I have been extremely busy for the past few weeks, but I finally have time to update my blog. Where do I begin? I must write about the awesome day trip I went with my friend, Jen, on June 9. It was my first time going somewhere other than restaurants or stores I went without any kids. I felt like I sneaked out of the house as we set off early morning, feeling a little strange to have all these responsibilities off my shoulders for the first time. I am sure Jen felt the same way. We talked and laughed a lot and the drive was pleasant, unlike the nightmares of car rides with grumpy husband and screaming kids!
Unleashed - would be the theme of our visit in Portland. We parked the car by their version of chinatown for $6 (had to ask the attendant if that is really an all day fee) and walked all day long, our busy mouth moving all the time. There was a big parade in downtown Portland with high school marching bands, FHA queens on horses, and wrinkled veterans on open cars. It definitely had a small town charm, which was very fresh coming from a high tech suberb. We decided to try food carts for lunch. We asked one of many police officers out there at the parade where and which food carts are good. He unenthusiastically mumbled, "I don't know, I don't eat there" with a smirk, so I asked him why. He said he doesn't trust them since they might tamper the food since he is a police officer. "It's a different world with the line of business I am in." he said. We laughed about it as we walked, still wanting to try them. My iPhone was more helpful. The food cart lot had at least 25 food carts parked on the parameters of a block sized parking lot in downtown. They had a wide variety and it took us some time to decide what to get. We picked Cuban and sat on the curb and ate as we watched the cheerful marchers. It was delicious!
After lunch, we decided to go to Alphabet Street, where there are cafes and unique stores lined up. We looked at the map and decided to walk since we didn't have a stroller to push or kids to tag along. We were so mobile, it was so liberating. A small thing Moms can get excited about... We walked and looked at shops, had tea at Starbucks and chatted. We once used to people watch and that is something we don't do that often anymore. We talked about people walking by, what they might be doing, analyzed the store displays across the street, wondered what our husbands are doing etc... It was fun! We walked some more and bought some souvenirs for the kids and tried a scoop of pear and blue cheese ice cream from a famous store that was just out of this world!! It was so good we kept talking about how good it was the entire time while eating.
We decided to head back to downtown and again, we decided to walk. We didn't feel tired at all even though we had heavy bags to carry. We felt pretty light and energetic and now realizing how the right combination of moods and circumstances can falsify the actual fatigue level. We visited some shops in Pearl District and even went inside the Powell book store which was the biggest book store I have ever seen. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We picked the Japanese place I went when I visited the city with friends 15 years ago from Idaho. The chirashi with salmon eggs and salmon slices were very good! The sunlight was drawing longer shadows as we walked back to chinatown to Jen's black SUV. We still had three hours to drive home, but we were still in the mood to talk and laugh together! The drive was fun and very quick, just like the morning. I really had a good time and I hope to do it again soon, but with less walking next time. Jen and I were useless the next day. I was so tired with achy back and calf muscles, all I could was just lounge around the house. Mike was an excellent husband for taking care of kids on both Saturday and Sunday! Thank you, Mike for letting me have fun and rest up the next day! I really have the best husband in the world!
No comments:
Post a Comment