Buongiorno! Non parlo itialiano...Vengo dagli Stati Uniti.

Hello! I don't speak Italian...I'm from the United States. These are some key phrases I will need to master on my next adventure (my lonely planet phrasebook will be my 'bible')...many of you know that I was planning to go on a 3 week backpacking trip with Outward Bound in September...well, it was cancelled due to low enrollment...that gave me an open door to do something I've always wanted to do...travel to Italy! I'm a planner by nature, a very detail oriented person...but I'm going to be as spontaneous as I can be (breath, breath)...I'm starting in Rome and finishing in Rome...September 4 - September 19...Ciao (Bye).

Steve Sr's Ptown Visit - Day 5

My dad's last day in Ptown...the weather rolled in and put an end to our mountainous adventures...so instead we went to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry and watched an IMAX movie called the Alps...a story of an experienced mountaineer overcoming his own fears of death by climbing the Eiger...the most treacherous mountain peak in all of Europe. It was an emotional and physical thrill ride (at least for the main character)...then we hopped down to REI - my favorite outdoors store - and bought my dad a pair of shorts and I bought my first water filter...we continued our driving adventure by visiting Fred Meyer and Trader Joes to pick up ingredients for dinner - a baked elbow macaroni caserole - next time I'll use the nutmeg like I was supposed to. We finished off our day with icecream treats from Baskin & Robbins...(pictured here: two well fed boyz with their chilled treats).

Steve Sr's Ptown Visit - Day 3 & 4

Okay...my dad's trip continues...Day 3 - sleeping in and going out for bfast at a local treasure called Cup & Saucer Cafe...Sr. had his normal 3 eggs over-easy, toast, bacon and homefries...I had a pesto, sun-dried tomato and spinach scramble...mmm, mmm....then we ran around town doing errands...it was a well needed rest day. Day 4 - got up at 3:30am (yes, A.M.) and packed up for a long day on the road to Smith Rock State Park...this was my 2nd time there...and it still puts a wide-eyed, kid in the candy store look on my face...it may as well be the planet Mars...its just so different than anything else around...Sr and I hiked up Misery Ridge (switchbacks and steps from hell) and along to Monkey Face, a natural rock formation... (pictured here: Sr. and Jr. come down the trail with Monkey Face looming in the background).

Steve Sr's Ptown Visit - Day 1 & 2

As many of you know, Steve Sr. has an annual "vacation" to Portland...our goal is to eat and hike until our stomachs can't take it any more (or until one of us falls over...whichever comes first)...Day 1 - picked Dad up PDX and left him at home for the day...he didn't blow up the house! Dinner was at Henry Weinhard's Tavern...we both had a gi-normous BBQ Brewery burger w/ fries...then we went to Trader Joe's to buy them out of all their granola bars...Day 2 - wake up early (before I normally do) and packed up to head out to Mt. Hood...the goal was to hike up Cooper Spur (located on the Northeast side of Mt Hood)...this is just the beginning and no one has fallen over yet :) (Pictured here...Sr. & Jr. just down wind of Elliot Glacier...the 2nd largest glacier on Mt. Hood...and she was a rumblin')

Triple Falls...a Gorge-eous hike!

For those of you following my blog, I have been on a hiatus for a few months...the last three posts are all on 8/12, but they occurred from early July to today (8/12)...I am going to try and do better -- Pictured here L to R: Matt, Medi, Coco, Monika and TMP...Mother nature didn't agree with us today, but we made the most of it...we had a few "firsts" on this trail...Medi's first hike and the first sushi lunch courtesy of Coco...it was mmm, mmm, mmm good! Triple falls, a unique photo opp in the Columbia River Gorge, falling 120 feet into a little pool below...ahhh.

We came, we hiked, we summitted...

...South Sister - the third tallest mountain in Oregon at 10,358 feet above sea level. My sinuses and ears were stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey (beginnings of a cold), but my eyes kept pulling me towards the top...pictured on the summit looking North towards the other two sisters...Middle Sister and North Sister...this was an 8 hour journey (round trip) and I'm ready for seconds. Oregon is a magical wonderland of mountains, valleys, rivers, gorges...need I say more?

Frog Lake Camping ... a Hoppin' Good Time!

A group of friends and I camped at Frog Lake (more of a pond really) a little over a month ago. It was my first lake swim in Oregon...the bottom of the lake was a little "squishy between the toes," but it was well worth the near hypothermic conditions once I got out (I have bad circulation, what can I say)...we hiked about 10 miles, we ate s'mores (see picture) and the now famous CHOCO-RITO. This was a new invention by a fraternity bro of mine (thanks John!)...he just decided to take a plain flour tortilla (from our taco dinner), some hershey's chocolate, peanut butter and jet-puff marshmallows and bake it over the camp fire...mmm...a deluxe version of this can include sliced banana, crumbled gram crackers or even jam...see that, even in the outdoors new food inventions can be discovered...