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Goodbye Portland

19 Jun

It sure was nice to sleep in despite the bed being too soft for me. Our Airbnb was very cozy, a little apartment with two rooms, two baths, a kitchenette and living room area. The property looked like it was purposely renovated to be an Airbnb host.

The only thing was the floor was cold even with socks on. And this is Summer! And the upstairs creaked loudly too when someone was walking around. But generally the overall comfort and convenience made up for the slight discomfort and little disturbance.

Too bad we can’t appreciate it more because today, we will check out to explore Portland as much as possible and be on the road thereafter. There simply isn’t sufficient time to cover the city unfortunately.

I met up with an old friend from my internship days when I was in New York City. She was one of the many mentors at WBMG, Inc. where I learnt so much. We did a Peruvian lunch while hubby and the girls went off exploring more sights and tastes, and gave us almost two hours to catch up.

It really was so good to see her after all these years, and after saying our goodbyes, we left Portland for Seattle by mid-afternoon.

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Hello from Portland!

18 Jun

We got into Portland in the late afternoon and the must-do included taking pictures of several iconic places. The weather here feels more like Summer.

Our precious box of doughnuts

The choices we picked

One of the stops included Voodoo Doughnut and we got got our good things that came in a pink box! Yum…

Next was Powell’s Bookstore. I felt so overwhelmed with so many books and categories, I didn’t know where to begin. M1 suggested for us to explore in pairs otherwise we would be lost. By eight, hunger got the better of us and we headed off for dinner at Washington Square. We had to have Xiao Long Paos!

It was ten by the time we checked into our Airbnb. Tomorrow we will sleep in!

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The Oregon Coast, Part 2

18 Jun

The good night’s rest did the trick. We headed out of Seaside where we stayed to cover today’s planned itinerary with the first stop at Fort Clatsop.

At Fort Clatsop, we hiked two short trails, admiring nature, appreciating the serenity, and be as one with nature. It was very relaxing. Pictures that I took could give those calendar photos a run for their money.

My calendar worthy picture

Fort Stevens was the next stop to check out the ship wreck. I am constantly amazed at how low the clouds come down to, to be with the surface. Very mysterious yet soothing somehow.

Love this clouds meeting the sea

Astoria feels like a much bigger city than Newport. It was here that M1 did her first internship; we drove by the house she stayed at after lunch at Buoy; the jelly dip was so good. The spread was rather filling and enjoyable with a couple of beers for hubby and I.

Ladybug does not like its picture taken!

Next stop: Portland!

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The Oregon Coast

17 Jun

Last night was tiring, I couldn’t wake up early. This morning we left at 9:45am, a little bit off our intended departure but we weren’t in a real hurry. The first stop: Newport.

When we got out of the car, we could smell the strong seafood stench in the air. Well, it’s a fishing town after all. The wind was quite strong and the air was very chilly. Brr… isn’t it Summer? Why is it so cold?!

Newport

Next stop: Yaquina National Park. Here we hiked quite a bit. And the place was much more windy thus, colder. I had to zip my jacket up all the way to just about my nose and kept my hands in the pocket as much as I could to stay warm.

Yaquina National Park

From Yaquina, we headed to the Visitor Center and then hiked to the lighthouse. Dang… it was even colder. Brr…

Dramatic clouds in the background

Next stop was Devil’s Punchbowl where we had lunch at Mo’s. We tried the Oyster Stew which was basically milk with butter and oysters. Unusual. The chowder and fish tacos were good. After lunch, we hiked to see the Punchbowl, which was like a crater in the rocks except that there’s water below that connects to the sea.

Lunch at Mo’s

The Devil’s Punchbowl

After this, we headed towards Depoe Bay to see the world’s smallest harbor. And this place was super cold with strong winds. Brr… for the umpteenth time.

We headed inland a bit to Tillamook–no more coast and wind (phew)–to see the creamery and its cheese production line. There we sampled all the cheeses (there goes my tummy as I know the Endometriosis pain will spike later tonight) and decided to eat dinner too, consisting of ice cream, fries and a kale pizza.

Tillamook cheese production line

The Oregon coast was very scenic and unusual. Along the way, towards evening, the clouds were so low, descending to the ocean level, it was as if we were driving amongst the clouds.

People having BBQ on the beach with the clouds

By six, we left Tillamook for our last stop, Cannon Beach to see the Haystack Rock before heading towards our motel for the night. What a day!

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A Celebration and a Road Trip

16 Jun

I have forgotten how tiring Commencement Day can be, after all I am a dinosaur and things of the past (my Commencement at NAU) sometimes elude my memories. We got to campus by 9.30am, looking for M1 in queue for a quick photo before making our way towards Reser Stadium and it was already packed.

We couldn’t get a spot at the lower section we wanted which was right behind School of Agriculture but we managed to get that same area at one level up. It was quite a challenge to find M1 but her decorated mortar board helped.

The ceremony took so long because there were so many speeches, several times the three of us dozed off. We learnt that this commencement, OSU has 7,492 students graduating! Wow. This figure is inclusive of their other campus and online programs, on top of all the three degrees – PhDs, Masters and Bachelors. However on the field today, there’s slightly over 4,000 graduating students in attendance to receive their certificates. Very impressive numbers nonetheless for the 150th Commencement.

We got home at 3.00pm and then we had to go out again for a private tea party celebration hosted by M1’s professor. Spent a good two and a half hours there before we had to excuse ourselves for our family celebratory dinner. We had tapas and dessert which were all bursting with strong flavors. Loved the choices we selected.

Our tapas and drinks

Dessert was oh so yummy!

When all obligations are done and checked off the list, we had to pack for tomorrow as we will start our road trip! Yay. It will be fun because they are places that we’ve never been to before and M1 will play host to show us. After all the excitement died down and packing done, it was 1.15am before I called it a night.

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Class of 2019

16 Jun

A proud day for us and words are not necessary today…

Procession coming into Reser Stadium

Graduating students all seated

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Marys Peak

15 Jun

The drive to Marys Peak took 50 minutes and we did a short hike, not to the top but midway to a good spot to catch the sunset. It was indeed lovely but it sure was cold for us and this is only Summer! I can’t imagine visiting during a colder season. Brr…

We stayed a little longer after the sunset to catch some stars too. And some bright ones we did see including the Big Dipper.

We staked out this tree stump to catch the sunset

Join the stars!

Thank goodness the hike was short for when we got home, my Mi Band2 recorded slightly over a thousand steps more, so in total I, or rather we all walked 14,539 (9.0km) today. Good workout I’say.

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Campus Tour, Part 2

15 Jun

I think the body has not quite adjusted because last night I slept at 1:20am and got up at 9:45am this morning. But it’s okay, we didn’t have to rush.

We had bagels at home for breakfast before we embarked on a more comprehensive campus tour. The weather was lovely to be out walking but it got a bit warm by noon. And what a day it was for we walked and walked and walked.

The college is beaver land. There’s beaver on the wall and on the doors, it’s pretty cool.

Beaver on the wall!

Beaver on the door

By three, we went by the FST department for their little mini celebration honoring the graduating and outstanding students. I must say we felt most proud when M1 was called upon several times to receive her certificates. That’s one smart cookie right there.

Receiving her certain with a huge smile

When we got back, I had registered 13,010 steps equivalent to 8.2km and we are not done for the day! Later we will head to Marys Peak to hike and catch the sunset. I am sure by then my legs will be like jelly. A good night’s rest after that should suffice, for tomorrow is THE day, Commencement ceremony!

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Seeing New Things

14 Jun

When evening came, we drove our ‘new’ car to go in search of dinner. We ended up trying Mexican – Tacovore, which was very flavorful. After our meal, we checked out the local grocery store.

Our ride, a Cadillac XT4

Herbivore Taco, Chips & Salsa, Carnivore & Seafood Taco and Seafood Stew

American food items on the shelves are huge which makes me wonder, cheaper by the bulk? We were amazed at some of the oversized items like cereal, peanut butter and chips which we don’t get back home in terms of the sizes. It’s quite an eye-opener.

Huge, huge, HUGE!!!

Biggest bag of chips ever!

The day ended with meeting parents of some of M1’s friends who are also here for the big day on Saturday.

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Campus Tour

14 Jun

I woke up at five this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I think the body have adjusted but more so because sunlight came through the blinds, unlike back home where the bedroom had black-out curtains.

We had breakfast at home before taking a stroll to campus. The morning started out cool but got warmer and we worked up a sweat walking around campus and admiring the buildings and architecture.

M1 took us to meet some of her co-workers at her workplace, all of whom were such nice people who had only good words and high praises of her. How sweet. Then she went off with hubby to get the rental car while M2 and I walked a bit more to see more buildings.

By the time we walked home, we have done more than 8000 steps and it’s only two in the afternoon. Initially I thought I had adjusted but before I knew it, I zonked out again.

I think we covered only a small section of the campus, so we will do another walkabout tomorrow.

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