In my Hood...

One of the most enduring images of Portland is Mt. Hood rising above it from the east. Much like Mt. Fuji watches over Tokyo, so too does Mt. Hood look over the city of Portland. On clear days the peak of Mt. Hood can be seen from almost any high point in the city. Coming from the flat lands of Florida it was foreign to me that there even mountains here in Oregon, but to have one as large as Mt. Hood was quite a surprise. Mt. Hood is over 11,000 feet tall and is snow-capped year around. It features 12 glaciers and is the fourth tallest mountain in the Cascade range. True, there is 3-7% chance that Mt. Hood will erupt in the next 30 years (did I forget to mention that it is a volcano?) but then the USGS classifies it as only 'potentially active'.

When I drive to work in the mornings it is a comfort to see Mt. Hood peaking out from beyond the city. You know it's going to be a beautiful day. Surrounding Mt. Hood is the Mt. Hood State Park and some amazing landscape. This time we approached Mt. Hood from the east as we came in from a day spent tasting wine and beer in the gorge (more on that later). As we drove down 35 Mt. Hood would peak in and out of view, each time getting closer and more breathtaking. We made the final steep ascent near Timberline Lodge. In the space of a few miles we went from 65 degrees to 45! When we emerged from the car we quickly donned jackets and gloves. The wind chill most certainly dropped the temperature into the 30s. From Timberline Loge we were able to see the whole valley and the Cascades- there is very little more breath-taking than that.

Frozen but invigorated we climbed back into the car and made out way back down to Portland. After a day of chasing Mt. Hood it was great to finally be able to see it up close.

We finished the day with our first visit to Apizza Scholls. They are an amazing pizza place here in Portland. As with many places in PDX they make everything fresh, including the dough, and when they are out, they are out. Notorious for long waits in a 'Pizza Nazi' reputation, I tell you now that it is worth it. We had some fantastic pizza and beer. After a day of exploring the eastern side of Portland, it totally hit the spot.

Enjoy the Sun

The weather has been SPECTACULAR. We flirted with 100 for a few days but thankfully we seem to have returned to normal, here meaning 70-80 during the day and mid-50s at night. Dan and I inflated the air mattress and camped out in the living room over the weekend to take full advantage of the beautiful evenings.


Dan took Saturday day off and we were out and about. Hard to believe he's lived here all this time and never been to the PSU Farmers Market with me. But Saturday was his first time. As per usual  it was a pretty amazing place. We bought elk and black pepper sausage and beef and thyme sausage. Dan is trying them out as possible options for wine pairings. After the Farmers Market we hit up some of Portland's food cards on SW 9th and Alder. I had a gyro from a greek cart and Dan had a monster burrito from a Mexican one. We were both shocked how big the burrito was- it was huge.

Bellies full and curiosity satisfied we decided to take advantage and enjoy the sun and clear skies and head up to Pittock Mansion. It is this amazing old mansion on the top of one of the tallest hills in Portland. On a clear day, like the one we were enjoying, you can see both Mt. Hood in Oregon and Mt. Adams in Washington. It was pretty amazing. We dropped down on to the trails behind Pittock mansion and lost ourselves for a while among all the trees.

After hiking our way back up, not for the faint of heart by the way, we headed for the most sacred of places, the mall! Just kidding. We did hit up a few stores and decided to see a movie to cool off from our day in the sun.

We decided to celebrate the day with a truly classic fine dining experience at Morton's steakhouse. True, Morton's is a chain but the steaks were exceptional and we happily toasted our fantastic day with a bottle of 2007 J.  Scott Cabernet Savignon from the Rouge Valley.

Sunday brought another day of sun in the fun. After a few lazy hours  I went to the gym and then headed for a picnic in Laurelhurst park with some  friends. As I sat there drinking my beer, eating my pasta salad, and soaking up the sun I was immensely thankful for the wonder that is PDX. All of the amazing things that I have been able to do and see and taste and I know that it's only going to get better from here.