in Astoria

It's been so hot in Portland lately. The weather changed drastically seemingly overnight, and the temperatures started flirting with the idea of reaching 100 degrees. It was the perfect time for Ally and I to escape to Astoria. We stopped off at a baby shower in Vancouver on the way here and arrived at our hotel around 5pm. We relaxed in the room for a while and then headed downtown where we had some delicious Italian food at Fulio's and then had a few drinks at a local dive bar called The Chart. This morning we have been relaxing and watching TV in the room. We are heading out soon to grab some lunch and then to go do some touristy stuff. Below are 2 pictures I just took from the balcony of our hotel room. The hotel is on a pier, and our room hovers over the Columbia River.

delicious

So we finally ate at Apizza Scholls. I was worried that it couldn't in any way live up to all of the hype. It did. This is one place that has earned its reputation. The pizzas were huge, the slices were cut big, the crust was slightly charred and crispy while still chewy inside. The choices for toppings were intriguing, and all of the toppings were extremely fresh and flavorful. We ordered two pizzas to split between Eric, Krystin, Ally and myself. One pizza was sausage and peppers while the other was half margherita with capicola and half cheese with truffle oil and sea salt. I'd have to say that my favorite was the margherita with capicola. The capicola was perfectly cured with just the right amount of flavor. The sausage was some of the best I've had with a ton of flavor; not too greasy yet not too dried out. The peppers were soft and had a perfect, not overpowering tang of vinegar. The truffle oil was interesting, I had never had it before, and added a distinct smoky flavor to the cheese pizza. All in all,the pizza was easily some of the best I've had. I hesitate to dub it "the best" since I've had a lot of pizza from here to NYC and many places in between. I also think that at times I expect different things from pizza, and at times I may prefer deep dish to this more east coast style of pizza ... not too often though. I will definitely return to Apizza Scholls in the future. This may be a place I start bringing friends from out of town. Especially our friend Kristy from New Haven, Connecticut ... the birthplace of the real apizza. She can be the final judge of its authenticity.

a few days of sun

The weather has finally been cooperating. When I say cooperating, I guess what I mean is that the weather has finally started to resemble actual June weather. So far this "summer", Portland has had terrible weather. It has rained a lot ... even for Portland. Not only has it been raining, but it has been fairly cold too. The high temperatures were hovering in the mid to upper 40s for quite some time. It has felt more like February than June.

Finally this weekend we got a break from the dreary, dismal conditions. The sun came out, the clouds went away and the temperatures rose to the mid 70s. It was near perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. It allowed for some time to be spent outdoors.

This past weekend, we spent quite a bit of time with Krystin and Eric. They're both great. Ally and I appreciate their company and their personalities so much. We have a ton of fun hanging out with them, even when it is just a relaxing day in their back yard listening to music, drinking, barbecuing and relaxing in the hot tub ... which is exactly how we spent all day Sunday. What was even better was that Michelle and Jamie joined us during our relaxing day outside.

You always wonder how your different groups of friends will mesh. There is sometimes a fear that they will not get along for any amount of reasons. Any such fear has been put to rest when it comes to the idea of combining Krystin, Eric, Jamie and Michelle. They seemed to get along swimmingly (no pun intended, 6 people can't exactly swim in a hot tub).

Today's weather isn't quite as nice, there is a pretty decent amount of cloud cover, but the temperature hasn't dropped too much so maybe summer is indeed on its way. I'm excited because tonight we are meeting Krystin and Eric for dinner at Apizza Scholls. I have heard nothing but good things about this place, and have wanted to try it ever since I saw it on No Reservations. I'll let you know later how it is.

getting excited about musicfest nw

It might not be SXSW in Austin, but Portland's own MusicFest NW is starting to seem legit. Last year's festival was pretty impressive, with some pretty well known bands. They have only announced a few bands for this year's festival so far, but I'm already getting excited. Mogwai will be playing. They always blow me away when I see them live. They are are quite possibly the loudest band ever, but I always leave completely happy having almost certain hearing loss. On top of that, Polvo is playing. I was really into Polvo in high school, but they broke up way before I ever got a chance to see them live. These two bands are a good start to what should be a great festival. I can't wait.

photos

Ally's birthday

Ally b-day 08

Las Vegas

Vegas - April 08

neglect

My poor neglected blog. I haven't written anything in here for such a long time. I hope no one has forgotten about me.

So much has happened since I last posted. A trip to Vegas, birthday parties, a trip to Eugene, drinking, hot tubs, more kickball, etc.

I will try to get a few photo albums up here soon, and I will try my hardest to post more frequently too. That is, if anyone is still reading.

Ally has a week off from school coming up, so I decided to take that week off from work too. We will be heading to Astoria for two nights for some relaxation. The hotel we are staying at, Cannery Pier Hotel, seems really great. They ave an old 1930's limo that they chauffeur you around in, free bike rentals, a wine and lox social hour every day, and a perfect location right on the Columbia River with views of the Astoria-Megler bridge and a short walk, bike ride or trolley ride to downtown on the boardwalk. Other than just relaxing, maybe we'll go check out the house from Goonies and maybe also go to Fort Stevens State Park and check out the bunkers, battery and the wreck of the Peter Iredale.

After that, Shain and Deana will be in Portland for a few daysas part of their extensive road trip.

Ally and I are also trying to get a road trip planned for September with Jamie and Michelle.