the view

the weather has been fantastic lately with rain levels being at a record low for january.

i'm NOT complaining about that.

i had a derm appointment in a building down by the water that was on the top floor.  the view was unbelievable even though it was cloudy.

and i'll end this post here...it's already the most boring ever...

brrrrrr...

i'm cold.

very cold.

and if you know me, you know i'm rarely cold.

apparently portland is having record cold temps right now.

along with snow.

SNOW in portland.

for reals.

i went to walk the dogs a couple of hours ago and it was a blizzard outside.

and of course i have nothing in preparation for it.  no boots, no snow tires, no hats....and sad to say, no long sleeve shirts.

none.

luckily i have a big, ugly puffy winter coat i broke down and bought last year.

and i do mean ugly.  i even broke down the other day and bought some gloves.

meanwhile, my east coast peeps are in shorts.

hello la nina.

wet dogs and rain boots

that is what my life has become....

it's days like today that i really miss los angeles.

big time.

and the california dilemma continues...

director park

the rainy season has officially begun.

shoot me now, please.

it's sunny one minute and then dark and gray the next and rains for hours.

there was one of those sunny moments today so i headed downtown and ended up in director park.  i lucked out with parking and scored right away.

i walked around and checked out the park.  which really means, a big stone block.

in the middle of the stone "park" is a glass food place called violetta.  it's a local burger joint that uses only fresh, local ingredients.

i was just happy to see the sun...

good things must come to an end....

sadly, lee (my sissy) is leaving tomorrow for her next rotation in medford, or.  she's spent the last couple of days packing and preparing to be gone again.  it's been nice having her here the last 5 weeks.

but it must end....

so we decided to go out to dindin.

this was only after having to take sophie (the high maintenance golden retriever) to the vet today because of her scratching problem.  she has had fleas lately despite our best efforts to keep frontline on her.  so the vet said to spray the house with some toxic crap and give her a ton of pills.  lovely.

of course we had to leave the house and this was an excellent excuse to go out and try a new place.

with the dogs in tow.

lee found this place in the NE called lovely's fifty fifty.  it's a small, locally owned place that serves wood-fired pizza using only fresh, local ingredients.  and homemade ice cream.

apparently people love it.  and so did we.

it's a cute place on n. mississippi.

i got the margherita pizza and it was fantastic.

lee had a pizza with winter squash, bellwether ricotta, arugula, sage and brown butter.

a little sweet for me but definitely delicious.

we then had to try the ice cream.  fudge and salted caramel.

i think we died.

tomorrow, back to reality.

hood river & multnomah falls

we arrived in hood river in time for a late lunch.

hood river is a small town on the river known for wind surfing.  the weather was too bad to see anyone doing it.  cute town though.

we then moved onto multnomah falls.

it was amazing.  there are no other words to describe it.  well, except extremely damp.

the exit sits in the middle of the freeway.

and you cross under the freeway to get to the falls.

too bad pictures can't do the falls justice.

we took the winding wet trail up to the bridge.

then it was back to portland and reality.

all good things must come to an end....

vacation (b)ender, day 4

my mom's last full day on the west coast.

we woke up at the lodge to a cold, foggy, rainy day.  there is actually a mountain buried behind that fog.

no surprise.

we buffeted at the restaurant which was surprisingly good.  they had all fresh food and we took full advantage of it.  a little too much so.

we left behind the cozy lobby and set out up the mountain for a hike.

high elevation, steep inclines, cold rain, fog and full bellies do not make for good hiking.

and yes, that would be snow in the pic above.

at times the sky was beautiful and blue.  and at times you were completely surrounded by clouds.

so off we go.

and more clouds roll in.

the back of the lodge.

other pics from the hike...

sadly the magic sky ride wasn't operating due to bad weather.

and then it was time to leave.

and head to hood river.

lee was determined to stop at packer orchards on the way to hood river.

it's a small road side store that sells fruit, preserves, ice cream, cookies and pies.

lee just wanted the samples.  of which she got.  and we headed on.

you can almost see mt hood behind the clouds.

next up.... hood river and multnomah falls.