portland

We're in Maui, but I'll tell you about Portland. We went to visit my old friends Brianne and Wes, and it was my first visit to the city. We arrived pretty late on Friday the 1st, and we all wanted to go out for food and drinks. b+w kind of debated for a while on where to go, since many restaurants close early there. they settled on a pub, the goodfoot lounge, acting as if the choice was a consolation. upon entering the cavernous place, we walked to the bar to order. wes got a pitcher of a local ipa for the table, and I chose a few *snacks,* each priced at $5.00. when the bartender arrived with the items a few minutes later, he presented three heaping plates of ridiculously fresh food. this would be an indication of how seriously Portlanders take their cuisine. the walls were covered with local artwork, and there was plenty of room for a pool table. you can still smoke in bars in oregon, but this place was so big and airy, it was barely noticeable. I didn't find out until the next night, when they brought us to a smaller, more crowded place, how much I don't miss smoking in bars.

we spent the weekend with b+w, touring around the city. on saturday we started the day at the vietnamese restaurant (?). beautiful, airy, colorful atmosphere, and again, crazy fresh food with a lot of attention to detail. after that we visited mount tabor park, near b*w's house in southwest, up on a hill which is a dormant volcano, overlooking the city. then we headed into town, as I wanted to visit hermitage, a shop which carries my work. the owner jennifer june was away that weekend, but we were charmed nonetheless. the store has a great mix of old and modern, and information about each artist is hand written on little cards. we walked up and down the main drags of Northwest, 21st and 23rd Avenues, before heading over to Mississippi to see brianne's friend Clara. b really liked this part of town, and I did too.

okay, I need to crash. this post is going to have to happen, finished or not.

I don't know what to say about Maui. magic? yeah, that's it.