from time to time

[plural]

it can be rough
being the king

but days like these
make it entirely worthwhile

I drove down portland way on friday afternoon
to meet up with the ever-fabulous girl_on_a_stick
and her darling and extraordinarily effuse pup dylan

had the pleasure of meeting weetanya and her husband
and the four of us made something of a spectacle of ourselves
with a delightful and boisterous conversation

which started with my decrying behaviours which
in my expert opinion were entirely wasteful of beautiful women

we easily capture the worst of the other patrons
imaginations
with raucous laughter and
slightly elevated voices
which just happened to coincide with delicate phrases like

"anal sex"

it was quite a pleasure

and lil wee one
I wanted to formally wish you best of luck on your new endeavor

around eleven
ellen and I rolled back to her apartment
via a brief tour of her neighborhood
looking for an open grocery store
where we picked up a bottle of wine

we sat outside on the patio
drinking and talking
till the wee hours of the morning
when we were rudely interrupted
but a sprinkler system with an attitude problem

[it went by the first time]
[well short of either of us]
[the second time it hit ellen]
[but was well short of me]
[so ellen moved to the other side of me]
[the third time it was overly excited and I got wet]

the next morning we woke up fairly early
and went out for breakfast
oj for me and a bagel and coffee for her
then swooped back to her place
to pick up the pup
and headed out

we hit saddle mountain
around 9:30-10am
and it was a really beautiful hike
[about four or five miles in all]
half the time we were in forest canopy
with mossy stones and light filtering down
then you would reach a clearing and you could see for miles
[I could see for miles and miles and miles]
[sorry I couldnt resist]

truly stunning vistas

we reached the top
and could see from the pacific ocean
to mount st helen's and mount hood
and were pretty sure we could see mount olympia

we chatted with a few people up there
spent a little while just staring out in silence
imagined what it must have been like when
lewis and clark came through
so many years ago

the hike down was decidedly more relaxing
we found wild raspberries, salmon berries and marion berries to munch on
little burst of sweetness to mark the passing of time

ellen also took quite a few sweet photos
[you can find them in her journal girl_on_a_stick]
[the snake really rocks]
but I wasnt really feeling the camera today
so even though I lugged it around
I didnt even pull it out.

after that we headed for the beach
stopped at a deli
for sandwiches, beers and potato salad
and got these peaches
which were amazing

They were named after some planet
uranus I think

which I thought was pretty odd
but then again
peaches do kinda resemble ...

white flesh which just dripped sweet nectar
[my that could be taken out of context eh]

anyway
we sat on the beach
and had our little picnic
while I place voodoo curses on
all the bastards flying kites
and ellen tossed the frisbee for dylan

the deli neglected to provide utensils
so after devouring the sandwiches we had to resort to fingers
to scoop out the potato salad
which was definitely worth it
not to mention mildly amusing

we chitchated with this couple
who had brought two dogs
one was a doberman/pit mix but looked a lot like a rott
the other was a dauschund
but with the same coloration
it was big and little doggies
fairly amusing

we played with dylan for a while
watched the surf roll in
got some sun
and
headed home

dropped her off
checked to make sure
I had all my stuff
got a really amazing hug
If you are ever in portland I really recommend you look ellen up
cause that was a top notch hug
not one of those side arm slings
or little shoulder pats
but a really honest to goodness hug
most people seem to forget how to do those anymore
so
anyway I would definitely include it
on my list of portland tourist attractions
*mischevious grin*

I then started the drive home
made it about half way
before the combination of hike sun and surf
[not to mention food and alcohol]
kicked in and as always
with my impeccable timing
I had barely decided I needed a rest area
when
poof
as if like magic
a sign popped up
with a 1/4 till the exit

you gotta love that

I grabbed an hour or so of sleep
woke up
feeling much better
and cruised on home

arrived home just a mother dearest
was taking lulu
[our bulldog]
for a walk
so I joined her
it was quite pleasant
then
I watched a movie with my little sister
and
now I am off
for a most well deserved rest

I have a feeling
I am going to sleep like the dead
tonight

twas a great day
good soul food kind of stuff

hope you all are well
much affection
and I will be home monday night the 4th
and
your regular scheduled programing
shall resume then

love love

me