Kristin visits the Rose City!

Before I moved to Portland, I knew that moving across the country would inhibit my ability to see East Coast family and friends. Now, after living here for about six months, that fact is even more apparent.

Knowing this limitation, I believe I've come to value visits much more because I am aware they will be shorter, more infrequent. I certainly miss seeing family more often, especially those treasured weekend trips home to indulge in home-cooked meals and quiet time, which rarely seemed to happen in New York.

Kristin purchased her flight to visit Lindsay and me in December. And then, somehow, early April had arrived, and we were off to the airport in a Zip Car to pick her up.

She arrived after what felt like a month of rain showers. (And actually, I'm not exaggerating. It ranked as one of the rainiest Marches on record!) I obsessively checked the 10-day forecast before her trip, hoping we'd see at least some sun. Or at least, clouds without rain. She lucked out. We had a beautiful week and it only rained a few times!

The day of her arrival, we decided to welcome her to the neighborhood. Coincidentally, our friend from high school was here visiting another friend from high school, so we all met--along with yet another friend from high school, who lives in Corvallis--for a beer at New Old Lompoc Brewery. (A few weeks ago, we learned it will soon be bulldozed thanks to condominium construction, which truly seems so counter our neighborhood's values.) With the exception of Lindsay, it was quite the Binghamton crowd.

On Easter morning, we drove out to the Gorge. The weather was perfect--sunny and mild. We hiked Angel's Rest, which is characterized by its cliffs and spectacular 270 degree view at the summit. Over 2.4 miles, we ascended around 1400 feet. The 40 mph winds at the top shortened our stay at the top, but not until we had soaked up the marvelous view of the Columbia River. It was, really, a perfect way to spend Easter morning. Later, Lindsay's parents had us over for Easter dinner, where they surprised Kristin and me with a birthday celebration! 

Our cousin Steve and his wife and boys were in town, so we met up with them at the McMenamin's Kennedy School for dinner. The McMenamin's brothers are known for buying up old, historic buildings and turning them into eclectic bars and restaurants. The McMenamins renovated the once-abandoned school and turned it into a hotel with guestrooms, a restaurant, multiple bars, a cigar room (named "Detention"), a movie theatre, and a brewery! Needless-to-say, we had a great visit and a ball wandering around the old school and peering into classrooms.

Other highlights of Kristin's visit: cooking dinner at our apartment for our birthday and playing darts, a Forest Park trail run, seeing the Iron Lady at the Mission Theater (another McMenamins joint), Besaw's for an early scrumptious breakfast, delicious Dick's Kitchen burgers with Lindsay's family and ping pong, an obligatory Friday trip to Bailey's for a delicious micro-brew, and making sushi on her last night. 


We are thrilled Kristin was able to visit us for a whole week. And she managed to bring along some of the marvelous East Coast spring weather! Here's hoping it sticks around...

A brief glimpse of spring

A very Irish weekend

I didn't realize St. Paddy's Day was a big deal in Portland until it was here. We met up with Lindsay's friends Saturday afternoon at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, which hosts an annual Irish Festival for four days around St. Paddy's. It was quite the festival. Hundreds of people decked out in green gathered to celebrate under massive tents behind and across the street from Kells. Irish dancers performed and bands rocked all day. We enjoyed creamy Black and Tans and the day's good cheer.

Sunday morning, I met up with some friends and braved the rain, sleet, wind, and chill to run Portland's annual Shamrock Run along with 33,000 people. It was a riot! It certainly wasn't my fastest 5K, but I had a blast. And the finish met us with hot clam chowder and a free beer (I drank a quarter of it--what we all wanted most was a nice hot cup of coffee!)

After the race, Lindsay and I made a delicious brunch at home--scrambled eggs, rosemary and thyme roasted potatoes, breakfast sausages and Stumptown coffee. Then, we parked on the couch for a few hours to watch the NCAA tournament and the U. Del. women--led by star forward and hometown girl Elena Delle Donne--pick up a historic win, with its first ever tournament victory.

Sunday evening, we walked across town to the Rose Quarter to our first major junior ice hockey game. The Winterhawks--comprised mainly of players age 16-21--crushed Seattle. I had trouble believing half the guys on the ice were still just teenagers!

Overall, we had a great weekend. Next year, I plan on running the Shamrock Run's 10 or 15K. Hopefully, though, the race won't be the day after St. Paddy's day again.

Marvelous mountain

On Sunday, we headed out to Mt. Hood for another snowshoeing outing. I was excited for a few reasons. First, the weather was just magnificent--45, calm, and sunny. And, we were using our new snow shoes and poles for the first time.

We hiked about 2 miles to Mirror Lake. For about 1.5 miles, we were just trudging up, up, and up on snowy switchbacks. (Are we there yet??) If we had packed a lunch, the lake would have been a perfect spot to indulge in some food and rest.

We continued onward and upward to Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain. At the top of the ridge--over 1,400 feet above our starting point, we could see for miles in any direction. The cars on the road below looked like matchbox cars. Most spectacular, however, was the view of the southwestern slopes of Mt. Hood.

Another magnificent day on the mountain.

J.O.B.

This blog has mainly been a space for me to write about non-job related activities. Until now. Since I moved to Portland, it's been a welcomed escape from job-searching, interviewing, networking, cover letter writing. It's been a place for me to share new experiences, reflections, photos.

In January, I applied to a job at a non-profit that works to empower homeless youth to leave street life and become self sufficient--New Avenues for Youth. A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a case management position in their job training program. Last week, they offered me a job.

I accepted!

My first day was Tuesday. Our office is about 1.5 miles from our apartment, so rather than paying $4.20 each day to take the bus, I figured it'd make most sense to just walk. Not since I worked at Joey's Italian Ice as a sophomore in high school have I been able to walk to work! (I'm not including my work study jobs in that calculation...)

This week, I tried to meet with as many staff and leadership as possible to learn about their roles and what their department does and how it connects to the greater mission of the organization. 

Our Drop In center is where we make initial contact with youth who come in off the street. Every morning, it's open for breakfast from 9-10 am. When I stopped by on Wednesday, about 30 youth were hanging out, eating, talking, playing guitars. At Drop In, youth have access to basic services--food, showers, clothing, washer/dryer. A number of social workers are on site to engage with new youth. The ultimate goal, aside from providing them a safe space with food and basic necessities, is to engage youth to continue coming and become invested in other programs we offer, like education or job training. 

At 10 am, the Drop In center closes until lunch at 1pm. Youth who want to go to Education classes on that day go there. Many, however, just go back outside onto the streets. At Education, youth can go on computers for 30 minutes to check Facebook, email, play games, or just browse. It's a little incentive to convince them to come! Then, they take classes to work towards achieving a GED or graduating from high school.

I am a workforce case manager in PAVE (Promoting Avenues to Employment), our job training program that provides at-risk and homeless youth with the knowledge and training necessary for them to obtain living-wage employment. They learn job readiness skills, have access to internships and a subsidized work experience. 

My specific program, RISE (Retail Industry and Sales Experience), is financed in part with funds provided through Worksystems, Inc. from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Portland Development Commission. Because our programs are funded through grants, my job security is currently iffy. I may not have a job after June because of significant cuts.

I'm excited about New Avenues and the amazing work it is doing for Portland's at-risk and homeless youth population. (Last fiscal year, they served over 30,000 meals to homeless youth.) I'm looking forward to constantly learning and working to help young people become self sufficient and achieve their goals. 

I know my job will be challenging, but I thrive off of challenges. Especially if I can help young people--many of whom society has let slip through the cracks--realize their true potential.

Sunday hike

When I lived in Manhattan, going for a hike wasn't exactly an easy endeavor. It involved a few steps.

1. Determine Metro-North train schedules. 

2. Ride subway uptown, transfer to Metro-North.

3. Take Metro-North for an hour to Breakneck Ridge stop.

4. Walk to trailhead.

5. Enjoy truly spectacular hike at Breakneck Ridge with breathtaking views.

6. Run to catch train at Cold Spring (otherwise wait an hour for next one).

7. Head home on train and subway.

We were never disappointed with our few Hudson River Valley hikes. On the train heading back to the city, however, I often thought of how our lives might be different if we had easier access to the outdoors.

There is something remarkable about the simple act of walking in the woods on a crisp winter day. Whatever is trivial in my life seems to fade, disappear. I tend to gain clarity. Situations or conflicts that had previously confounded me somehow seem to make more sense. I've always viewed nature with a great sense of appreciation. It's humbling. Grounding. 

Sunday morning, we decided to go for a hike in Forest Park, which we can enter about a mile from our apartment. Yesterday's forecast called for showers, so we threw on our rain jackets. (To our delight, the showers never came.) I laced up my hiking boots, filled Lindsay's camelback with plenty of water. We were off.

We started our hike at the Lower MacLeay Trail, which runs alongside the rushing Balch Creek. The trail was muddy, but I was altogether surprised at its upkeep. We passed a number of other hikers, runners, and families. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the dry day, even the small children, now covered in mud.

At the Stone House (above) we continued onto the Wildwood Trail. A little over a mile and a bunch of switchbacks and 800 ft of elevation later, we were in the Pittock Mansion parking lot. We continued on the trail another few miles to the Hoyt Arboretum. 

The 187-acre arboretum is home to about 10,000 individual trees and shrubs of over 1,000 different species grown from seeds collected throughout the world. We wandered through a section of Sequoias and, soon after, Redwoods, and I immediately felt as if we were in the Redwood National Forest in Northern California, not the city of Portland.

We walked out of the arboretum, through Washington Park, back to the city. When we got to our apartment, Lindsay checked her pedometer, which estimated we had walked close to 10 miles (including a trip to the grocery store on our way home, of course). 

I am thankful to be surrounded--quite literally--by natural beauty here. And I don't think I'll ever take that for granted.

Our first East Coast visitor

Almost five months after we left the Upper East Side and Harlem for the Pacific Northwest, we welcomed our first East Coast visitor, my college roommate, Ultimate teammate, and close friend, Krista.

(In the coming days and months, we’re expecting three more visitors from the opposite coast—Lindsay’s friend from grad school in a week, Kristin in April, and Myles in May. We are very much looking forward to showing our loved ones our new city.)

Krista arrived Saturday morning—wide-awake and cheerful (but really, when is she not?)—after a long trip from Philadelphia, where she is an oncology nurse at UPenn. After about an hour of hanging out and catching up, we decided to take on the day. And oh, did we take on the day!

Lindsay’s brother, DJ, joined us, and we walked over to NW 23^rd street to Lela’s Bistro to enjoy Bánh mi, or Vietnamese sandwiches, for lunch. I ordered the Grilled Portobello sandwich. The Portobello is cooked with a delicious ginger-garlic sesame-soy sauce and served on a super fresh baguette with a bunch of carrot and cilantro and some aioli. When we want a fresh, light, and delectable lunch, we always opt for Lela’s. I’ve never been disappointed!

After filling up, we walked down 23^rd Ave. to show Krista its renowned “cuteness.” Cafes, an array of restaurants, high-end boutiques, bars, most of which inhabit gorgeous Victorian homes. We wove through our neighborhood heading east to the Pearl district, which is far more urban, upscale, and city-like than our immediate neighborhood. After a few miles of wandering, we decided we had earned a delicious beverage, so we parked for a few hours at Bailey’s Taproom. (A truly great place to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon!)

Lindsay and I discovered this place only a few weeks ago, which is dangerous, because now we want to go all the time. Draft Magazine deemed Bailey’s as one of the 100 best beer bars in the country. And, if you ask me, I concur! The exposed brick, high ceilings, timber pillars, huge windows give the bar a much-welcomed coziness. It offers 20 constantly rotating taps, with a huge emphasis on Oregon breweries and a range of eclectic brews. (I’ve learned to always check the alcohol content of beers out here. Otherwise I could be seriously in for it.)

Over the next few hours, I enjoyed the cozy ambience, catching up, incessant laughing, and, of course, my two vastly different IPAs—one floral and hoppy, the other delightfully smooth and refreshing.

Giddy and giggly, we made our way to Whole Foods to pick up ingredients to make pizzas—a mango and asparagus pizza and a fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, tomato and basil pizza. Both were excellent! Krista's friend from childhood and her boyfriend joined us. While Krista dozed in and out of naps, we played darts and chatted.

Sunday morning, the four of us woke up bright and early (OK, not so early), to embark on a snowshoeing adventure on Mt. Hood. Before making the hour-long trek, however, we stopped at the Lovejoy Bakers for overpriced, yet delicious, breakfast sandwiches and Stumptown coffee.

On we went to take in the splendor of Mt. Hood. We couldn't have had a more perfect day for snowshoeing. Mid-30s. Blue sky. Light wind. Packed base of about 2-3 feet. Neither Krista nor DJ had ever snowshoed, but really, snowshoeing is pretty fool-proof. In my mind, if you can walk, you can snowshoe. We took on White River Canyon because we knew we'd face the mountain square on the entire time.

I've never felt so overpowered by the mountain's grandeur. There we were, the four of us and a lone backcountry skiier, seemingly alone on the snowy mountain, as if it were completely ours to explore and cherish.

A day of snowshoeing meant we were hungry and thirsty, so before we could think twice about the extra 45 minute drive, we were off to Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom in Hood River. Just thinking about their margarita pizza and refreshing India Red Ale had my mouth watering! Warm and full, we headed back to Portland, perfectly satisfied by a day of magnificent views, fresh mountain air, and delicious food and drink.

Overall, Krista's visit was outstanding. We explored some new breakfast places with her friend from Lancaster, wandered through the Japanese Garden and International Test Rose Garden, went for a muddy trail run in Forest Park, chuckled our way through the Blazer's loss to the Wizards.

We are very much looking forward to hosting future visitors. But seriously, how could you not want to visit after reading about what a ball we had--the entire time?