared to Shoshone but it was loud!

After the falls we headed to Justine's friend's house for a 4th of July barbecue.  We hung out for a few hours just chatting and sipping beers before heading out to watch the main fireworks show.  One of the great things about Twin Falls is its flatness and lack of tall buildings which makes for great fireworks viewing.  I took dozens of pictures during the show but this one is my favorite.  We set off a few fireworks of our own after the show, visited with more friends, then turned in for the night.




But before falling asleep, because I was energized from the fireworks display, I started a new book before going to bed.  I had been waiting for Finger Lickin' Fifteen to go on sale and it finally did.  I stopped reading this Janet Evanovich series a few years ago because each new book in the series started sounding exactly like the book before it - the same problem I have with Stephen King and John Grisham.  But when we first moved to Oregon I decided to pick up where I left off at number 11 (Eleven On Top).  I got caught up in just a few days and was eager to jump to #15 but refused to pay more than $10 for it.  Yes, the books do still sound the same, but I'm enjoying Stephanie's struggles with Morelli and Ranger.

You're Living In Your Own Private Idaho

Never before have I made such a spontaneous decision about a road trip but I'm glad I did.  I do wish I had had more time to plan though so I could read up on things to do in Idaho, but everything worked out okay. We left Beaverton at 6:30 A.M. and made quite a few stops before arriving in Twin Falls.  But one of the stops was well worth it - the Stonehenge War Memorial in Maryhill, Washington.  I imagine the real thing exudes much more awesomeness since this site felt too forced and modern, but it was still neat to see since I haven't made it out to Wiltshire, England.

After several hours of driving through Oregon we finally reached the Idaho border which is where the  Ore-Ida factory is.  That just made me laugh because while I knew the company name stood for Oregon / Idaho, I didn't actually expect to see their facility.

There isn't much to say about the rest of the drive.  Idaho is one flat and open state.  Thankfully there are some short mountains in the distance so I didn't feel too agoraphobic.  Most of the landscape was brown and dry (it is July), but I was able to find beauty in it - probably because it was all brand-new to me.  It was nearly 5:00 P.M. before we arrived in Twin Falls.  Being exhausted from the drive and running on just a few hours of sleep, we decided not to do anything big - just hung out with some of Justine's friends and had dinner at Shari's Restaurant.  We saved the sight-seeing for Sunday...


Oh...  What is one thing all road trips need?  Music!  Justine brought along her iPod loaded with tons of music.  I think we spent almost two hours listening only to Depeche Mode.  I like them, but I only know the music off this singles collection album so most of what I heard was new to me.