Rainy Days with the 'rents

The weather was be_au_ti_ful when they flew in that Tuesday. In fact, I found myself toasty sitting in the cell phone lot with the sunshine streaming through the truck's windshield as I waited for the call that Brian's parents had landed. Despite a sunny start to their time with us, the weather stayed true to that of the Pacific Northwest and we were able to spend a wet day along the OR coast before they headed back to SoCal on Friday. I love seeing the striking contrast between their beaches and ours, it never gets old to me. I grew up thinking that the beach meant seaweed, slimy rocks, an occasional granule of sand, and an all around cool-temperatured experience. My time at Providence however, proved that what the rest of the world prefers to lovingly portray as a beach, is in fact a reality too.

Brian and his mom, reunited.

Brian and his 'rents inside our pod at Gotham Tavern.

The view from our pod into the next.

SammiSam introduced Brian and I to this place.

Cool things about Gotham Tavern:

1.) Sam's uncle's band plays there on the weekend every now and then.

2.) Their happy hour rocks.

3.) Their pods make for a totally unique experience--SO cool!

Brian sporting my bag.

Brian's dad, a board member of a SoCal water committee, inspects with great disbelief, the extent to which Portland does not lack water.

An incredibly creepy shot I captured of Brian. :S

This made us laugh.

Brian took a spontaneous trip back to childhood and ran through the fountains on the waterfront.

This bald eagle perched above the path was a big attraction. It seems far away in the picture but in actuality it was so close, so big, so full of detail.

We enjoyed a stunning view over the Wilamette River of the Tazo Tea building (one of my fave buildings in Ptown) with Mt. Hood resting in the background.

On our walk through the city, we came across this darling sight. This, the other side of Mama Mia's restaurant, is a private dining room attached to an open kitchen and available to be rented for special occasions. From the brilliant chandys to the rich wall/window displays and the guy in the kitchen grinding meat for all passerbys to see...I love everything abt this.

The abrupt change from fine dining to a parking lot of food carts was amusing to me.

Leave it to the city. Leave it to Portland....

Clever, I'd say.

On Thursday we spent the day on the coast. First we went to Tillamook...

Before leaving Tillamook, Brian purchased this massive wheel of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese for me. I can't even begin to describe in words how good this cheese is. What I will say is every time I nibble off another piece, I'm transported to another place and I'm pretty sure I get a glimpse of what heaven might taste like...

The majority of what Brian's mom and I saw of the coast from the back seat. :)

We drove out to the marina in Garibaldi. It was raining and the parking lot was full of huge puddles so we chose to take it all in from the comfort of the warm car.

I snapped this pic because it made me think of Scott and Linds. I don't know the story, I didn't even read the sign but I did read far enough to know that it is Coast Guard related. Which made me think of Scott. Which me think of Linds. Which made me miss them. So Scott and Linds, I miss you!

We made a stop somewhere between Tillamook and Canon Beach so I could fulfill my need to flit around the following funky little stores.

 T.r.e.a.s.u.r.e.s

(!!!!!!!)

Whoa. SO GOOD.

These made me very excited.

...Brian hated them from the moment I danced a giddy lil jig in their direction to the second we left without them and he could breathe a sigh of relief. Looking back, I wish he wouldn't have "won" this battle.

...mi maMa tells me not to go purchasing colored doilies. She says she has a bunch tucked away in her linen closet. I'm still tempted, everytime...

I really wanted these mini twin lamps. They're just screaming to be placed atop a funky, shabby chic dresser in a future nursery inside my head...

Such pretty, old details.

We left empty handed. :( Let's just say, a certain hubs wasn't willing to allow anything beyond "the carry around test." Bu-bye pretty things, it was nice knowing you for a minute or two...

Before leaving Portland, Brian's Mom and I stopped in my store to start our morning off right. ;) One of my coworkers asked what were up to and upon hearing that we were coast-bound, told us we had to hit up the Canon Beach Bakery. So of course, we did. For anyone who may be doing the math, yes, it's true.

We had Starbucks beverages at 9:00a.

Tillamook cheese and ice cream at 12:00p.

And Canon Beach Bakery doughnuts at about 2:30p.

It was terribly unhealthy but oh, so YUM!

Next stop:

We split up for a bit of shopping while in Seaside and when we came back together we discovered that Brian's dad, much to the chagrin of Brian's Mom, had insisted on purchasing this dandy.

...no joke...

There he stands, so proud of his newfound identity.

My favorite bit of Seaside.

We continued on up the coast and through Astoria.

(Above is a bad pic taken as we passed the bridge.)

In order to end this post with a bang, here's one last shot of Brian's dad loving his new vest!