Monday, July 3

We woke up on Monday a lot less sore than we were anticipating. Because we had been anticipating feeling miserable, we decided on Sunday night to cancel our planned surfing for Monday. We did drive Sunday night to Corvallis to stay at one of Blom's friends' apartment. We woke up, went to grab some coffee at one of the numerous coffee stands all over the place, and then went with one of Blom's friends to go play a round of frisbee golf. Now, the first time I ever heard of frisbee golf was when I was in college in Indiana, and truthfully, I never realized that it's an actual sport with courses and unique discs and everything. I just assumed it was something bored college guys in Indiana did when they couldn't find a date. Well, apparently that's not the case and there are frisbee golf courses all over the place. The three of us had a nice round of 18 holes, and yes, Blom and I were competing against each other, and again yes, I won. For my first time, let's just say my short game was pretty hard to beat.

It was about noon when we left Corvallis and headed up I-5 for Portland. Blom and I then spent the afternoon in Portland, doing what we called a "Donald Miller Tour" of the park and roundabout where D.M. lived and even had some Fat Tire beer, which I believe Donald also mentions in his books. We checked out Hawthorne Street, which is rather unique in its shops and its patrons, and then headed to Northwest 23rd Avenue to go to Powell's on the other side of the river. Powell's is indeed the largest bookstore in the United States and both times I've been there, I've been a little overwhelmed and overstimulated. It's a grand time. On this visit, I bought a book that has come highly recommended to me by a few people: "The Kite Runner."

Dinner was with some great friends I went to Nepal with in 2003: Dawnette and Taylor, as well as Taylor's parents. We had dinner at a great little restaurant and had lots of laughter and talk of moving to Oregon. After dinner we headed to the waterfront by the river, where the annual Portland Blues Festival was going on. We stood happily with the families and hippies, going crazy with the masses. In essence, it was amazing. Blom, Dawnette, and I then headed away for the night, but not before we took a dip in what quickly became one of my favorite Portland landmarks: the People Fountain. (It's real name turned out to be the Ira Keller Fountain, but I think People Fountain still sounds so much better.) It's true...a fountain in Portland where you can actually get in little people pool at the fountain and play. And this wasn't some little pool-type fountain. It was more of a "play in the little pool at the top and look over and watch the water fall down the about 50 feet" type founatin with 13,000 gallons of water falling per minute. It was splendid.

Dawnette dropped us off at our car, and then it was time to change out of wet clothes. As we were changing, we remembered seeing Papa Haydn's just down the street, this nice restaraunt known for their deserts. Well, we postponed our leaving of Portland for another hour and decided a little desert couldn't hurt. The deserts at this place are beautiful and big and tasty beyond all description. We then got in the car and drove back up into Washington, wondering just how long it would be before we moved to the Portland area. Hopefully not too long.