Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful time with your families, friends and loved ones. Yes, we're a few days behind, but NOT because we were shopping. In fact the only stores we go to are the ones with groceries! Apparently the madness was at an all time high here in Portland with crazy people cutting in line and starting fights in front of the big box stores while they waited to be let in to buy their gifts....I don't think this is what the ancients had in mind when celebrating the birth of Christ.
In order to fully enjoy the weekend, Scott busted his tail to complete all his work by Wednesday. So, after a very rainy Thanksgiving spent with a few families that didn't leave for the holiday, we were ready to get out. Friday was a sunny day and we decided to drive into Washington to see if we could find a nice spot where we could get a good look at Mt. St. Helens without actually going to the visitors (tourists!) center. We set out for Cougar, which is northeast of Battle Ground. What a great day for a drive.
It's funny that you can drive about 20 miles or less outside of Portland and be in the country. We had a beautiful drive we had. Winding through the roads climbing in elevation, we eventually reached a spot where we got a great look at this volcano. Oh, did I mention that, yes, this is the same mountain/volcano that erupted in 1980? It is amazing to see the growth that has occurred after only 30 years, especially since some areas received coverings of several FEET of ash. You can definitely see where the top was blown off. It looks like it has a chop top! But the breadth of the mountain is IMPRESSIVE and beautiful, covered in snow. Unfortunately, the side we were looking at was becoming engulfed with a batch of clouds, and we didn't have our camera (which didn't have any batteries).
On our way back we stopped at a "spoon" called Cougar Bar & Grill. It was the only place to eat in Cougar. So we chanced it. Not sure how we could go about describing it, other than a small town diner/bar. Too bad the waitress couldn't even manage a smile.
We were hoping to attend a tree lighting event in downtown Portland too, but it just didn't work out. So instead, we decided to go to Gresham for their festivities tonight. Gresham in located in SE Portland and is only about 15 mins away. It has a quaint, and somewhat expansive downtown area. We walked around and waited for the action to begin. Good ole St. Nick strolled down the middle of the street and waved everyone to follow him. As the crowd assembled, and they counted down, the "shrub," as Scott called it, was lit. We were both not only surprised, but a little disappointed, as there was a HUGE pine tree that we thought they might light up. Oh well. Besides, where else are you gonna see fireworks set off at the end of November? Those kinda made up for the shrub.
So beings our latest holiday tradition!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Apples, Fish heads & Karaoke!
Curious? You should be! Yes, it's been almost 2 months since the last post, but we haven't dropped off the face of the planet. In fact, we try to keep things interesting!
So with the fall season upon us, cruising the area and finding fun "fall" things to do jumps up on the priority list. Fall is our favorite time of year. I don't know what we were expecting, but I suppose we have both been surprised at how beautiful the changing of the colors have been! Knowing that the pacific NW has a decidedly large number of coniferous trees, it would seem that things would just be green and wet! Ah, but not necessarily the case--the colors have been extraordinarily bright--reds, oranges and yellows.
On my way to find an apple tasting festival at a local nursery with a friend, we found ourselves detoured from the main route. It was a treat though, as we wound our way through a quaint Portland neighborhood with early 1900's homes, each unique with their own character. The streets were lined with trees in a canopy displaying all of their glorious colors! Getting lost was definitely a treat!
Oh, and who knew there were over 30 different varieties of apples? This was a great experience, as there were tables & tables of apples (and pears) available to taste. Once you decided which types you like, there were bins of apples for purchase...a pie maker's dream! With 4 lbs. of apples, I was set!
So with intermittent deluges of rain & sun breaks all within 10 minutes of each other, staying in would be the order of the evening. When our doorbell rang around 6pm, we were glad to see our neighbor Ronaldo. He had been coming over most Saturday nights to hang out, watch a movie and have good conversation. But tonight, Ronaldo had a BETTER idea.....karaoke. Karaoke? Are you kidding? He said, "it's popular in the Phillipines. It will be fun." So, as we were about to let Ronaldo talk us into this, another neighbor showed up and pulled Ronaldo away. He assured us he'd be back....really? We were hoping he just might forget about the karaoke.
A few minutes later, he came back with a glint in his eye along with a container in his hand. I asked him what was in his hand. With great excitement, he responded, "fish heads! They are a delicacy. I won't have to go to the grocery all week" Ugghh.
Ronaldo came back after putting those buggers in HIS refridgerator. He was armed with a small bag that contained "the machine." We were expecting something a bit larger, but it was a mic that plugged into the front of the tv with all the controls on the handle of the mic. Here we go....
As most of you know, I can barely even sing in front of my family and friends for fun without turning 8 shades of red. This was intimidating. So I made Scott go first! We couldn't stop laughing! Not because Scott can't sing--because he can. But because the music was cheesy and the temp was a tad off. Nevertheless Scott got through the song and we all were laughing. I was really hoping Ronaldo would forget I was in the room and just start singing along himself. No such luck. He shoved that thing in front of me along with the book of songs from which I could pick. I'm sweating now. I couldn't even sing on key because I was so nervous and because I felt absolutely ridiculous! "People in the Phillipines do this every night for hours," Ronaldo assured me. Great, but I'm not in the Phillipines---I'm in Portland!!
So after several songs for each of us, we were just about laughed out. So now we can add another experience to our list of "firsts." Thanks Ronaldo!
So with the fall season upon us, cruising the area and finding fun "fall" things to do jumps up on the priority list. Fall is our favorite time of year. I don't know what we were expecting, but I suppose we have both been surprised at how beautiful the changing of the colors have been! Knowing that the pacific NW has a decidedly large number of coniferous trees, it would seem that things would just be green and wet! Ah, but not necessarily the case--the colors have been extraordinarily bright--reds, oranges and yellows.
On my way to find an apple tasting festival at a local nursery with a friend, we found ourselves detoured from the main route. It was a treat though, as we wound our way through a quaint Portland neighborhood with early 1900's homes, each unique with their own character. The streets were lined with trees in a canopy displaying all of their glorious colors! Getting lost was definitely a treat!
Oh, and who knew there were over 30 different varieties of apples? This was a great experience, as there were tables & tables of apples (and pears) available to taste. Once you decided which types you like, there were bins of apples for purchase...a pie maker's dream! With 4 lbs. of apples, I was set!
So with intermittent deluges of rain & sun breaks all within 10 minutes of each other, staying in would be the order of the evening. When our doorbell rang around 6pm, we were glad to see our neighbor Ronaldo. He had been coming over most Saturday nights to hang out, watch a movie and have good conversation. But tonight, Ronaldo had a BETTER idea.....karaoke. Karaoke? Are you kidding? He said, "it's popular in the Phillipines. It will be fun." So, as we were about to let Ronaldo talk us into this, another neighbor showed up and pulled Ronaldo away. He assured us he'd be back....really? We were hoping he just might forget about the karaoke.
A few minutes later, he came back with a glint in his eye along with a container in his hand. I asked him what was in his hand. With great excitement, he responded, "fish heads! They are a delicacy. I won't have to go to the grocery all week" Ugghh.
Ronaldo came back after putting those buggers in HIS refridgerator. He was armed with a small bag that contained "the machine." We were expecting something a bit larger, but it was a mic that plugged into the front of the tv with all the controls on the handle of the mic. Here we go....
As most of you know, I can barely even sing in front of my family and friends for fun without turning 8 shades of red. This was intimidating. So I made Scott go first! We couldn't stop laughing! Not because Scott can't sing--because he can. But because the music was cheesy and the temp was a tad off. Nevertheless Scott got through the song and we all were laughing. I was really hoping Ronaldo would forget I was in the room and just start singing along himself. No such luck. He shoved that thing in front of me along with the book of songs from which I could pick. I'm sweating now. I couldn't even sing on key because I was so nervous and because I felt absolutely ridiculous! "People in the Phillipines do this every night for hours," Ronaldo assured me. Great, but I'm not in the Phillipines---I'm in Portland!!
So after several songs for each of us, we were just about laughed out. So now we can add another experience to our list of "firsts." Thanks Ronaldo!
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