Wednesday, March 14, 2007

How can we even explain how much we did today?! We slept in again so that we would be well-rested to start off our day kayaking!






After getting some food at the kayak place (they had a restaurant upstairs), we went over to the Experience Music Project, which included: the history of guitars, Jimi Hendrix exhibit, and then of course...singing booths..





Knowing us we were hungry by then, so we got a cheap bite to eat over at Dick's, where they have $1 burgers.



Then we went to the Jazz Alley, where Greg Adams (an awesome trumpeter) had a great concert. We hurried after the concert to eat at an Amy Johnson-recommended restaurant called "The Pink Door". Food was great, and there was also a little trio playing some jazz. Probably one of my favorite days: exercise without knowing, great food, and great music =0)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Today we decided to relax and sleep in. We started off around 11am with a little walk. We went on a nice trail on a mountain, then we went off-trail where Adam got stuck in some mud, I got some lovely splinters, and Peter up-rooted a tree to make us a bridge to get past a patch of thorns. We got a good work out and eventually found our way back to Peter’s aunt’s house.

After getting cleaned up we went to Downtown Portland and started off with Pike’s Place Market. We got to see the original Starbucks, the place where they throw the fish, tried some AWESOME free salmon, got some lunch, and I got to go to a really cool comic store called Golden Age Collectibles.

Then we headed to the waterfront, explored some, walked to Pioneer’s Square, walked to the flagship Nordstrom’s, and then walked back to the car.

We then drove to Key Arena and cheered on the Sonics!Even though we all don’t really care for them, we felt compelled to as the guy sitting behind us was an annoying Detroit Pistons fan. “Nick Collison!?! You got stuffed by ‘Sheed once, you don’t wanna come back! The ball don’t lie!” And MANY high pitched yells. We still had fun even though they lost. We got to combat him with “The ball DOESN’T lie! Found a weakness! Let it rain!”

We finished the day off with some fish and chips at Ivar’s on the waterfront. Even though it was late, we felt our whole day of walking excused our eating late at night.

Monday, March 12, 2007

We were planning on running this morning but it was raining. So instead we started our day by having lunch at Henry’s Tavern where Adam had some fiery shrimp, Peter had BBQ chicken pizza, and I had salmon and mashed potatoes. Henry's also had really great root beer...yum.




Afterwards, we went to Powell’s Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. It was HUGE. The store takes up an entire city block. It has color-coordinated rooms to indicate different subject level. It also had a rare book room where they had early editions and original printings of a number of books.



From Powell’s we went to the Nike Factory Store where we tried to take advantage of Portland’s lack of a sales tax. We even bought matching jackets.



Finally, we got up to Seattle around 8pm. Peter’s Aunt Patti has been kind enough to let us stay with her, so she cooked us dinner and we got to hang out.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Our campsite had a sign that explicitly said, “Caution: You are in bear country!”

I can’t say that I was paranoid, but I was definitely aware. So, when I woke up in the middle night, and heard some rustling against our tent, and some growling, I got understandably concerned. THEN, I realized that it was actually Adam next to me proving his qualifications for the Tour de Snore. I know that I’ve found the right group of friends because we all wake up in the morning cranky from a restless sleep because the other two's snoring kept us up. =0)

Just to give you an example, here's a resident snore chief showing us how it's done in the car.


For us, the state of Oregon will always be known for:

1. Their nice bridges


2. Their beautiful coast


3. Their SLOW drivers.

We saw mileage signs for 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 on a HIGHWAY. Is that even possible?!



Anyway, we had to improvise a little so that we could get to Tillamook Cheese Factory in time. (Including a quick make shift PEE-stop.)




Eventually, we made it to Tillamook and had some amazing cheese and ice cream.






We checked into our Days Inn City Center in Portland’s Downtown District. We found an awesome restaurant called Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, (where when you call they answer, “Hello, You’ve Hit Rock Bottom!”)

The two scariest thugs I know, showing what napkins should look like after eating wings.



A little downtown walking and we went to sleep early.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Here’s what I woke up to (Not much to see, but be sure to turn up your volume!):



Don't be fooled by Peter's appearance, that's ALL Adam.

After waking up in our absolutely funky-smelling fogged-up car, we ate a delicious and healthy breakfast at the rest area.




Since we drove a lot last night, we were able to take our time today.

We drove through the Avenue of Giants and came across this quaint looking tourist stop called “Trees of Mysteries”. Lo and behold, we recognized some of the landmarks from one of our favorite commercials.






We made a quick stop in Eureka (We found it!). Had some good lunch at Hurricane Kate’s, walked around downtown a little bit, and left for our campsite.

Some scenic shots:







We arrived at Redwood Forest around 5pm and got to explore a lot. We skipped stones for awhile and walked along the Smith River. Then, Peter came up with the brilliant idea of going INTO the river. Adam was game, and after lots of convincing, I decided to go too. We all got in and wanted to cry.




After climbing up back to our campsite without shoes, we set up our tent, dinner, and our campfire. We had some personal conversations, played some cards, and then got cozy in our tent.

Friday, March 9, 2007

“This is How We Do Spring Break”

For some, that quote might be a prelude to heavy binge drinking or lounging on a beach of an island, for three of us…it translates to chasing birds and sleeping at rest areas.

Our spring break started off with relative ease. We hopped into our snack-filled Kia Sorento, and after a few obligatory stops (our apartments, McDonald’s) we were on our way around 7:45am.

We traversed the 5 quickly making our way outside of Los Angeles. PCH had practically any traffic, and while our morning had started off with muggy weather, the coastline drive was gorgeous for a majority of the way up. Here are some scenic shots:






We also got to check out the Hearst Castle visitor center (didn’t have time for the castle itself). Our trip hit an exciting note when we took the 17-mile drive near Monterey. We got to hang out on the beaches, Peter made a new friend, and we even got to see the 18th hole for the Pebble Beach golf course!







Afterwards, we breezed through Cannery Row (the inspiration for Steinbeck’s novel of the same name), and eventually made it up to San Francisco.

We were a little later than we had hoped and would not make it to our planned campsite of China Beach. So, while trying to contact all of our native SF friends, we ate some calamari, chowder, and fish and chips (I ate a shrimp pasta which was inevitably a bad decision). Afterwards, while Peter was fruitlessly trying to find us a place to stay, Adam was cautiously watching over me as I was so close to vomiting so many times (pretty, I know).

Since we couldn’t find anywhere, we decided to get some of our driving done at night (since the closest rest area was about 2 hours away). In addition to telling embarrassing stories, we traversed the foggy mountains and ended up at a rest area around 2am. We got situated and tried going to sleep, for which Adam apparently had a talent. Instead of Peter and I being the loudest snorers (as accustomed to being), Adam shuck the entire car. (It probably didn’t help that we were all within 6 feet of each other in an enclosed space. Peter and I got some sleep, but most of our night was spent giggling about Adam’s narcolepsy. He would be talking to us, laughing at jokes with us, and then literally TWO SECONDS later, within the same breath, he would be snoring up a storm!!!




Great first day of our long-awaited spring break road trip.

And just so you know, THIS, is how we do spring break.

The Week of Gary (for Serious this time)

Did you hear that? Wait...wait a minute there it is again....*KERPLUNK*. That was Week of Gary falling to its miserable demise. Of all of my expectations (6 total), I completed half of one. But let me highlight a realization I arrived at last week.

• Partying several nights leads to 1) inefficient workouts, 2) unhealthy late night binges, 3) loss of money.

Was it a fun week? Yes and no. But my continuing to feel immobile is unacceptable, repulsive to me. That said, let's try it again.

THIS time, I'm going to be in seclusion (b/c I sort of need a break from everything). I really want to test myself, see if the hard work I put into something can produce the results I want.

• Still working out everyday
• New song or two
• Figure out some recording stuff
• Catch up on reading
• By doing some work at work
• Get to the low 270s, preferably 270 itself (I'm at 279 right now after a few days of 283)

Gotta do it for me.