2 Birds, 1 Stone

*alternate title: check and check

Hubby-kun and I took a little weekend getaway to Portland,OR/Vancouver,WA. It was a special treat just to get out of town for a few days, but also to see some old friends and drive around Hubby-kun's old stomping grounds. His parents were also in town so we got to hang out with them for a bit as well.

The flight from LA to Portland is really quite short. I was so excited because I thought we had a direct flight on the way, but I was wrong (cue sad music). We had a stopover in Oakland and while we didn't have to get off the plane, it was still a bit of a bummer. I also had some horrible ear problems on both the departure and return flights. For some reason my ears would not pop. I chewed gum and tried yawning. My ears hurt so much on the way there. On the way back, I couldn't hear out of my right ear for about 2 hours or so. It was scary!

On Friday, we mostly spent our time in Portland. We went to my favorite book store, Powells. I didn't enjoy nearly as much as I had wanted. I spent our first night sick (surprise, I know). The weather was surprisingly not terribly cold. Of course, we dug out some winter clothes before we left. We spent the rest of the time just walking around and riding the Max.

The next day, we had breakfast with Hubby-kun's parents, picked up a rental car (Toyota Rav4, if curious. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I kinda fell in love.) and then drove around a bit before heading to my BFS's (Boat Floater Sister) house. Susan pretty much rocks and organized a get together with some of Hubby-kun's old friends. We had loads of fun catching up with the old gang since we really don't get to see them that often. After supper and a few of the guests had left, Brentt (Susan's husband) offered to help me cross something off my 30 before 30 list. He graciously offered to give me a ride on a motorcycle. I almost chickened out, but knew I would regret it if I didn't go for it.

Susan lent me her jacket, gloves, and helmet for the ride (she also offered her chaps, but I declined). After getting a little help putting on my gear, I was ready to go. Of course I made sure Brentt knew I only wanted to go around the block. You know, just so I could cross it off the list. So, around the block we went. And guess what.. it was kinda fun. So he took me on a little bit longer of a drive. I surprised myself with how much fun I had. And Brentt was such a trooper. He took me out even though it was quite cold that night. I believe it was in the 32-36 degree range. Yeah, he's cool like that.
Anyway.. we spent the night at Brentt and Susan's and then had breakfast with Phil and his girlfriend. Then it was off to the airport to drop off the car (can't we keep it? Please?) and wait for our flight.

#21: Ride on a motorcycle - check!
#29: Visit friends in the PNW - check!