Sailing the Windy Winnie

While I was away in Antarctica, two of my friends went and did something completely excellent. They bought a sailboat! Her name is the Windy Winnie, and she is a beautiful 1965 Cal20 racing/cruising boat.

I feel fortunate to get the opportunity to join them on the river so often. I love spending time at the tiller again, learning to tack and getting to practice my knots. Thanks John and Jack for being so awesome.

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A stunning view of Mt. Hood as we sail up the Columbia

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John working the tiller

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Relaxing in the evening sun

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A plethora of ropes and labels

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Mr. Dragonfly paying a visit

Summertime Music

Sunday night, after a Box Knocker double-header softball extravaganza, a bunch of my friends and I went to a concert on the lawn at Edgefield to see Blind Pilot (a supremely awesome local band), Andrew Bird and The Decemberists. It was a great experience to sit on the sun-drenched lawn and be surrounded by good music, good friends and the positive energy of the crowd.

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The Decemberists were wonderful and played their whole album, Hazards of Love, without once stopping....amazing

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My view of a tree overhead that I would sometimes lay back and watch as its leaves rustled in the wind

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Blind Pilot eventually ended up sitting on their blankets right in front of us after their performance, but I did not want to disturb them with picture taking

Hamilton Mountain Hike

Well, it is my last weekend watching Biyou, and I decided there would be no better way to spend it than to hit the trail for another hike together. This weekend, the trail of choice was Hamilton Mountain, a hike on the Columbia River Gorge but on the Washington side. I had not done this hike since the somewhat infamous day in 2007, during which my friend, Eric, did a phone interview with HP from the summit.

Despite a few issues....missing the turnoff for HWY 14, forgetting Biyou's leash and using an Ace Bandage out of my first aid kit instead and taking a little tumble on the trail, banging up my knee...yesterday's hike quite successful with some good time at the summit and some great scenery.

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Beautiful flowers draping over the trail

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Wild blueberries

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Mt. Adams, my next conquest

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There is a hot dog in there somewhere

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From 2007: Eric taking an interview at the top

The Dinner Bell

Sometimes, it is imperative that a woman treat herself to a tasty meal. Tonight, I cooked myself a delicious dinner and loved everything I ate. Items on this fabulous menu included:

• A crab stuffed portabello mushroom
  
• Sweet baby broccolini sauteed with garlic and almond shavings and topped with Gabietou cheese (my new fave that is a blend of cow and sheep's milk)
  
• A dry, crisp white wine from Portugal
  
• And for dessert, simply Dagoba organic dark chocolate (made in Oregon)
  

Outdoor Movies

The summertime outdoor movie series in Portland has begun! Portlanders can go to local parks or to rooftops to enjoy a show and the fresh summer air. This week, my awesome friend, Kate, and I had to opportunity to go to the opening night of Top Down, a weekly outdoor movie screening by the NW Film Center on the parking rooftop of the Hotel Deluxe. Since the venue is very close to my apartment, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend the night outside, watching the sun set and looking at the night sky. While waiting for the movie to start, there was live music and yummy food and drink to be had. The movie itself was Duck Soup, a Marx Brothers movie from the 1930's. Though typically not my sort of movie, I found myself fascinated by the clothing, the music and the dialogue used in a movie so old...and the fact that they were still debating the correct pronunciation of the word 'either' even back then. And when the main character mentioned Admiral Byrd and the South Pole, Kate and I couldn't help looking over at each other and smiling.

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The rooftop with my city looking on

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The band providing some good tunes while we wait for twilight

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My choice of placeholders that I had on-hand so we could wander around

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The sun setting behind my delicious cup of ale

Mid-July Weekend Frivolities

....eating chocolate cake with complete abandon..
..hiking with an awesome girlfriend and our two dogs (well, mine is temporary)....
...doing cartwheels down the sidewalks of NW 23rd....
....walking face-first though a spider web and wondering if and for how long
a spider hung out in my hair...
...geeking out with a fellow fan of The Venture Bros....
...dinner, drinks and conversation with good friends..
..napping in a hammock..

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Puppy love at first sight

Funks

We all experience valleys in life, times when we're down and things just don't feel right. Funks happen.

Mine started a couple of weeks ago for a myriad of reasons and was compounded by being sick and some stress at work. I thought it was just me until talking with friends and realizing they are experiencing funkiness of their own. Could it have been the recent full moon or are we having sympathy funks? Regardless, I'm desperately trying to pull myself, hand over hand, up out of my valley this week. My focus will go to the little positive experiences that happen daily and to stop patterns that lead to self-induced stress. I will slow down and laugh more until I reach that peak again.

Quality Time

There are times when gear can be set out, ready to go, and a common cold can thwart your best laid plans to climb Mt. Shasta with friends. A strenuous climb when healthy, I made the tough decision this past 4th of July weekend to stay behind. However, what started out as sort of a bummer weekend that included a night of self-imposed confinement to get healthy again, ended up leading to a lot of quality time well spent. Quality time with my visiting Grandmother at one of her favorite places, the casino. Quality time with my new W+K IT crowd at a very yummy July 4th BBQ on the river. Quality time with myself on a solo recovery hike in the Columbia River Gorge, smiling and saying 'good morning' to passersby and feeling a certain affinity with other female solo hikers. And finally, quality time in my city (of which I've been away from for the last 6 weekends straight), walking streets new and old and going to my favorite coffee shop.

My friends thankfully had a very successful climb of Mt. Shasta. It will definitely be on my list of peaks for next year...

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View of the Columbia River Gorge from the top of Angel's Rest

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Wildflowers abound on the trail this time of year

The Lovely Oregon Coast

I've been home in Oregon for 6 months now, and oddly enough, it has taken me that long to get back to the coast. So for the past two weekends, I have embraced the opportunity to hang out on the gorgeous beaches of Oregon with visiting family (some of which I haven't seen for two years). Both trips have been complete with good food, delicious wine, pacific sunsets, quality time with loved ones and even a fish biting incident.

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A typical Pacific City scene: Haystack Rock, a dory boat back from fishing and a surfer in the background

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Another dory boat getting picked up after its beach landing