I just returned from a quick trip to Portland. Adrien is still there but I had to return for a couple of classes before meeting up with him in Austin later in the week. We arrived late Friday evening with the cats we have been taking care of in tow. After just a few hours of sleep we took the kitties to the airport to ship them off to California where they will be living for some unknown period of time. Saturday was busy between: the trip to the airport, a delicious brunch a the Screen Door that included amazing cheese and chive biscuits, facials with our good friend Noni, and naps in the afternoon. In the evening we went to an amazing Cirque du Soleil. We went with Adrien’s parents and a couple of their friends. Before the show and during intermission we got to hang out in the VIP tent where we drank a good amount and ate lots of little snacks. The show was really wonderful and made better by my recent interest in historical carnivals after watching Carnivale and reading Water for Elephants. Here is a picture of us outside the tents, and a shot of the inside of the VIP tent where they were projecting various distorted images and films.






Sunday we spent most of the day with Adrien’s parents. We drove east of Portland first stoping at the Columbia Gorge Hotel for their “World Famous Brunch.” The bruch is 5 courses long with a couple of choices for each course. My brunch consisted of: apple fritters; berries with crème; a section of a Belgium waffle with caramelized bananas, and vanilla gelato; a giant baked German pancakes with pears and pear brandy. We skipped the dessert course because we were all stuffed and instead got Spanish Coffees to drink as the strolled around the beautiful grounds of the hotel.








After the brunch we continued driving east ending up at this amazing yet strange and surreal museum out in the middle of nowhere- the Maryhill. Their collections ranged from Romanian royal artifacts, to Native American artifacts from around the world, to miniature fashion and cheese sets. The backdrop of the museum was even more surreal with its dry sharp cliffs and the dozen or so peacocks that wandered the lawn. We of course had to chase the peacocks as seen below. In addition to the Maryhill we visiting a exact replica of stone hinge, commissioned by Sam Hill who built Maryhill originally to be his home.







Monday we spent the day touring a very small distillery that has recently begun making Absinthe, as well as vodka and gin. We got to try a few different samples, which were all very good.