still, in all i'm happy. the reason is, you see. once in a while, along the way. love's been good to me--frank sinatra

so then we go to portland oregon! we show up with our delicious vegan cupcakes from eugene to a little gathering organized by the lovely jessica. when i walk into the home of taylor, audrey, kathryn and joe (although joe was out of town)

 i instantly feel at home. 

oh hey, awesome vegan cupcakes...

i think i was having such a lovely time getting to know everyone at the little shindig, that i didn't take any pictures. i enjoyed talking to paige and then…it was amazing. these wonderful ladies work so effectively, they collectively make the most delicious meal. they are all so enchanting, in their own ways, eric and i will discuss through out the weekend how we just can't decide which lady is our favorite, we simply love them all! look our park circle ladies crew, you finally have some competition! :)

the following day, we woke with a plan to explore sauvie island. audrey, taylor, eric and myself head out on an exploring adventure. we eventually make it to the river to relax and enjoy a picnic. some folks were jet skiing and i just can't imagine being immersed in this water--it is freezing! beautiful, but fucking cold, man!

we had a lovely afternoon! we return to the house and once hearing that some of the ladies have never seen the karate kid 

(a film eric and i have been randomly quoting through out this trip) we knew their was only one thing to do: rent the karate kid immediately! we made some dinner and settled in to get a blast from the 80s past byway of cinema. wonderful!

ok, so the next morning….i mean, really…please ask me about this day in portland. it will surely go down as one of the funniest, most ridiculous and simultaneously awesome stories of our lives. i can't really go into the details, but just know it was hilarious. eric was so sweet and brought me breakfast in bed as i slowly awoke for the day. taylor went for a run, kathryn went to work, audrey went to water the garden, jess was planning on meeting us at the house in a little bit and eric…well, the man just loves chocolate! this is what the morning looked like:

and then this is us all together, blissfully happy!

we had plans for the always needed and especially appreciated organizing of the van and cleaning of our camping equipment. we quickly modified our plans to better suite our needs. jess offered to take us on a bike exploration, headed to an awesome park in sellwood. audrey, much amused by us, joined us in biking to the ladies shared community garden space.

one of the many reasons i love these ladies and much of the rest of the pacific northwest peeps: they all came together to get this garden space to grow food, for themselves and their friends. they are smart and hardworking, knowledgable about gardening, ensuring that this garden will in fact, kick ass. jess, eric and i continue on our biking journey!

the colors of this more industrial part of town, combined with some landscape, are so beautiful. i am so distracted while riding my bike, everything seems muted and earth toned and completely soothing. i absolutely LOVE portland. we get sort of worn out, so we pull off and take a rest.

we regroup and buck up for the last leg until we get to the park. and man, is it worth it! sell wood riverfront park is gorgeous. we are blessed with the most perfect weather. audrey had packed us some much needed snacks. we get some nourishment as we observe the dogs playing in the park. i know i have said it before, but their is nothing simpler or more enjoyable than enjoying your local community park. it is free and there for you, so use it! we go explore this really cool floating dock and soak up the sun. 

jess is such a wonderful addition. it is so nice getting to know her.

we take trail into the narrow woods of the park to a wonderful, more isolated spot down by the river. jess initiated an impromptu yoga session that was much needed for all of us.

jess initiated a much needed yoga sesh...

and she was a headstand rockstar!

we then meet up with audrey and kathryn who came to the park to do some kayaking. they opt to hike back with me, giving eric and jess a turn on the boat.

this day only gets better…

we loaded all our things, including our bikes into/on audrey's little car and off we go to the most amazing area and group, the city repair.

seriously, look this up and be prepared to be inspired. i instantly daydream how easy it would be to slip into this community. how many things already established that i am interested in. and then i think of some of the trendsetters in clintonville, spearheading their own little movements. all in all, this place just makes you want to start creating things…like this cat palace!

they have merged their backyards with their neighbors, to create a communal space, in which supports everyone, like this, perhaps the coolest chicken coop, ever?

one of their most visible projects is the intersection. it is so incredible, words will never do it justice. it has the people and their needs in mind, uniting the community and in a location that is usually drab, this intersection is far from it.

a kids play area

the tea station

a tea station? maintained by people of the community. the water was pretty hot and various delicious teas were on hand for your enjoyment. of which i absolutely did! a tub for dirty dishes is hidden by the cloth under the table.

it is like how things should be. lets all take care of each other, share what we have and enjoy life and our neighbors. we also film one of the largest dance numbers to date. it was amazing! we got a girl riding on her bike to join too!

we got some thai food and all headed home. the ladies countered eric with movie the water boy, as he had never seen in. not many of us remained awake too long for that one, worn out from a tremendous day.

we get an early start the next morning for mt. hood to go morrel hunting! a collective agreement on a pitstop to voodoo doughnuts in first on the agenda. i have heard of this place, making outrageous doughnut flavors and offering vegan options. i haven't had a doughnut in so long….this is my reaction to the vegan shelf:

voodoo doughnuts is total hipster doughnut establishment…the interior totally entertaining.

we all struggle to decide which flavors, with some like maple bacon, captain crunch, and ones with grape koolaid frosting.

jess goes for the blue raspberry

i go for the maple frosted, boston cream filled, complete with hipster mustache. 

we make another pitstop at the boneville dam's recreation area to check the sights and for a pee break.

back enroute to mt. hood

again, i am not sure what magic the mountains posses, but they draw me in. it is so crazy to see snow cap mountains!

this was my first experience of morel hunting. trudging the terrain was challenging, but i was excited by the possibility of finding some mushrooms

we may have been a bit early in the season for prime time findings, but regardless, it was enjoyable to take in the beautiful scenery.

just as i thought we wouldn't find any, jess finds one. i look closer and i find one too! HOORAY! we only found a handful of mushrooms for the day, but it was still really fun. the hike back, straight up was pretty challenging for eric and i. i constantly see why the people of the west have earned their outdoors-y, fit stereotype: its called elevation. ya know, mountains and shit. you have to be rather fit to explore nature in these parts.

we head back home, all pretty worn out from another full day. per usual, eric has more social plans in store for the evening. we head over to the river street studios to have a cookout with rob, aka big water and his friends. i instantly get recharged with the notion of seeing one, megan palmer! it is always nice to see a friendly face from home. turns out, the whole party has ohio roots!

after some grub, wine, hooping, and chatting, we head up to big waters studio so he, megan and eric can have a little practice sesh for gig the next day.

check it out: love rocks

we wake up early the next day to get our start to bagby hot springs. jess, kathryn, eric and i make the journey to this beautiful spot. hey netflixers, watch 'old joy' to get a look at this place, it was filmed there!

thankfully, it is a pretty easy and also totally beautiful hike in.

now these springs are SUPER HOT! we kept filling up buckets of cold water to not scald us!

we all soak and relax until we are good and pruney!

some of these tubs go way back!

i seriously love hot springs. i always liked taking a hot bath after a long days work, but to take one in nature? well, now ya just combined some of my favorite things…

hey look, i am in a tree!

it was another lovely day with these peeps! couldn't ask for more!

the drive home is breathtaking. like all of the surrounding areas are. it is amazing how a city as vibrant and active as portland has some of the most pristine nature just hours away.

we return home and get ready for the gig! we go to the alberta street pup for the musical stylings of big water, eric nassau and megan palmer! rad! i get to spread my wings and add door woman to my list of skills! 

i love watching all of these musicians. it is always a treat when eric and megan play together. 

the next morning, we try to do all the things we never did because we were too busy having fun. i head out to REI to get a warmer sleeping bag. turns out, my idea of going to warm,  sunny california in the spring wasn't exactly accurate. it gets super cold at night and i have my summer bag with me.

i head out to do some errands and eric gets organized and gets a lovely visit from KC and her adorable children. Suz enjoys mortimer just as much as we do!

i believe this could be our marketing picture for the eric nassau beard shirt, modeled by the lovely jess

we pack up and head out. i am pretty sad to leave this awesome community. such cool peeps, such a cool city. on our way out of town, we visit with eric's friends, amber, who is ranger at the dalles, a old damn that was pretty fascinating.

then we are off to seattle!