For Easter weekend I had the opportunity to take some time off from work (5 days) and head off to Portland, OR to visit my friend Derrick. The last time we met was last summer when we did a camping/hiking trip to Olympic National Park. This time around we had no major plans other than the usual hiking, shopping, and eating! The bus ride down to Portland was about 9 hours and 40 minutes with a 1 hour 30 min. stopover in Seattle. I’ve taken quite a fair share of buses in my day so this was no problem. The only problem was the bus transfer in Seattle. Let me back up the story a bit. Our bus was held up at the Canada/US border for about an hour because of immigration issues of some guy in the bus ahead of us. That meant that by the time the bus arrived in Seattle I would have to switch buses right away. So much for the hour long break. The bus ended up arriving around 1pm which meant I would only have about 30 minutes to find a quick lunch and get back on a different bus. I quickly found a Subway nearby and ordered a 6-inch tuna and ran back to the bus station to stand in line. I don’t really like the Seattle bus station since it’s so small. Anyways, I ended up at the back of this huge line but I did get a seat on the bus….next to this fat American! He ended up taking about a seat-and-a-half as one of my legs was out in the aisle. So much for my relaxing trip down to Portland. Why can’t they make buses wider in America?
The bus arrived on time around 6pm as I met Derrick at Union Station to pick me up. He drove me back to his apartment and we had dinner there. I was craving for his secret family recipe but instead Derrick made some Chinese food (or just “food” as they call it in China). He made this Chinese meat dish but I forgot the name for it. It was good but a tad bit salty. After dinner we sat around the living room and watched over 5 hours of U2 DVD concert videos. Yes, it was a U2 kind of night. We watched Rattle and Hum, Vertico, and U2 Live from Slane Castle.
The next day we went out for dim sum and were there at the restaurant for a good 2 hours. Yes, the joys of eating and reminiscing about our Hong Kong days. With our hollow legs stuffed to the max, the only way to work that off was to do a little shopping. I love Portland shopping mainly for the great amount of selection compared to Canada and no sales tax! The main thing I wanted to get was new hiking shoes. I brought my old Garmont’s that I’ve had for several years and was looking forward to trashing them. The shoes had gone through a lot but it was time for a re-birth. After looking at a few places, I found my new love at this store called Nordstrom Rack. I ended up getting a pair of Merrell hiking shoes (Gore-Tex) for $65 US! Derrick and I decided we will be snowshoeing the next day as the forecast called for sun and clear skies. I couldn’t wait to try them out!
That night I found out that there was going to be a “Rock Band” party at Vinh’s place (Vinh is Derrick’s friend and I first met him several years back when we hiked up Mt. St. Helens). They say that if you know how to play guitar, drums, or bass that it would be easy to play. For me, I had fun playing it but like any other video game it takes awhile to get used to. I heard from Derrick that the people who owned the game (3 Asian dudes) said that they would play this everyday ’til 4am. One time they were playing so loud that one of their neighbors stopped by, not to get angry, but wanted to join in on the fun and play along! The game is so addictive that we ended up playing until 4am!!
Derrick singing his heart out
After about 4 hours of sleep, it was time for our big snowshoe hike. We decided to venture off to a place called Barlow’s Butte which is over an hour’s drive from Portland. Before heading there, we had to get a big jump start to our day and what better way than breakfast at McDonald’s. After a hearty (or should I say heart-attack) breakfast I noticed a poster on one of the windows at McDonald’s advertising their Filet-O-Fish. Now I’ve been to quite a few countries and visited quite a few McDonald’s but never have I seen advertised - “Double Filet-O-Fish”. It’s not enough that you get one filet but two! I wouldn’t be surprised if within a couple of years they’d start selling “Triple Filet-O-Fish. Only in America!
Surprisingly after all the hiking I have done in my life, this is the first time going snowshoeing. I had lots of fun. It was $12 to rent for the day and worth every penny. We couldn’t pick a better day to hike - clear skies, nice snow, and a great view of Mt. Hood in the background. However, our hike to the Butte was cut short as we had wandered off the trail. I think the trail was meant for a summer hike but due to the snow it was difficult to see the marked paths. Nevertheless, we had a great hike in, and saw some views we would never had seen had we stayed on the trails. To see more pictures of my trip click here.
Derrick and I with Mt. Hood in the background
A beautiful Mt. Hood
Don’t I look good with snowshoes on?
