Spring is good for good days.

I just returned from a weekend in Portland. I do loves me some Pacific Northwest. The weather was incredible -- sunny and 85-ish every day. You're not going to believe this but I really was hoping for some rain. When you live in LA it's normal to travel to other parts of the country just to experience the weather. I shouldn't complain though because the sunshine afforded us a good hike near the coast and running stairs up Mt. Tabor. I'll rewind:

On Friday I nearly missed my flight. Mercury in retrograde right now wreaks havoc on all things communication, travel, and electronics-related for the next few weeks. Mercury or no Mercury, leaving the office at 4:20 for a 5:20 flight is just dumb. I made it though and I'm pretty sure I can thank THIS group for my fortune. Upon arriving, Hav took me to Yohala for some insane Lebanese food. (Clarification: the adjective "insane" is meant to modify the noun "food.") I thought of Dre, who would have squealed with excitement at the $4.50 pricepoint for appetizers. She would have ordered one of everything because in LA $4.50 will buy you a glass of sparking water and she loves a good deal.

Saturday we got up and shopped. Sucks it, I know, but it's tax free and you can buy SmartWool socks for $6.00! I can't help myself. At least we finished by noon. In the evening we went to a cocktail party-kinda-thingy for a group of people who are climbing Mt. Adams in July. Hav is one of the crazies them. (Going to the bathroom on a target sounds awesome. It really does.) I met this really cool girl who's a neuroscientist which was great because I basically had a zillion questions for her. I felt like a 6-year old. After the party we headed to Pok Pok for dinner. You know what? I love Pok Pok. It just makes me happy. Everything I've ever had there is like weird AND brilliant.

Today we got up way too early to hike Saddle Mountain. It's a 6-mile trail that's supposed to take 4 hours. I'm no ninja and it took us less than 2. Which means that the guide book authors are probably using walkers. From the top you could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Jefferson. Kinda awesome. When we drove back into Portland from the west, Mt. Hood towered over the city like Godzilla over Tokyo. Except no one was running for cover. And Trog was missing.

I'm kinda over recounting the rest of the trip. I had fun. I got work done. I relaxed. During all the excitement, apparently I missed an earthquake here in LA. Next time.