Filed under: Uncategorized
This post is brought to you by me, Rob, not Ali. Ali is too busy studying to pay attention to her blog fans…so I am taking up the task of letting everyone know how exciting our lives are…broadcasting live from Panera in the Hollywood District of Portland, Oregon…this is “Life in Stumptown”PS the title is making fun of a sign we saw at a St Helens hotel.
The date, May 22, 2009, the task: obtain the greatest camera ever made. Status: Complete. This is our new camera:
Not the lens...just the body but still....HOT!
Of course since we purchased this wonderful marvel of modern technology we had to test it. So we planned a trip to Mt. St. Helens to see if the mountain was still blowed up. So check it out yo…ok actually, check out the first test shots. Look at this beautiful woman:
This is the first official shot ever taken with this camera. I think it’s a lovely start. So tell me this, what would you like to see first with this beautiful photographic instrument…Pictures of plants you say? Sure…here you go:
I know, right…so sharp it cuts your eyeballs! Right. Anyhow, we have a tendency to be very late whenever we try to go on day trips so we didn’t actually leave until almost 11am even though we were aiming for 8. We took off up I5 past Vancouver and stopped to get Coffee and “breakfast” at this dreadful little slice of chain store Washinton…didn’t even bother to remember the name…it was lousy though. We got some over priced pastries and headed north. Made a pit stop in Woodland and saw the lake and then on up to 504 east to the volcano. For some reason when we got to the tourise center I wanted to walk up behind tourists and say (in a german accent), “Z mountain es BROKE” just to see how people would look at me. Ali told me that she wouldn’t be my friend anymore if I did that…so I only did it once and she walked away…I apologized and the day went on. The first pictures of the mountain weren’t so great but here are a couple shots.
Yep, that’s the mountain. Ali read all of the history at the visitor’s center regarding the area and the explosion so I will have to defer to her on those matters:
We made friends with these wax lumberjacks. They were working hard, but gave us permission for a photo or two.
I think over all we were a bit disappointed with the mountain. I have been fascinated by it since we moved here but it just wasn’t as dramatic as I had hoped and there were SO MANY LOUD PARENTS. We were sitting by this lake:
And a woman, man and baby walked up about 35 feet away and started singing the ABCs REALLY LOUDLY to get the baby to smile or coo or something. No big deal…except that it went on for five full cycles of the ABCs and then they clapped and coo’ed at the baby. This child was looking at her parents like, “seriously? I dont even want to be associated with you people.” Ali and I are chillin in the serene wilderness completely concurring with the baby and wondering how long it would take us to freeze to death in the “Coldwater Lake” just to make the pain go away. Right. It was that obnoxious. Now, I’m not the most patient man alive…but seriously…there were about ten thousand parents and children everywhere we went and all of the parents, for some reason, insisted on involving us in their lives by being extremely loud. Next time they should let their kids come by themselves because the kids were much better behaved than their parents.
I’m done with that rant…just so you know. I apologize for my negativity. Here’s another picture of the lake:
What on earth is this strange guy doing on the fallen tree? The answer: Yoga. I took it up recently to get in touch with my Chi. So far I have a slipped disk and a sore neck…no Chi.
After this we headed for home somewhat disappointed by the half mountain. We pulled out a map on our way out and realized that our disappointment was due to us going up the wrong road…the one that doesnt actually lead to the mountain but to a place on the other side….were weren’t even close. It was a really great day though. We haven’t gotten out of the city since my parents were here. Too long. It’s good to get away from the busy city to spend time with the same exact crowds of people in a mountainous setting…Right. It was really fun though. We had dinner outside on the porch of an excellant greek restaurant call Hidden House in Vancouver, WA on our way home. Then we rented movies for the evening and relaxed. The new camera is the BOMB. Oh, I almost forgot, we stopped the Lilac Gardens on the way home…here’s a picture or two:
I hope this entry has unwittingly brought you into the adventures of our last few days. Next time wont you join us in person? I would close by saying happy Memorial Day, but that doesn’t seem appropriate considering the purpose of the holiday. God bless America. That just came accross snarky. See ya later.
