And Then There Were Four

Today marks one week since we arrived in Portland and the first day we are officially a party of four.  My sister arrived Friday night to escort my niece back to Minnesota on the plane, and it was a teary goodbye at 5:45 a.m. this morning.  It's sink or swim time, I guess.  We've enjoyed having Dayna here this week and will miss her much, especially not knowing for sure how long it will be before we'll be able to visit with my sister's family again.

While they were both here this weekend, though, we showed them around downtown Portland.  The first stop was Voodoo Doughnuts, Too, a kitchie bakery famous for their unique take on the breakfast favorite.  We had fun choosing exactly which gut bomb we wanted for own, including the Voodoo Doll, Bacon Maple Bar, Dirt Doughnut (Oreo cookies on top), Texas Challenge (the size of 6 regular doughnuts--if you can eat it in 80 seconds, you get your money back), and I'll just let the picture of the last doughnut speak for itself.

After eating as much sugar as humanly possible, the ladies headed to 23rd Ave.  It reminds me a lot of Grand Avenue in St. Paul with many boutiques, shops, and eateries lining both sides of the street.  We loaded up on a cup of gourmet tea (which we decided smelled too much like straw bales to really get into) to pass the time until the shops actually opened and then started our trek.  We spent a good amount of time in a few variety and import shops and a wonderful costume jewelry store called Pinky Jewelry.  Dayna was even able to get a feather extension while there.  I will be making a trip back to Pinky's, guaranteed.

We ended our Saturday with a short drive along the Columbia River Gorge.  It was a hot day by Pacific Northwest standards, so there were lots of boats out on the river and the view was spectacular.  I hope to be able to explore the Columbia more in the weeks to come before the weather changes.

Today we need to get back to our domestic duties and try to get at least the living room and kitchen completely unpacked and functional.  It's time.  One can not live amongst cardboard forever without going a little bonkers.  I broke out a few song books yesterday afternoon while we took a siesta from sightseeing.  It felt good to get back to something familiar and comforting.  I was afraid the caluses on my guitar fingers had gotten too girly again.  Thankfully, they're still in manly shape.  And, I still have some chocolate from our trip on 23rd Ave yesterday to get me through more unpacking today.

~Paula