Top 25 Things I Learned in the PNW - Round 3

Again Sol and I traveled to the PNW for our third year in a row and we learned a variety of new lessons:

1. We are all in this together... until we split up. 

2. Good things come in pink boxes.

3. Australians think American diner coffee is strange. 

4. "The Internet is like a bunch of tortoises held together by duct tape." - Austin from Voodoo Doughnuts

5. Beer aware for Seattle is beer country.

6.Always take the time to make new friends - it leads to unexpected adventures. 

7. Even extroverts need their alone time. 

8. Never take crayons for granted. 

9. Fancy cars can be the most confusing

10. Pigeons never, ever forget. 

11. You are awesome and sometimes you need people to tell you that.

12. There is always a reason to wear red pants. 

13. Some places don't tell you they are closed for a holiday on their voice mail... or website... or Facebook... or Twitter... or Instagram. Instead they go old school and leave a sign on the door.

14. Warnings for bathroom emergencies are always helpful on long road trips. 

15. Making friends with the locals can unlock town secrets. 

16. One of the saddest moments in your life could be breaking your glass at a beer festival. 

17. Until you realize it is really having to sit at an airport for seven hours due to flight delays. 

18. Doughnuts can make everything better. Especially if they have maple involved. 

19. Your eyes are almost always bigger than your stomach. Especially when it comes to sushi. 

20. If you can't decide, just try them all. Especially when it comes to beer and coffee. 

21. Sometimes you need to chose a hotel based on whether or not it offers free wi-fi. 

22. Sometimes you just have to laugh, or else you'll cry. 

23. Never be afraid to go back to the places you love. Even you've been there a lot. In the past 24 hours. 

24. There is almost always a reason to get ice cream. 

25. No matter how many times you've been someplace, you can always find new things you love. 

Portland and Seattle: Round Three

A few weeks ago, I visited Portland and Seattle with my best friend, Sol. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our weekend away:

Pike's Place Market

The view from The Inn at the Market - sunset of July 4th

Pike's Place Market and the ward

Seattle skyline from the Space Needle

Entering downtown Portland

Voodoo Doughnut

It's a pretty fantastic sign...

The Top Things I Learned While in the Pacific Northwest a Second Time

Here are the lessons we learned in Portland and Seattle round 2. (Check out the first trip as well).

1. Time travel is not for everyone. 
2. First street still comes after second street.
3. Always bring comfortable walking shoes. 
4. Sometimes, places really do live up to all the hype you've built.
5. Get a hotel close to where you want to be. No one likes to travel long distances just to get to your destination. 
6. Be friendly with the locals, it makes you feel less like a tourist.
7. The locals usually wait to come out until night. (See previous post).
8. Dragons have big asses and thus difficult to eat sometimes.
9. A rainbow tastes like water.
10. Seattle's Best doesn't make it the best coffee in Seattle. Sometimes the best coffee is the least expected places.
11. The definition if a tater tot is: a barrel shaped potato unit.
12. Making friends on planes is fun. It makes the trip go faster. Especially when you are stuck on the runway. 
13. Badgers are much, much scarier than spiders are.
14. Sometimes the random looking places are the best ones to eat at. 
15. When in doubt, ask the server for a recommendation. They will not steer you wrong. 
16. It is ok to get beer at wine bar. The servers will even give you props.
17. Coasters still make great FREE souvenirs. And don't be afraid to ask for some to go. They will give them away. 
18. Stickers make the best CHEAP souvenirs. Especially those about Sasquatch. 
19. Sasquatch is still a big deal in the Pacific Northwest. 
20. Guitars can be made out of old cigar boxes.
21. It is ok to say no to a place that is too expensive. 
22. The best Mac and Cheese is at King Solomon's Reef in Olympia, WA. I dare to you to find a better mac and cheese out there. 
23. Do not assume because a place is not LA that traffic will not be bad at rush hour. 
24. Hangry = hungry plus angry. Be aware of anyone while in "hangry" state for you never know what will happen. 
25. Sometimes the best plan is to not have a plan. 

Travels Through Instragram (Northwest Version)

Our travels in Portland and Seattle as told through Instragram photos

Getting ready for the flight out of LAX

This is a joy compared to last year: renting a car took 20 minutes. 

It was a blanket snow land. 

At Powell's bookstore. I may have a city crush on Portland. This places is a large reason why.

Keep Portland weird my friends. 

Deschutes Brewery. Mine was the far right, Green Lakes Ale.

Voo-Doo Doughnuts. 

Mount St. Helens surprise visit. 

Also took a surprise visit of the capital.

At King Solomon's Reef we learned what a tater tot was: A Barrel Shaped Potato Unit

The First Starbucks ever. 

Japonessa Sushi. AMAZING.

STILL AMAZING

I guess Washington wants to be weird too.

Love Pike's Place Market finds.

The Kamikaze Dragonfly. 

Our view from our hotel.

Another Pike's Place find.

You can order Lucky Charms here for breakfast.

Maritime Brewing Flagship Ale. Beautiful. 

Beer. Tall Bikes. Bears Costumes.

Bears. Tall Bikes. Beer.

Three things that appear in the Blue Like Jazz movie along with a writer's ability to tell a story, a producer's faith in the project, and thousands of willing fans that want to make history.

When I first read the Blue Like Jazz book I was intrigued. Donald Miller spoke about faith and spirituality in a fresh way that I coming from a more conservative background had been only recently encountering since I had attended college the three years previous (to reading the book). I was hooked from the start because I felt like I was speaking with Donald Miller at a coffee shop about his views on faith, Jesus, religion, and fathers.

When I heard the movie was coming, it took a while for me to be on board. I was one of the first to be dedicated, and then I saw how important it was that this story came into being.

The story follows a young (and moderately fictionalized) Don Miller as he enters in freshman year at Reed College in Portland Oregon. Trying to escape infidelity and hypocrisy of his Texas Baptist roots, he seeks acceptance in all forms: getting drunk, making fun of God, drinking more beer, riding tall bikes, civil disobedience, and drinking more beer. Don faces the reality that most college freshman do - they feel like a astronaut in a robot invasion, just slightly out of place and trying desperately to belong. In addition, many Christian students, as they transition into new phases like college test God - to prove them that putting their faith in Him has not been a waste.

And Don feels his 19 years as Texas Baptist have been a waste, so he tries to escape. But Don realizes that no matter how much he tries to escape God, he has failed. He realizes there is brokenness in the world - youth pastors mess up, parents let you down, people have affairs, cooperations screw over the little guy but in spite of that there is a lot of good in the world. When the movie is over, many of the character's questions of "where is meaning in life" and "Why would God let this happen to my life" and "Where is God in the broken crap of our lives" remain to be fully answered. The real Donald Miller and Producer Steve Tyler want us to question that for ourselves and come to our own answers.

I appreciate that this movie doesn't wrap up nicely. Many "Christian" movies or many sentimental (they are not always one in the same, but many are) try to have a perfect little ending to their movie - with the answer to the deep questions of life easily spelled out. But you can't answer these deep questions in a two hour movie and I think Blue Like Jazz really does a great job at this. This isn't your typical Christian movie. In fact I used the term "Christian" with hesitance. Does it have a nice ending? No. Does it have a lot of sentimentality? No. But does it talk about Jesus - absolutely. Does it wrestle with hard, deep Christian themes - of course. But beware - if you don't like beer, tall bikes, or bear costumes this movie may not be for you.

The Blue Like Jazz Trailer...

Training Hawks

I am currently updating my joy dare posts - they will be up soon. On a slightly different note, I am so looking forward to July because Sol and I are returning to Portland/Seattle for our soon to be annual vacation of awesomeness. I have one problem though: pigeons. They have it out for us. Somehow they got it in their brains that we are against them and pigeons do hold grudges.

I have plan though. I think we want to train hawks to protect us and attack the pigeons. Does this sound like a brilliant plan? I think so. Hopefully the absurdity makes you smile just a little bit more today.

Oh be scared pigeons. Be very scared.