Busy, Busy, Busy

There haven't been many nature adventures these past couple of weeks to write about but that's not to say I haven't been busy.  Between work, furnishing my apartment and everything in between, there hasn't been much time for much of anything else, including sleep.  

The building I work in downtown hosted a blood drive the other week.  Seeing as I haven't been tattooed anywhere in the past year, I figured they would finally be able to take my blood so I signed up and am happy to report I was able to make a donation. 

I like to think people should be nice to me every day

The Portland Pug Meetup gathers the first Saturday of every month at a dog park in Tigard.  Not one to turn down the opportunity to hang out with a bunch of pugs and pug parents, Cole and I went once again.  Unfortunately, the park was more like a mud pit than a park but that didn't stop the pugs from having fun.  My car, on the other hand, was not quite as happy and is still in need of some cleaning. 

Cole looking pitiful after his teeth extractions...poor guy :(

Cole was due for a dental cleaning so I took him in to Banfield last week to have that done.  It turned out not to be a simple in and-out-cleaning.  They found nine teeth that needed to be extracted.  Cole was pretty pitiful looking the first couple of days (rightfully so) and restricted to a soft foot diet while taking a variety of medications including antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and pain medications. I'm happy to report after his recheck Thursday morning, he is confirmed to be doing much better and able to now resume a normal food diet. 

View of the Willamette River and Fremont Bridge near by apartment

Cole and I celebrated Valentine's Day by taking a long walk along Willamette River.  It was a beautiful day of blue skies and warm temperatures.  At one point on our walk we came upon some horses in a pasture that I later learned were the mounted police horses for the City of Portland.  I had no idea there were horses in the city let along just a couple blocks from my apartment.  I love that I am still learning new things all the time here.  After our walk, I spent the rest of the day assembling furniture.

Just one of many furniture assembly endeavors this past week

Since Saturday, I've been assembling new furniture just about every day.  So far I've put together ten pieces and am just about done.  I purchased a new couch on Sunday and it was delivered on Thursday.  A friend in Wisconsin shipped most of my boxes from Madison the other day and I received my first two today.  The next eight are coming tomorrow.  The remaining ones will be shipped withing the next week so I expect within the next two weeks, I will officially be 100% moved to Portland. It's amazing how much little changes in my apartment, like adding a few plants, has so drastically changed how it feels (for the better) in here.  I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

My new couch, in it's first home

My new couch, in it's new home

My next project, which I will begin tomorrow, is building my photography website.  I met with a new photographer friend this past weekend for brunch and was able to talk through my concerns about choosing a website.  I decided on Zenfolio and hope to be selling photos there soon.  I'm meeting up with a co-worker tomorrow to talk through my marketing plan.  Once it is ready, I'll be happy to share it with all of you here.   Stay tuned!!

To see a collection of my photography, visit my Flickr page here. 

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

"Write hard and clear about what hurts." - Ernest Hemingway

Last weekend was the last adventure for me and Morgan, although I didn't know it at the time.  Portland and the surrounding area was blessed with warmer than usual weather and we took advantage of it by going for a hike at Washington Park on Saturday.  I'm still breaking in my new hiking shoes and halfway through the hike, my left heel decided to blister.  Another mile or so and the pain became too unbearable so I decided to give barefoot hiking another try.  Unfortunately, that is when the smooth dirt trail turned to gravel and the next steps were more painful than the blister.  We decided to cut the hike short just a little bit and called a cab to take us back into the city from the Hoyt Arboretum visitor center.  Once home, I gave my feet a good rest so they would be ready to go again on Sunday.

Washington Park

With the weather continuing to cooperate, and being unable to sleep, we got up extra early and headed for the coast.  We decided to go to Ecola State Park.  There, I was quite excited to see my first eagle in the wild.  Cole met a friendly little Boston terrier and for the next twenty minutes, they were the best of friends.  They ran and played and tore up the beach, zooming quickly all around us.  After a few hours, we decided to brave the crowds and stop in at Cannon Beach.  After walking the beach a bit toward Haystack Rock, we decided to grab some lunch at a spot with outdoor seating so Cole could join us.  Afterward, we went to Neahkahnie Beach in hopes of relaxing and perhaps even taking a nap in the sand.  Unfortunately, Cole wasn't having it and decided he must "protect" us by barking at all the other dogs who walked nearby along with their people.  Exhausted, we decided it was time to head back to Portland.  Apparently, all of Portland was on the coast with us and decided to head back at the same time which resulted in a congested and slow drive home.

Eagle at Indian Beach, Ecola State Park

For the past couple months, I had been struggling with some difficult feelings about my relationship with Morgan.  I had begun to notice that we may not see eye to eye on some important things.  I also noticed that the passion and excitement that once existed in the beginning of our relationship had all but faded away.  I still loved spending time with him though.  He always treated me well, we enjoyed hiking together and both seemed to really just enjoy being together, whether it was watching TV, listening to music or going out to dinner.  Was that enough though?  Unintentionally, I started to pull back. I was more irritable when we were together.  I kept to myself more.  I was eating and sleeping poorly. I knew this wasn't right.  I know how passionate I am when in a relationship that is going well and this was not me, not a happy me at least.  After a very difficult conversation for me to initiate, we agreed that we were better friends than partners and decided to end the romantic relationship and begin a platonic friendship.

Cape Falcon, Oswald West State Park

I know without a doubt it was the right decision.  Right does not mean easy though.  I've been through enough of these breakups to know what to do to get myself through these first few difficult days.  I usually keep busy with cleaning my apartment, hiking, photography, going for walks with Cole and spending as much time with friends as possible.  My friends have always been a big part of this process and I don't have a lot of people here in Portland yet to rely on.  Making friends has been harder than expected, partly because I haven't made meeting people a priority.  It was easy to spend most of my time with Morgan.  The coworkers I opened up to about the breakup have been really supportive and my friend Genie here in Portland was super sweet and took me out for a drink after work as soon as she heard the news.  Sadly, everyone else I can open up to lives in Wisconsin.

Cape Falcon, Oswald West State Park

Cole and I headed to the coast yesterday to hike the Cape Falcon trail at Oswald West State Park.  We took our time and really absorbed every inch of the muddy, five mile trail.  We sat in quiet reflection for quite a bit at a couple of the best viewpoints along the trail.  There is something so comforting about the ocean when you are looking down on it from high above.  I have to admit, I am quite jealous of the seagulls who get to spend their life doing just that.  After the hike, we went to Manhattan Beach to wash the mud from our feet and relax on the beach. I hoped to start a new book but about two pages in, I found I just couldn't concentrate.  I was surrounded by couples and people in groups with their friends.  Suddenly, even with Cole by side and the soothing waves crashing on the shore, I felt overwhelmingly alone. I wished so much in that moment that I could just enjoy being alone in a place that had always brought me comfort and joy. Instead, I packed up and headed home. Once on the road, listening to music, I felt much better. 

Today, Cole and I slept in.  Since it was a bit cooler and rainy, I spent the day leisurely doing things around the apartment. I know in a short amount of time, life will get back to normal and I'll feel at peace once again.  I already feel better today than yesterday.  In the meantime, I'm focusing on what I can control.  Forward momentum and working toward the goals I've set are key. I'm confident there is a bright light at the end of this and that somewhere, the perfect person is waiting for me. 

To see more of my nature photography, click here.

Road Trip Gone Wrong

Determined to hike somewhere it wasn't pouring this past weekend, Morgan and I decided to drive as far as it took to find a somewhat dry spot to hike.  We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to one of my bucket list places to hike, the Painted Hills.   According to Google Maps, it was a little over four hours away and since we were getting a late start, we quickly packed up our gear, grabbed Cole and jumped in the car to hit the road.

We drove on I-84 east along the Columbia River Gorge in the pouring rain which made for treacherous driving.  Ruts worn by car tires and slightly sunken spots in the road had collected water and would drastically slow or try to change the direction of our car as we hit them.  After about two hours, we finally came upon the exit for highway 97 which would lead us to highway 206. For awhile, a whole lot of nothing was all we had to look at except for giant rolling hills, barren of any kind of tree or shrub.  Much to my surprise though, we quickly came upon Cottonwood Canyon State Park, another place that is on my "must hike" list.  Had we known what was to come of our destination road trip, we would have stopped and hiked there that day.  Or, at minimum, I would have stopped to get a few photos.  Unfortunately I did not know any better and continued on.

Herd of cows, note the tumble weed

In our hurry to get out of the house, I did a quick glance at the Google map and saw that highway 206 should have taken us pretty much all the way to the Painted Hills.  I figured my GPS could get us the last bit there and so we left, without much navigation planning.  Morgan had downloaded the directions on his cell so regardless of signal, which we knew we would lose as we got closer to our destination, we would know where we were supposed to go.  The problem though is that his directions were not coinciding with what I saw on the computer before we left.  I decided to consult the GPS and typed in "Painted Hills".  Soon, Painted Hills State Park popped up and I figured that had to be where we wanted to go.  I selected that as our destination but after 20  minutes of driving I noticed that our new time of arrival was still over an hour away.  I knew that couldn't be right. Even with our stop for a quick lunch earlier, we should have been much closer than that.  At one point, we came upon a group of cows being herded by people on horseback down the highway.  We strolled along behind the herd at about 3mph until eventually they were all on one half of the road and we could slowly pass, not before a tumbleweed rolled by though.  Several more miles down the road, we came across the marker for the 45th parallel and couldn't resist the photo opportunity.

We kept driving and driving.  Not knowing where we were and being in the middle of nothingness with no cell service or place to stop for directions, we decided to continue on highway 19 and follow  the GPS directions. Highway19 turned to 207 which turned to 26 and then the GPS had pointed us to a dead end.  With no other options for navigation and the sun beginning to set, we had no choice but to head home, defeated and virtually pictureless.  We made a quick bathroom stop at a snow park off highway 26 in the Mount Hood wilderness where Cole enjoyed eating some snow, the first he has seen this winter outside of Wisconsin.  I guess he misses it although I do not share the same sentiment.  Very soon after getting back on the road, all daylight was gone and the rain picked up, making our drive over the usually beautiful Mount Hood much scarier.  I hadn't picked up tire-chains yet so I could do nothing but hope that the rain would not turn to snow before we could get to a lower elevation on the other side.

After what seemed like forever of white-knuckle driving, we made it over the mountain range without incident and decided to stop for a much needed break in Sandy where we enjoyed a Thai dinner.  About ten hours, and 423 miles after we had set out earlier that day, we finally arrived home, exhausted and pictureless.  When consulting the Google map on my computer once again, I saw just how close we came to the Painted Hills, it was just about 6 miles from where we had turned onto highway 26. I now know exactly where we went wrong but there is nothing I can do at this point from my home in Portland.  There is nothing to do now but try again, another time. 

So what did I learn from this experience?  First, impromptu road trips are not my style.  I'm a planner and when I stick to what I do well (planning), my adventures usually end up going (somewhat) as desired.  There is a certain thrill that comes with throwing the plan away sometimes though and just going where the road takes you.  In this case, I think a good old-fashioned road atlas would be hugely helpful especially when technology fails, as it so often does.  Also, I will be making the tire-chain purchase a top priority before my next long-distance excursion.  Lastly, I need to make myself take the time to stop and get photos along the way, even when I'm working on a timeline.  The landscape was so beautiful on this trip so much of the time and it saddens me that I have no photographic souvenirs to show for it. Live and learn and then try again; wise words to live by.

To see a collection of my photography, please click here. 

Coastal Beginnings

Cape Perpetua

A new year, time for reflection on the year that has just passed and a look forward to what is yet to come.  It's a good time to set new goals or an opportunity to recommit to old ones.  Anything is possible.  You don't necessarily need a new year to start anew but it seems like a natural time to me.

Day one of my new year began with a trip to the coast.  Morgan, Cole and I hopped in my new-to-me car early Thursday morning and drove southwest from Portland to the central Oregon coast.  It seems no matter which route you take to the coast, they are all full of beautiful landscapes of mountainous hillsides, giant trees, horse pastures and dotted with a few charming small towns.  In some ways, it reminds me of home.  Certain parts are like driving through the back roads in northern Wisconsin where my grandfather used to live, surrounded by trees and weaving through curvy roads illuminated by the sun's rays that barely manage to cut through the foliage.  In other ways, it's a world of difference, the elevation changes in Wisconsin are nothing compared to those here in Oregon.  I love coming around a bend in the road or over the top of a hill and suddenly being met with a magnificent view of giant sloping of hillsides, covered in enormous trees, as far as can be seen.

Strawberry Hill

Once on the coast, we stopped in Yachats for lunch at the Drift Inn.  Colorful globed lamps and painted umbrellas hung from the ceiling while brightly colored art adorned the walls.  There were many appealing options on the menu, making it difficult to choose just one thing.  Once we finished with our lunch, we drove a bit more south to Cape Perpetua, a 2,700 acre section of the coast with wonderful natural features to explore.  We parked by Devil's Churn and hiked south on the trail to Spouting Horn, stopping to explore tide pools along the way.  

After leaving Cape Perpetua, we checked into a charming room at the Fireside Inn, a motel close to the beach in Yachats.  Before dinner, we walked to the beach to watch the sun set amid the cool, fresh air.  At the nearby Adobe Resort, we enjoyed a feast of sauteed mushrooms, seafood and cocktails.  From our table, the view of the ocean and beach, still glowing from the setting sun, was a special added touch to our dining experience.  

The next morning, we made a quick stop again at Cape Perpetua as it was high tide and a perfect opportunity to see Thor's Well.  Afterward, we went further south, stopping at Strawberry Hill before arriving at Heceta Beach to explore the rock-speckled shore.  The beach curved up along a river that flowed under a bridge surrounded by moss covered trees and a few pockets of water froze on the sand.  We climbed an old tree that had fallen and created a sort of bridge over the river.  Once done there, we drove north to Newport to visit a bookstore we had heard good things about, Canyon Way Bookstore.  Afterward, we grabbed some lunch at Pig N Pancake and then found our way to Devil's Punchbowl.  Unfortunately, the friendly little squirrels that had been there during my previous visit the summer before must have left with the tourists because not one could be found anywhere. Though we did manage to sneak in a quick visit to a nearby viewpoint off the Otter Crest Loop before the last light of day disappeared.

As I was saying, a new year is a good time to set new goals and part of what I want to make a priority this year is getting my to-do list organized.  There are a plethora of places I want to hike and with my new car, I'm now able to more easily get away on the weekends and hike the trails around Portland, in the Gorge, by Mount Hood, on the coast and in the central Cascades area. There's an ever-growing list of books I want to read and music I want to listen to.  I want to setup my first official photography website and spend more time growing my photography skills.  Now that my job and home are settled, I want to work on meeting new people and hopefully make some good friends here. Before I know it, it will be closing in on 2016 so I better get going.  I hope you will follow along as I embark on these next adventures!!

Viewpoint from Otter Crest Loop
 

 To see more photos from my nature adventures, click here. 

A Look Back at 2014

Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."  
~ Anatole France

For the last several years, I had dreamed of moving to Oregon.  As time passed, that desire grew and grew until one day, I couldn't fathom the idea of staying away any longer.  This year, the stars seemed to align to point the way, the time was right. 

A relationship that I thought was going somewhere and worth staying put in Wisconsin for ended unexpectedly.  Not too long after that, my grandfather lost his battle with Alzheimer's and passed away.  At his funeral, I saw a slide show of photos from throughout his life and they had a strong, introspective impact on me.  What would my "slideshow" look like when I reached the end of my road?  Growing more dispassionate for the non-profit work that I once poured my heart and soul into and also wanting a better work-life balance, I began to wonder if the time had come.  Should I make the move? 

I had just completed planning and executing the most successful fundraiser in my company's history.  I had also been contracted to coordinate a four day summer festival for the Verona Chamber of Commerce. The extra income from those two events made it possible to invest in a new DSLR camera, something I couldn't imagine moving to Oregon without.  It also left enough money to finance a cross-country move.  I decided to make my dream come true, to get myself to the life I knew with every fiber of my being was waiting for me in Oregon. 

The drive from Wisconsin to Oregon was long but beautiful.  There's something so peaceful to me about a long drive: music going, my dog by my side and the wide open winding, road.  Iowa was fairly uneventful other than some giant, unidentifiable bugs I saw flying around at one of the gas stations.  I drove through a spectacular thunderstorm in Nebraska.  Wyoming was wide open, speckled with some rocky points here and there.  My jaw dropped at the majesty of the Utah mountains.  Southern Idaho was fairly uneventful.  All of my Oregon drive was spectacular with mountains, rivers and small towns all along the way. 

Once in Oregon, things continued to come together perfectly.  I found an amazing job with a wonderful company in Portland.  Shortly thereafter, I met Morgan, a surprisingly good match for me and my sense of adventure.  I found a wonderful downtown apartment right by the Willamette River and just a short train, bike ride or walk away from work. The ease and speed in which these events came together only strengthens what I already knew to be true:  this is exactly where I am meant to be. 

South Beach State Park, Oregon

I've done lots of exploring in Oregon since I arrived in late June.  From Latourell Falls and Mosier Creek in the Gorge to Sauvie Island just north of Portland to Jones Creek in the Tillamook National Forest.  Of course I've been to the coast, everything from Cannon Beach on up to Cape Disappointment (in Washington) down to Bandon and Gold Beach for a 4th of July trip.  I camped with a friend at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria and visited Ecola State Park, Rockaway Beach, Hug Point, Manhattan Beach, South Beach State Park with Morgan.  In the Mount Hood area, I hiked a trail up to Tamanawas Falls, ate dinner at Timberline Lodge where I could see the peak of Mount Jefferson from and also did a short hike to Little Zig Zag Falls.  I did several trips into Washington and saw Mount Saint Helens and the magnificent Mount Rainier.  I also met up with a Wisconsin friend in Bellevue and did an overnight work trip in Seattle. 

Other notable events happened this year too.  One of the photos I submitted to a local coast publication's photo contest made the top ten.  In early December, I made a trip home to Wisconsin for an early Christmas celebration with my immediate family and visited with friends in Madison.  Just this past week, I purchased my very own car, ending my four years of no-car streak.

I believe this past year to be one of the hardest yet one of the most rewarding years of my life to date.  I have taken away so much that will impact my life in the years to come.  Some of the challenges I took on this year proved that I am capable of so much more than I may think possible of myself.  I proved that the unknown is not something to be afraid of, that taking risks is essential to following your dreams.  When you listen to your intuition, you will always be making the right decision. 

In 2015, I'm looking forward to living a more authentic life, making new friends, staying connected to old ones, growing my photography and to more Pacific Northwest outdoor adventures.

Netarts Bay, Oregon

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.  There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." 

~ Jawaharlal Nehru

To see more photos from this past year, please click here.  

Record Road Trip

I spent a Sunday the other weekend at home listening to new, old records, selecting one after another and discovering I had started my new record collection with some great music.  How grateful I am for the generosity of Sue, a local Oregon author I discovered just a year or two ago.  I was still living in Wisconsin when I first read her book, Shoes Full of Sand.  I so loved reading her story of moving from California to Oregon and then following her adventure through her blog, Unleashed in Oregon. The summer before moving to Oregon, a friend and I did a week long road trip down the Oregon coast.  Sue kindly accepted my request to meet for lunch to pick her brain about Oregon and she was just as nice as I expected her to be.  Little did I know that in just one year, I too would be having my own adventure of moving to Oregon.  Today marks the sixth month I've been an Oregonian myself and I could not be happier!

Sue posted on Facebook last month that due to inclement weather during her garage sale, she had some items left over and wanted to give them away to anyone who was interested in putting them to good use.  One item in particular on the list caught my eye, records.  I quickly expressed my interest and we arranged a time for me to stop out to her coastal home the weekend after my trip to Wisconsin to pick them up.

Morgan, Cole and I arrived at Sue's in the early to mid-afternoon and visited for awhile.  It was fun to see, in person, the places she writes about in her blog, meet her dog, Annie, and even her neighbor for a bit.  The neighborhood was just as she describes in her writing, quiet and tucked away, surrounded by tall trees in all directions.  It seems like the perfect place for a writer to work and live.  Once inside, I was delighted to learn there were four boxes of records waiting for me with a selection that varied from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Mathis to Jackie Gleason. It was hard to contain my excitement as I flipped from one record to the next. 

South Beach State Park, Oregon

South Beach State Park, Oregon

After leaving Sue's house, we headed just a little bit down the road to South Beach State Park.  There, Morgan and I let Cole off his leash to romp around in the soft sand.  The sun was slowly beginning to make it's decent toward the edge of the ocean and the light that came down through the mostly clear skies cast a beautiful golden glow upon everything around us.  There is a point where the waves stop rolling in on top of the sand and then retreat back out to the ocean.  We strolled down that point of the beach for some time and reveled in the surprisingly warm, calm, sunny December air.


Once we had our fill of sun and sand, we hoped to check out a bookstore that we heard good things about in Newport.  Unfortunately when we got there we learned it had already closed for the day.  We decided to grab an early dinner instead and chose a dog-friendly seafood place where we devoured tasty scallops, mine grilled and Morgan's fried.  It doesn't get much better than dining on a seaside patio in December on a warm night among good company, with beer in hand and your dog by your side. I suppose a trunk full of records waiting to be played is just icing on the cake.

My new records, day one

To check out photos from the beach, as well as my other nature photography, please visit my Flickr page here.

Going Home

After six months in Portland, it was finally time to go home to Madison, Wisconsin and visit with friends and have an early Christmas celebration with my immediate family.  With Cole safely at a friend's house, my journey home begun at 4 AM on a Thursday morning the first week of December.  After a quick shower, I left my apartment and began my day of travel.  This, of course, is when the problems began.  First, I had to wait for a freight train to pass by before I could get to the Max stop to catch the light rail train to the airport.  Figuring I had plenty of opportunities to grab a bite to eat at one of the four airports I would be visiting that day, I decided to skip breakfast in Portland.  Unfortunately both the flight from Portland to Los Angeles and the flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City were running late so my layovers were minutes long and left no time for grabbing a bite to eat so I sustained myself on airplane pretzels and cookies until I arrived in the cold, 27 degrees of Madison, Wisconsin at 6 PM. 

Sa Bai Thong - Best Thai food in Madison

After picking up the rental car, which I begrudgingly agreed to a free upgrade from a fuel efficient compact to an SUV, seeing as it was the only option, and running a quick errand, I met some friends at my favorite Thai restaurant, Sa Bai Thong.  After catching up while enjoying delicious food and wine, a couple of us headed over to the Vintage for $3 beers.  Another friend surprised me and met up with us there and then we headed over to Mid Town Pub whose specialty was "porn corn" which I hope got it's name for it's desirable taste and not for the many other less appealing ways in which it could have come about.  After saying goodnight to one of my friends, we headed over to the Free House in Middleton where we were delighted with the fine sounds of 90's hip hop.  Wanting a change in soundtrack, we headed over to the Hody which is always a fun, guilty pleasure spot to people watch.  Once it was time to call it a night, I headed over to my friend's place to crash and apparently slip into a coma.

My dad's famous Old Fashioned

I awoke the next morning a little past noon.  Apparently my day of travel and night of hitting the town had taken it's toll on me.  I got ready and headed out as quickly as possible and after a quick bite to eat, attempted to do my one-stop Christmas shopping in 20 minutes where I was surprised to come across a man that I swear could be my dad in another 15 years.  I managed to find everything I was looking for and wrapped it all on the tailgate of the SUV in the parking lot outside the store.  Once finished, I hurried off to Topp's Hideaway in Windsor to meet my sister so we could make the hour drive east together to our parents house in Delafield for our Christmas celebration complete with Old Fashioneds and homemade lasagna.  The night ran late, as usual, but it was good to spend time with my parents and sister.  I believe it may have been the first time in a very long time that it was just us four and there was something kind of comforting about that. 

Me, my Mom, Dad and Sister

After a rough night of sleep on my parent's couch, which I remember to be so much more comfortable than it was that night, I showed my parents some of my photos of my adventures in the Pacific Northwest over breakfast of left over deviled eggs.  Once through those, my sister and I said goodbye to our parents and then were off, headed back to Madison.  After dropping off my sister, I met up with a group of friends for a sushi lunch at Takara, home of the best California Roll ever.  It was fun catching up with everyone but slowly, one by one, people had to head out to continue on with their weekend plans.  I had hoped to catch the movie Wild but unfortunately it was not in theaters yet in Madison so a couple friends and I ran some errands together so we could keep the conversation going.  Once those were done, we met up at Louisianne's in Middleton to listen to Johnny Chimes play piano while we sipped cocktails in the warm dark glow of the lounge.  Hilary's Annual Tacky Gift Exchange Party had been postponed so once the music ended, instead of heading to her place, we went to Le Tigre Lounge.  If the name doesn't give it away, it is a lounge covered from ceiling to floor with tiger themed decor.  We stayed until close and then one friend and I, being the last two still going, had a late night/early morning greasy breakfast at the local Denny's restaurant. 

Sushi lunch at Takara with friends

Not getting to bed until about 4:30 in the morning, I decided to cancel the plans for brunch at noon at the Green Owl and just hang out with a friend and her daughter at their place until it was time to head to the airport.  Once the time came, I said goodbye and headed to the airport to return the rental car, do a little white elephant party gift shopping in the airport and then caught my first of two flights back to Portland.  My flight got in to Portland later than expected from Salt Lake City but my friend picked me up from the airport with Cole in tow, a wonderful homecoming! 

All of us with Johnny Chimes after his performance at Louisianne's

All in all it was a great trip to Wisconsin.  It was wonderful to see and catch up with friends in person after six months away.  It was equally good to come home though to the mild 50 degree temperatures of Portland.  Although it felt as nothing had changed the minute I started driving around in Madison, I know for certain that Portland is home and where I am meant to be.  I love it here!