Successful Eugene Weekend

Like most of the rest of the country, we are starting to see some serious signs of spring.  We are getting more prolonged sun (three days in fact) as opposed to just a few minutes of sun breaks every now and then.  The flowers and trees are blooming.  And people are wearing summer beach clothes despite the fact that it is only 70 degrees.  Everyone at work on Friday was talking a good game about weekend plans and I am happy to say that this weekend I/we delivered.

Saturday was a pretty big day in Eugene as it was the one that every Ducks fan has been dreaming of since the end of the Fiesta Bowl.  The Spring Game.  Part of the stadium area is under construction (some emergency exit paths) and because of this Autzen could only hold a little over 37,000 yesterday.  The game was free but you did need to bring three cans of food for FOOD for Lane County (AMAZING organization by the way you should check them out).  I went with my boss, her husband, and two year old kiddo.  We got a seat in the shade and all was well in the world.  People seemed so content  just to be back in Autzen.  It was the first time that the town saw what the Ducks looked like without Chip Kelly.  Offense played defense and it was a good time.  Plus there was lots of talk about the uniforms as...you know...it is Oregon football after all.

After the game Cliff and I went to Red Robin and redeemed our free rewards card burger!  That's right.  We eat there enough to get a free burger every six-eight months.  On the way home I heard something coming from our car.  I had to pull over on the side of the road as it sounded/felt bad.  Sure enough we had an extremely flat tire.  Really flat.  We have my Dad to thank for saving our sanity as we used an amazing gift he gave us- a portable air compressor that works by plugging into your cigarette lighter.  We pumped that puppy back up and drove to the Honda dealership where they patched it and got us on our way in less than 30 minutes.  Cliff and I were impressed how we dealt with the whole situation like adults.  No stress.  Clear thoughts.  Boom.  On the road.  Thanks Dad!

End of successful day number one.

This morning we got up at 6:00am to head down to cheer on runners for the Eugene Marathon/Half Marathon.  After everything that happened in Boston two weeks ago, I knew that I needed to be there to show my support and general faith in humanity.  We knew a few people running in the race so we came up with a solid plan to cheer folks on at the 2 mile mark then move to Hayward Field to see the finishes.   I think it is safe to say that I cried for most of the 3 hours that we cheered folks on.  I can't help it.  I love this type of thing.  

Go Alex!

Over the last two weeks I have really struggled with what happened in Boston.  My heart and mind still can't wrap around it.  I lived there for four incredibly formative years.  I walked those streets on a daily basis.  Marathon Monday is magical.  I love that city and I love the people who live there.   Marathon Monday was our favorite day and so many of my warm fuzzy memories of college and the city are attached to this celebratory event.  Since I couldn't be there to grieve with friends and colleagues, I wanted to show my support by going to my new city's marathon and being apart of the love and the joy.

2006 photo of the Boston Marathon by Steve Lewis

I love that the race ended at Hayward Field.  It is holy ground for track and field folks so I can imagine how amazing it would feel to run on the track, in front of cheering fans in the the stands, and to finish the race.  We got there early so we got cowbells (awesome).  We sat there and made lots of noise for hours.  Even Cliff!  It felt so good.  So many people were sporting their Boston Strong apparel (the shirts were created by Emerson students by the way).  Those who ran the Boston Marathon wore their bibs on their backs.  Runners sported black ribbons.  People crossed the finish line with their hands to their hearts.  The whole event was about the power of the running community.  People held hands as the finished together.  We saw several little kids triumphantly crossing the finish line.  Several ran the entire distance holding American flags.  One man pushed his disabled son in a cart the whole way.   In those final stretched we saw hard working faces, lamaze breathing, tears, and lots of smiles.  My heart was full of love and happiness.

I did learn one thing today and that is that I maybe shouldn't sit that close to a finish line ever again.  We saw quite a bit of puking, heaving, and general first aid issues.  For anyone who knows me, this is a big deal as I am phobic about you know what.  So let me be clear when I say I'm proud of how I kept my act together today as we saw quite a bit of vomit.  After the first runner got sick it became several folks jobs to run up to people after the race and give them a plastic bag to puke into.  I would die if that had to be my volunteer job.  They even had a special kind of bag for it.  See.  Oh my gosh.  The stress.

It was so sad to see people's legs/feet giving out on them so close to the end.  We saw a girl go down about 150 yards from the finish line.  A fellow runner stopped, not worried about her own time so close to the end) and help to carry/walk the injured gal across the line.  We saw quite a few people collapse upon crossing the line.  There were lots of quickly moving wheelchairs.  So emotional!  I could never be an EMT, nurse, or doctor.  I thank those solid stomached people for doing lots of good in the world.

Afterwards, Cliff and I went climbing.  Since it was sunny out no one was in the gym.  We had the whole wall to ourselves and Cliff took full advantage as he probably went up about 15 times.  I worked my first 5.8 (with lots of rests) but I'm considering it a victory.  

Rudy also got to play outside this weekend.  He isn't a big fan of the rain or mud so the winters involve lots of fetch in the house.  Rudy loves days like today when he gets to run around as we chuck tennis balls all over the yard.  (He is so stinknin' cute that he deserves two photos.)

I should also mention that because I have been outside for the past two days my allergies are ridiculous.  I'm pretty heavily medicated everyday in order for my body to combat all of the allergens that live in the world; so it is a sad, sad day when even decongestants, antihistamines, and nasal steroids can't save me from the itchy, red, inflamed, wheezy, grossness that is my life.  My face has in fact been red, blotchy, and kinda swollen all day.  It wasn't a surprise when I face planted into the couch earlier today to take an epic nap.  In fact, a Benadryl is calling me now...

End of successful day number two. 

My First Raw Oyster

As I mentioned in my last entry, Cliff and I have fallen in love with the Eugene Fisherman's Market. Over the last week, Cliff has been dreaming about the six giant oysters that Joe got when we ate there (six giant oysters for $4.50 may I add).  We went back yesterday and feasted on fresh, local seafood for $15 total.  We split a salmon fish and chips with poppy seed coleslaw and two kinds of tarter sauce, a basket of fried clams (I love that I can eat shellfish now!), and six oyster shooters as they were on special for two for a dollar.  Cliff raves about oysters but I had never tried one raw..until yesterday.  Cliff documented the momentous occasion.

You can clearly see my terror....

It wasn't bad!  I was relived when I didn't gag...or throw-up...or die.  Next time I will need to eat one directly out of a shell that I have shucked.

Victory.

Our Last Month In Photos & Blurbs

Over the last month or so I've had a few days where I've said "I should totally put this on the blog". Then I came to my senses and realized that each of my "awesome!" moments probably wasn't worth an entire blog post.  Which brings me to our last month in photos and short blurbs.

Cliff and I actually celebrated Valentine's Day this year (I know...I was shocked too).  We saw that Falling Sky had a prefixed meal for two.  Oooh...how fancy. We ate warm ceasar salad, cassoulet, beeramisu, and three pints.  It was amazing. Falling Sky has really taken it up a notch since the fall. Their Facebook feed tempts me constantly, so much so that we ate this there on Tuesday.

A new bakery recently opened up in Springfield and its name is Chaos Kolaches.  They sell kolaches (ko-la-chees)  which are traditional Chech pastries filled with either savory or sweet things. Apparently they are really big in Texas and in the midwest. Well, they are new to Springfield and they are new to me.  We checked them out one day for lunch. We split a bbq brisket sandwich on the kolache bread.  For dessert, Cliff has one filled with apricots and I had one with Oregon cherries and cream cheese. Yum. 

Last week I spent three days in Seaside, Oregon for the Oregon Festival and Events Association Conference.  It was fantastic.  The sessions were incredibly informative, I got to reunite with my Albany Parks and Rec. co-workers from my 2007 internship, and I got to spend time on the coast in a pretty nice hotel.  There were also fireworks.  I was introduced to two new bands: Lincoln's Beard and Screaming Orphans.  They were some of the folks who performed at the event hoping to get booked at upcoming festivals.  Lincoln's Beard sounds like a mix of Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, and Mumford and Sons (to me at least).  Screaming Orphans are this amazing mix of ABBA, The Bangles, Indigos Girls, and Celtic Women (as they are Irish).  Intrigued by both?  We you should be.  Check 'em out.

I snuck down to Cannon Beach during a break to finally see the big rock in the water (Haystack Rock).  I gasped when I caught a glimpse of it from Highway 101 and then I actually cried as I walked down the beach towards it.  I know this probably makes me sound like a nut but it is honestly the one of the most beautiful and peaceful places.  I need to go back.  I. Need. To. Go. Back.

On the way home from the conference I stopped at a logging restaurant, museum, and memorial called Camp 18.  It was a fantastic log cabin.  Warm and glowey.  I ate cabbage soup with a grilled ham and cheese.  There were dancing bears carved out of log and a nice fire.

I took home an enormous cinnamon roll from Camp 18 for Cliff and I to gorge ourselves on.  It lasted less than 12 hours. 

Oh and I finally learned how to use Instagram so that is why the last few photos are better than my normal ones.

This past weekend I took the plunge and bought my own climbing gear **shocked face**.  We have been talking about climbing outside for the last few months and in order for this to happen I needed my own stuff (and we need a rope, carabiners, etc. but that will come eventually).  On Sunday, I donned my new goods as we climbed with a friend at the Columns at Skinner Butte. This was only my second time climbing outside and it went so much better than the first.  The first time was back in August and I cried and panicked about 15 feet off the ground.  Embarrassing.  But not on Sunday!  I climbed up to the top twice.  On a more difficult route.  TWICE!  And I went a different way each time.  Look at those amazing shots of my being awesome.

I should also mention that Cliff is a pretty darn good climber.  He climbed all morning long.  Up and down.  All in his Lyddane 2012 Vacation t-shirt.  See the number 4?

Oh and bulbs of many kinds are coming up....

Did I forget to mention that Andrea and Joe are in Oregon in t-minus 18 hours.

A Night In Portland

Photo by the Oregon Zoo

On Saturday Cliff and I headed to Portland.  We needed to exchange a lovely Christmas present from my mom and wanted to spend some time with Kathy and Jill.  I'm so excited that we got out of Eugene for a brief bit of time.  We have been stuck in thick fog for days.  FOR DAYS!  It hasn't burned off.  It hasn't moved.  It is just everywhere.  Driving to Portland was like driving in a thin grey tube.  We couldn't see the fields that sit close to the side of the road.  Billboards were difficult to make out until you were right on top of them.  It was crazy.  With this said, we saw 19 hawks on the drive up.  They were all right on the side of the road.  We don't know if the fog brought them closer or what but it was really fun to spot them as we drove.  We think they were red tailed hawks.  Cliff said he usually sees a few on the trip but never as many as we saw on Saturday.  (Side note: we also saw 13 on our way back down to Eugene yesterday.)

In Portland it was beautiful and sunny.  We could see Mt. Hood.  It was amazing.  I forget how different you can feel when you see sunshine.   We felt like we were on vacation.  What am I saying...we were on vacation.

Cliff got a nice razor for Christmas from this really swanky shop called The Art of Shaving.  Sadly, Cliff already has two razors that he uses and loves.  No worries.  There isn't a store in Eugene so we needed to go to Portland to exchange the items  It was really fun to be in the store.  Lisa, our helpful sale clerk, walked Cliff through the process and got him set up with some pretty cool items.  Cliff is now the proud owner of a badger hair shaving brush, shaving oil, shaving cream, and shaving lotion all made with lavender essential oil.  Nice!

After our experience at The Art of Shaving, we met Kathy and Jill at Hopworks Urban Brewery.  We had eaten there last year when we pet sit fort them and remembered them having the most amazing, fresh (and organic) food.  We went in thinking we would split a calzone and salad but we lucked out as it was almost happy hour (on a Saturday!).  We opted for a little of everything: a few beers, giant buttered pretzels with beer/cheese sauce and spicy brown mustard, jalapeño poppers, fries, pizza with lemon chicken and green chilies and caramelized onions, a house salad, and spicy southwest quinoa salad.  It was a really great affordable meal which is so awesome since all of their stuff is organic.  The quinoa salad was perfectly filling, spicy, and healthy.  I want to make it at home so Cliff and I can take it for lunch.  If you are ever in the Portland area and like good pub grub...eat there.

We decided to get a movie and stay in since Toby, their dog, wasn't feeling all that well.  They took us to a  movie store called Movie Madness.  Their goal is to "maintain the largest and most comprehensive collection of movies available to rent on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Video."  It was really fun to be in an actual movie store.  They have movie memorabilia all over the place (note the photo of a Drew Barrymore outfit from Never Been Kissed).  It was like a mini Planet Hollywood.  I won't lie.  I was overwhelmed with their stock so I was happy when Kathy suggested Point Break with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.  We all knew about the movie but surprisingly non of us had seen it except for Cliff (and he was happy to watch it as it meant that we weren't going to have to watch something he hates).  Victory for all!

Since we were all still pretty full from happy hour, we opted for an ice cream dinner from a food cart.  I got a pumpkin ice cream dipped in dark chocolate (it was the $2 special), Kathy got a cake batter sundae, Jill got a chocolate chip banana and Oregon hazelnut hot fudge sundae, and Cliff got one scoop of chocolate chip banana and one scoop of green coconut curry.  I know what you might be thinking.  Green coconut curry ice cream?  I know as I thought it to.  Cliff thought it was delicious while I thought it was a little weird.  It seriously tasted like a sweet curry and had a spicy aftertaste.  Cliff was especially proud of his pairing as the chocolate chip banana went really well with the curry.  It was cold outside (30 degrees) so we all huddled near a heater in the make-shift food-cart food-court.  I would like to eat at more food carts.  They are really popular in Portland (probably also every other city/big town in America).  They all have decent menus.  Vietnamese food.  Thai food.  Mexican food.  Pizza.  Burgers.  Kathy and Jill complained that food cart food is no longer as affordable as it once was.  I mean there are apparently now two carts where you can get artisan cheese plates.  How Portland.

What would a trip to Portland be without a trip to Ikea?  I wanted to get a few frames so that I can finally hang stuff on my office walls.  We got free coffee (since we joined the Ikea family program), looked through the sample rooms, ate meatballs for lunch, shopped in the market place and then ended with a celebratory ice cream (it's tradition).  Kathy and Cliff played with stuffed animals for a while as they all are kinda odd and creepy this time around.  We also sampled a traditional Swedish drink that is consumed around the holidays.  It is a soda that is flavored with hops and malt syrup.  Really good at the first sip but then we found it hard to make our way through the rest of our serving.  All in all, it was a successful ikea trip.

Afterwards we left sunny Portland and headed south.  About 45 minutes down the road we were greeted by the fog again.   Apparently we will have it until Tuesday afternoon.  Oh well.  We have hunkered down at the cottage.  We have a fire going and we are roasting our Cinderella pumpkin so that we can make pie, soup, and freeze a bunch for future meals.  Cinderella pumpkins smell really good when they are roasting  Better than other squash in my opinion.  They smell buttery and delicious.

Coos Bay Adventure

This weekend Cliff and I did a few activities to get us into the holiday spirit.

On Friday, we had our Winter Wonderland event at work.  We had photos with Santa, two live reindeer, face painting, a ton of holiday crafts, hot chocolate and sugar cookies at Mrs. Claus' kitchen, snow, violinists playing holiday music, train rides, a gingerbread competition, and a festive sweater contest.  Cliff even volunteered and decorated the top of the bouldering wall to look like a penguin village (think snow, lights, inflatable penguins).  It was adorable and the event was a success.  

Yesterday, we went with my awesome co-worker, her husband, and two kiddos to Shore Acres State Park for holiday lights.  Shore Acres is south on the coast (that's right we got to see a part of the state we hadn't before!) and for the holidays they put up over 300,000 lights.  It was a long day in the car but it was totally worth it as we got to see a few pretty cool things:

1) Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area:  On the way down to Coos Bay there is an elk viewing area.   The area is a year around home to about 100 Roosevelt Elk.   We decided we needed to stop by to see if we could actually see any. Holy cow they were there!  There is a little pit stop area where folks can have a picnic, go to the bathroom, and watch the animals.  They were super close to the road.  I felt like we were back in Yellowstone.  I'm a big fan of elk. 

 

2)  Fun Food:  We ate at the Blue Heron Bistro in Coos Bay.  It is a German/seafood restaurant.  What could be more fun?  At our table we had fried oysters, cod fish and chips, steamed muscles, bratwurst, sauerkraut, stewed red cabbage, German potato salad, and cucumber and cabbage coleslaw.  It was tasty.  The whole restaurant was covered in old Norma Rockwell images.  

After dinner we went to Cranberry Sweets and More as we heard they had tons of free samples.  They literally have a sample for every item they sell.  Every. Item. They.  Sell.  No joke.  They even had free coffee and cider.  It was all decked our for Christmas.  We sampled cranberry and raspberry chocolates,  cookies, candy canes, fudge (Cliff was really brave and tried their neon cheddar cheese fudge) , jelly candies, spicy chocolate and a ton of other things.  It was nuts (but I didn't eat any...haha).  I asked to buy a chocolate covered cherry and they gave me two for free.  Awesome.  I highly recommend the stop for anyone who is going to Coos Bay. 

3) Shore Acres Holiday Lights: So apparently Shore Aces State Park has some of the most amazing scenic cliff and coastline views in Oregon.  With this said, we got to the park once it was dark.  But that is ok as  we could hear the ocean so we knew it was close.  We will need to go back in the summer when it is light, green, and the flowers are in bloom.

Every year for the last 26 years, Shore Acres State Park has decorated with lights.  Each year, more and more lights have been added and now there are over 300,000 lights in the park.  We all got bundled and walked around the gardens.  We enjoyed more cider and cookies and listened to girl scouts singing Christmas carols in the gazebo.  It was pretty great.  

They had little light displays of marine life (whales, seals, crabs, frogs, herons, etc.).  A few of the light displays had actions.  The frogs jumped and croaked.  There were underwater glowing Koi.  They had lights in bushes to create glowing hydrangeas (I love hydrangeas!).  They sold these special 3D looking glasses at their gift shop.  When you looked through them at the lights every bulb turned into a gingerbread man, stocking, and candy cane.  I tried to take a photo of the effect.  See below for the first of my terrible photos.  The one to follow is actually of Cliff and I.  My photos rule.

It is crazy to think that we are just a week out from Christmas.  All of our gifts are in the mail, the tree is up, and we are all set to watch Christmas Vacation or Love Actually tonight.  It is finally starting to feel like Christmas. 

Dad's Oregon Visit

Dad came to visit us this summer.  He arrived last Tuesday and left yesterday morning.  We tried to cram fun activities around our work and volunteer schedules. Dad spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday hanging around campus taking in the U of O scene.  On the first day he went shopping at the Duck Store so that he would look like a native.  He did a good job.  As you can see we now all have Oregon hats to sport (Dad with his new visor, Cliff with the trusty green hat, and my new yellow hat to replace my old trusty green hat).

After a few days of eating at local restaurants (Hop Valley, Off the Waffle, Track Town Pizza), shopping, hanging out on campus, listening to live music, and taking in a drive-in movie; the weekend started and we had three days to explore around Eugene. First stop, University of Oregon Football Fan Day.  We arrived and the line was super, super long so we went and ate fish and chips and hamburgers at Red Robin.  When we came back we were able to walk in and see what was going on.  The football players were signing autographs, the cheerleaders were posing for pictures and performing, Puddles the Duck was out and doing his thing, and folks were generally just geeking out to be standing on the field at Autzen.   Dad bought a four DVD set about the history of Oregon football.  Did you know that we use to be the webfoots?  Awesome.

 The next day we went and explored Fern Ridge Lake, Veneta, and areas slightly west of town.  Dad hadn't done the Oregon wine tasting thing so we went to Silvan Ridge and Sweet Cheeks.  My Dad doesn't drink so it was really odd to see him tasting the sweet wines.  Dare I say, I think he was even enjoying himself.  After wine tasting we went to go see The Campaign (what can I say,  I love Will Ferrell).   After the movie we went to Sonic for half priced shakes.  I got my usual chocolate malt but both Cliff and Dad decided to be daring and get a mix of pineapple, strawberry, chocolate, and hot fudge shakes.  It was called a banana split shake and it was delicious. 

On Monday we drove (with the dog in tow) to Portland so that we could be ready to go early in the morning to get him to the airport.  We decided to head out to Multnomah Falls.  I always forgot how quickly the city fades away as you head east on the Columbia River Gorge from Portland.  The landscape is beautiful with the Columbia River, the tall trees, the rocks, and the lack of development.  

When we arrived at the falls we hiked to the bridge and then ate hot dogs and ice cream cones.  Rudy even walked up to the bridge with us.  Dad was pretty impressed with the scenery and who can argue.  It is one of my favorite places in Oregon.  In case anyone would like some facts about Multnomah Falls, the lower falls come in at 69 feet and the upper falls are 542 feet from top to bottom.  Pretty awesome.

The photo of Dad on the bridge might be one of my favorite photos of him ever.  So good.  To follow up on one of my favorite photos I will also post one of the funniest/most non-photogenic photos ever.  Cliff captured us as we really are in real life.  Also so good but in a totally different way. 

After the falls we drive back towards Portland and ate at Salty's on the Columbia River.  It was a really fancy seafood and steak restaurant.  There were all kinds of fun salads, really good tomato bisque, and seafood for all!  Cliff got sturgeon (the daily special) with some absolutely fantastic vegetables.  Dad got a combo of coconut fried prawns and crab cake.  What did I learn at the restaurant?  After years of not being able to eat shellfish the jury is still out for me on some things.  Baby shrimp?  No thank you.  Clams, crabs, and prawnes?  Yes, please.  We topped it off with two really decadent deserts.  The best part is that we got one for free as we used a card from our hotel.

Airports are tricky.  One of my favorite things to do in the world is pick up people at the airport.  I love looking down the gates waiting to catch a peak of loved ones as they come off the plane and out of their terminal.  On the reverse, I really hate taking people to the airport.  It is so hard to say goodbye.  I hope that Dad had a great time.  We didn't get to do everything on our list but it will just help feed the need for the next Oregon adventure.