Victoria and Vancouver, covered by land and sea. Taking by air in less than two weeks.

Saw Rodrigo y Gabriela at Edgefield on Saturday (fantastic show), hiked Eagle Creek Trail (hot as hell) and spent the afternoon in Hood River on Sunday. Brewery tour at Full Sail. Free glass. I touched the Columbia River before we left.

Drove about five hours from PDX down to Silver Lake on Sunday to have dinner at this place called Cowboy Dinner Tree. Served two pounds of steak! And a baked potato. You get a salad, soup, and desert, too. I've got lunch for the rest of this week.

Happy Camp. Hug Point. Public restroom in the Pacific. This is the closest I've ever been to calling a place home.

Another lovely weekend. Spent Sunday hiking part of the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon -- about six miles or so from Fort Clatsop to Sunset Beach -- followed by kayaking and exploring Astoria, where I topped the Astoria Column and visited The Goonies house and jail, all while starving. Eventually dined at a great restaurant right on the Columbia River called the Ship Inn. Trying not to think about it too much, but I had amazing, delicious halibut and chips.

I think I owe people some postcards.

I'd like to ride down all of these before I die.

It's only been a week, but I love it out here. Spent most of the weekend hiking, checking out Silver Falls State Park on Saturday and Forest Park on Sunday. Both trails were wonderful; the first a nearly nine-mile trek past ten beautiful waterfalls (even the last one, which was drying up), the second a private and serene walk through lush greenery and probably horse poop.

If you're interested, I've got plenty more photos from Silver Falls and Forest Park.

I know I haven't been using my blog to provide life updates since the new design went live, so I've got a bit to fill you lovers/stalkers in on.

I'll begin by mentioning I left the DC area back around May, trading up to PDX on Monday. Finally living it up in a part of the country I really want to live it up in. I've been in Michigan with my family for the last couple of months, hiding out and eating well, and it's been wonderful -- especially since I don't get out here much and for extended periods. All that relaxing and reading in the sun (oh, and watching The Dark Knight hundreds of times) just blew on by.

Before leaving, I thought it'd be a good idea to encourage my parents to adopt a kitten. I know my mom has really wanted one for some time (all she needed was a little... push). Drove her to the Michigan Humane Society this a.m. and she immediately fell in love with an adorable, super-energetic little black-and-white kitteh originally named Esme, now something else. Mom and Dad are calling her different things every hour, I've lost track of who she is right now.

I'm overwhelmed. The kitty formerly known as Esme is so cute I want to beat myself to death with a tire iron. I'm hoping to adopt my own should the day come when I settle down a bit.

Happy 4th, all.