Portland Adventures & Thanksgivings

Let me begin by saying that I am oh-so thankful for everyday of my life, and this trip to Portland was awesome on so many levels. While I realize that this sounds totally cliche, since the accident I really feel like everyday is a blessing and I hope I never lose the mindset of giving thanks and always being appreciative.

And now, the Oregon Trail! We left Thursday morning and the car ride went smoothly. Like literally, Alex did a superb job of driving stickshift -- especially for someone who only learned a few weeks ago, it was most excellent. Gary was all over the place in the car, screaming nonsensical things. It was beyond entertaining though, and we definitely had interesting conversation. By the time we got to Portland it was dark and we were all antsy pantsy. We had dinner with Chadwick's family and then afterward, THE DRINKING BEGAN. We did Century Club but I only made it to 23. Oh well, I beat Henry. ;] Oh man, and Chad's uncles and dad sure know how to party. By the end of the night, there was a house full of drunk travellers... who did NOT make it to Black Friday!!!!!!! Sad. I wanted to go. But it's okay, I didn't wake up either LOL.

The next morning was very interesting. One of the boys, woke up pants and underwearless next to another boy, who was shirtless. Of these boys, who shall remain nameless, neither of the two seems to know how that happened. HAHAHAAHHAAH. That's awesome, awkward, and hilarious all rolled into one. We started the day with Waffle Window (which was yummers by the way) and we shopped the stores on Hawthorne (?), their Haight-ish neighborhood. We saw some cool stuff at the thrift stores before making our way to Downtown for the FOOD CARTS! The KBBQ tacos/burrito were pretty good, and the cheesasaurus rex was coooooooool. We shopped downtown a bit and ended up at Pioneer Mall. I got the coolest f'ing moose hat ever. I love it.

We had Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night, and I kid you not that was the tastiest turkey I've ever had in my life. I don't know WHAT they did, but it was sooo juicy and flavorful!!! Chad's dad also did the lamb and it was SO DELICIOUS!! After dinner we played Scattegories, I'm so glad Alex brought it!! I think Priscilla and I liked it the most because by the end everyone else wanted to play Taboo :( Later at night, we went to Ground Kontrol so the boys could play barcade. Afterward, we went to Blitz sports bar and I got sooo many compliments on my moose hat!!! :) :) :) I'm just going to end the recap of that night there... because I don't know exactly what happened in what order.. all I know is I had lots of fun!

Saturday we went to The Kennedy School for lunch. The food was not bad just not too memorable -- the raspberry ale I liked a whole lot. The place was kind of creepy, but kind of cool at the same time. Maybe it's just weird when you almost have to squat to wash your hands because the sink is so low? Whatever the case, I liked that place for the most part. After lunch we went to the flea market. MY FIRST TIME AT A FLEA MARKET!! I didn't buy anything but it was cool to walk around and look. I also tried an elephant ear for the first time :) As we were leaving the flea market it started to hail major. We went back and the other car went to pick up Voodoo donuts. I tried the blood filled Voodoo and it was good. Not the best thing since sliced bread though. They should really use more jelly in the filling!

I tried playing beer pong against Brian (totally thought I had a fair chance) but I lost pretty miserably. THANKFULLY David was my sponsor so I didn't have to drink! I thought I was bad at losing, but I think Alex might be worse. After games, we headed out to Duke's and WE WERE IN FOR A BLAST!!!! I really love Duke's, totally one of the best parts of the trip. In the beginning, a bunch of us went out onto the dancefloor and started line dancing, but I was really hestitant because I had no idea what to do. Later in the night though, I went out on the dancefloor and had the MOST EXCELLENT TIME!!! I also rode the mechanical bull, which I was EXTREMELY hesitant to do at first but afterwards I was definitely glad I tried it :)

They even played the Taylor song I requested for Alex and myself! Too bad he left early and didn't hear it, and also too bad no one else there seemed to know the song. OH WELL, I LOVED IT!

The rest of us eventually headed back to the house and sat around talking. Some wanted to drink more, some wanted to sleep, and I was just happy to be there :). I had soooooooooooo much fun on the trip, and that was the moment that I realized how badly I didn't want it to end. It did though, only a few of us were left for late night Rockband. Eventually that ended also, and it was time to turn in for the night. Chad's family was so welcoming and generous, they were the perfect company for a warm and relaxing holiday. And even though spending the weekend with nine guys was kind of gross at times, it was WELL-worth the fun times we had. The ride home the next day was a tad bit gruesome. In the car after I took my meds, I kept dreaming that we were crashing over and over again. Jeepers creepers...

I'm so glad that the weather permitted us to take this trip. And even though I don't think Portland is a very pretty city, and I'm not sure if I'd ever want to live there, I had a super fantastic time visiting Chad with my awesome friends for the Thanksgiving weekend -- and I'm so thankful for each and every moment.