Despise V-day? Do what you LOVE!

Hate is a strong word, so I will go with despise. Like any single girl should, I despise Valentine’s Day. Even if I wasn’t single, this really isn’t my favorite holiday. So how crazy is it, that I participated in the Worst Day of the Year ride? Its name actually coincides with one of the coldest days of the year. But how appropriate that it falls right along the holiday…

But no really, when a day comes up that you know isn’t your favorite, what a better way to cheer yourself up? And in my life- my bike, volunteering + Portland corky culture= TRUE LOVE! Seriously, I couldn’t have had a better Sunday. Making this Monday all the more bearable.

By volunteering, you get a free ride, free meals and a free shirt. What a steal! You can choose between an 18 mile or 40 mile loop and seeing as I didn’t have much time, I chose the 18. (Along with being out of shape, I am so sore today!) Dusting the bike out of the garage, it felt so good to get outside, to ride along the river and dream of owning a house in one of the many beautiful Portland neighborhoods. Last year was a bit of rush to get back to my volunteer duties, but I made sure to get there early and enjoyed all of it with a great girlfriend. The ride was pretty flat with rest stops along the way, that served amazing drinks like Dragonfly Chai. YUM!

After the ride, I supported the Community Cycling Center (CCC) by serving up Laughing Planet Veggie Chili to those riders coming in, washing dishes, and taking down bike racks. The rain didn’t hit until we were taking down, so I think it was definitely a successful day. And I love what the CCC does for the community. You will probably hear more from me about them.

And for today…. I am not eating a tub of ice cream to myself. No, instead I am joining with my fellow single ladies and we are treating ourselves to heart shaped pizza, chocolate, cookies and chick flicks. Oh what a good life.

So stop pitying yourself and do what you LOVE to make yourself feel like a million bucks today.

Portland International Film Festival- Happening NOW!

One thing I discovered a new passion for last year, are international films. Well, I lied. I took a foreign films course in college and we were graded on watching films and analyzing themes. Tough, huh? This February in Portland brings about the International Film Festival. Check out the schedule and two of my top choices below. The first one is definitely going to be a nail bitter.

Aftershock

The Colors of the Mountain

Cheap Movie Tickets and a Glass of Hard Cider

Who really wants to pay $10 bucks for a movie ticket nowadays? I had the pleasure of joining my friends at the Laurelhurst Theater for a $3 movie and pint/small popcorn for $6.25. Now that’s a steal. I mean how many theaters can you enjoy beer, wine and hard cider in? There hard to come by, and this place screams Portland. It’s more on the casual side, with films that aren’t always in the big chain theaters. These are the films that have a deeper meaning than just a redone plot or cheesy love story. Hollywood is really starting to bore me to tears. This is why I Redbox everything and I don’t have guilt about the $10  ticket.

Anyways we saw, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. This is the last movie in a series, you should definitely watch the other two films to fully understand the plot. My friend loved it, but I was whispering to her the whole time to catch her up on certain details. And it has subtitles as it’s in Swedish. Personally, these are my favorite kind of movies and I have heard talk that the US plans to remake these films. This I am not excited about.

Another cheap movie ticket option- check out AAA discounts!

Lets Go Chasing Waterfalls!

 Really does it take much to be spontaneous? NO! Not really.... I was thinking Saturday at 11:45pm how lazy I was all day that I really needed to make Sunday active. I had gotten ready to eat breakfast with a friend at the Hawthorne Street Cafe, Saturday morning, then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap, cleaned my house and ate a huge burger with WAY too many fries at Five Guys Burger. Besides cleaning my house and enjoying the company of two of my best friends, it was not a productive day.

So how do you plan a random adventure in the PNW? Well.... luckily the whole outdoors is like a huge playground. Anytime of the year in Oregon. A few text messages and I had a small group convinced to go on a local hike. Search engines helped me pick up a few ideas, and definitely what was too far. To check out last minute hikes look at: http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Main_Page or Trails.com was helpful as well: http://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=14659. I got a little frustrated and decided to drive a little further East to the Columbia Gorge. (I plan on buying a hiking book at Powells) There really is endless places to hike off  Hwy 84 and everything I have seen is breathtaking. Like waterfalls... I really need to start counting and labeling all of the falls I have now hiked to.

Our small group enjoyed Latourell Falls. Its about a short 2 mile loop that goes to the upper portion of the falls, which you can walk behind. Like everything in Oregon, it was breathtaking. And the mossy green on the trees is gorgeous. Easy hike, easy on the eyes and a great way to get out of the city.

GET INVOLVED! Working with the Street Youth of Portland

I first noticed the large amount of street teens in Portland, when I was invited to a dodge ball game somewhere in the parks in Southeast, in 2008. They gathered there every Tuesday during the summer to catch up, hangout and enjoy the game. It was one of my best memories from the summer. They had collected lost balls, balls that get thrown out, that are tattered and worn and its a rough game. Yet thrilling at the same time. Everyone I met was inviting, friendly and felt like we had all known each other for years. I have never discovered again where this little gem of a game was held and I regret not writing down the parks name. But the issues of this street family has not gone unnoticed.

I have been involved now for almost a year in Transitional Youth. Its a program that works to reduce youth homelessness in the Portland. I serve twice each month serving meals at an outreach center in downtown Portland. It has opened my eyes to the issues people living on the streets deal with each and every day and gives me new perspectives on my own life. Check out the video below, for more information:

Wishful Wednesday- Top PNW Destination

Photo via: http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/crater-lakes-volcano-7162/

I want to pick top choice destination places, on my wish list. Crater Lake National Park is definitely one of them. But I think I will take this adventure during a weekend after the snow melts.....

Hurricane Ridge= Beautiful, Rope Tows…Never Again!

Hurricane Ridge is a gorgeous part of the Olympic National Park to visit on a clear sunny day. You get some great views of the Olympic mountains and its only about a 20min drive from Port Angeles. The last time I spent time in this part of the Olympics was in 8th grade and we enjoyed snow shoeing. I prefer this over snowboarding.

I am still regretting my decision to snowboard up the intermediate hill using a rope tow (the Poma side was closed). I will stick to chair lifts from now on thank you very much. As my left shoulder three days later still feels like it was ripped out every time I go to lift or pull something. Although, chair lifts are not an option at Hurricane Ridge. I really wouldn’t recommend Hurricane Ridge for skiing or boarding. I thought rope tows were only for the bunny hill….but oh no. Being “goofy” on my board I was recommended to hold on to the rope behind my back. So your left arms gets jerked with the first grasp on, and then you have to quickly grasp with your right.. and the first attempt ended with an immediate fall. They were kind enough to let me back on. Then as your gaining elevation, the rope moves up, then down and after I ran into a tree well, I realized you need to steer as well. WAY too many things to think about for the uncoordinated.

I was so annoyed at running into a tree that I undid my bindings and hiked my way to the top. After taking a much needed breather and taking in the view, I overheard these “ski jocks” laughing about the boarder who biffed it coming up the lift… yea they were referring to me. I thought to myself, “I board real mountains….with real lifts.”

But if you live out in the middle of nowhere, like my friends who live in Forks, WA, the $22-27 dollar lift tickets are quite appealing. Maybe I will return in the summer and take in the area without snow.