Last Days in Portland
I really really like Portland. The people, the geography, the quirky places and events, everything about this place (and the rest of Oregon) is pretty spectacular.
While I was intending to just hang out, play some sports, and get a little work done during my three months of living the good life (with an inflatable bed, four walls, roof, door, and shower), I ended up getting myself into a few other oddities as well.
It didn't take long for Becs and I to realize that we shared a common love for squirrels. I'm not exactly sure what it is about these playful little nut-gatherers, but we like their style. Once this commonality was established it was only a matter of time that we learned of the Nutty Narrows Bridge in Longview, WA. Upon first smell we were tempted to pass right through Longview. It was rather putrid. Longview's evident apathy towards its own smell was more than made up for by its concern for squirrels. A bridge was built to aid these furry critters in crossing Olympia Way. You can read all about it here. However, the complete absence of squirrels was peculiar.
What else happened. Zoe threw the best Tequila Shot, Dance, Dance, Bowlathon Party (or something like that) that I've ever been to. Dance Dance Revolution is not my think, but I learned that I can roll without my pinky. Becs, Winston, and I did a bit of paddling and picnicing on the coast. Duane had a birthday complete with live entertainment (singing, guitar and drum playing) and a flaming birthday cupcake. Tyler and I played a little basketball while some Capture the Flag was going on (which it turned out Duane was at). Awwww....I already miss the new friends I made while living in Portland. I'll add some more stuff in this month's mypinkyupdate. I'm getting a little sick of web stuffs.
Crater Lake National Park in the Winter
To date, I believe that Crater Lake is my single favorite spot on the globe. Sure, I haven't been everywhere yet, but if I'm picking one place that I've already been to sit down in a lawn chair with a drink and a grill, this is it.
I visited this park in the Summer of '09 and just after I closed my mouth from the draw dropping view I began to wonder what this place looked like in Winter? The answer is, Amazing! Winter offers the added bonus of very few visitors. I camped out on the rim all by myself, and the rangers told me that a group of four would be on the north side of the lake, and another group of four was setting out the following morning. I could have sworn I heard voices during the night, but no one pushed me into the frigid waters of Crater Lake when I was sleeping soundly in my tent. I can't recommend a visit to Crater Lake highly enough.
Oregon Gets Better Every Day
It almost seems as though everything that I like about Wisconsin Oregon/Portland does it just a little bit better. I like to play in the snow......and Wisconsin has plenty of it, but where are the hills and mountains to sled and snowboard? Nah, it didn't have 'em! I've been lobbying for my fellow Wisconsinites and I to build a mountain somewhere in the state to have something nice to look at along the horizon, but it'd also make for an excellent ski resort. Our highest peak, stupid Tim's Hill isn't quite cutting it anymore. Meanwhile, over on this side of the country you can live in Portland, not have to worry about shoveling your driveway, but an hour away you'll find some excellent snow for boarding and skiing. At first I was a little intimidated by the slopes at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort, but some things are the same over here as they are back home. Gravity works just like I remember it from back in Wisconsin.
I also went to Ape Caves up by Mount Saint Helens. Forgot to pull out the camera for that one though. That's been a recurring theme. I guess when I don't have my camera riding shotgun with me it gets forgotten about altogether.
Portland's Urban Iditarod
From the post below, I really didn't think that things could get better than the 80's Dance Party. Then came the Urban Iditarod. Perhaps the most hilarious event ever. In honor of the real Iditarod, Portlanders dress up in costume and spiff up a shopping cart to race from bar to bar down the streets of downtown Portland. The costumes were ridiculous, more often than not crossing the line between wholesome and inappropriate. When a brisk wind kicked up, Becs and I sported the Duck and Ladybug costumes that have been stowed away in my car for more than a year now. Finally a use for them, and they brought that little bit of adoreable wholesomeness that this iditarod needed. Weirdness was in abundance. The gnome at left surrounded by a bunch of Waldos started a spontaneous jump-roping exhibition. Nuns, robots, ninjas, and a lot of people in spandex jumped in. It was so much fun. Days later, I'm still smiling and laughing just thinking about it.
Sadly I had to leave a little early to get to my basketball game. By the time I crossed the Burnside Bridge I was well aware of how late I was going to be for my game, so I started running around the streets of Portland still wearing my ladybug costume. It took me a while to find my car since I completely forgot where I stuck it, and I wound up arriving 20 minutes late for the game. The second I arrived the team took a timeout and I stuck me right in the game. I air-balled my first shot, but things improved dramatically from there and we actually won our first game. I'm still not exactly sure how that happened - perhaps I was still on a Urban Iditarod High, but I'll take the third place finish.
80's Dance Party
Afterward Becs, Dan and I made a brief appearance at the Little Lebowksi's Formal Sauree the three of us hit up the 80's Dance Party at the Crystal Ballroom in downtown Portland. We joined Bec's sisters and a fiancé to dance the night away 80's style. The ballroom was even decked out with a spring loaded dance floor (what I imagine those gymnastic floor routine mats are like) to aid in dancing to House of Pain. Being a Badger I have a serious amount of "Jump Around" experience but sadly it's a song from the 90's, but there were an awful lot of classics to get my jump on to.
I was surprised to learn how many 80's songs I knew the words to, and I was even more surprised how awesome the music was, and that I have been neglecting this wonderful decade for far too long. By the time Salt N Pepa's "Push It" came along I was stripped down to just this very 80's orange, mesh, cut-off Cleveland Browns jersey. Becs and couldn't help but pose together due to our similar taste when it comes to 80's attire.
An awesome night like this can only be capped with some greasy diner food, so Dan led us to Roxies Diner for a late night snack.
Formal Party with the Lebowski's
After a most excellent kickball season Becs, Dan, and I teamed up with the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers for one last hurrah. A formal party at Ben's house (member of LLUA). Sports coats, bourbon, and bonfires made for an enjoyable evening and I brought the s'mores (leftover from TPIR) for the fire.
I love a good bonfire and there were dogs running all over the place which is always a bonus. Even though the Little Lebowksi's are very gracious hosts we didn't stay long, because we had some dancing to do. 80's Dancing that is.
February myPinkyUpdate: Volume 1, Issue 8
Tossing aside my transient lifestyle has really cut down on my camera usage and therefore giving me minimal material to work with for a myPinkyUpdate. So this is just a Bockfest Update, which is good enough for me even though I despise Minnesota.
Portland in February
I've been doing a good job of sticking to my "usual" routine while in Portland. My usual is a whole lot of library time and a bit of the outdoors. Since I've settled down for a bit, I also managed to sprinkle in some recreational sports. Man did I make the bonehead plays in football. Sure I had a bunch of TDs and INTs, but bonehead plays all over the place usually with the game on the line on the final posession. I lost a fair amount of sleep due to flag football. This is quite sad. Kickball was nothing but fun. The team was great, and we found a sort of kinship with our ball kicking rivals "The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers." I really like those guys and we practiced against them. It was sad that we had to face-off against them in the first round of the kball playoffs. Basketball.......I didn't make too many bonehead plays in bball, but I wasn't very good either. I'm still trying to find my four-functioning-fingered jump shot.
Along with those organized sports, I frequented Mount Hood for some x-country skiing. The Pacific Northwest is phenomenal. I also went to the Milwaukee vs. Portland NBA basketball game. This was back in January, and the Bucks looked horrible, but they're looking good now. I also like the new "Fear the Deer" slogan.
Bockfest - New Ulm, MN
At last year's Bockfest I made a guarantee that I would return in 2010. At that time I didn't know that I'd be living (quite happily) in Portland, OR. I chose to stay true to my word, by flying back to Milwaukee, renting a mini-van, picking up a few friends, and driving into enemy territory, MINNESOTA (AKA: the Worst State Ever). I boldly claimed that I would uncover each and every bock hidden in the Schell Brewery woods. Odds were in our favor as we sent out not one, but five Bock hunters, but we still came away empty handed. The Bockstreet Boys stuck played the same setlist heavy on "Ring of Fire" and "yah, yah, you betcha." I bumbed a Minnesotan's elbow that got in my way when I was driving through the Target parking lot near the brewery, and we got a tour of Muttly Manor in Mankato (as well as two night's of Minnesotan hospitality). I finally got to watch "To Grandmother's House We Go!" It's GREAT! They made it too. And I made it back to Portland (where I belong for the time being).
January myPinkyUpdate: Volume 1, Issue 7
My hoborific lifestyle has settled down for a while in Portland. While I'm waiting for Spring I spent my first month in Portland playing kickball, football, and basketball, and pretty much every other waking hour was spent at one of the many libraries in the Portland area.
I also made a glorious return to Wisconsin to pick up some cheese, see my family and friends and do a little snowboarding. All-around another month of my life that I'm sure I'll never forget.......at least not until advanced age sets in and I go a little (more) crazy.
Idle Time
I have plenty of hours, no, make that days or even months where I'm short on ideas or creative mojo. When this happens I tend to create random tasks for myself. A few weeks ago, I was staring at my desktop (a beautiful image of Whistler as seen hiking across the Musical Bumps) trying to hatch a thought........instead, I started wondering what in the world my fellow bikehikers in the picture were thinking about.
At your left is what I came up with. Yes, I should be a little more productive than this.
Valentine's Day Tip: What the Ladies are Looking for
Guy's if you're having a little trouble finding that special someone, here's what I've learned in Portland:
Girls like guys with Vermont license plates and Wikipedia pages.
I decided that the ultimate combination would be a Vermont license plate that lets passersby know that you have a wikipedia page. This is a sure-fire way to cause a stir with the ladies near you. I have yet to determine why Wisconsin license plates with pinky oriented website bumper stickers plastered on a car doesn't do the trick?
Lifestyle of the Young and the Homeless
I'm really short on pics for this month. This is good and this is bad. On the good side I don't have to resize/photoshop/upload many pics. On the bad side, no one wants to read anything, so what do I have to show? Here are two quick notes:
Portland is a great place to have a VW repaired. VW shops are all over the place. My mobile home is fixed and ready to put on some miles. She also has x-country skis in her now (just in case she isn't ready for the road).
I flew to Milwaukee and back to Portland with a 3" pocket knife in my backpack. I know how it was there (I never search my backpack before I pack), but I have no idea how TSA missed it. They gave my bag of cheese a serious swabbing when I was headed back to Portland (sadly, they turned down my offer of a "taste test.").
Home with My Family
As always, it's good to return home to visit with my family. Although, my most recent trip to the land of milk and cheese was short I managed to pack a lot in. I caught up with my parents, shopped for cars with my sister, rock banded with her kids, and scrabbled with my brother and his family.
Coincidentally, my night at my brother's was the night before "dress as what you want to be when you grow up" day for his kids. Their initial idea was to be white rappers, but when I arrived Sam decided to be a hobo and Maddie went for a more practical Cowgirl. I tried telling Sam, that being a hobo isn't as glamorous as it sounds........I mean, a real hobo would have hitched or sneaked on a train to get back to Wisconsin. These guys are tough and resourceful, not patsies like myself.
In the end it was a really good trip home. It was great to see everyone, and my Mom definitely made significant contributions to my "Most Delicious Weekend of My Life." I'm sure I'll be back (looking for food) sometime in the near future.
Hurley, WI is More Awesome
I've only explored the tip of the iceburg when it comes to Portland, but I feel pretty confident in declaring Hurley, as Portland's superior. The last time a bunch of us swarmed into Hurley, it was a glorious, glorious train-wreck of a weekend. I busted out my union suit, there was ample sledding, we ate and drank until we couldn't no more.
After a multi-year hiatus, my old college roommate, Brian, got the band back together by organizing a return trip to Hurley. What ensued was perhaps, the most delicious weekend of my life. We played Chandelier, cribbage and Balderdash, sledded, skied and snowboarded, but more than anything else, we ate. Chili, the most amazing sandwich I have ever seen, breakfast bake and breakfast wraps......nyum yum yum. My mouth waters just thinking about it. The Union Suit was well behaved, shots were 10 for 20ish dollars, a local band liked to jump around, and I slleighed a hill with a lit, deer antler candle-holder on my head. Hurley = good times.
There were only two bummers (that I can think of) on this trip. First, Sam and I got pulled over by a Northwoods cop on the way up. This bummer turned into a smiler as I giggled my way into a verbal warning even though I was going twenty over. The other bummer was when a ski-patrolman with a shovel flattened out our favorite play jump which happened to be right next to Davos. We're still not sure why it was destroyed but the working theory is that this man figured that we were likely to get hurt since we're crash landers as shown by the picture at left. I was already on the ground from my crash landing.
Portland is AWESOME
I feel that I've done an excellent job in choosing my winter hangouts. Portland features many characteristics of my perfect Winter Hang-out:
- Inexpensive flights to Milwaukee
- Recreational Sports
- Rainy weather
- Nearby access to snow
- Weirdness
- Cribbage aficionados
- Awesome, friendly, courteous people
- Inexpensive room rentals
- Highest per capita bar and strip club density
- A mystery hole
What more can I say, it's awesome here! It's a perfect place for the guy known as "Mike from Wisconsin" by his current kickball and football teams.
No Slabbin' for Me
While camped out in an extended stay hotel I managed to catch "Into the Wild." I was surprised how many locations I recognized and how close I was to others. I immediately decided that I should head on over to hang out with the Slabbers of Slab City.
I only made it as far as a rest area on I-10 when I realized how many hours out of the way Slab City was. I further convinced myself that it wasn't worth it by imagining that the slabbers wouldn't be anything like those featured in the movie. The final straw was the fact that if I continued West I would pass through LA before 2pm avoiding the worst of rush hour traffic. I guess I'll save my slabbin' for another day.
myPinkyUpdate: Volume 1, Issue 6
After my mobile home breakdown in Crescent City, CA I took my foot off of the gas pedal quite a bit. For the month I spent extended periods of time in Hollywood, Joshua Tree National Park, Phoenix, and the Superstition Mountains.
Even though I travelled a little less, December was a very emotional month. I got to hear (actually read) my name called to "come on down" at the Price is Right. I volunteered at a dining hall for the homeless and I settled in for some good old fashioned prospecting stories in the Superstition Mountains. This was a good way to settle into a more normal three months shacked up in Portland, OR.