Look ma, we got friends!

Our first visitors! Becky and Francisco (and baby Fin in utero), our friends since the UWEC, visited us at the front and tail end of their West coast vacation. Kind of like a BOGO but without the Payless blisters.

We ventured to Horsetail Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, sampled (devoured) sweets from Saint Cupcake in Portland, walked along Cannon Beach and Hug Point, and tried a couple different takes on Oregon's beloved Macaroni & Cheese. Plus some local beer for good measure.

We were treated to some Kiko-isms, such as adding "f*ckin'" or "god damn", to emphasize just how good something really is - microbrews, chili-burgers, and natural wonders alike. Becky let me touch her tummy in exchange for smoked salmon with cream cheese and a little Brad Pitt (Ocean's 13).

Familiar faces and a little piece of home. It was so f*ckin' good to see them.

Greetings from big cheese wedge.

This weekend we had a dilemma – finish organizing the garage or head to the coast? We did have new Oregon State Park Passes to break in…

We headed to Tillamook, OR (known for their delightful assortment of cheese that can be found at your local dairy case) with plans to check out the beaches and parks in the surrounding areas. One of those beaches was Oceanside. Within a few minutes we had both claimed it as “our favorite Oregon beach. So far.” Who can argue with picturesque seaweed, large haystack rocks protruding from the ocean, a large population of puffins, and a small tunnel carved through a cliff that leads to a secluded piece of beach heaven?

Further down the map, we pulled off on a wayside along the road to turn the car around. The little wayside ended up having a pretty spectacular view of Oceanside, the bay, and some State Park coast. While at the little wayside, another car pulled up. Having seen too many movies where seclusion in nature turns horribly wrong, coupled with an over-active imagination, I quickly sized-up our new wayside companions. While weighing our fight or flight options, I noticed their car had Minnesota plates. And the young man climbing out of the car was wearing a St. Cloud State t-shirt. Wait a second… We are from Minnesota too!!!

After establishing our midwestern bond, the mother of this mother/son duo (mother is originally from Portland) had her son retrieve a “must have” from their car. She was prepared to introduce us to our new state and had just the thing to do it – a pictorial map on the back of a laminated, souvenir placemat! She excitedly explained that this map represented whole state of Oregon and highlighted scenic landmarks found around the state. Instead of pesky labeled roads and listed cities found on “mainstream” maps, this map focused on landmarks - each represented with a convenient, flash card-like illustration. For example, let’s say you want to visit the lobster (which could single-handedly wipe out Manhattan, given its scale in comparison to the lighthouse), simply drive south of the cow and hang a right at the smiling otter. Minnesota mother pointed out that our travels that day had taken us from the big cheese wedge (Tillamook), past the three brown blobs (Oceanside), down to the slouching pelican (Pacific City). Plot your route AND protect your table from spills – pure genius.

On our way back to the city, we stopped at the Tillamook factory for some much-hyped ice cream (Dave had Oregon strawberry, I had caramel toffee crunch), while we made plans for future trips to jumbo-size pear, happy lumberjack, and other scenic characters this state has in store.

Good questirn.
(Pint-size philosophers are taking it to the sidewalks.)

Photos from Newport

Just a small post to say we're still alive. Patsy went to the beach, chased bubbles and barked at sailboats. It was fun.

Wine. It's everywhere out here... Target, the grocery stores (one has 4 times as much wine as produce.) Not only is it readily available, it's cheap. So we've taken to drinking it almost every night. A glass of wine with dinner is very European, right? Plus, we are assimilating to our new surroundings, so naturally we should be discovering the subtle differences of Oregonian valleys and grapes.

While sipping wine at night out on the veranda (that's European for "porch") might feel continental, we wonder at the rate of a glass every night, will "European" soon be replaced with "wine gut?"

Now, before you make plans of poking our bellies in hopes of a joyful "coo...", let me tell you that we have plans to prevent our potential pooch with, well, our pooch.

While Miss Patsy has had no trouble locating and quickly choking down various discarded chicken bones in the park across the street (4 of them today!), her deteriorating back is no match for the many stairs in our new home. She simply props her front legs on the first step and then turns around to look at us with a, "Well, I'm waiting," in her eyes (Note from Dave - I hear her voice as Rasputia from Norbit). Being the obedient humans that we are, one of us scoops her up and carries her up the flight of stairs. Or both flights if we're lucky. Yep, this is what we fondly call, "Ewald Crosstraining." You know in the World's Strongest Man Competition when they haul 300 pound steel barrels from point a to point b? It's kind of like that, but our barrel is a furry 40 pound beagle/basset with chicken bone breath.

Haulin' pooch and poppin' cork. That's life as an Ewald in Oregon.

Part One: Manpris.

Last week we went to our first show in search of a little piece of home via Chicago's Sea and Cake. The show was held in an old ballroom with an old wood floor that bounced whenever someone walked by and made you wonder if risking your life was worth an encore. While I wished it was Archer Prewitt who was singing, Dave was nodding his head to the beat. It's a subtle nod that most people might not even notice, but I knew it meant he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

At first glance, it felt like the room was filled with people just like us. But after careful observation a few details surfaced, reminding us that we were indeed in a new place:

• "You're doing great!" In addition to actual song requests, listeners yelled genuine words of encouragement.

• Several men were spotted sporting "manpris." Not to be confused with the one-cuff-rolled-to-avoid-bike-chain-grease look, but rather the double-cuff-let-my-ankles-cool. While there is a slight chance that fleece may be in Dave's future, the day he dons manpris is the day I come home to find him tie-dying our bed sheets.

• On occasion, various listeners would break out with a small solo display of gymnastic prowess. No rhythmic flags or extensive floor routines. More of a, "I love this band so much I must do a round-off!"

All in all, it was a nice little night in our new city. But we couldn't help but wish that tucked somewhere on the tour bus was a little Pavelich stow-away.


Part Two: Gallagher Hobos vs. Nubian Dairy Goats.

We knew there'd be hobos. I mean, every town has one or two hanging around-some nice, some not so nice. Our fondest dreams could never have anticipated the multiple, joyous, colorful Gallagher Hobos. While we don't have photographic proof (yet), there have been many Gallagher Hobo sightings in our short two weeks here.

The moustache, the loud clothes, the high-on-life smile, and receding hippie hairline-everything adds up to a perfect middle lower class hobo. I wish I could properly express the excitement of our discovery. You'll just have to come out to visit. We'll bring the watermelon.

The other big news: Nubian Dairy Goats.

Though we were quite excited to see a farm of Nubian Dairy Goats a short drive from our lil' townhouse on the prairie, a quick Wikipedia search taught us that the Nubian Dairy goat, for all it's long-named splendor, is the most popular goat in the United States.

Other highlights of the week:

• A young girl telling Saralyn that Patsy's head was "like a globe."

• Realizing that she was sort of right–it is like a velvet globe.

• Hearing, and repeating the song Pop Lock and Drop It over and over and over and over (but just that catchy chorus part).

• Having a romantic dinner at home while watching yet another post on the amazing R. Kelly TV.

• Receiving, watching, and guest starring in the new Found Footage Festival DVD. You should really order one for your whole family.

That's pretty much a full week. We're guessing, and hoping, that life is going to be full of these sorts of promising discoveries from here on out. Of course, we'll be here to blog all about it.

Everybody kept telling me - you NEED sunglasses for the big trip. While I believed them all, it was a bit low on the priority list of things to do (e.g. sell house, pack truck, etc.)

So I waited until we were between houses for a week or so. They can do glasses in an hour these days right?

Long long story short, and very true to the spirit of being an eye doctor's son, I ended up rockin' these Walgreen's Solar Shades for the trip. They got the job done in style if you ask me. Oddly enough, one of the lenses popped out of the solar shades the day after we arrived.

(note from Saralyn: Solar shades. Unshaven face. Fleet Farm trucker's cap in the car... Sorry ladies, he's taken.)

I'm also very happy to announce that one of my favorite stars has started his very own You Tube channel. Since launching, he's posted two diary clips, and I know that there's so many more to come. Please do yourself the favor of visiting R. Kelly TV.

At any rate, there you go. We've yet to see rain here in Portland, so the plan is to get some real sunglasses fairly soon. Aviators. Like Tom Cruise in Top Gun.