Thursday, January 3, 2008

Trees and Other Musings

Every now and then I struggle with bouts of insomnia. Tonight, or this morning really, I can't seem to sleep, so what better way to deal with it than to blog about my recent trip to the great Pacific Northwest. I decided to ring in the new year up in Portland. The trip was excellent, although really short. I was only up there for like 2.5 days, so here are 2.5 reasons I think everyone should visit Portland if given the chance.


#1 - The Trees!

I'm a girl from Arizona and Utah, respectively, so any good amount of trees and/or green foliage is always a big deal to me. I love trees, and Portland has them everywhere. It was really beautiful and was like being up in the woods all the time, nice.


The greatest host in all the land, Benny T. Idn't he cute? Thanks for showing me around the place, Ben!



#2 - No Cranium at the New Year's Eve party!

I'm not a huge party-goer, but if there's one thing I've learned from going to parties over the years, is that it's not cool to have to perform any combination of charades, playdough molding, or word/vocabulary tests and/or puzzles in front of people you don't know well or don't know at all. So thank goodness for the New Year's Eve party I went to up in Portland. A bunch of Ben's friends threw a party at some cabin up there, so we went, we partook of refreshments, we hung out. The people at the party were very welcoming and super nice. And there was no sign of Cranium anywhere, best part.


#2.5 - Gas Station attendants!

Did you know that it's against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon? Some people may think this is lame, but I think it's great. I mean, you have to know that I'm the type of person who would choose to be chauffeured around if given the option, so the idea of not having to pump my own gas is really enticing. This is an especially good thing during the cold winter months; You get to stay in your car while someone else does the dirty work for 'ya. I think I heard that New Jersey is the only other state besides Oregon that has this law.

So the trip was fun, and I highly recommend visiting Portland if you've never been.


I should've taken more pictures and wish I could've stayed longer than 2.5 days to have been able to take in more of the sites. But it was great to have a break before school starts next week. Hope you had a fun New Year's Eve! Hello 2008!

3 comments:

Em Russ said...

You're so funny Monica! I love reading the stuff you write, I can hear you talking when I do! They also pump your gas for you here in Mass. and I LOVE it (though Johnny hates it!) It's awesome not to have to get out in the snow and cold to get your own gas! Glad you had a great Cranium -free New year! Miss you!

Laura Lee said...

Yay! I'm glad you like Portland. I lived there for 7 months after college and I thought it was beautiful. I think I have a picture of myself in that exact spot at Multnomah Falls.

I didn't have a car in Portland so I wasn't able to really enjoy the gas attendants pumping my gas for me. But my roommate Marni had a car and she hated it. It made her so tense to have someone else touching her car.

Ben + Brittany Trujillo said...

Monica! Cool post, but that pic of me by the waterfall could have been better don't ya think? A bigger smile and possibly a different angle so it doesn't look like I am balding! Ha, Glad you came up, I had a great time. BEN