A weekend in Oregon!

Raoul and I spent the last three days in the Portland/Columbia River Basin area. It was soooo great to get away for a few days and see civilization again (LOL), and now I'm refreshed to return to work for the whole 2 1/2 days I'm working this week. Yippee for vacation time!!! As for this weekend, it definitely had its ups and downs. . .

It rained. . .and I mean rained! In fact there were only 2 hours of time where there was no rain the entire two days we were in Portland. Now, you say, "you went to the west coast, what did you expect?" So yes, you would be right. . .but the rain made it hard to make a statement regarding what I think about Portland as a city since we didn't get to do all the things we had planned. The first day it rained all day, so we took advantage of the time by doing one of my favorite past times. . .shopping! Poor Raoul! He was a great sport, though, even when I made him help me decide on which pair of pink pumas to buy (I'm pretty sure he really didn't care) :) We did get him a new suit for his sister's wedding, though; and I must say he looks pretty darn snazzy. After shopping for about 8 hours straight, we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then to X-3 for a late night movie. A fun movie, not exactly following the comic book (what the heck, Cyclops dies?), but definitely entertaining.

Day two. . .the day with two hours of dry weather. We decided to tackle some of the sights since Raoul was definitely tired of shopping. First we went to the Portland Zoo, where we spent the entire two hours of dry weather. Then it was off to the Rose Gardens, Raoul's favorite. It was pretty spectacular, even in the rain. I haven't figured out how to upload pictures yet, so check out my facebook for the full weekend of pictures. We spent a little bit of time downtown doing yes, shopping, and then to Border's for awhile to get a guidebook for hiking next weekend. Boy do I miss Borders!!! That evening we ate at McCormick and Schmicks which had some fantastic food! Then it was back to the hotel to rest up for day three of the trip.

Day three. . .we left Portland early so we could stop for some neat sites on the way back home. First we stopped at Multnomah Falls, a double waterfall that was simply awesome! We walked up to a bridge that was at the top of the lower falls and then took a VERY steep 1 mile hike up to the top of the upper falls. The scenery was amazing, even though we were getting wet both from the rain and the waterfall. It was a great early morning workout! Then we went on further down the highway to Mount Hood. It is the only mountain in the northwest that you can ski on 365 days a year. It's 11,000 feet tall and a beautiful sight. We saw it from the North side but it was covered with clouds, so we drove to the South side and got a much better view. By the time we'd seen all of this, we were dead tired and headed back to Clarkston.

A whirlwind of a trip, but fun and saw some awesome sights. Again, check my facebook for more pictures until I figure out how to post them here.

7 1/2 days and counting. . .

Yes, I am still counting, but not much further to go until vacation time! To recap the last couple of weeks: Raoul's parents came up to see us, and we all had a blast. We took a trip to Walla Walla, WA to check out some of the wineries, and they also got to come see where I spend the majority of my days and the cool people I spend them with (a.k.a. work). I definitely think, though, that I ate WAY too much while they were here. . .need to hit the gym overtime for a few weeks :)

Last week at work actually eased off a bit. . .Yippee! I worked this weekend, so I will be able to save up some extra cash for all our summer trips. And speaking of summer trips, Raoul and I are getting ready to head to Portland, OR on Friday for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a much needed weekend away for some retail therapy, get a glimpse of civilization, and see some awesome sights (waterfalls, rose gardens, Mount Hood). Then we're back in Lewiston on Monday evening to get ready for my sister and her boyfriend to arrive on Wednesday evening for the marathon week with my family (with a relay handoff from my sister to my parents in between). A lot coming up. . .definitely motivation to keep my apartment clean.

We had a crazy storm this week. On Friday, we had thunder/lightening/rain after 3 nearly unbearable days of 95 degree heat. It helped cool things off, but the river looks pretty bad littered with a lot of tree branches/trunks. The bridge actually shut down for awhile when a car stalled in a puddle. One telephone near one of my co-worker's homes was split in two. We also had the electricity go out at the clinic 3 times Friday afternoon, so I did a lot of stretching in the dark, and not many modalities were performed that day. I figure that lightening storms and electrical stimulation machines don't really mix that well. Rain has been on and off since then, with a pretty fabulous rainbow today.

Bugsy has turned me on to reading again, so I started "In Cold Blood" after we saw Capote a couple of weeks ago. I ordered a few more books online, and borrowed a couple of others, so hopefully I'll be more well-read after all the traveling I'm doing this summer. I'll comment on them as I go as Bugsy has taken to doing on her blog.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!!!

It's official. . .America is completely stupid!

So, why is America stupid? It has nothing to do with politics or materialism. . .it has everything to do with tonight's episode of American Idol. It is completely obvious to everyone who has the ability to hear that Chris Daughtry is the best singer and performer on the show. And, I believe, he's the only one of the final four that could actually make a record that is marketable to the masses beyond just American Idol fans. It is an absolute crying shame that he was voted off tonight. He is the only one who deserves to win that competition, and I will be the first to run out and buy his first album. Get the boy a band and let him sing!!!

17 1/2 days and counting. . .

What, you may ask, is 17 1/2 days and counting? That is exactly how many days of work I have left before I get my first official vacation day!!! Can you tell I'm excited? I honestly had no idea the first year would be quite this difficult to adjust to. I mean, I definitely like my job and co-workers, but I had been used to having a week or two off of school 2-3 times a year even in graduate school. Now I have work straight from July 20th until now without taking a single vacation day (per the employee handbook). In fact I'm technically not supposed to have any vacation for a full year, but my boss is being very gracious (perhaps he doesn't want to me to crazy, hmmm. . . .) and letting me taking some time a little earlier. To be paid not to work, definitely something to look forward to!

Raoul has officially finished his first year of graduate school and now has way too much time on his hands (for a couple of weeks anyways). This, of course makes me extremely jealous. . .until I remember that paycheck thing, nice to have around. Plus, this means he can run errands for me and pick up family members at the airport, right?

Next weekend Raoul's parents are up here for a visit. We are very excited!! On Saturday we are planning a day trip to Walla Walla, WA for tours of the vineyards and some wine tasting at the wineries. Plus that weekend there will be several hot air balloons in the sky. . .pretty!!! And definitely loving that Raoul is such a willing designated driver.

Plans for the following weekends:
May 20-21 working
May 26-29 Portland, OR

I am definitely excited for Portland since Raoul has finally given in and is letting me take him shopping!!! He needs a new suit for the wedding and a new jacket since he got paint on it during Habitat for Humanity. I am going to find something pretty for myself as well, because we can't have those east-coast folks thinking we're all backwoods out west. We do have running water and electricity now, you know! :)

That's all for now. . .off to an evening of relaxation and not thinking about anything productive.