vacation rewind

well, it's almost a week since we returned from our wonderful trip west... i'm STILL sick - i wish this cold/flu thing would just go away. i was feeling so much better then on thursday i was sitting for a friend, watching greys (which was great by the way! though i really wish this whole mer/der thing would either be great and happy or just over with - her wishy washy attitude is driving me nuts!) anyhow, i'm sitting there and thought to myself, i'm really not feeling well and wouldn't you know it, friday i wake up feeling like a truck had run me over. oh well, probably just something i picked up on our crazy long flight to seattle.

so, thursday morning we rolled out of bed at 4am after about three hours of sleep and headed to the airport, we were late though after it took bub about 20 minutes to park in long term economy parking (hey, we're on a budget) and so we barely made our flight, but all was well... we flew on delta which a lovely change of pace. i haven't flown anything other than southwest in about six years - we fly at least three times a year - so it's been many many flights since i was able to enjoy the loveliness that is another airline! we had our own little tvs - real snacks and drinks and no hassle of being an A B or C - just assigned seating for us. i will say though, if it had been cheaper i would have for sure booked us on SW, but two tickets to the west coast were already pricey as it was - so we went for the bargain. seattle was wonderful, we got a great little SUV to drive around in. we had booked a tiny little egg car, but i guess with gas prices the way they were that's what everyone else wanted too, so we go moved up to something bigger. it had awful gas mileage, but we enjoyed the roomy inside and the nice ride, so overall it was a treat. i took michael to pikes place that is right in the middle of the city. it's the place to visit if you're a tourist, which i'm not embarressed to say we were! we wandered about all the different stands and shops and drank fresh hot clam chowder from little cups, which was so lovely since it was a grey chilly day there. i bought a giant fresh bouqet of flowers to take to missy for only $5! it was lovely! we saw the very first starbucks, though didn't go in as there was a very long line and honestly, once you've had a coffee from one starbucks, they're pretty much all the same, so we moved on and we stopped at the stand of the guys who throw the fish... if anyone ever watched real world seattle, it was the same fish market from the opening credits, at least that's what i've been told. michael bought some salmon jerky, which he loved. i tried it, but that was enough for me. then we headed to portland. it was a bit of a drive, but a lovely one. we got in and that evening missy and uri took us to the kennedy school - this awesome old school building they've turned into a very cool place to hang out. the gym part, i think it was the gym? was turned into a great restaurant/bar and the pool is open to have drink by or to swim in, several classrooms were turned into a movie theater and the whole place still looks like a school house, with chalk boards and wooden floors. it was great! after that it was off to bridgeport - a local brewery. after that we crashed since were still running on three hours of sleep and i was STILL sick from the first cold. friday it was the beach - which turned out to be lovely! the sun came out and it warmed up a bit. it was a lovely day. we had lunch on the sand and enjoyed fresh fish sandwhiches and a wonderful view. that evening we had dinner with bub's friend thomas who just moved back after he'd been in nashville going to vandy. we ate at this crazy little place called montage that was quite literally under a bridge. it was the weirdest little place. there are several very LONG tables and you just sit with everyone else. the food was a weird fusion of cajun and country with items like the vegeterian red beans and rice, which i had, the frog legs, which michael had and the funky mac and cheese which thomas had. at the end you get your leftovers wrapped up in crazy foil origami. mine was a kitten - it was really cute! saturday was the grape stomp / wine tasting. we packed up our picnic basket with olives and crackers that miss bought on her trip to europe and also some brie and humus and other yummy snacks... we got there and had to stomp right away. it was a blast. the ladies were the stompers and the boys were the swabbies - their job was to keep the drain clear so all the juice could run out into the bucket. to do this though they had their heads down in the buckets and therefore ended up with alot of grape on the face! we did end up in the local paper though, it was great! we didn't win, but had a lovely time. after that it was a wine tasting and exploring the vineyard. the views were amazing, oregon is a gorgous state. that evening we had dinner at a pizza place called hot lips, which was again, funky and weird and very portland-y. then off to this great little bar called buffalo gap which was so laid back and low key. the boys played pool and us girls played some crazy video game where you shoot things - sounds silly, but was a great time to have fun and get to know miss's new friends. sunday we spent the day exploring downtown portland. this was bub's favorite day he says, b/c he loves to just walk and explore new cities. it was a great day though, i will agree with him. we had a wonderful breakfast at this place called dailys and got donuts from this totally crazy place called voodoo dounts. i had tried them last year when i went to visit and wanted to take michael. they cover an already sweet treat with even more sugar. mine had m & m's on it and michael's had oreo - we both had a sugar overload! the end of the day we stopped at the saturday market, a huge outdoor market full of all sorts of hand made / organic / fair trade goodies. i finally found a necklace that i like, i've been wanting a little one to just sort of wear all the time. it's very cute and even more fun b/c i can wear it and remember our lovely trip! and that was about it for our visit. that evening we just stayed in and cooked dinner with miss and uri and headed home bright and early on monday, only to get to nashville to find the city had NO GAS! how does that happen? we had parked my car at the airport with very little gas in the tank b/c right before we left there had been some issues finding gas, but thought surely by the time we get back this mess will be over??? nope, it just got worse. i had to have gas though to get to work the next day, so we drove and drove and finally found one little shell station that had regular only, not that we needed anything else, but still, it was nuts. the next morning that station was out too. how a whole huge city runs out is beyond me. but whatever - things seem to be getting better each day, thank goodness!!

well, i've typed a LONG entry for today! i'll put some pictures above of our out west adventure. happy sunday everyone!