Steve Sr's Trip to Ptown - Part 1

Steve Sr. (aka Pappy) is back for his annual trip to Ptown...if you remember from prior year's our goals for his visits are: 1) Eat 2) Hike and 3) Sleep...I can say that we've exceeded expectations so far. One additional goal for this visit to summit Mt Hood on June 20th...enjoy the first 4 days of highlights below...

Day 1 we stuffed ourselves on some good local fare...some sandwiches at Laurelwood Brewpub in NE Ptown (just a few blocks from where I live) and then for dinner we had Hot Lips Pizza - this is a picture of Sarah, my dad and I at Hot Lips...you can see the "Hot Lips" on the window :) After eating our weight in food on day 1, day 2 began early (well, early for me, but not early enough for Pappy)...we drove up to Mt Hood to do one of our favorite trails - Mirror Lake / Tom, Dick & Harry. We hiked this trail 4 years ago almost to the day...back then, it was a clear trail all the way to the top...however, due to all the precipitation around the Pacific NW recently we were greeted with anywhere from 2 to 5 feet of snow...soooo, our hiking adventure was cut short at Mirror Lake. We had a good time and got a good leg workout in...We finished the day off with some grilled italian sausages, sweet onions and bell peppers (carmelized to perfection by yours truly)...mmm, mmm, mmm.

Day 3 began with a visit to the PSU Farmers Market...most people go for the fresh fruit, berries and breakfast type items...well, my dad likes to go there for the COOKIES! There's a particular vendor that has these lemon cookies with white chocolate chips that are amazing! So, he bought not one, or two, but FOUR. Here's a picture of Pappy enjoying one of them (note: all four where gone within 24 hours of purchase)...After the market we decided to leverage the sugar rush and go on a hike...only on the car ride to the trailhead Pappy was doing the "head bob" while trying to get some zzzz's. There's a lesson for ya...the sugar rush leads to this insatiable need to take a nap...don't get me wrong, I would have loved to catch a nap, but someone had to drive. We did a 3'ish mile hike in the scenic Columbia River Gorge (Horsetail, Pony tail and Triple Falls)...the falls were gushing so forcefully that it sounded like a jet engine right next to your ear! - check out the videos!

Our last two dinners have been spent with some very cool people...one dinner was at Isabella's Cantina, a new local foodie haven that fuses latin and asian flavors to perfection. We had a social group of 14 friends sharing stories, libations and scrumptious food. Dinner number two was at Bob & Sue Foreman's (Sarah's Parents) house on Father's Day. They invited my dad and I over for steak, potatoes, greenbeans, salad, bread...a great meal with some great people. Oh ya, for dessert we had the award winning peach/blueberry crisp (SNAP!).

There have already been some unforgettable moments with my dad...many of you know that Pappy likes his coffee black and no frills. So far, he's tried some local coffees - ranging from Stumptown's french press (which apparently leaves bits o' coffee beans in the coffee - no good) to Starbucks (still tastes worse than water being poured through a dirty sock) to 7-11 coffee. The verdict is in and 7-11 wins by a landslide! I am not a coffee drinker, but my dad enjoys the drip coffee that is filtered.

That's it for Part 1...stay tuned for Part 2 which will include more good times w/ Pappy!