In August of 2011, Megan and I took a trip to the Pacific Northwest. I had some work training and a running race going on out there and it was right around Megan's birthday so I gave her a trip to Portland for her present.
We flew in Friday night and picked up our rental car, which because at the time I was a gold star premium elite status big wig badass with National, we got to pick out any car. There weren't any convertibles but they did have some big trucks so I picked the biggest one. We checked in to our hotel right by the airport because it was already midnight Pacific time and we had a big Saturday planned.
We got up early because we had to be at the Wet Planet White Water Rafting by 8 and it was an hour drive. We snagged some muffins and fruits from the hotel on the way out and made it to the rafting place on time. We were going to be rafting the White Salmon River. Although it was August, neither the air nor the water was all that warm.
We were given wetsuits, paddles, and boarded some buses to take us up river, the nice part about this rafting trip is that when we were done with the water we didn't have to get on a bus, we were back at the headquarters and our car. After a quick trip up the road, we shuffled off the bus and teamed up with raft guides.
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| White Water Rafting Gear |
The other passengers in our boat didn't look all that athletic and there was one little boy which made me think we would get the passive route through the rapids. We got our instructions, which were pretty basic. Paddle on the guides instructions. If you fall out, float down river until calmer waters on your butt with your feet in front. Don't panic. And that was about it. We then carried out boat down the path and dumped it on the edge of the water. We hopped in and began paddling down river.
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| White Water Rafting |
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| This isn't even the big rapid... |
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| Over the edge... |
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| Gonna get wet... |
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| Big splash to the face... |
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| And on to the next rapid |
The water was very cold and after each splash, we were all glad to be wearing the wetsuits. The river was mostly shrouded in shadow but the short stints of sunshine made it warm enough to almost enjoy the cold water. About half way through the trip, Megan and I switched to the front seats which got to see more action through the rapids and also got a lot more wet. Before long, we were coming to the last rapid, the grand finale.
Our boat was the signal caller allowing the other boats to wait out of the current and approach one at a time. From our spot we got to see all of the boats go over the edge and all the riders stay safely in their boats. Finally it was our turn, we paddled hard as we came to the edge ...
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| Paddling Hard towards the Big Drop |
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| Megan is now on the far side in the middle, smiling. |
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At the last possible second we dropped from out seats to the floor and held on to the raft. The nose went straight down into the water below...
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| Straight down... |
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| Going under... |
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| Submerged... |
And when it finally popped back out, only the guide was left on the boat. The six of us riders were tossed around the white foam trying to breath and stay afloat.
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| We come up sideways and we are tossed out... |
I yell for Megan as she bobs out of the water, telling her
to get her feet forward so she can bounce off any potentially dangerous oncoming rocks. She
turns to face down river and I see that her face is dripping blood. My
heart takes off even faster but I can't do anything to help because the rapids
are taking me down stream in front of Megan. I continue to panic as I am struggling to reach Megan but my weak swimming ability is no match for the powerful current.
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| Gasping for air... |
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| Staying afloat.... |
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| Heading down river to safety. |
I finally reach calm water
and get pulled up into a different boat and find that Megan had already
been pulled into a boat and the blood all over her face was from a fat
lip received by a paddle blow to the face during the tumble over the
waterfall.
Our guide along with the others in charge wonder why our boat tipped over because it seemed that we did everything just right; sometimes Mother Nature just proves her dominance.
After our exhilarating morning we are looking for some food and found a great spot in Hood River, Oregon that had a great deck. We asked for the umbrella to be removed because we were still a little frigid from our swim in the White Salmon River and wanted all the sun we can get. We split some salads, crab cakes, and pasta dish and decided that we will shower at our hotel, maybe nap and then try to either find a brewery or winery and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening in that way. While discussing our plans, at the table next to us an older gentleman was sitting with his family and fell out of his chair. We all thought he had fainted or had a heart attack. I had 911 dialed into my phone before we realized that he had simply lost his balance while trying to adjust his chair.
We found out hotel, which was actually a beautiful condominium overlooking the Columbia River. The place was called Columbia Cliff Villas. The town of Hood River is actually incredibly well known for windsurfing, which we saw a ton of people out on the river surfing back and forth. We showered and decided that we were pretty tired from our big day so far and took a nap. Before we knew it, it was already dinner time and we decided we couldn't stay in bed like a bunch of bums any longer. We weren't all that hungry because of our late lunch so we decided to find some beverages. We found ourselves at 3 Rivers Grill sitting outside again splitting a bottle of Megan's new favorite wine, Castle Rock. We enjoyed some live music that was being played one level down on the patio and split a dessert to finish off our night.
The next morning we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some supplies for the day. We were going to do some hiking around Mt Hood and wanted to pack a lunch. We stocked up on some donuts and juice for breakfast, sandwiches, chips, cokes, and waters for lunch. On our drive to Mt Hood we stopped off at a park to enjoy our breakfast before continuing our drive next to all the produce farms and vineyards. We reached the tiny parking lot for the Mirror Lake trail and after a few U-turns decided to illegally park on the side of the road, which when we returned from our hike had started a trend and no less than 30 cars had parked just like us.
It wasn't a very strenuous hike but we weren't used to any type of incline being from the midwest so we had to work up a little sweat to reach the lake. I had read that Mirror Lake is crowded because of its beauty and easy access. There were a fair number of people on the trail and when we reached the lake there was a large group of families all playing in the water and eating together. This didn't bother us too much because of how beautiful the scenery was. Mount Hood with its snow-capped peak and the vibrant green trees and blue sky. We found a quiet spot to enjoy our lunch sitting upon a log on the far side of the lake, and we were very glad we packed the extra water bottle because we downed all of our drinks.
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| Mirror Lake and Mount Hood |
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| Mount Hood |
After the hike back to the car we were headed back to town. We returned the rental car to the airport and jumped on the train taking us to the city center and our hotel. We found our way to almost the last stop and the Hotel Modera, which is a very chic and trendy hotel. After showers, we were picked up by a coworker and had a few beers. He then took us to this local taco place where we enjoyed some tacos and margaritas.
The next morning, I, unfortunately had to go to work. But Megan was able to get out and enjoy some of the Rose Gardens that Portland is so famous for. That evening we met with some coworkers and business associates at Portland City Grill, which is on the 30th floor of a building looking over the entire city. It was a great meal and we got to enjoy some delicious food.
The following day was Megan's birthday and although I still had to work, we made the best of the evening. We had some beers from Rogue Brewery, then a martini and a canape from a boutique place in the Pearl District before finding out way to dinner at Oba!, where I can remember only two things from the meal. We had table side guacamole, which was enough to feed a small army, and they had bacon wrapped jalapenos, which I have now altered and made my own.
The next morning Megan had to fly back to Indianapolis and go to work. I however got to stay and enjoy more time in the City of Roses. The lunch carts are the way to do lunch in downtown Portland. You can get just about anything and they are very easily accessible with most of them parked in a row right next to a park to then sit and enjoy your freshly made lunch. I had a gyros one day and a burrito a different day. We also went to a Korean BBQ place with a guy from the office that had just moved to Portland from Korea and said this place was the best. It was my first experience with Bi Bim Bop, which was incredible although I had no idea what we actually ordered.
On Wednesday night the Portland Timbers were playing. Since I am a soccer fan and I have heard that Timber fans are the best I decided to go to the game. The Timbers were in a fierce battle for the last spot in the playoffs and needed the win. I walked to the game and found a bar nearby that had a deal going and decided to have a pint and slice of pizza because I was still early. I approached a guy trying to sell an extra ticket to a scalper and was able to buy it from him direct. I then purchased a Timbers T-Shirt because I didn't want to look like a tourist. The game was a good one with the Timbers holding on to a 2-1 victory. The fans were as good as advertised as they sang, cheered, danced, waved flags and did all sorts of soccer fan type things you only imagine to see in Europe.
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| Portland Timbers Game |
On Thursday, I worked a half day and then left early because the rest of my Hood to Coast relay team had arrived. We ventured around Portland for a few minutes before heading to our hotel out by the airport. We checked in and met with the rest of our Office Max teams and made a quick trip to Target to fill up on supplies: food, drinks, socks, etc. We then took the train back downtown to Deschuttes Brewery in the Pearl District to have dinner and beers.
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| The Start Line for Hood to Coast |
The next morning our team got to sleep in as our start time wasn't until the afternoon. We made our way up to the top of Mt Hood for the start of the race. The next 24 hours were a blur of smelly car rides, port-o-potties, trail mix, gatorade, short naps in the back of the van, traffic, and a few runs to top it off. We did get a quick break back at our original hotel near the Portland airport which allowed us to shower and rest our heads for about 15 minutes before we had to jump back into the race. My first run was on the East side of Portland right around dusk and my second run was by far my favorite. It was a completely dark, hilly, foresty run through the middle of nowhere Western Oregon at 2 a.m. I always love the midnight runs, the serenity of the middle of the night, the excitement with being in a new place, the adrenaline of a race; it all gives me energy and even if it is my toughest leg of the race, I will churn through my quickest miles.
My last run started a little early because I had to jump out of the van before my start line because the traffic was so bad. I was able to get through my last few miles albeit, slowly. I was glad to be done early in the morning around 10 because the sun was starting to warm up and it was going to be a hot day. Our van was pulling together like a team and cranking our some good miles for the last leg and when one of our runners was cramping up and couldn't move forward, we all split the remaining few miles he had to cover to make it to the end. We finally reached the coast at Seaside, Oregon where the party began.
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| The Finish Line, Seaside, Oregon |
All 12 of us hobbled by sore legs enjoyed some live music, multiple beers, and some food as we sat on the beach. Some of us braved the icy waters of the Pacific to cool off our aching legs. We unfortunately had to drive back to Portland late that afternoon and with most of napping made it back in time to shower and have a dinner near the hotel at Buffalo Wild Wings. The next morning we all staggered over to IHOP for breakfast and sat around there as people left to catch their flights.
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| Mount Hood from the Sky |
