^ From the drive back to Utah last night.

I have been gone a month, enjoying my sweet time with dear friends scattered throughout the west (San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, Las Vegas, Henderson). But it's good to be back.

Portland con mi hermano

"Let me tell you something, Gob. We're going to track this Hermano down, ok? And we're going to nail him. Because if anyone's going to go out with that girl, it's going to be one of us." -Michael Bluth

There's no particular reason I switched to Spanish there, but it did remind me of Arrested Development. Are you hearing Gob say "hermano" in that voice? Yeah?

Mi hermano Gary and I went to Voodoo Doughnuts on Monday afternoon. The night before, we went to Salt & Straw (I got the honey lemon with ricotta walnut cookies, and pear with blue cheese... but I couldn't taste the blue cheese as prominently as I was hoping. Oh well, still good. I tasted a bit of the dandelion sorbet, and it was also delicious. I wish I could go back and get a whole scoop of it). On Monday evening we went out for sushi, and I consumed fish eggs for the first time (as in, I figured it was fish eggs on the roll, but refused to think about it until after I was done, then I confirmed it with Gary. I like to try new things, but sometimes I need to stay in ignorance about it).

A lot of walking and hiking in between (see Multnomah Falls, above). Portland is a fantastic city, truly. Everything there just makes sense.

I love love love my brother and am so glad I was able to go visit him in his element. If you haven't already seen it, check out my brother's new travel show, Nomadicality. It is both hilarious and gorgeously filmed. And only 10 minutes long. You can watch the first episode here.

If you are going to Portland on a tight budget and need a place to stay, I highly recommend Motel 6 Tigard West (info here). It was only about $50/night, and while they were lacking some amenities (no blow dryer, shampoo, etc.), it was very well-maintained, and they had the best customer service I have ever experienced at a hotel. It was also close to the freeway and a lot of restaurants and fast food.

California ---> Oregon

Cambria, CA

San Francisco, CA

Portland, OR

and my brother's travel web series

premiers tonight on nomadicality.com -

check it out, it is awesome!

Playlist

Usually I like to put playlists in specific orders for optimal flow, but... 83 songs is a lot. So it's mostly just alphabetical.

Las Vegas to San Diego

Las Vegas was good to me. More specifically, Melanie and Kathryn were so, so good to me, and they happen to reside in Las Vegas-- giving Las Vegas a far more decent place in my heart than Vegas alone would offer.

And now I am home in San Diego. It is sunny, green and welcoming. I decided it was time to start really cleaning out my bedroom-- I think a lot of this year has been about simplifying, and this is another step in that I guess. It isn't the most fun task, but silver lining: found a sweet love note from 2008. Loving words can do wonders.

21 April 2013

Anticipating:

Listening:

Feeling / Doing:

Gratitude and peace. 

Currently in Las Vegas with Elder Owen and his family. Last night we went to dinner and to Sister Bishop's wedding reception. She was beaming, and it was wonderful. Went to sacrament meeting this morning where Elder Owen and his mom sang in the stake choir. Good morning.

Next up: 

Visiting two other friends in Vegas, then on to San Diego.