Oh, Oregon...

Just a few photos to remind me that all the allergies and endless sneezes are worth it - because Oregon... you are so good looking!

"I'm just summering."

When people ask what I am doing in Portland, that is my new favorite response.

Definition of summering: rising early, sleeping late, cooking, simmering, reading, walking, midday drinking, slow burning, treasure hunting, hiding, reflecting, grass sitting, painting, stretching, deflating, but mostly just letting.

And no judgement needed, because I have an equally long list of socially responsible and realistically boring things to do. Anyway, I hope you remember to spend some time summering this summer.

Tater Tot

          Do you know that when you call animal control at 11 pm and you inform them, "I just snagged dog that was running against traffic on the I-5, we have no yard and a cat, there is no name tag or owners number but the dog is licensed, what can we do?" Just take a guess at what they said...??? 

         I promise, we tried our best, we really did. She smelled so bad, so we gave her a bath. Kept her in the bathroom until 3 am until she became too restless to handle. The photo says it all, she was terrified and sad. 

        In the end, we dropped her off at the neighborhood dog park. Adam went to school and when he stopped by at 10:30 am, she was already gone. We feel like the worst dog rescuers ever. But she's alive and car accidents were prevented, right? 

        Adam is pretty emotional about this. He wants to open a drop-off dog park, for these special circumstances. He keeps asking me to lie, to tell him she is back at home with her owners. But Tater Tot seemed in really rough shape, and I believe that she was purposely and wrongfully abandoned. Poor Tater Tot, the sweetest and most gentle dog I have ever met. I hope she finds a better home.

At the edge of the Niagara.

Let's forget all our troubles, forget all our cares.

Beautiful buildings of Downtown Buffalo

It's a fake.

          I was three weeks from leaving the service and I had not touched an M-16 since bootcamp. For some odd reason, I was scheduled for weapon retraining. Had the office done the proper paperwork, they would have known that I was not the most in need for this recertification. But I had an idea, so I just kept quiet.
          I kept quiet until training day. I kept quiet during the lessons on safety and assembly. I kept quiet on the range. At the end of the day, nervously cleaning my weapon in a room full of people who were about to head overseas, I finally worked up enough courage. I walked up to the instructor and whispered my idea.
          "I want a photo." I thought they were going to laugh at me, tell me to sit back down. Instead, I left my gun to be cleaned by someone who actually needed the practice, then headed back to the range. They gave me this beefy machine, with rapid fire and a fancy scope. I shot for a few minutes and then took this ridiculous photo.
           In recollection, this picture seems to be an oversimplified and accurate depiction of my entire military career: it's just a fake.

Trip to Hawaii

The beach at the end of the road, called Poi'pu.

My first food poisoning.

Adam and I never get to have our photo taken together...
This was a very awkward moment for us.

Driving through Kauai in a mustang convertible --- ridiculous, indeed!

Bad day for a boat ride, 10 foot swells. But in the end, thats a yellowfin in my right hand and a mahi mahi in my left. 10 pounds each, but enough for a few nights of dinner.

Wild chickens, everywhere...

That's korean for, "please come over here now."

Adam knows how to capture a moment.

Eating subs on a beach, because, why not?

Just off shore, this is where I swam with several three foot turtles.

As Nicole likes to say, "Get over yourself!"

Vincent very excited about his successful burial of Adam, C-cups included.

Rope swing.

En route, we met a 92 year old woman making the 2 mile trek to this waterfall.

Waikiki beach. Adam bought me a new swimsuit to help me feel better.
It worked.

Old WWII training site... Adam longs for his metal detector.

It's a jungle out there.

Wild orchids.

I know, Brian, I know.

*** If you are ever in Honolulu and you like cheap booze, old punk tunes & cigarette smoke, head to the Hideaway! Words cannot express how happy this made Adam, and it's definitely one of my top five bars that I have ever visited... http://www.yelp.com/biz/hideaway-honolulu