How many days til September?

So excited to go do this with Kyle and Weston. Don't worry, I'll have full armor on...

Taste of Home

This week is the Oregon Brew Fest in downtown Portland and what better way to spend a lovely Friday afternoon than sipping some brews, listening to some bluegrass? But not just any blue grass, this was my little slice of home. Head for the Hills, who are from Fort Collins, puts on an amazing show and I even planned my big move around being able to make it to their show at the Mish before I left. Needless to say, they don't exactly have a big following here in OR, but it was still nice to hear the tunes.
Emily was very excited, Brendan does not seem to agree.

I love life

So being 1200 miles from home has been an incredibly humbling experience. I had a vision in mind when I decided to move here: I would have this amazing internship, where everyone would fall in love with me and give me a fabulous, high-paying job within the first 2 weeks. That I would meet dozens of hip, flannel-wearing, micro-brew sipping bike riding friends. That I would join clubs and read novels about philosophy or philanthropy. That I would take incredible trips all over Oregon and Washington and see whales jumping and condors soaring overhead. Well, as you can imagine, none of those things has happened. Well, not really. I do fit in pretty well at my internship, and my boss does adore me, but the economy isn't going to help me get that high-paying, super-cool job when my hours are done. Or any job for that matter. I have met some pretty cool people, but am very surprised how hard it has been to make new friends. Maybe it's that I'm shy in new situations. Maybe it's because it's only been 2 months. Maybe it's both, or neither. Who knows. And I did get a library card- and wandered around the library for hours, only to rent Alfred Hitchcock movies and get a book on the century's most interesting photos. I did, however, have myself some adventures. Emily and I have been hiking- ALOT. It's been so much fun, and even though I thought my heart was going to explode a few times, enjoyed every minute. We've reached some mountain tops (a whole 2500 feet- woo!), seen lots of waterfalls, trekked through rivers and snow fields, and had alot of ice cream after wards! We also went backpacking last weekend with her friends Maya and Laura. It was so much fun, despite getting snowed out of our first spot, broken chaco's, blisters, and serious sleep deprivation. I feel very lucky that I have friend who will go camping and backpacking and who don't mind not showered for 3 days and who don't need a man to carry their pack for them.

Some highlights of our adventures:

Hamilton Mtn. summit. Hiking behind the Eagle Creek Falls, Cricket and Emily- BFF's, the backpacking group on top of the Indian Creek Falls, and Punch Bowl Falls.

Mom's Visit

Mom came to visit me for 4th of July weekend! We had some good mother-daughter time and I got to explore more of Oregon. We went to the beach, saw Goonie rock and had clam chowder and fish and chips. We went hiking in Forest Park and up to Multnomah Falls and Hood River. We went shopping in NW 23rd and Hawthorne. I introduced Mom to the magic of frozen yogurt and proved that it doesn't rain all the time here. And of course we went to IKEA and to the Rose Garden. She even made it back to the airport all by herself on the lite rail. It was lots of fun, and I was sad to see her leave. It was hard going back to work this morning, especially with the 85 degree weather we are finally having! I must say it was strange playing host to my Mom. It's always been the other way around. I guess that's what happens when you become an adult. I felt so grown up having to go get her at the airport and play tour guide (even though I didn't know much of anything). Hopefully next time I get visitors (wink wink) I will know more about the city and where the heck everything is.