My, what a busy weekend!

Wow... finally have time to catch my breath! The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity, which is usually the case when I am in the P-Land.

On Saturday night, I went down to a club called Pi-Rem to see my friend Charlie open for a house duo called the Lawnchair Generals (quite a name). Now, house music is electronic music, but not of the Night at the Roxbury type. These are deep beats, mixed with interesting elements of jazz, hip-hop, etc. Very fun to dance to and fun to watch folks mix crazy stuff up with a couple of turntables. I went with my BFF Mercedes, who I've known since the beginning (our moms are best friends, so we got born into it). Here we are, looking fly:

The next day, I drove out the Columbia River Gorge to The Dalles to see our friends Dave and Carol, who The Man and I met originally met in Kodiak. We drove out part of the way on the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, which is one of those things everyone should do before they die. You pass right through the Cascade Mountains where the Columbia cuts a valley chock full of steep craggy basalt cliffs, big trees, and incredible waterfalls. Here are some highlights of the drive:

Here I am, rockin' the muffintop with Latourell Falls in the background. Thanks Dad, for taking such a flattering picture!!!!!!

We also stopped at Bonneville Dam, which provides most of the electricity for Portland. They have a fish ladder so that the salmon can make it past. Bonneville Dam was one of my fave places to visit as a kid, 'cause at the Vistor Center, you can peep out the fish going up the ladder through viewing windows.

Check out the size of this Chinook Salmon! Very cool.

My other fave thing about going here is that they have a sturgeon pool. I love sturgeon, and if you ask me sometime, I will tell you all about how I used to play with sturgeon spinal cords after my dad had had a successful fishing trip. Anyway,there are several, with Herman the Sturgeon being the star. He is 10 feet long and weighs over 500 pounds!!!!!

Well, after a couple hours of driving, we got to Dave and Carol's. They have a gorgeous house overlooking the Dalles Dam on the Columbia. Their backyard has a functioning stream, complete with a pool full of goldfish.

We had a lovely visit- Dave and Carol are such wonderful people, and we have missed them greatly. Here they are on the deck with my dad:It was so nice to see these guys... this whole trip has been about doing some catch up with folks who I love dearly and do not get to see enough. I'll do another blog soon, complete with a trip to my old life at The Outdoor School, a night with grandmother, and other assorted fun happy things!!!! Here is a parting shot of a big Douglas Fir (the OR state tree) in Lower MacLeay Park. This park is literally minutes from downtown Portland. What an amazing place!