Old Memories and New Beginnings to Small Town Delights

Fun story, I was always in love with Sunnyside Beach. Especially during low tide when you could walk all the way down to the opening of Chambers Creek. With my adventurous spirit, I decided that going to just the train bridge wasn’t enough, I had to see the other side. So with my crazy sidekicks, we discovered multiple ways to get across the creek. This included seeing how far we could walk across the creek during negative low tides, or sometimes this turned into having to swim across the top of the water and screeching at what could possibly touching our feet. Seaweed, kelp and other creatures are frequent in the Puget Sound. At other times, when the weather just wasn’t quite right for us to skim across the frigid waters we would climb up to the train bridge. Look both ways, listen for the sound of a train whistle and run across. Or at least I did, until I was safely on the rocks on the other side. Train tracks make me nervous and we would get hollered at by the railroad employees if they saw us. Such rebels ha-ha. The beach on the other side was always amazing, a sand shore that you could wade out into without it going above your knees and a sand dollar paradise. Our own secret cove and with an old gravel pit nearby, exploration could take hours.

But in recent years, the old gravel pit we used to sneak into as teens has turn into this strange, Scottish themed golf course. The new favorite pastime of my mother and I is to walk the trails or enjoy the view while sipping wine from the restaurant above. It’s a place that truly captures the beauty of the Puget Sound, but they have also opened a gorgeous bridge to my secret beach. That is no longer much of a secret, if it ever was. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. Who knows how much this is going to turn into a crowded beach or another busy Sunnyside. Although, it is much safer to access this part of the sound, the adventure no longer exists. But it is also no longer considered private and this means the wealthy on Sunset beach cannot complain when we are walking on the opposite side of their club house. Because this is now a public beach. Which makes me smirk, just a little.

Bike Roadways Clear of Cars- Count me in!

As I was trying my best to fall asleep the other night, I was reminded of what I wanted to do this weekend and hollered through my closed door to my roommate, “Hey, You want to go for a ride this weekend?” For this Sunday is Sunday Parkway in Northeast Portland. I have recently enjoyed some of the fantastic bike events held by various organizations in Portland and this is definitely an event I want to check out. From 10am- 3pm this Sunday, city streets in Northeast will be shutdown to walkers, bikers, children and anyone/anything that is NOT a car! The route will connect to four parks and I guess there will even be food, music and activities mixed in along the route. I am stoked! I have recently convinced my roommate that biking is the best new sport in the world and she needs to try it out! She has followed suit with my enthusiam.


I also just bought some fresh Oregon strawberries from the farmers stand near my work and it just reminded me I really need to check out the Portland Farmers market and maybe take a trip out to Sauvie Island and see what Kruger’s Farm has growing. Fresh local food is so much better than that stuff that comes from California. The strawberries literally melted in my mouth and made me wish for summer to come faster!

Its supposed to be 70 and cloudy this weekend. So I am hoping the weather holds up as I have lots of adventure plans in store!

A little helping hand goes a long ways from a Mother’s Day Card

So I could have bought a card, that would have been stashed away in the junk drawer… and I could have bought flowers that would have died in about a week… and I could have spent money on another item that my Mum probably doesn’t need. But instead I took on a giant…a hillside to be exact. I hope all adventures this weekend, involved Mums, as mine sure did. It was a lovely weekend in the PNW and a lovely weekend to tackle the horrid Salal bushes that were weeding up my Mum’s hillside below her deck. This involved two days worth of chopping up roots with a pick axe, avoiding horrid looking spiders, trying to ignore the buzzing bees and getting into fights with blackberries and ivy that were mixed in. After much sweating, grunting and falling over I sure got somewhere with the hill and I felt a big achievement to offer my Mum this gift and saved her a lot of money from having to hire a landscaper. Of course I didn’t do it all alone, I made sure to give Mum the small jobs like picking up dirt/twigs and telling her to rest when needed. We were a good team and it was a good Mother’s day. Of course we enjoyed some of the local luxuries like the Chambers Bay Grill. The clouds were coming in, threatening to ruin the sunshine we had worked in all day but we got an appetizer of BBQ flat bread and a refreshing glass of wine to cheer in the work we achieved that day. To top the weekend off, I dragged my tired self up and made a delicious dinner of Orange Chicken. This is a fantastic recipe!

All my muscles are feeling the burn this week, but man it was achievement I am sure proud of.

What was your Mother's Day adventure?

I listened in.. yes I'm guilty of this.. you should know this..

Tegan and Sara- "The Con"

"I listened in
Yes I'm guilty of this
You should know this
I broke down and wrote you back
Before you had a chance to
Forget forgotten
I am moving past this giving notice
I have to go
Yes I know the feeling,
Know you're leaving
Calm down, I'm calling you to say
I'm capsized, erring on the edge of safe..."

Ever since I went to the Tegan and Sara concert last week, I have been obsessed with this song. Singing at the top of my lungs with the windows down, since it has recently reached above 50 and the sun has finally peaked out of the clouds.
By the way, they are an amazing in concert. The light effects and their guitar skills are simply amazing. All I wanted to do was dance! I was even smart enough to wear heels for the event, so I would be a few inches taller than everyone else in this world that is taller than 5’2. But it was at the Keller Auditorium and I was on the first balcony. On the balcony everyone sat for the whole concert! I was wiggling in my seat the whole time, just inching to move my hips and sway to the music. The auditorium is sure a nice venue in downtown Portland but I would recommend it for something like Norah Jones. Who is playing next Monday… (sigh) I would love to go to that concert. But anyhow, it was such a fabulous concert and I will need to see them next time they aren’t at such a “sit down” venue. I’d rather see concerts at places that are rough around the edges like at the Hawthorne.

Urban Park and Romance in the City

Mt. Tabor is a little gem in the eastside of Portland. The park sits on top of an old volcanic cinder cone and has some of the most magnificent views of downtown Portland. The view is especially nice on a clear summer night when you can see lights for miles. On a clear day, the view of Mt. Hood can take your breath away. Or at least it does mine, but any huge crystal clear view of a mountain does. I went there for the first time during the day just this week. They close the gates on Wednesdays for bikers and folks just enjoying a stroll through the park, it’s also opened late into the evening. I would recommend it for a date night. Grab a dessert at Papa Haydn or Pix Patisserie and enjoy the sunset with your significant other.

In addition to great views, it is the home to 3 of the 5 open drinking water reservoirs in Portland. I have heard that these soon might be drained, due to the city or states concern on open reservoirs. Don’t quote me on this, as I cannot remember the details my friend once told me. I was also told this is an active volcano but I think she was full of hogwash. :)

Mt Tabor Park
SE 60th & Salmon St

Dining out for a Local Radio Station with Southern Cuisine at its Finest

Image courtesy of Tapalaya.com

Okay I started this blog so I will make a commitment to update. I keep visiting some great Portland places and really need to start sharing the wealth of my discoveries. One these discoveries, happened last night, on the East side of Portland. It was dine out for KBOO, a not-for-profit community radio station that plays the music of local musicians. 10% of all proceeds from your meal went to the station that produces its programming through volunteers. So I think I at least donated $2 bucks! Not too shabby. Total for our table was probably $6 bucks. I have only listened to the station on a few occasions but the opportunity really brought forth some great restaurants that I have never heard of, such as Tapalaya.

Located on the same corner as the Laurelhurst Theatre, this place full of Southern décor, was quite the treat. As stated on their web page, the restaurant is a “marriage of tapas and New Orleans cuisine brings to Portland the Louisiana city's French, Spanish, Caribbean and African influenced food.” There were three of us and you had to spend a maximum $15 on a credit card so we order about 3 dishes each. It was a mini southern Thanksgiving Feast with Grilled “Sweet-Blackened” Pork Tenderloin, Mac & Cheese, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Crawfish Fritters, Pulled Pork, Sweet Potato Puree and Cajun Apple Cole Slaw. We all shared our mini plates and I consider this the best way to go, especially when trying new kinds of food. My favorite was by far the pulled pork and crawfish fritters. First time trying crawfish and as a not very big seafood fan, it was fantastic! Oh and go for the southern waiter, he made the place more authentic. Now if they only had alligator, I would have been thrilled!

What other Portland restaurants are known for their tapas?

Ringing in 2010

What a better way to ring in the New Years than leaving the country. But for this single girl on a low budget, it had to be not too far away. So what did I do? I headed to the closest border- CANADA!

This was the first time I had driven over the border on my own and it was not too bad. Just make sure you have a passport or extended license. (And it has to be the official copy, not a temporary! A friend sadly learned this and had to ditch out on our journey) And don't bring weapons, drugs or fruit, which should be a no brain er for most. We got asked questions by the border control, who obviously thought he was a drill sergeant. "Where are you going? Who are you staying with? How do you know this person? yada yada yada...we are two 23 yr olds who look like we are 15, let us into Canada.

Ringing in the News Years was interesting. I a slightly liberal Christian ended up at a weird party with 8 people and a DJ. But the DJ does Raves.. with my great dance moves, I do not do raves. But it was New Years so I went with the flow.. attempted to dance with glow sticks, sent texts that I am going to regret when I get my bill and got giddy that it was a new year!

As usual in the Pacific Northwest New Years day was full of rain, rain, rain. But we braved it, laughed at the clouds and went on an adventure, first stop was Sophie's Cosmic Cafe. Great place for breakfast, funky decor, nice staff and highly recommended.

As we walked into the city across the Burrard Street Bridge, the heavens opened up and we soon were walking with puddles in our shoes and skin tight soaked jeans. I was freezing and staring jealously at my friends rain boots. If you travel to the PNW keep a pair of boots on hand at all times. I need to invest in some for these situations. But a stop at JJ Bean Coffee Roasters , sitting under the hand dryer in the bathroom and one hot vanilla latte later... I was a happy camper.

We spent the rest of the day wandering.. and catching the sites like any good American Tourists. For good bathrooms and a great view of the water check out Canada Place. Its has extremely interesting architecture that reminds me of the Denver airport.

Not a lot going on for the Olympics during this time. I only noticed a few signs and Olympics rings. So I plan to take the Amtrak up in February to check this city out again. I'm also noticing that I need to go when its not cloudy and rainy as I didn't even notice the mountains in the distance. Enjoy some of the pics below. My friend now lives in this city, so I hope to be having lots of great adventures and stories coming from here soon!