It Was a Nice Weekend

Weekends are always nice--any time spent away from work and with ones loved ones is a wondrous thing. This weekend was especially nice. Emily and I don't get out much. The demands of our jobs (her work load and my extreme commute) leave us devoid of energy and with no desire to do much of anything that isn't necessary to maintain either ourselves our home. But this weekend, we drove up to Portland to spend some time with Emily's sister and her husband, and we had a wonderful time.

We toured parts of Portland that we'd never seen before: Historic Mississippi Street and The Pearl. Mississippi street feels like the 70s--lots of shops owned by local artisans; lots of young, hip people wandering around, etc. The Pearl is, from my initial observation, an upscale shopping district (i.e., not the kind of place you'd usually find either Emily or myself), but there are a few gems tucked in there that aren't the typical shopping grounds of the rich and selfish. Two such gems were Andina, an absolutely marvelous Peruvian Restaurant; the other was a local liquor store called Pearl Specialty Market & Spirits. The former is plainly the best restaurant I've eaten at to date in Portland. We ate a scrumptious meal that left us wanting for nothing except a food-coma-induced nap. The latter has a good selection of liquors, including a local favorite gin called Aviator (which I brought home with me, naturally).

After our adventures, we headed back to their place to play some Wii; Mario Kart in particular. It's a great game and perfect for when one's head isn't really capable of much of anything else.

Today, we slept in (a bit), relaxed, and played some WoW--something we haven't done very much of in a very long while.

But all good things come to an end, so it is with much regret that I sign off. Tomorrow is Monday (much swearing) and it's almost time to be off to my bed.

Here's to a speedy week.

~David