My 5-Day Weekend, Part II

The hit counter at the bottom of my blog is over 700. Who are all you people reading about my life?

Part I is here.

Part II starts with Saturday, when we packed up the Wubsters and headed to the Lloyd Center Ice Rink to celebrate Chyanne's 9th birthday. Thankfully we didn't actually have to skate, just watch. I did have my first Jamba Juice experience, which was pleasant if a little pricey. Something pomegranate, strawberry, yadda yadda. Yum, but nothing special that I couldn't do at home with a high-powered blender. After skating, Jen and Annie and the girls went to Red Robin for lunch, while my dad and I went back to The Perfect Condo.

Dad's $0.02 was that if I bought a studio, it might be harder to sell when I was ready to move on, but if I bought a 1 bedroom it would be easier to get rid of. Plus, the 1 bedrooms were on the first floor - no stairs. It sounded good at the time, so I broke down and agreed to the bigger space. It would end up being a bit more than what I'm paying now (and barely making it from one payday to the next), but in all the chaos I didn't really think about that. I did take some pictures though. That night, post-chaos, I realized that it would be better to for sure be able to afford the place now, and maybe have a little trouble selling in the future, so I'm sticking with the studio.

(View from the front door)

(View from the "living room")

(View from the "bedroom")

(View of the kitchen/bath from the front door)

That night was part II of Chyanne's birthday - pizza and a giant chocolate chip cookie-cake. It was loud, fussy, and chaotic, but Jen bought beer so it was ok. I gave Chyanne the hat that I made and meant to give her for Christmas, and she seemed pleased. Plus it's way big enough for her to wear it for several years.

Sunday my dad and his wife took our friend George and me on a road trip up to Astoria, the long way. We drove up Highway 30 through St. Helens (where my mom grew up and some of my family still lives) past Columbia Meadows (where hundreds [thousands?] of rock/chaos lovers converge every summer for RockFest), and up to the Wahkiakum County Ferry. I would have enjoyed the ride more had I not been desperate for a bathroom. Once we got to the Washington side of the river, we drove through Cathlamet, Skamokawa, Rosburg, and Naselle, and then crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge back into Oregon. We stopped for lunch, appropriately, at the Fort George Brewery and Public House. The food was good, but not great. The beer, on the other hand, was delicious. Cranberry Peppermint Wheat is not nearly as scary-tasting as it sounds. Next door was a bakery where we each stopped and picked a sweet - mine was a Pear Tart with some sort of white cheese baked on top. It was good except rather than tart dough it was made on something akin to pizza dough. Then it was all over but the drive home. The day was perfect though. High temp that day was 60 degrees (F) and the sun shined (shone?) all day. I'm ready for spring to come back for an extended stay.