Weekend In Vegas

I think I'm getting a little burned out on traveling. . . dear god did I just say that?! Honestly in the past 6 weeks, we have been in Portland, road-tripping Oregon, hitting NYC, doing the UCSF conference, Dia De Los Muertos, and now Vegas. Figure I'll feel this way for about a week and then want to plan something for New Years.

In the mean time, just got back from staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Vegas. Can't say enough about how absolutely fabulous this place was. I think its because they pump some sort of addictive element into the air system that makes you crave it. My dad had never been to Vegas, thus had to go and help show him a good time. We even made it out to Burgers and Bullets and got in some sniper action. I think the best part of Vegas was being able to spend some time with my dad.

Otherwise, not that big a fan of Vegas, however I think staying at a hotel that was smoke free made a huge difference.

Of note we did pass by a scene where a guy took a dump in the middle of the busy sidewalk - then we watched some poor bastard slip and go down on it . . . ahh culture.

My Cousin Vinny - Reception In New York

Bar hopping 9th Ave

Central Park - Urine smell much better!

I always get mixed feelings about going to New York. I spent a few years of my life growing up here and from what I can remember, NYC was always a place to visit but never to live. I think in retrospect it was the wrong time in my life to live here. I was in 5th grade and we were living in small roach invested apartment above a deli / convenience store. People in Queens seemed angry and always in a rush. Life seemed stressful.

Cat people at the Met

Pretty pictures!

Zoom to see the Cuneiform writing

I came back to visit my sister while she was going to Columbia and stayed with her at her dorm. Manhattan seemed to have more promise. I thought to myself, that perhaps this was probably the best time to be a New Yorker - living in a dorm, no major concerns for money, and time to really enjoy what the city offers.

Since that time, I've been back and forth to the city. Each time, there was a higher level of appreciation. Perhaps I was just letting the bad taste of my youth go. 

I think, this was my best trip to date. We stayed at a cutesy hotel called Ink48 in Hell's Kitchen. The view from the Press Club roof bar was memorable. I could easily spend a week at the Met. Getting a chance to see my sister is aways a plus. Whats more, I got a chance to see nearly my whole family. 

Hair Cut on 50th and 10th - Sorry Claris!

Michi and Oleg looking good!

Meooow!

 My Cousin Vinny and his Fiancee Geena were getting engaged. My mom, aunt and 200+ members of the family were in attendance. Couldn't help but thinking this was the same kid I played with in Kindergarden and traveled to Austria when I was 10. I'm glad Vinney could forgive me for all the times I would get him into trouble as a kid. I think he has met his match with Geena. The girl was exceptional and we got in a few words of conversation. I'm looking forward to double dates with these two in the future.

Vinny and Geena cutting the cake

The fam in rare form

My camera was acting up - I think the poor thing was falling apart - hence the fuzzy photos. 

Cousin Daisy feeding Lilly

Mom still knows how to party

Looking good

 I wish this photo has come out better. Alas, this fuzzy mile stone is all I have. I'll probably have to steal a few photo's from Geena's Facebook account.

Well we busted a tire on the ride back from the reception. We cranked the stereo and danced as we took turns fixing the wheel at 1 in the morning.

The highway was still busy. We were tired, but even this setback didn't diminish my mood. Overall, I think this was one of my best trips to NYC . . . if not in general.

To Vinny and Geena, many happy returns!

  

The Road Home From Portlandia - Day 8

 We awoke on a rainy overcast day to walk to the Saturday Market in Portland. The mix of people milling about and getting in some early morning food was a sight. I spent time watching a man play a reggie tune on a Jamaican Drum under an umbrella as Maria went shopping for a new hat. People just seemed to take it in stride and didn't care that the weather was miserable.

 After getting in some breakfast and making for the highway, we got on the I-84 heading to the East. Apparently some freakish storm was coming in and we needed to make for the Columbia River Gorge. If one looks on Google earth, you can see that east of the Portland lies the Cascade Range - of which Mt. Hood is a part of. East of this line, the land looses its forests in favor of steppe and then desert. In theory a good line of protection from any incoming storm.

 The Gorge is beautiful. The tributaries and waterfalls were raging with the incoming rain. A soft quite mist and low laying clouds gently caressed the shear high walls of the canyon. We made our way to Multnomah Falls where a stone house served as a way station to get food and strong coffee. I couldn't help but think how much I liked the idea that 30 minutes from Portland was this wilderness oasis. Reminded me of San Francisco in that extent - that one can be downtown and drive 30 minutes to be in the woods.

 Just 30 minutes down the road we got into Hood River, OR. I think next time, I'm going to plan to spend a few nights here. It would make a perfect jump point to the mountain trails of Mt Hood and the River Gorge. Its also a surprisingly hip little town with a multitude of galleries, restaurants, and a wine bar converted from a gas station. After walking about, we got to the Hood River Hotel - though, we didn't stay the night, I think I'd pick this as my place to stay:

http://www.hoodriverhotel.com

 We then took the 35 highway up towards Mt. Hood. The weather was getting bad and the summit was blanketed by dark clouds. We did manage to stop and get in a hike to Tamanawas Falls. Its about a 2 hour hike up and down some jagged rocks at one point. Well worth it.

 We were hoping to get in Trillium Lake - but the weather was getting really bad and so we got back on the 35 and took it to the 26 towards Madras and Bend Oregon. The scenery changes at the drop of a hat. Tall ever green trees give way to an almost (in comparison) barren landscape of scrub brush and high desert fauna.

 We did manage to escape the brunt of the bad weather. As we headed south we actually managed to get in some sun light and had a reasonable time in Bend and then at Sun River. However, time was limited and our last night we spent in Ashland Or.

 Ashland is where the Shakespeare festival is. Again, a small trendy town with a host of restaurants. We stayed at the Springs hotel - which is the tallest building in town at a whopping 9 stories. I actually wouldn't recommend this place. Snobby, overrated, and overpriced quickly come to mind. Some of the motels - especially the one near the high school were very reasonable.

That said, we made back to bay. As always, it is good being back home. 

Portlandia - Day 6

 We got into Portland pretty late. Its strange coming in from the coast. You have these small towns that have only a few main avenues and then all of a sudden you are back into a large urban center. The road it took us past rolling hills with a variety of wineries and bedroom communities. You had the usual entourage of strip malls and neon decorated name brands. These gave way to the high rises of Portland itself.

 It was a little different that what I remembered from last time. I was in a hurry last time to get up to Vancouver B.C. Portland was a rest stop for Maria and my friend from school - Ben. We stayed in a hotel on the edge of town and never got a chance to stay long. That was a mistake.

Portland is awesome. Not because it is the biggest city or has the most interesting sites. Its not the most historical or the most beautiful. But it is one of the weirdest.

The people seem to not care about what other's perception are. They just want to exist and explore that which interests them. I think, perhaps, there are lessons to be learned here.

We met up with Kristina - she had been to this neck of the woods before. She took us to a restaurant called Natural Selection on a really hip street called Alberta. I'd recommend this to anyone.

http://www.naturalselectionpdx.com

Portland has an amazing selection of food. The next night we hit up a place called Sauce Box

http://www.saucebox.com

What really sealed the deal of this city was a book store called "Powell's". I love this place. Kristina said it best - a real Mecca of the city. Everyone is out and about looking up books. I was in heaven.

http://www.powells.com

Bottom line - Portland is my new Vegas. This place is way too cool to be missed. Shitty weather aside I'm coming back.

The Road To Portlandia - Day 4

Day 2 - we crossed the border into Oregon along the 101. There was a sign welcoming us into the state - but we kinda missed it. It was surrounded by brush and trees and there was a line of our fellow tourists waiting to get their photo taken near it. We bravely pushed on about a mile to the tourist welcome center. It seemed as if some higher power had noted our crossing and had pushed the switch to change to weather from 65 bright sunny and prefect to 50 overcast rainy and sad. 

It seems as if southwestern Oregon has been hit hard by the economic downturn. We passed village after shit hole village that had one or two points of interest, but overall just ruin. Images from Breaking Bad came to mind and warnings from my friends back home that lived in Oregon came readily to mind. This was truly the land of meth. Or at least the dramatization of thee above.

The milage according to google was only 40 miles to our next destination - how could that possibly take 2 hours?! Then I understood. The road is schizophrenic. It goes from a regular highway to a rural road and then everything in between. Along the way the speed limit changes at the drop of the hat. From my training in the rural midwest, this meant speed traps. Places where the local economy was support by ticketing poor unfortunate bastards who were not able to bring their cars from 65 to 35 in the 10 seconds allotted.

But, I guess there is a reason for all these changes. The 35 MPH limit makes one come down to a crawl and see all that the locals have to offer. There are tourist traps like to others! Fossil stops, sea lion stops, helicopter ride stops, and the near ubiquitous statues of big foot. Alas, we were on a budget and we had to get in some good time an mileage.

We had it in mind to make it to the dunes. The area begins near an industrial city named Coos Bay and goes up all the way to a town called Florence. Coos bay still retains all of its industrial feel. There are house that look like they have been abandoned and buildings that are boarded up. We pushed on. We got to Reedsport - which is in the middle of the sand dunes. Torrential rains prevented us from doing anything other than bedding down for the night. We did go to a local restaurant called Harbor's Light which was quite impressive however.

We got in some good sleep at the Best Western. The next day the weather changed and it was suddenly spectacular and beautiful again! We headed for the sand dunes. We had the entire beach as far as the eye could see to ourselves. I can't explain how good this was. Its one of those things you just need to explore. I'll shut up now and just let you look at our pics.

Ok back again. Something happens when one enters Florence, OR. The sense of urban decay and death disappears. We no longer feel like we are in the land of Meth. The cities are cute with historial city centers. The shady motel is replaced with the local chamber of commerce tourist info center. Florence leads the way. We wandered the old city and got in some amazing coffee at the local grind. The city straddles some of the last set of dunes and this is a great place to get cheap gas.

We made it a bit past the town and kept heading north. We made it to the Heceta Lighthouse. We made it in the middle of fly mating season. The place was just covered with them. We were feeling too well to let that slow us down.

Ok, so north of that is a place called Newport. We read about it in a travel magazine. It was heralded as one of the best beaches in Oregon. Granted, it was cute and the scenery was beautiful, but it was also kinda dead and a huge let down.

Well, it was getting late. We got back in the car and 3 hours later we were in Portland!!