City Of Roses

It's a little strange doing a travel post about the place I lived for 18 years but traveling is traveling.  Right after my graduation ceremony concluded last Saturday, Vlad and I headed to the airport to catch a flight to Portland, Oregon.  There was traffic on the way down which made for a sprint through the airport and a photo finish for making the flight but we did it! 

When we arrived at my place in Portland, we walked around the neighborhood a bit before heading to Washington Square shopping mall so Vlad could get things for family and friends back in Australia.  After getting back and a quick nap, we took the MAX into Portland and had good times at one of my favorite places in Portland, Deschutes brewery.  Before heading back, we made a stop at the oh so famous Voodoo donuts.

The next day after watching a disappointing Heat game, we went to Pittock Mansion before heading downtown again.  When we got downtown, we walked along the waterfront and then towards Pioneer Courthouse Square.  The weather was pretty bad so we stepped into the mall to try and find more gifts but didn't have much luck.

Pittock Mansion

Portland!

Benson Bubbler

On Monday we pretty much spent the entire day going in and out of shopping malls around the Portland area.  Later on, Vlad and I stayed outside almost the entire night in my backyard having one of our "deep" late night conversations.  That night will probably be one of my favorite memories ever.

We headed back to Denver on Tuesday after our flight was delayed due to sever lightning storms.  We were worrying a bit because Vlad's journey back to Australia was supposed to start Wednesday morning and we weren't sure if we would make it back in time.  Luckily we did but it took about 11 hours to get from PDX to Fort Collins which put a damper on our last night activities.  We did get to walk around campus one more time before Vlad shuttled back to the airport in the morning.  Saying goodbye to your best friend is not a fun or easy thing to do and has made for some rough days after.  I'm so glad we got to spend his last few days together and I will be counting down the time until we meet again.

That's all for now.  Bye.