.jeri.

Hi everyone, I'm back!

You can view the rest of my photos from my vacation on Facebook. I had a good time hanging out with Erika and Justin and all of their pets.

Sunday Erika and I hit up the Vancouver Farmers Market, then went to the Portland Art Museum, where we saw exhibitions of MC Escher (more interesting than I expected because there were several drafts and displays of technique), Beth Van Hoesen (some simple, some cute, some colorful), and great displays of tattoos. From there we headed to Hawthorne for some shopping and then to Target to get our fix, and then back home where Justin made us an awesome meal.

Monday we went down to the riverfront to take a walk. The trees are dropping little white puffs, which made it look like it was snowing all day. We drove to a condo complex off the river and took a walk down the little strip of land that goes out into the water and admired the view, then came back and picked up Justin for a long walk along Lacamas Lake. We went out for pizza and then chilled back at home that night.

Tuesday we went to Washington Park to visit the International Test Rose Garden and the Japanese gardens, which were lovely. After an awesome French patisserie lunch and a visit to a co-op grocery store, we went shopping at Nob Hill where we found the little bakery of Two Tarts and enjoyed our cookies and creams. Then we headed downtown to the Pearl District for more shopping. We drove to the Kennedy School for dinner, which is an elementary school that's been converted into a lodge, movie theater, bars, and restaurant. It's kind of surreal to look out a school window and see people in a jacuzzi. The art was crazy there too, big on the creepy factor.

Wednesday we drove to Justin's parents' property in Oregon City, which is 10 acres of awesomeness. Trees, horses, ponds, you name it. I got to ride Rocky, with careful instruction by Mary, Justin's mom. We hung out at their lovely home for a while. I feel like we did more on this day but can't seem to remember what! Mostly hanging at home watching tv, I think.

Thursday we took a two hour drive to Cannon Beach, which is where they filmed some of Goonies. That was a bonus! We walked along the beach and then shopped along the street in town. One of the highlights was Bruce's Candy Kitchen, although I was too cheap to buy anything there! The smell of pizza from Pizza a Fetta sucked us in (wow, good stuff!) for dinner, and then we drove back another two hours while listening to Michael Jackson tributes. We stopped to shop at the mall in Tualatin for a while, then went to Sheridan's for some yummy custard on the way home.

Friday we busted ourselves all around Vancouver and Portland buying things for Justin's sister's shower. We started off our day at Nob Hill again and had a massive breakfast at Stepping Stone Cafe. We hit up grocery stores, Costco, downtown, and Target. Erika prepped a lot of food while I caught up on a lot of emails from work and family, and then we decorated them.

Saturday was the shower day, so we loaded up the car and headed out to the bride's new sister-in-law's house to set up, eat, enjoy, and take down. I tried to relax a little and then started packing. Erika and I headed in to downtown one more time for dinner at Henry's, which I'm telling you you must visit if you go to Portland and are in the Pearl District area. I love their food, including the sesame seared scallops with lime, mango, and chili sauce. I also enjoyed a local-brewed Stout. :) We also stopped by the new drive-thru Black Rock Coffee Bar near Erika's house for some buy one get one action, and it was tasty.

It was a good week for time spent together and visiting new places, but a hard week emotionally with all the trouble with family and friends. I think I'm glad, though, that I had ample time to reflect, and the Ireland-like Northwest was the perfect place for that. Many thanks to Erika and Justin for hosting me for a whole week!