Penticton On A Whim

I should preface this by saying that our trip was not necessarily on a whim. We had been invited by some friends to visit them for a weekend at the hotel that they booked in Penticton. They had given us ample time to accept the offer and make proper arrangements. Why I refer to this as a trip on a whim is because up until a week before the weekend of departure I was unable to make solid plans as a result of the uncertainty of the evolving playoff baseball schedule. It took right up to the last day of the season to know what place my team was going to finish (we came in second place, thank you very much) and who we would be matched up with for our opening game. By Monday I got the news that it would be on Sunday at noon. This would have been our last choice, if it was up to us. This meant that we would have to be on the road back home no later than 7:00am Sunday morning. That is early even if you went to bed at a decent time the night before, and I had a vague idea of how we were most likely going to spend our Saturday night, and I imagined it would be significantly more difficult to be up by 7:00. Throughout the week we flip-flopped a number of times questioning whether it would be worth it to drive such a distance for really only one day of fun. In the end we decided that it was 110% worth it and had solid plans for an amazing weekend!

Another thing that I believe is worth mentioning is that our friends were only planning on arriving early Saturday afternoon. So we could either leave Saturday morning, like they were planning on doing, or we could go up Friday night and find out own place to crash for the night. Ultimately we decided that to maximize the limited time that we already had, that we would head to the interior after work on Friday night. The sleeping arrangements that we made were simple. No need to book a hotel, why pay for something you would be using as nothing more than a glorified flop house? No need to book a campsite, why pay for the opportunity to fumble around in the pitch black to set up a site that you just plan on taking down the very next morning? So what did we decide to do instead? Well hatchbacks are fantastic at carrying large amounts of cargo and large pieces of cargo, and....well....let’s face it in this situation Shannon and I were not much more than large pieces of cargo. So packed a few sleeping bags and pillows, folded down the seats and there you have it! You got yourself safe, efficient, and cheap accommodations for the evening. The only real question was where can we park the car for the night? A short Google search later (http://freecampsites.net/#!penticton) we had our answer, Brenda Lake it was!

So once again Shannon and I struggled our way through another Friday at work. Fridays are so full of anticipation, which is usually a great feeling. But anticipation can also grind away at your patience. It takes no small amount of will power to delay your gratification and concentrate at the tasks at hand. This is nothing new, and is not specific to any one industry. Everyone should have felt the feeling that I am describing, and if you haven’t you either really love your job, in which case I will stand up and give you a much deserved standing ovation, or you do not have very good weekend plans. If you love your job that much you are truly the exception, rather than the rule, and I could not be happier for you. You are living the way most people only dream of. If you do not have any exciting weekend plans, than I ask, why not? Life is for enjoying, and being happy. If you cannot find a way to do this, I would strongly recommend finding a way to fix that. That is not the way anyone should be living their lives, everyone deserves to be happy and I personally invite anyone who is not to email me and I would love to work with you to find a way to fix this for you. I am by no means an expert on this subject. I do not have any qualifications other than my life experience. I have put a lot of effort into finding the best way to be happy and have spent an exaggerated amount of time in the past few months educating myself on all the best way to do this. I am nothing more than a person who loves to help others and loves to be happy J and I am very willing to share with anyone that is interested in learning.

I apologize for getting side tracked. It is just a topic that I am very passionate about, and would be interested in sharing my knowledge and experience to anyone who is looking for change and is interested and open to hearing my opinion on the subject. Ok back to the trip. So I admit I once again I skipped out of work a little bit earlier than I usually would. I do not feel guilty about it though, I was one of the few people in the office that stuck around as long as I did....come on, Friday before the long weekend? Anyone that knows they won’t be fired for it is going to be skipping out as soon as they can. Plus I still had a bit of packing to do. When I say a little, that is based on my assumption of the situation, not the reality. The reality was that it was not too much more packing than I thought, but it took more time than I had allotted for. So my departure was more rushed than I had intended or preferred. I did arrive on time to pick up Shannon, I thank the re-opening of Powell street for that *mini bow*. Much appreciated!

No sooner had I arrived outside her occupational establishment, when I was so pleasantly graced with her presence. Perfect timing! It’s Penticton time! Fist pump like no one’s watching....or like everyone is!! Two super-psyched weekend vacationers in the car? Check! Plans to avoid traffic, non-existent....But we were nicely surprised much like we were on our Portland trip. Special order for no traffic, was, once-again, delivered right on time. The type of delivery that you would tip a piece of gum AND a wad of cash for the service.

Kevin McCallister: I`m sorry. You wanted a tip.
Cedrick the Bellman: Umn, that won`t be necessary, sir. I still have some
(Shows him wad of gum)
Cedrick the Bellman: tip left over.
Kevin McCallister: (pulls out a wad of cash) No tip? Okay.
Cedrick the Bellman: Uh, wait wait wait wait. Wait, wait.

(Kevin closes door)

So traffic was a breeze, well, such few stops that it might as well be referred to as a breeze. This trip was not catered by Big Lou’s in the same way the last one was so we had to decide where we wanted to stop. We decided that Hope would be the place.

Our original idea was to try and find a bar and grill type place for some classic pub-grub and a nice relaxing beer to push us down the last couple of steps to full relaxation mode. Nothing washes away the last little bit of anxiousness still hanging around from the work week like and ice cold brew. After an unintentional tour of downtown Hope we found a place that seemed to fit the bill. It was definitely a hole in the wall, but we had high expectations that what it lacked it in eye pleasing décor it made up for in food flavor. The food did look promising but the prospect of finding a place to be seated did not. At this point we sached (actually we just walked lol) our way across the parking lot to a place called Homes Restaurant (http://www.homerestaurants.ca/). Our one and only experience with Homes in the past had been quite pleasant. Humongous breakfast portions, overwhelmingly delicious (and similarly humongous) pie and the wifi to post pictures of the food to make your friends jealous. Can you really expect anything more? So we decided that Homes was an excellent alternative, and so did a large number of other people. It appears that reservations are needed for a Friday night out on the town in Hope. We later found a place called Rolly’s Pancake House (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/85/1490950/restaurant/British-Columbia/Rollys-Pancake-House-Hope). Not much to look at….we actually drove by it our first time through the city, and it caught our eye as a restaurant but did not look all that impressive. The inside is not much better, to look at that is. The service and food were by no means a reflection of how it looked. We were seated by a very pleasant gentleman (I have a hunch it might have been Rolly himself…looked a lot like the caricature on the restaurant sign) and served by a surprisingly attentive waiter. I will admit that he looked more like a participant in the X-Games than he did a waiter but his service was impeccable. We especially took to his off-the-menu suggestion to exchange our fries for poutine. Let’s be honest, there is nothing healthy about restaurant food, especially fries, especially fries covered in gravy, especially fries covered in gravy and cheese curds but they are delicious and a worthwhile look-the-other-way-while-I-feast indulgence from time to time. It was an appreciated suggestion and we enjoyed ourselves. Thanks Rolly’s you put a smile on our faces and plenty of food in our bellies! And thanks to the waiter for his pleasant demeanor and noteworthy service. You are a breath of fresh air to all of those people that are way too eager to jump to conclusions based on how someone looks. Respect!

With our minds no longer focused on where our next meal was going to come from, we shifted our attention back to the road. We were roughly at the halfway point and the sunlight was beginning to fade, it was time to get back behind the wheels and make our way to our destination. So we drove, and drove and then drove some more. Nothing worth mentioning other than a minor difficulty around Merritt. In the past Merritt has been the epicenter for a number of obstacles we have faced along out journeys. The two that come to mind are the speeding ticket I got while “seeing how fast my car could go” and the time I decided it was too much of a hassle to stop in for gas. I was able to avoid having my car impounded, and I was able to roll into West Kelowna on nothing more than fumes, so not tragic events, but worth mentioning. This time it was some minor confusion with the GPS. It told me to go one way, and I was very confident it was the other way. In this case I was correct J take that technology!

From that point it was a quick jaunt to our destination just outside of Kelowna. We found the exit we needed, found the road we wanted and were in good shape to arrive at our place of interest. From that point on we were driving along a logging road, so our progress slowed to a snail’s pace, switching back and forth with the high beams so as not to drive off the road and over a cliff lol. After about 15 minutes on the logging road we started to question how important it actually was to get to the campsite. It was late and the road was deserted, so our minds wandered toward the possibility of just pulling off the road and making camp. Of course by camp I meant move our luggage to the front and ourselves to the back, unroll the sleeping bags and go to sleep. So that is exactly what we ended up doing. We found a perfect little turn off….I was only mildly concerned that I would be blocking what appeared to be another (lesser used) driving path. But we were far enough off the main road that we were confident we should be fine.

We learned out first lesson of caution very early in our car sleeping experience. Make sure that you disable the alarm before exiting the locked vehicle. This was a lesson that we learned soon after I almost gave myself a heart attack getting out to “use the washroom”. In the midst of panic mode I was able to find the keys and put an end to the temporary chaos that I was solely responsible for, waking up the entire wilderness…..my bad *shrugs and smiles*. That is one way to try and be discreet lol. Once all the excitement died down we were ready to settle in for the night. Shannon was concerned about bears and I was concerned about people calling the cops thinking we were in some kind of accident. But settling in for the night was more important and was soon the only concern left. We attempted to watch a movie on the tablet, we were not successful in watching it in its entirety but it did a great job of putting us to sleep, a great way to end the first day of our trip J. Not your typical Friday night but one that I very much enjoyed and will have fond memories of.

Day 5- Back to Reality

This post is not as exciting as maybe the last few but you cannot live your life on vacation...or at least I haven’t found a way to yet, but believe me I am fast at work trying to find a one J. 

So day 5 started very early, I am talking at 4:30 am. We really did do ourselves (and our camping neighbors) a favor by doing the majority of the packing the night before. But we left a few things for the morning. We figured that it was worth it to pack our tent and our bed in the morning. Sleeping on the ground without a tent would be an interesting idea, but interesting ideas are not always GOOD ideas. I did mention before that adventure was the main purpose of this trip and packing up a tent and rolling up sleeping bags in the dark was an adventure J. We were louder (carrying a bag of empties to the recycling is not quiet) and brighter (had to use our lantern for some things) than we planned on being but one key factor that is not to be overlooked, since it was so dark and since we were gone when everyone else got up.....they cannot be sure who it was...genius!

We were all packed up and ready to go when 5 am rolled around. We were 80% sure we had everything and 20% didn’t particularly care if we did or not. We were still half asleep and trying to be as considerate as possible. Then we were off! I was in a strange sort of haze where I was obviously awake and coherent but still felt like I was in a dream like state, but don’t worry I was fine to drive J. It do not take long for Shannon to slip off into dream land and I did not interfere, she had done her job helping with the packing and we do not have the type of car that allows two people to drive at once so I had no reason to stop her. There is a strange calm when it comes to driving, running or really doing anything, at a time when you are, for all intents and purposes, alone in the world. I know it will not be a popular recommendation, but I will still recommend trying it sometime. It gives you a whole new perspective which can be especially refreshing for anyone living in big cities where you constantly have to share your environment with a large volume of people. It is not something I plan to make a habit of, but I appreciated it in the moment.

We decided to drive up the coast on the way home. It would take a bit longer than other available routes, but we budgeted for the time and were excited to take the scenic way home. After a few directional issues were ironed out with the GPS we had our route programmed in and we were ready to go. The early part of the drive was virtually uneventful. The sun was rising from the east and the water was to the west, plus on top of everything it was heavily overcast....and don’t forget still very dark out. It was a few hours and many miles before there was much of anything to see. Things started to pick up a bit after we stopped for a healthy sausage and egg mcmuffin as we were pushing through the veil of darkness. After that we took in some small fishing towns speckled along the river side when the road took us inland and some quaint beach towns located along the coast. Many picture opportunities missed by our camera but well established memories in our minds. It was a good thing that the roads were clear because I spent more time gazing at the coastline looking for an excuse to wetsuit up and catch a few waves, than I was on the road ahead. The waves were visually stimulating but not to the point where it warranted unpacking half the car to get my gear and repacking around a wet board and a soaked wetsuit. I did, however, start a list of places I want to visit my next time down the coast, and that was good enough in my books. Knowing that the water would be colder than a witches’ tit also helped keep me out of the water. I continued to drive until we hit the renowned Cannon Beach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_Beach,_Oregon). I did this for a chance to get out of the car to stretch and wake myself up, but I was not disappointed. It was beautiful! I imagine it would be beautiful anytime, in any weather, but the early morning fog gave it a ghostly, haunted feel, not creepy, more mysteriously engaging. We snapped some amazing landscape photos, traded positions in the car and were back on the road with my lovely wife behind the wheel.

It did not take long for me to check out of reality and into the Sandman Hotel (get it *nudge *nudge??). Our touristy stop at Cannon Beach was as much for the sightseeing as it was to avoid falling asleep behind the wheel. So, needless to say, I have very little to say about the next part of the trip. I awoke once while on a bridge with no land in sight, freaky but fun, and then regained consciousness close to Westport, WA our usual surfing destination. This brought back some good memories for us, but none that are really interesting enough to share in this post.

There were only a few other things worth mentioning on the ride back. One is the Quizno’s miracle, and two was the awesome time we made on the way back. The Quizno’s miracle was when Shannon told me that she really wanted to eat a Quizno’s sub for lunch and she wanted to eat between 10 and 10:15. Fast forward now to when the car clock moved from 9:59 to 10 and the roadside sign we passed immediately after was for a Quizno’s at the next exit....BOOM, mind blown! Second, I ordered an arrival time of 2pm and we arrived home at 2:15...not bad at all. Plenty of time to get to my ball game and on time....and we won the game too! Brilliant!

So that was our trip to Portland, and the Oregon Coast! I hope you enjoyed the tales of our travels! The next question is; what do we have to look forward to next? Well seeing as this took me sometime to get through (I do have a day job after all) I should have two more trips to write about, our random trip to Penticton and our Labor Day Classic Camping/Surfing trip in Westport. Stay tuned, I promise I will make it worth your while J.

Nuttin' but Surfin'

Day 4 – Nuttin’ but surfin’

So after a restful sleep in the middle of Beverly Beach State Park (http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=164) amidst a thick maze of giant mossy trees, we started our next day of fun. In no real hurry to get anywhere or be anywhere, we made the transition from sleep to awake mode with a snail pace. Other than a feeling of mental clarity, there was not much of a shift between the modes. We are on vacation! There is no room for stress or rush on vacation, just relaxation and fun J But we were hungry and we were well equipped to provide ourselves with a nice big breakfast to kick off the day. This is Shannon’s forte, not to say I cannot cook a mean breakfast, because believe you me, I sure can. Cooking brings Shannon great pleasure and gives her a chance to exercise her culinary imagination, which means an awesome breakfast for me! The breakfast consisted of the same amazing fire-cooked bacon, eggs and hash browns as the day before. It was delicious then and was, once again, delicious now. Very enjoyable! For those of you reading this blog that might be feeling like I am constantly being spoiled by my wife, you are right. However, I do pull my weight, in this situation I earned my meal by creating the means to cook. I am the one in charge of the fire creation. I do rely on a number of hacks to create said fire, but I do not believe that takes away from its value.

So with breakfast being a thing of the past, and our breakfast beer drank down to the dredges, it was time to pack up and head for the beach. Time to get our surf on! We decided to head to another location to do our surfing, on this day we were off to The Devil’s Punchbowl (http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=156).

It was not difficult to find our destination. It was less than a mile up the road from our campsite with well marked signs to lead us in the right direction. Finding the right place to surf was not as easy. We drove right up to the look-out point and took in an eyeful of mind altering scenery. The Oregon Coast is unlike any other coastline that I have visited. This is not to say that it dramatically different in any obvious way; it just has a distinct personality. I would compare it to a pair of fraternal twins. They may look similar to each other, but you can tell they are not identical twins. What really makes them stand apart, though, is their personality. When you move past the outer shell to get a better understanding of who they are individually, that is when you become aware of the striking differences. I do not think this is unique only to the Oregon Coast; I use it only as the immediate tangible example since this blog is about my trip to Oregon J

The view was spectacular; the weather was cold....and really windy. The weather did not take away from the beauty of the sights to be seen, but it did move my mind to think of how it would play out with the surfing. It was not a negative feeling like, “oh man, this is going to suck!” it was more like “well I was looking for an adventure...let us see how this will go down.” The look-out point was located on a small peninsula. While looking west, towards the water, straight ahead of us was the name sake of the park, the infamous Devil’s Punchbowl. I have a few pictures that I will include in this post, but I would encourage you to Google search the images of professional photographers who have had the opportunity to get up close and personal, some truly amazing pictures. The Punchbowl is a rock feature that has been created by the weathering forces of the water and wind to create a natural rock arch that leads in to a lagoon-like pool surrounded by towering rock walls. Simplistically, it looks like a rock tunnel leading into a giant rock punch bowl....hence the name J definitely worth experiencing.

Off to the right was a rocky cove and beach that, due to its proximity to the Punchbowl, creates a landscape capable of producing large, aggressive looking waves. The type of feature that is impressive and awe-inspiring from a distance, but not an environment that leaves many non-expert surfers salivating for a chance to ride the waves. Being less than an expert surfer myself, I was aware that I was holding my breath while deep in thought about what this surfing day was going to include. My next thought was that we should look at what was happening on the left side of the Punchbowl, you know just to make sure the waves were not more menacing on the other side. Obviously, the more menacing the better for me lol.

The right side was similarly gorgeous, in a more calm and peaceful way. The waves were significantly smaller, neater and generally more appealing to me. I will take this chance to explain that it is not the size of the waves that make me question my choice to surf. It is specifically the rocks that bring up red flags in my mind. I am a tough guy. Getting utterly thrashed by a wave is not something that bothers me. In fact, often times when I surface I am just as exhilarated as I would be after riding a sick wave. Rocks tend to hurt more and cause a lot more damage than waves do. I know that this is not always true when you are talking about giant, bone breaking waves, but those are outside of my realm of focus for this post. I am looking for an enjoyable time out in the water, and being constantly worried about getting impaled by a sharp rock is not enjoyable, for me at least.  So given the choice, I was looking more towards the calm waters without the prison-shank rocks peaking out of the water like blood thirsty alligators.

Luckily for us, after inquiring with the lovely young lady in the gelato truck (I tried to find a link for her but was unable. We didn’t try any of the gelato ourselves, but the other tourists spoke very fondly of her craft. So I will recommend her nonetheless) she told us the place we were looking for was on the calmer side. She said her brother has been surfing there for years, and that was plenty good enough for me.

So we went back to the parking lot to get our gear and descend the, exactly, 100 stairs to our newly found destination. While unpacking in the lot, a van rolled up and the man inside told us that we were in the wrong spot and that we should be down in California catching the big waves. He was basing this on the fact that both Shannon and are sporting Gun short-boards. We informed him that our boards were in no way a reflection of our surfing style or ability, but instead a symbol of our mutual love for a great deal.

One lazy Sunday while sitting on the couch at home we were looking for something to do. We decided at that moment that we were tired of renting surf equipment every time we went on a surf trip. We were tired of feeling the guilt associated with peeing in rented wet suits. You are always hoping they didn’t have some special way of knowing that you are treating their equipment like your own personal latrine. So to fix this problem we made the decision to get our own gear. After a few hours of scouring Craigslist for boards we found a few winners, which, if I do say so, was pretty impressive given that we live in Vancouver, not a place you would expect to find a sizable market place for surfboards (not paddleboards). I was able to buy mine for a cool $80, down from the asking price of $100. Shannon not one to be out done tried to go for $75 down from $125, which I thought was a bit sad since it was from a girl that needed to sell a custom board that she had made for her while living in California. She was not able to take it home with her to Japan but still wanted to get a decent price. But there is no place in a haggling battle for compassion. Much to our chagrin, both being competitive people, she was only able to work her way down to an $80 price tag. So we ended up in a tie but as Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett once said “If a tie is like kissing your sister. Losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out” so I guess a tie is not so bad lol. So long story short the guy learned that we were not big wave surfers, but rather two competitive deal chasers who are willing to learn to surf on difficult boards all in the name of good value.

Once down the stairs and on the beach and were pleasantly surprised with the lack of wind and general coldness. We discovered that for similar reasons to why the other side was choppy and grim, this side was sheltered and calm. Very nice surprise J We set up our sun/wind tent, cracked a few drinks and dove head first into.....the chips and salsa....not the frigid ocean, not yet. It was nice to enjoy a little bit of sunshine and warmth after the inhospitable conditions at the view point. This warmth was short lived however, the clouds rolled in once again and didn’t break much for the rest of the day. It didn’t seem to save my face from the being sun kissed, or should I say sun molested. I was quite red for the next few days.

So a few words on the surfing itself, the water was icy cold, the wind as well, and the two maybe for an impressive tag team. I want to be clear once again that I am not some kind of wimp. I am not complaining about the cold, I am clothed in a thick rubbery wetsuit and booties well equipped to guard against the harsh conditions. I am more so attempting to paint an accurate picture for anyone who might be mistakenly thinking of the type of surfing as the type they do in tropical settings. Not the case, these conditions will result in numb hands and numb faces. These conditions are by no means intolerable, just a trait to be aware of while surfing in the Northwest. I am glad to say that I was not the only one out in the water on this occasion. It was nice to have some confirmation that I was in the right place. I was 1 of only maybe 8-10 that actually made it out with their boards and 1 of 5 that stayed out for any extensive period of time. Most of the others we armoured with hoods and gloves in addition to their wetsuits and booties. They were in full on seal mode (#sealmode) J

The waves were inconsistent at best. I tried on several occasions to get out in attempt to catch the big waves. These attempts ended with me doing a lot of waiting and a lot of travelling down the beach, carried by the current. After learning that this was not a great strategy I kept to the shallower water, where I could still stand and was rewarded for my efforts. I will not say it was an amazing day to surf, the surfing population in the water was witness to that, but I was able to catch a few nice waves, and a few of those had enough power to give me a decent ride. One of the best of the day happened right as Shannon was making her way back to shore. After the wave died I popped out of the water hoping that Shannon had seen, what I judged to be, an impressive ride. It turns out she was about as aware of my ride as I was of my board shooting out of the water and smacking me in the head, cracking me teeth together. It is a very strange feeling to be blindsided like that, having no time to prepare of protect yourself. You are left stunned and confused for a minute before you can even begin to think of what it could have been. I was rewarded for my ride with a medal of honor, expressed as a red lump on my forehead. But it was worth it! I was not to proud of my medal and continually tried to numb it in the freezing cold water, which did work, but was painful in a different kind of way, like the ALS ice bucket (#icebucketchallenge) challenge in reverse (http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html). I will admit I am being overly dramatic but only because it allows me to be creative in my metaphors J.

A combination of the wind, the lack of sun, numb face/hands, and a dry beer supply all came together to signal us that it was time to call it a day. As fun as surfing and beaching are it is hard to resist the pull of baked brie. We had dinner plans that made it an easy choice to head back to camp. Our menu included Riesling white wine, baked brie, ciabatta bread, and an array of meats. We had no definitive plan on how we were going to heat the bread or bake the cheese but we had an optimistic attitude and a deep hunger, two things that made sure everything would work out great....and it did J Impressively well in fact. It was a very memorable first attempt and one that I have no doubt will be attempted many more times in the future.

After we absolutely stuffed ourselves to the point of bursting, we got to work cleaning up the campsite and packing what we could. We knew what we would have to leave early the next morning in order to get back home in time for a make-up baseball game of mine that had been rescheduled on a weeknight. Not ideal but doable. We just had to wake up at 4 am to make it happen. There was very little of this trip that was consistent with the ways we usually planned so it seemed a fitting way to end this one.

Once we packed all that we could, we were able to settle in and enjoy the monstrous fire we had built to burn all of our remaining wood. It did not take long for our eyelids to start drooping. The combination of having spent bodies from two days of surfing and the looming early wake-up call for the next morning was enough to have us unintentionally counting the proverbial sheep in our heads. Shannon bowed out first and I was soon to follow after dousing what remained of the fire. The car was packed, the alarm was set, and out we went, like puppies after a romp.

Day 4 is complete J

Day 3 – Splitting for the Coast

So day three of the trip, we started off the day with a bit of a lazy morning. Camp-fire cooked bacon, eggs, and hash browns for breakfast followed by some lazy time soaking up some sun down by the river. While sunning ourselves down by the water we came upon the same idea that most people do, at least once, in their lifetime....we need to buy a bar!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dsjWRinnVs) But instead of buying a bar, we came up with ideas on how we would start our own growler fill-up station. From that point on ideas were cascading down, out of our minds, like Niagara Falls. Some good, some bad but most were great and some were awesome! Add it to the checklist of things to do. This blog is named “Living your Dream, whatever it might be!” and if you want to own a growler fill up station I don’t see any reason why not! Keep a look out for us. I will not go into any more detail about it because our business name and our business plan are epic and they will be released when the time is right *wink wink.

Once we were able to come back to reality after spending some time on Fantasy Island (http://www.moviefanatic.com/quotes/are-you-seeing-planes-is-your-name-tattoo-because-i-swear-to-go/), living our lives as the World’s Greatest Growler Fill-up Station Owners, it was time to pack up and head out....we had missed out check out time anyway...good reason to leave I think.

Our next stop was the Oregon Coast, to do some surfing! Or at least go out into the water with a board and pretend to be surfing. Once in the car we solicited the knowledge of our trustee GPS to tell us where to go next. Once our plan was brought to life right before our eyes, as the GPS systems are renown for doing, we realized that in looking for a campsite the day before we ended up doing a big circle and somehow ending up further away from the coast then we had while doing our time in Portland. Not ideal, in the day-to-day definition of the word, but we would not have had the great day we had the day before if we had not ventured in that direction. Once we had regained our bearings we headed due west for the next leg of our journey.

The temperature dropped significantly as we approached the coast. It was not unexpected as I had heard time and time again that it is windy and cold. I have known of two people who have lost tents to the strong winds of Cannon Beach and we didn’t expect much different at Beverly Beach, just a bit south from there. The drive along the coast was beautiful. Oregon, in my opinion, is just bursting with character and the coastal cities spoke true to that opinion. All sorts of eye-catching signs to reel in the tourist, not necessarily my kind of thing (let’s be honest, thoughts of surfing took up the majority of my brain, leaving little room for anything else) but I can see the draw. The weather was clear and the view was one to be remembered. I could feel the excitement start to build. It had been almost a full year since the last time I was surfing, far too long and I was jonesing to get out there and shred! I could see the waves breaking onto the beach to our right, as we turned left into our campsite, our home for the next couple of days.

After having the air-conditioning blasting most of the trip it was a bit of a surprise to leave the car and feel colder than we had in the car. We went from cooling ourselves with icy pints of beer, to warming ourselves with a lunch of wonton soup. Word to the wise, as quick and easy as it is to make the wonton soup from Trader Joe’s, remember to add water...the only instruction other than to heat it up. Though it was palatable on its own, one cannot stray from the thought of how much better it would have been if made correctly. Much little Peter Griffin who had thought dogs laid eggs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7obgSCc7zC0), we learned something today J.

Following our warm lunch, we bundled up (sunny but the wind cooled you down quick) and headed to the beach on foot. This was a nice feature for us since most surf trips rely on us to drive to the specific area of the coast that is conducive to surfing. This also limits one of us in our ability to join in on the beer consumption that goes hand-in-hand with surfing. Not that I support excessive drinking before swimming out into the ocean, I do not, because that would be irresponsible. Irresponsible not only for me to suggest such a thing, but irresponsible for anyone that thought that was a good recommendation. Everything in moderation J. But it is nice to indulge without the worry of having to drive home. Walking to the beach does come with a cost though. It is never a short walk no matter what it may look like. But we are young fit people so we do not complain...much. Our surfboards are light, which is good, but they are also easily victimized by the wind, which is not. However, when the sun is shining, you have a cooler full of good food and drinks and you are on vacation, any small convenience is easily forgotten. How aggravated could someone be when they are going surfing! Wooohoooo!!

The biggest issue I face when surfing is finding the best place to do it. It’s one thing to do your research and seek out the right spot before you leave but you can get confused and disoriented quite quickly when you are the only one out in the water. Am I in the right place? Why is there no one else out here? Is it because the conditions are bad today? Is it because the conditions are bad always? Is it even safe to surf here? Are their sharks? Is this where the Ogopogo spends his vacation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogopogo)? All these things shoot through you mind all at once. How do I cope? Well I follow the “just surf” rule. The rule is that if you are at the beach and you see waves breaking, than just surf. Doesn’t really matter if the waves are big or small, choppy or clean, consistent or sporadic, just surf. In following this rule I have made the best of some not so ideal surfing conditions. When you travel hundreds of miles to ride the waves you are going to give it a shot even if you’re the only one out there. You don’t have the luxury to wait for a better day.

Did I catch any great big waves? No, not really. Did I have the ride of my life? No, far from it. Did I enjoy the absolute hell out of the day? You’re damn right I did. The ocean is my “happy place.” Sure I don’t have girls walking around in lingerie holding pitchers of beer, or grandmas hitting the jackpot on slot machines, like Happy Gilmore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z5qpyxRR-A), but it does the trick. Shannon and I had a great time sipping some ice cold beer, getting some sun color and enjoying life.

As the day light started to dissipate, or hunger did the opposite, so we decided to head back to camp for a candle light dinner of lamb meatballs and pasta with truffle sauce.....and of course some wine. Another tips for shopping at Trader Joe’s, be portion aware. If you have a healthy post-surf appetite, like myself, one bag of pasta for two people is just not enough. Delicious, yes, but not large enough to satisfy my calorie replenishment needs.

So after a long day or driving, surfing, and fun it was time to build us a nice big fire and relax our way through the rest of the evening. The big fat fire was a must because unlike our last campsite we needed it for the heat and not just the ambiance. So once we had it going well enough to keep us nice and toasty, we just sat back and enjoyed a couple choice beverages and some qualities tunes.....and a little bit of drama from our camping neighbors.

When our neighbors arrived there was one woman that, no sooner had they arrived and started setting up camp, started asking where her medication was, and why she didn’t have a glass of wine in her hand. Fast-forward several hours and I can only imagine several more glasses of wine to occupy her time, she says something that upsets her daughter, causing the daughter to retreat to the hammock for a good cry. The dad comes over to try and settle things, and he seems to be doing a descent job, up until the mom stumbles over and tries to slur her way through an explanation. In the process she becomes wise to the fact that it was not just something she had said to her daughter, but it also included a comment made by a young boy that was amongst the group of campers. So she drags this kid over saying “don’t worry you’re not in trouble, we just want to know what you said.” He, wisely, is hesitant knowing the chances are slim that if he admits what he said to hurt the daughters feeling, he most likely will get in trouble despite her assurances to the contrary. As entertaining as it was, my synopsis of the situation was that the boy was cruel, saying what he did, the mom made things worse with what she had said, and the girl was right to be upset. Kids will be kids, and unfortunately that means they are inappropriate from time to time. It’s not an excuse but it is more or less expected. But adults should not being getting loaded in situations where they are interacting with kids. Kids do not need to be witness to their parents being incoherently drunk. How can you respect them the next day when they act like everything is ok because they don’t remember anything from the night before? Adults at least understand why this would be the case, kids, I imagine, would just be confused.

It was an interesting end to an interesting and fun day! First day on the Oregon coast gets an 11/10!!

Day 2-No plan? No problem

It is a liberating feeling to wake up in the morning and have no plans, aside from seeking adventure. Most days you wake up knowing what it is that you have to do, or on those special occasions knowing you don’t have to do anything but you have a list of things you want to do. Well, this day was planned specifically to be adventurous and go in whatever direction we felt compelled to go.

It started off waking up on our own time, not going to let an alarm clock tell me what to do! My wife headed off to the shower and I was left with a predicament, what do I do while I wait for her.....then it came to me! We still had a mostly full box of “happiness” from Voodoo donuts. What was I thinking when I said “we should probably only buy two each”? Glad Shannon talked me out of that one J So I feasted! Since I didn’t want Shannon to see me face deep in the box looking like a pig in a slop bucket, I decided to be civil and contain myself best that I could. By the time she came back the box was neatly shut and carefully placed back where we had left it last night. But there was no fooling her, she knew I had been into the goods and not just because our bed was littered with sprinkles and icing sugar.....she knew even before she saw the incriminating evidence. There is no fooling her after being together for almost 7 years. I knew that she would know, and I knew that she would have done the same and she did. Didn’t take her long at all before she was “sampling” again....and that was our breakfast!

After breakfast we made our way down to the much anticipated salt pool. I do not know if all the McMenamin’s establishments have them, but I loved the one in Edgefield (http://www.mcmenamins.com/877-edgefield-ruby-s-spa-soaking-pool) and was looking forward to seeing the one in the Crystal Hotel. It was definitely different but I enjoyed it just as much. The room itself is located below the street level outside, which seemed fitting given Portland’s history and the labyrinth of tunnels the run beneath the downtown core (http://www.travelcreepster.com/shanghai-tunnels.html#.U-0WYeNdVuB). The walls we lined with bamboo shoots and salt water was continually flowing out of two giant, pipe-like faucets creating a Zen-like atmosphere driving home the point that this place is to relax. So not feeling too rebellious that morning, we conceded the point and slipped into “just right” water while simultaneously slipping into a mind-freeing state of relaxation. With no timeline to stick to, we were in no hurry to move anywhere quick. After a rejuvenating soak (remember we had a late night of drinking and eating last night) we decided to piece together a set of guidelines for the day ahead. The musts were, to replace the priceless sandals (a whole Canadian dollar from Old Navy) that were unintentionally ditched at the gas station, find a place to camp for the night, and enjoy the hell out of the rest of the day. Sounds like a good plan to me!

So we checked out of the hotel, took our stuff to the car and set about on an unofficial walking tour of downtown Portland! We started with a stop in at Whole Foods (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/pearl) for some drinks and snacks. Usually, I am not one to seek out such stores. I enjoy eating healthy and taking care of my body but sometimes I find those places a bit over the top. Well I was both surprised and not surprised. Whole Foods was 100% over the top, just as I suspected, however it was awesome! A bit pricey, but awesome, nonetheless. In my experience, up until that point, if a store happened to carry drinks like kombucha or yerba mate tea, the selection would not provide you with much choice. Whole Foods was quite the opposite, it gave me so much choice that I almost walked out overwhelmed and empty handed. I decided on a bottle of Guayaki Yerba Mate (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/guayak%C3%AD-yerba-mate-helps-ache-tribe). Delicious and refreshing! I love to drink yerba mate, not so much for the taste but for the health benefits. It never occurred to me that it could be tasty too J

So with drinks in hand we were on our way. The thing about going on a walking tour with no real intentions is that 100% of the time you end up in a place you didn’t intend to go to, hence the no plans part of the equation J Sometimes this works out great, and you find gems that you didn’t even know existed. Other times you end up in the hood, the “rough” part of town. This is what happened to us. There were no real consequences other than seeing a man wearing a hooded, skin tight, half unzipped, tiger-striped onesy, but it was not the area most tourists would be drawn to. But we intended on having an adventure, and that is exactly what happened.

Then we decided to head back to the downtown core in search of lunch. There are soooo many different, and oh-so unique, places to choose from, but we remembered that last night we had made tentative plans to try the place across from our hotel, Jake’s Famous Crawfish (http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/locations/portland-oregon/portland-oregon/sw12thave.aspx). Grabbing ourselves a prime, street-side, table we went to work navigating our way through the always impressing beer list of Portland restaurants, and the food menu packed with the wide variety of seafood (and more) dishes that made Jake’s famous. Unable to find a definitive answer to what we wanted, we inquired with the waitress what she recommended. Having seen this same strategy used by friends in the past as a weak pick up line, I was a bit hesitant to ask (my wife was right beside me, how awkward would that have been lol). But I was glad that I did because the appetizer we chose was not on the menu. Simple but delicious is how I would describe the deep fried crawfish with red wine aioli. It was a great side dish for the seafood alfredo that we chose to share. Some places in my experience have not allowed you to share a main dish, but not only did the waitress at Jake’s allow us to, she also asked if we would like it in separate bowls...yes please, is what I say to that J My final word on Jake’s; enjoyable staff (our waitress forgot our beers but made up for it with a sincere apology and great all-around service), amazingly tender scallops and gooey cheese all working together to make a memorable seafood alfredo, central location, and a positive experience worth sharing with friends (and stranger reading my blog!). I would absolutely recommend it!

With our whistles wet and our stomachs full of top notch grub it was time to check some items of our list. Our next mission was to find the Old Navy in Beaverton. A short drive to the west in the, oh so thankfully, air conditioned car (his name is Zooms Z. McGee) and we reached our destination...Beaverton that is...we never did find that Old Navy. But what we missed at Old Navy we made up for at Fred Myer. Huge store, impressive selection and more name brands than expected. Shannon was not able to replace her lost sandals with another pair from Old Navy but was able to find a steal of a deal on a pair of green and yellow Oregon ducks flip flops! Go Ducks! Very stylish (at least they were until they got wet for the first time and all the design rubbed off....so that’s why they cost $3). But what she lost in sandal quality she made up tenfold when she found a replacement for a pair of shoes she loved and lost years back. It’s was good day J

Then it was off to Trader Joe’s (http://www.traderjoes.com/) the place Vancouverites love so much they needed one of their own (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/pirate-joes-vancouver) or at least something that closely resembled it.... Well Shannon and I are no different, we love us some Trader Joe’s. Healthy food at a reasonable price = not having to tell yourself “no” when you see something that looks delicious, such as the chocolate coated, peanut butter filled pretzels. Do not leave without at least two bags! One bag is not enough, and you will regret not getting more....much like we did on the second night of camping L Shannon, in particular, love Trader Joe’s so much that she will get upset with me for exploring the frozen food aisle without her. It is something we are supposed to “experience” together.

We spent more time than we should have exploring all of what Joe’s has to offer (a list to save me the trouble: http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/reasons-trader-joes-is-the-best#32sth76) but it does not stop at the food....the liquor section is second to none. Sure they are not the Kings in an area nicknamed Beervana but for the price you pay and the quality you receive with the store brand beer and wine, you won’t be complaining. The smile on your face would give you way even if you tried.

After finishing our shopping it was off to find a place to camp for the night. With no reservation or really any idea of where to go, we left it up to the GPS to find us a place. At one point I just about made an executive decision to follow a highway exit sign but in the end it was to our benefit that I did not. Instead we followed the map to an area called Oxbow Lake and along the way we have the honor and the privilege to patron a grocery store/BBQ stand/growler fill up station/outdoor beer garden called Bigfoot Growlers (https://www.facebook.com/Bigfootgrowlers). I was blown away! I have dreamed of such a place for years! When craft breweries and tasting rooms started to become popular I enjoyed them, but kept thinking these places could be better. What would make it better? Well a grocery store/BBQ stand and beer garden is a damn good start. Those might not be my first choices if I had a place of my own, but they would be in the top 5, I can tell you that!

How was our experience there? Awesome! Awesome beer, awesome selection, awesome people, awesome atmosphere....awesome across the board! We loved it and highly recommend it! Would have loved to try all the different types of beer, but that is just not possible when you are the one driving. Enjoy responsibly J

Now to find a campsite! Not too hard. Followed the GPS to the Oxbow site, no problem there. Not having any sites available....well...that is a problem but not unforeseen. “Did you book a site?” Sure didn’t. But we needed somewhere to sleep so we tried the next one on the map. It was a long, out of the way drive, so successfully finding a site was the only option. We arrived to find 2 spots left, one for us and one for the people that arrived 5 minutes after us. Cash only for the campsite, no problem. You don’t have any change....oh. People taking the last site are headed into town to buy supplies and will get change then. Idea! What if we pay for your site and you pay us back with the change you get in town? Excellent! Pleasure doing business with ya J

With all the kinks worked out we were “happy campers”J We had our site, our firewood and a nice river to cool off beside. Life was good. No better time to crack a cold one and enjoy the evening. BUT.....this site is an alcohol free campsite....WHAT?!?! I didn’t even believe such a thing could exist (that is actually a lie, Jones Lake just outside of Hope, BC is another). We chose to interpret that rule as “discreet drinking only” and enjoyed an afternoon beside the river and an evening around the fire. Wine in coffee mugs, fire-cooked short ribs on our plates, and big fat stupid smiles on our faces.

Life was good!

Portland the city of dreams?!

BC Day Weekend in Oregon

The anticipation had been building all week. Work seemed less important and more of an obstacle. The countdown to Oregon was on. We had Oregon fever. The only thing left between us and the excitement of the road trip ahead was several mindless hours of work. I speak on the behalf on my gorgeous wife Shannon, and not myself. I know she was working as hard as usual, but I also know that she wanted to be busted out as soon as humanly possible. I, on the other hand, had the luxury of “working from home.” Though the work I was doing at home would not be considered productive in the mind of my Director, it served a purpose. It allowed us to break free at the soonest moment. I packed the car and got everything ready so, when the time was right, I could jailbreak my darling and head straight for our destination. At 4:30 I was there waiting with the car packed full of supplies and big ol’ smile on my face. As soon as I saw Shannon walk out the side door the fist-pumps started....”Oregon, Oregon, Oregon!!”

So we were off. We both placed our orders to the Universe for an arrival time of 10:30pm. It was a bit ambitious, I admit, fully realizing that our last trip to Portland took almost 9 hours. But we did not let that deter us. We were feeling good already, and had plans to feel great! With our order placed and nothing but positive energy coursing through our veins, we were ready for an adventure. As far as adventures go, it was not so much the destination itself that made it an adventure, but rather the fact that this was our first trip as a couple where we did not have a hard time line to stick to. Shannon has a talent for planning. She has planned many great trips for us in the past, but this time we wanted to try something different. Let the universe guide us and see what interesting experiences would come as a result. We were ready for anything!

I will not bore you with the details of our drive down but I will share the highlights during our 6 hour drive. I think the best part was the sandwiches the Shannon had picked up from Big Lou’s Butcher Shop on Powell Street. BBQ pulled pork and bulgogi chicken were on the menu. We shared one in line at the Peace Portal border crossing and another at the half way point of our drive just past Seattle....it was good motivation to get there as quick as possible. Hard to pick a favourite, they were both rewardingly tasty. Aside from that it was mostly good music (Bang Bang from Will.i.am and Back to Black from Beyonce and Andre 3000 from the Great Gatsby soundtrack were the theme songs of the trip), lovely scenery, thought-provoking conversation, and traffic that was smooth, smooth, smooth! Nothing better on a road trip that making good time, a sentiment that I share with George Constanza, as seen in the Bubble-Boy episode when he loses Jerry early on in the trip to the cabin (http://www.tv.com/m/shows/seinfeld/the-bubble-boy-2287/trivia/). There was a little bit of excitement when we tried to squeeze every last drop out of our fuel tank trying to make it into Oregon where we assumed the gas was cheaper since they do not have sales tax (neither of us have any evidence this is true). We didn’t end up making it...but Shannon did manage to leave her only pair of sandals for the trip next to the car as we pulled out to complete what was left of our trip into Portland on schedule. After a lengthy discussion that spanned the rest of trip neither of us could figure out why or how that could have happened. It did make for an interesting outfit while checking into our hotel later. At the gas station she had changed into a more comfortable and stylish sun dress to look her best as we rolled into the City of Roses. However, the whole tone was affected when she realized the only foot wear she has to fashion were a pair of hiking shoes. Not the sort of first impression she was looking to make as we blew into the city.

As the clock hands made their way to the 10:30pm position we rolled up to our hotel. A short wait at the border, very little slow down outside Seattle, and only a small delay going through Tacoma. All things worked out for a perfect arrival time. We are off to a fantastic start! Then with a little “sight-seeing” aka learning how to navigate the one-way streets to get us to the destination we just missed on our first pass. But hey we are tourist after all; why not take the opportunity to explore right?! We arrived at the Crystal Ball room, mistaking it for the Crystal Hotel. Not where we wanted to be but we got our first glimpse into the party life of the city. I parked behind a Party Bus Limo fun of girls out on a Stagette. One girl was trying to rock climb the brick wall, one girl was lying on the sidewalk and several girls and the driver were trying to convince them to get back in the limo. It was 10:30; the night was still young though it appears they had already had a lot of “fun” with the promise of more to come. As tempted as I was to try and tag along, being someone who loves to have fun, I realized leaving the car parked illegally with my wife desperately trying to find out hotel would be crossing the line of spontaneous to reckless and irresponsible. Not how I wanted to start my long weekend, though the pull was strong.

After our “sightseeing” we located and checked into our room at McMenamins Crystal Ball Room (http://www.mcmenamins.com/CrystalHotel/Location) across from archaic, but deservingly popular, Jake’s Famous Crawfish (http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/locations/portland-oregon/portland-oregon/sw12thave.aspx). We already had somewhat of an idea of what to expect, since we have visited another one of the McMenamin brother’s spots in Edgefield, and we were not disappointed. The Crystal Ballroom though significantly smaller, had the same unique flair and atmosphere that I have learned to expect at a McMenamin’s location. Being in the city the Crystal Hotel cannot offer the same amenities as in Edgefield, but the proximity to downtown allows the guests the opportunity to experience the unmatched charm the McMenamin’s locations are known for, with the added benefit of easy access to downtown Rip City. There is so much great beer flooding the street of downtown it would be a shame to spend too much time in one single location. The McMenamin’s beer, served exclusively at McMenamin’s establishments, is right up there with my top choices in Portland but you never know what that brew pub down the street has just come out with. In the words of Frank the Tank in Old School “We were out at the Olive Garden for dinner, which was lovely. And, uh, I happen to look over at a certain point during the meal and see a waitress taking an order, and I found myself wondering what color her underpants might be. Her panties. Uh, odds are they are probably basic white, cotton, underpants. But I sort of think, well, maybe they're silk panties, maybe it's a thong. Maybe it's something really cool that I don't even know about.” As much as you love IPA’s (and Oregon is certainly the place to go if you do) do you want to risk missing out on that really cool beer that you didn’t even know about?! Not me, not ever!

The rooms at the Crystal Hotel were designed in a similar way to the rooms in Edgefield but did not fail to impress with their art work. The theme of the hotel is based upon the famous musicians that have played in the Crystal Ballroom (our first stop while trying to find the hotel). Each room has its own sub-theme based around famous song lyrics. Ours was “You keep on knocking but you can’t come in” from Little Richard. On his own I believe that Little Richard does an outstanding job exuding personality but seeing the caricature of him drawn on the wall of my hotel room made my experience that much more special. One thing worth mentioning is, because of the interesting choice of locations that the McMenamin’s use for their hotels it is not always possibly to have a bathroom within your hotel room. Though, this threw me a bit on my first visit, I soon realized it was a minor detail and did little to affect my overall opinion of my stay. If anything I think it added to my experience as it seemed to fit with the themes that make each location attractive to the guests seeking a new take on hotel travelling. So I knew what to expect when we arrived, though I was pleasantly surprised to have a private sink in our room. Nice touch!

Well, enough about the hotel. We didn’t travel all the way to spend our time cooped up in a hotel room, though I did want to give an honorable mention to the check in staff at the hotel. They were pleasantly quirky, very helpful, and a pleasure to interact with. Dealing with unfriendly hotel staff can sometimes put a damper on the trip right from the get go, but on the flip-side, awesome hotel staff heighten your expectations and get your mind in the right place to have fun.

So after getting settled in and such, it was already past 11:00pm. This does not seem late. In many places in the world 11:00 is considered the start of the night life. In Korea, bars are open all night, so if you are getting crazy at 11pm you better have endurance or you will miss the best part of the night passed out in the corner of the bar. However, in Portland, even on a Friday night, places are starting to slow down around 12. Some places stay open until 2 am but not all. Imagine our disappointment when we find out after we have been salivating over all the beer we want to sample off the menu only to find out that we missed last call…..come on! I realize that I need to love Portland for what it is and not what I think it should be, but it seems like such a shame to have so many bars and restaurants around the city close down before the fun even really starts. Vancouver is slowly changing their out of date liquor laws, so fingers crossed Portland will jump on that band wagon. So much awesome beer to drink and a limited time to do it! This is not to say that we did not get a fair chance to sample. Our first stop was Henry’s Tavern (http://henrystavern.com/). While there, we enjoyed a number of beers from their wide selection and some wings from the happy hour appetizer menu. Then we made a break for the well-know Rogue Distillery and Public House. Upon arrival we picked out two winners from the menu, one of which was said to have been brewed from wild yeast found in some dude’s beard (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rogue-beard-beer/208151/). As disgusting as that sounds, I was intrigued. Being a fan and a user of the beard myself, I felt compelled to be open to anything beard related strictly for the sake of solidarity in the beard population. This was our first set back, after finding out we had just missed last call we were again on the hunt for our next beer. We found another place the just up the street that looked promising….well not promising but looked like we might be able to get at least one beer before last call. Again, no luck but he did point us in the direction of another place that he recommended. It turns out this was another dead end. We did not find the place he suggested. We found one of a similar name but did not seem to fit the description he had provided. “This place is pretty popular, normally has a good crowd on the weekend” he said. The place we found was a couple regulars away from completely empty, neither the type of place described nor the type of place we were looking to populate. So with time running out we headed back to the hotel bar. It turned out to be the perfect location to save the night. A plate of truffle fries, two ruby ales, and a Strawberry Basil Lemonade later we were content to comply with last call. No more beer to be served but we had our eyes on yet another indulgence….Voodoo Donuts (http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php).

 

Where does everyone go after a night of heavy drinking? Where does everyone who is not satisfied to call it a night at 2am go to next? Let’s just say it was not hard to find Voodoo donuts, just follow the stream of partiers. I have heard Voodoo donuts bragged about on more than a few occasions. I had heard of the crazy combinations and their scandalous bumper stickers saying “I got VD in Portland.” But I was not fully prepared for the sheer volume of flavors that they had available. When trying to decide how many to get and which flavors we wanted to try, we were in a state of panic. The line in front of us was getting increasing shorter and we were no closer to deciding our strategy. We ended up opting for a voodoo dozen picked by the worker. He told us he would pick the best ones, and he did not disappoint. I was a bit hesitant getting so many, not because I wasn’t excited to eat them all but more so out of fear that I would eat them all in a short period of time (no one wants day-olds, am I right?). But when the price is just over a dollar a donut I could not say no. How can you go wrong investing in donuts at least twice as good as Tim Horton’s at a lesser price? Well simple, you can’t! So once we were loaded up with 13 donuts it was time to head back to the hotel room to feast in bed. This is something that I would never allow in my house….never, never, never. The thought of it makes me skin crawl. But when on vacation in someone else’s bed, ain’t no stoppin’ me.

 

But we could not leave without at least sampling one each before the long (10 min lol) walk back. Well, one turned into two very quickly but no harm done. Once back in the hotel we got into our PJs, set up the tablet to watch Toy Story 3 and opened up the box of donuts for round 2. One recommendation I will provide, is to do like my wife suggested we do. Simple mathematics tells you that after a night of drinking and two donuts, you will not have much room left in your stomach to eat many more donuts, no matter how scrumptious they are. So as Shannon suggested we “sampled” all of the donuts. A bite here and a bite there and we were able to taste every donut at least once and still be able to get to sleep without a bloated feeling similar to Violet Beauregard from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We did not see much of the movie; instead we fell into a sugar induced coma, with visions of donuts twerking and pints of beer krumping to Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri’s “Welcome to Atlanta” in our heads.