Reward for my Labors

Hello friends! I'm back after a 1 month hiatus. Here's a summary of my Labor Day weekend festivities for you to enjoy. I know I'm back dating and I'm not sure if that's proper blog etiquette, but I do what I want. Now onto the story.

I took an extended Labor Day weekend and visited my brother in Portland. I've never been to the Pacific NW and it was awesome. We went to a music festival in Seattle called Bumbershoot that had lots of cool bands and hot chicks (hippies and normal people alike). The main act we were there to see was Trey Anastasio (former guitarist and lead singer of Phish). I don't know much of his solo stuff but its more rock and roll than Phish and I enjoyed it. My favorite part though was the half hour acoustic set he did of Phish songs. Nothing beats some good acoustic tunes.

The other aspects of the fest were a lot of fun too. Jazz, blues, rock, African music. All good stuff. And surprisingly, a lot of good food options. Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican, African, and many other ethnic choices. Definitely had to wash it all down with some ice cold refreshments. No, it wasn't Tab. I wish.

We also did a lot of hiking in the mountains at the Columbia River Gorge. We even took our chances that Mount St. Helen's wouldn't erupt and hiked the shit out of it. We went through a 2 mile long cave that was completely dark, 40 degrees, and made from a lava flow. Needless to say, I peed a little. We then hiked "Lava Canyon" that had some amazing views of waterfalls and the canyon walls. There were stretches where the trail was only a few feet wide and dropped straight down into the canyon (with no rails). Again, I peed a little but survived to tell the tale.

All in all, a great weekend. Haven't seen my bro in almost a year so it was great to hang out with him. I also got to meet his future wife, Laura (not yet engaged or else I'd call her his fiance like a normal person), their dog Suna, and many of his friends. Great people and animal.

Portland is definitely a great fit for my bro. As for me, Portland was fun but I really liked Seattle. It was a lot bigger and there was a lot more going on than I thought there'd be. Its the latest frontrunner for my next move. Keep in mind that "my next move" was supposed to happen last year (Los Angeles) and the year before that (Caribbean). So stay tuned!