Club Sport/Tattoo

Hello my lovelies! Just a brief post about my latest gym endeavors and.... my tattoo! So I got a week guest pass at Club Sport near my house and have been loving the upper class VIP treatment! This gym (gym does not accurately describe this place) used to be a Costo, and now is a VERY nice club with indoor/outdoor heated pools, several basketball courts, 150+ classes a week, "grass" turf, hot tubs, saunas, raquetball courts, a chiropractor office, a bar/restaurant, and the tallest rock wall in the northwest. I am thoroughly enjoying myself there. Took my first Tai Chi class the other day and LOVED it! Will do it again! May join the club, but a bit spendy at $102 compared to my current Bally's membership of $30...

Got a tattoo! Still a work in progress. I'm gonna wait a month or so for the coloring. With a fresh tatt you can't go in rivers, pools, or direct sunlight. In other words, you can't enjoy summer. So, I will let it heal and go back for color once summer is winding down. The characters are kanji that say "LEO." I'll post more pics once I get it colored. I helped design it; took 3 hours before we even got started inking to get the design right! :)

Clackamas River Float

Friday afternoon my coworker and friend Esther and I took a trip to the Clackamas River for the first time. Being that we've had a heat wave recently, it was slim pickins as far as a float goes. I ended up finding a "2 person" "raft" at Fred Meyers, complete with flimsy oars. We picked up some life jackets and headed 40 mins. south to Milo McIver Park. We left my car at the bottom and took hers to the put in. After pumping up the damn thing I was dripping with sweat and anxious to get in the water. This river is a very popular spot in the summer time especially on 96 degree days. Being that it was an early Friday afternoon however, it was pretty quiet.

This pic is taken just before we embark at the launch. Obviously I don't have anymore pics for you guys. Hopefully I can find a waterproof case for my camera sometime soon. So I hop in the front of this child size raft which puts me awkwardly in Esther's lap. Almost immediately after you put in is the first and biggest set of rapids. These are very small easy to manage rapids, but for us first timers it was a bit scary at first. We hadn't quite gotten situated before we were headed backwards and in circles down the rapids, bouncing along screaming and laughing. Got wet and man, it felt good. The rest of the float is for the most part pretty mellow and relaxing with just a few more rapids. After we knew what to expect it wasn't scary at all and we had a blast. The water level is low right now so we bottomed out several times and bruised our butts a little, but made it all the way without capsizing. We just took a short 1 1/2 hour trip but you can go on to a 4 plus hour float if you want.

Yesterday at work Esther blurts out "let's go to the river!" So we do. We head to Les Schwab and get a giant sized inner tube. My Explorer is coming in quite handy with things like this. We put in at the same spot as last trip, this time on our 2 person inner tube. Hilarity ensues. We are more proficient this time, knowing the curves of the river and the currents. The tube is more comfortable on the behind, but a little clumsy with 2 people on it and such a large doughnut hole. We got stuck on rocks a few times and managed to bounce our way off a couple of them. At one point though we just couldn't get free so Esther gets off the tube to push us off the rocks, but doesn't get on the tube in time. So I'm floating away and have to jam my oar in the rocks and get stuck again so she can catch up. Mind you we are in hysterics laughing the whole time. We see a few ospreys and jumping fish. We only take a short 1 hour trip this time. When Esther gets off the tube it rocks me into the river and I swear I tried to get up like 4 times before I managed to my feet. Everything is much harder when you are cracking up. Again I'd like to emphasize that I was in shallow water with a life jacket on, so don't worry Grandma. :) We have to climb up a rather steep bank to get to our car and my sandals are wet and slippery and I end up sliding down the hill into a blackberry bush hahaha. I am still picking stickers out of my hand today. Oh man, I wish we could have had this trip on camera.

Day Out With Emi! (ok last one)

Day Out With Emi! (even more pics)

Day Out With Emi! (more pics)

Day Out With Emi!

I got to spend this beautiful day with my manager and friend, Emi. She suggested Rhododendron Park which neither of us had been to before. The park is small, but serene and beautiful. As for rhododendron, I think we may have seen 2? Haha, nevertheless, it was a scenic and pleasant walk. The ducks weren't shy one bit. In fact, they were rather demanding! They followed me around expecting treats and made me feel guilty for being empty handed. We saw fearless squirrels everywhere. We saw a blue jay and even a humming bird. I felt a little like Snow White expecting flocks of birds to descend upon me while a choir serenaded me. :P After the garden we checked out the Kennedy School. It's an old retired elementary school that's been converted into an McMenamin's brew pub and hotel. Emi treated me to a nice birthday lunch outside before we lounged for a bit in the soaking pool. Very relaxing and quiet. We were both ready for a nap after that but she had to go to school, and I had to work on getting my keys out of my locked car AGAIN. Sigh. All in all a very mellow pleasant day. Thanks Emi! :)

Sauvie Island/Collins Beach

Today was most definitely an adventure! Sauvie Island is just north of Portland and is home to many Oregon farmers and to one of two clothing optional beaches in Oregon. That's right my friends, I went to a nude beach! ;) And what a perfect day for it. Not a cloud in the sky and hot! I giggled to myself walking up to the beach and seeing all shapes and sizes, young and old, wrinkly and smooth, stark naked playing volleyball, swimming, and lying on beach towels. My natural resistance and self-consciousness only lasted about 20 seconds and the top came off. Wow! How liberating! I'm more embarrassed to look in the mirror naked than around these people. I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to take off my bottoms, but I wasn't gonna let all that careful shaving go to waste, so off they came. Then in an instant all vanity, self deprecation, and guilt were gone. I loved it! All I had intended was to get rid of some tan lines, but I also found a place of serene comfort. I don't know that I would play volleyball whilst jiggling about like some of the more daring and experienced nudists, but I'll definitely go back. :)

Veggies!

Well, I decided to harvest my garden last night. It wasn't fun anymore to have to tote a 5 gallon bucket around. I think my garden was getting too much direct sun anyway and it was struggling. It was fun though and while I didn't have a large harvest, I was still pleased with what I got. I also had a ton of sugar snap peas that were dead when I got back from Anchorage (my roommate swears he watered them), so I didn't get any pictures of them. I ate the carrots within 5 minutes, but the onions will actually require me to cook. :P

Multnomah Falls

Today was just beautiful out. I had the day off work and decided to head out about 45 mins north of Tualatin to Multnomah Falls. I can't tell you the height and all the details but it was breathtaking. LOTS of people had the same idea I did so navigating the narrow trail was a bit crowded and irritating, but the view was worth it. Had my IPod setting the mood with some Enya and I was happy as a clam. Found a resident chipmunk that came right up to me as I was taking one of several breathers on the way up. Gave him some of my granola bar and he shoved it in his cheeks haha. Cute little guy. View from the top was pretty amazing. I'd like to go back in the fall when the leaves have changed.

Oswego Lake House

Today was the first day of what should be my ideal work schedule. I worked a 4 hour day, got off at 3:00 and putzed around K-Mart before hunting for the ideal outdoor dining area to enjoy the last of the evening sun. I ended up at the Oswego Lake House about 10 mins from where I live. As you can see the scenery was beautiful and while the service was less than stellar, I couldn't have minded too much with that view. I had a burger and a brew and managed to keep my bill to $15, but that's the low end for this place. I'd return at a less crowded time and soak up the sun for a long lunch.

New blog. New adventures.

So I'm jumping on the blog wagon and starting my own. I've decided to explore what Oregon has to offer. I've been here a year and a half and really can't say that I've done all that much. I keep reminding myself of things I'd like to do this summer, and yet have not made the plans necessary. So, I am making it official. This summer is the start of experiencing new things, and some old in new settings. I'd like to share them with whomever is interested and just have a diary for myself. I have several things on my list, many of which I aspire to check off in the next coming months, and some which may linger a while longer. I'd also love to receive any suggestions you may offer. No limits. Well, maybe financial limits.

One thing I did to find new things to do was join a website called "Meetup." You can sign up for groups for anywhere and list your interests and groups you are wanting to attend. For instance I signed up for salsa dancing, volleyball, yoga, photography... pretty much anything I remotely like I can list and then search for groups based on my interests. I attended my first Meetup get-together tonight to play volleyball in NE Portland. I won't be going back due to the distance from my house and the beginner level play, but it was still fun. Meetup may lead me to a free outdoor Latin concert/dancing tomorrow night. Stay tuned!