The Holly & The Ivy & The Beach

I know there is more to tell about the Louisiana trip, but I'm still processing that. So for now . . .

Today was a crazy long day.


First, I left my house at 8:30 am to head to West Linn to help eraticate holly from a City Park. (Seriously, I'm not normally this philanthropic!)





Here we are! My friends and I after we'd been pulling holly out of the ground for an hour and a half.

And here's the pile of Holly we chopped, pulled, and tore from the ground . . . well . . . really, us and about 55 other volunteers :)

Then, as you may know, I love to be spontaneous and so does my friend Alyssa. So, on our way across town to drop her at her apartment we decided to go to Target . . . in Sherwood. As we were leaving Target we realized it had become a sunny beautiful day . . . one that should not be wasted inside. That was all it took to convince us to turn around and head to the Coast.

Here's Alyssa and I at the Coast. It was crazy windy and cold and we were crazy grubby and dirty from frollicking in the forest all morning.

It was beautiful. But seriously, we were only near the water for about 15 minutes. The wind was so cold my fingers hurt everytime I took them out of my pockets for more than a few minutes.

We also discovered this rock, which looks suspiciously like Haystack rock but isn't. It's located near Pacific City, OR. Does anyone know the name of it? It you do, pass it on. Alyssa and I would like to know.

Lessons Learned on this fabulous adventure?

1. Holly is a prickly, viny, infiltrating, non-native plant to the woods of Oregon . . . and with enough girl power you can pull big ol' stumps of it out of the ground!

2. When you decide to head to the beach, you should look at a map. You're probably a lot further south then you thought you were.

3. There is a crazy big a** airplane hanger just south of Tillamook, OR. What is that about?

4. The Pirate's Cove restaurant in Garibaldi, OR has some fabulous clam chowder, fantastic seafood fettucine, and even better service. And the view is spectacular.

5. When you leave for the Coast at 4 pm, you DO NOT have enough time to make it all the way up the coast to Cannon Beach AND get back to Portland at a decent hour.

6. Spontaneity is good for the soul.

Gulf of Mexico Shrimp

Are tasty treats. I ate shrimp every chance I had while in Louisiana this past week. It was good. Check out this slide show of our Shrimp Boil!

The Search for Buck

Preface:

"Buck" is my friend Rea's ideal man. You'd have to ask her for all the details, but he's out there somewhere and she's looking for him :)

Last Saturday my friend Rea and I embarked on an adventure. We were at a retreat center out in the wilderness and decided to go on a hike to the Sandy River. It started out like any other ordinary hike.

Mossy trees along the path.

Great views.

Good company.

But then we started to wonder. Where is this river that's supposedly at the end of the path? We couldn't see it or hear it.




It was definitely a jaunt down to the River. Too bad this map doesn't show the elevation changes :)

Finally, after 45 minutes, the river. It was beautiful.

Here's the proof that I was really there :)

And it came complete with wildlife, such as this cute little bird taking a bath.

But, sadly, it didn't come with "Buck." So, we left the river and Rea was empty hearted.

As we left the rush of the river, the woods seemed eerily silent. While we were hiking through the quiet woods, we were startled to hear something rustling around on our right. As it turns out, it wasn't someone trying to murder us, as we first thought. Just this woodpecker trying to get some lunch.

Really, there's a woodpecker in that circle. Trust me.

At least that's what we told ourselves. But maybe it WAS sasquatch.

If you find yourself out and about in the wilderness anytime soon, keep your eye open for Buck. And if you happen upon him, let him know Rea's looking for him.

A Room with a View

A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E.M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century.

And, if you're looking for a review of this book or the 1985 movie . . . you've come to the wrong place.

The room and view I'm talking about is my bedroom and the beautiful view outside my window. We've had some crazy weather in the last couple of months and I've managed to capture it along with some of my favorite views of downtown Portland in the distance.

Right before Christmas we had some serious snow. It looked so beautiful and still in the dark.

The sun came out for a brief moment. The snow and ice were breathtaking.

Early one morning I woke up before the Sun and after experimenting with many settings on my camera, found the right one. This is my favorite view--the lights reflecting on the Columbia River and Downtown Portland bright in the distance. The picture doesn't really do it justice. I could stand at my window and look at this view for hours.

Highway Run Into the Midnight Sun . . .

I almost always have a song in my head.

What this means, for those of you who don't experience said phenomenon, is that somewhere in the background of my mind a song is ALWAYS playing. And if I'm not careful and my mind is not otherwise occupied, I'll start singing it.

For example, if the radio is on in the car, I'll sing along to whatever song is on. If the radio isn't on, I'll sing along to the song in my head. Or, if there's no music on in the office, I'll catch myself (or worse, my coworkers will catch me) singing whatever song is in my head. Of course, if there is music on, I have to consciously stop myself from singing out loud to that music too.

On Saturday, a friend and I were discussing "Faithfully" by Journey. It's a great song. Journey is good stuff, if you like '80's hairbands with sappy lyrics, fantastic power ballads, and killer guitar solos. Somehow, during the course of the conversation the song got stuck in my head.

And it's been there ever since. I've tried listening to it over and over again. Sometimes that helps to get it out, but to no avail. It's still there.

The thing is, having Faithfully stuck in my head is actually a welcome relief.

It replaced a month long run of the theme song to Sesame Street.