Takei

George Takei bit from Jimmy Kimmel's show that I'm too lame to stay up late enough to watch, so I had to find this video on Boing Boing instead.

Random day

Portland














Concrete grinder







Flying Nun Plaza

Astoria Weekend

Astoria is by far my favorite small town in Oregon. The people don't give me the same creepy vibe I get in a lot of small towns. It isn't as touristy as a lot of the other Oregon Coast towns... most of the population seems genuinely indifferent about tourists. I like that. There's a lot of cool things to see, and just about anyone you ask will point you in the right direction without any weird looks or attitude.



We splurged on a room at the Hotel Elliott downtown. Heated bathroom floors, 440 thread count sheets, and "wonderful beds" in a neat old restored hotel building. Very possibly the nicest place I've ever stayed in...



Lots of little features, like this neat exit sign, make the place seem like an elegant old timey 1920's palace. The hallways are lined with plushy carpet, the lobby almost seems like a classy bordello, and it was a short walk to everything there is to do in Astoria's downtown core.

Once we got to Astoria, we immediately crossed that crazy ass bridge and headed for Long Beach, WA and Marsh's Free Museum. That place always make me feel really happy, like little kid giddy happy. I had a pocket full of nickels and dimes and I played every pianonette, orchestrion, and nickelodeon I could, said "Hi" to Jake, and partook of a bit of salt water taffy.

















After some seafood at Dooger's, we headed back to Astoria and spent the rest of our afternoon at the Wet Dog watching the boats and the rain. The Bitter Bitch IPA is tasty. Its an Imperial IPA that my table of Porter and Stout drinkers loved, really smooth, and not nearly as alcomoholic tasting as it really should be, coming in at around 9.5%.
My only annoyance with Astoria is the laissez-faire opening times of everything. Granted, we were there on a Sunday in February, but it was really annoying to not be able to get a cup of coffee until after 8:30, even though every coffee shop has posted hours saying they should be open. I've finally grown accustomed to the west coast's lack of urgency, but I'm an early bird! I'm used to getting coffee and breakfast at 7 if I'm up that early. Sigh... Seasonal hours. Other than that, the Oregon Coast rocks in the winter.
Here's some more pics from the trip.

Indiana Dispatch

Some pics that came with my laptop, inherited from Dad.

A relaxing evening in the country

Bloomfield's Richland Creek Covered Bridge

The Doans Homestead, stripped down to her original 1966 "California Redwood."

Dinner, for a few weeks.

Photo Cleanup

A few things from the last month that I found as I was combing through and organizing my pictures. If I remember correctly, this particular Saturday afternoon turned into an evening pub crawl on the walk back home, explaining how the pictures didn't get attended to immediately.

Super Sunday Hillclimb

Took a little hike up to Council Crest this morning. A good 700 foot climb to preemptively work off all the buttery hot wings and beer to be consumed later in the afternoon...

Not to be disappointed, for once, something or someone from Indiana won something. Rock on Colts! I'm not a real football fan, but I still enjoy seeing some Hoosiers make good.

Here's another pic from today's hike. I randomly snapped this in the parking lot at the bottom of the hill.




What's up with Mt. Hood anyway? I've been up there. I know it is real, but on a clear day from Portland, it always looks unreal, like a movie set or a Bob Ross painting.