There was so much happening over the past view days it’s probably best if I break it up into a few chunks…starting on Wednesday night when I took the train down to Portland. I used to take the train often when I was in college, and it was a nice, laid back trip. The Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia was playing on the monitors so all thoughts of writing reports and catching up on reading was shoved aside for c.g. glory. I was traveling alone because Sam and I were meeting up for a last minute snowboarding trek to Mount Hood. Sam called me to inform me that, (dear god!), our father was indeed coming along for the trip. After we giggled nervously about the prospect of our father on skis after an eighteen year hiatus we pondered about what risks he might actually be taking. The following morning the three of us set off, groggy, at 7:30am. As we made our way out of the parking lot and past the Mt. Hood Medical Center, Sam and I made a pact that under no circumstances was our father ending up there. Turns out we didn’t need to worry: Dad hopped on his rentals and relearned quickly. It was a marvelous trip–despite the fact that it was so foggy we barely had visibility, the snow was the consistency of a sno-cone, and it rained the entire time. My Dad was ill prepared wearing jeans and no goggles but at least he learned the night before his twenty year old ski equipment was shot. Below is a picture of one of his old boots (note the cracked plastic down the center) on the left and his spiffy new boot(s) purchased after our day on the mountain on the right:

The following day I accompanied my Mom to PNCA, the Portland Art School she’s worked at for over twenty years. My sister is now a Junior there and I met up with her while my Mom went to a meeting. Gina showed me her studio–which was so cool! She surprised me by showing me a gigantic painting she’s working on–and is planning on giving to me! Below is Gina in full art studio regalia and the aforementioned painting:

Gina, my Mom, and I went to a nearby coffee shop in the ridiculously trendy Pearl District. I spotted this sign and couldn’t resist:

I really thought I would be up for an afternoon of shopping around and splurging on, oh I don’t know, I pair of Seven jeans–tax free. Instead I followed my Mom home in the afternoon and read and slept until Josh finally came down to join the family fun. We all met up at a Lebanese restaurant, the whole family plus significant others, and ate copious amounts of food. Later, my parents took off and Sam, Erin, Gina, Justin, Josh and I hit the town. We started off at this place on 2nd Ave. where they sell vegan donuts. Check out the fruit loops on that donut!

Josh, in true Easter spirit, bought the jelly filled cross:

The infamous Big Donut that used to be outside the bakery but had to be removed due to so many attempts to steal it.

Stay tuned…