Nina and I (she's a sheep puppy and I'm holding her like a sheep...hehe)

Me and the Mamacita!

Demian (with happy face) and Shoko!

Demian (with pouty face) and I

"Owen & the Hungry Mouse" -Short Claymation Film

First Days in Oregon

Of course, I have to include the strange seaweed salad experience I had.  It was unlike any other seaweed salad I'd seen.  It looked like the kind of greens you'd find in an organic arugula salad.  It was almost tasteless without the special sauce they gave me but sooooo zesty with that so-called dressing! 

Vanessa super enjoyed her sushi experience.  She was in ecstasy, I tell you!!  I swear it was the best sushi ever!  OMG the smoked salmon roll....oh...my...gawd...YUMMY!

View from my apt.  I like to call this one..."Open Window."

Here we are on the beach (not the prettiest one in the area but we got our fix of salt for the day regardless!!!!)

The reflection of the sun onto the water was so bright that my Cannon could not handle it.

An example of the kind of restaurants in that area.

People-Watching.

A feather-covered sand dune.

There was no use hiding the fact that I was taking pictures of random people.












And their kids...

Blinding sun.

Seaside, OR behind me.

Rock the Era - Cultural Festival, Long Beach, CA

Rock the Era is a giant Cultural Festival created entirely by hard-working Buddhists in the U.S. to encourage the youth of this country to light the bright future toward world peace!

Here I am at the arena with members of SGI-USA from Oregon and Washington, waiting outside for the performance.

The lines were long and the festival drew nearly 20,000 people that day from all over the West Coast!!

This is a dancer from the performance, walking past the overflow section (and some Long Beach apartments in the distant horizon).

Some Japanese ladies welcoming us into the arena.

A leader from my region being interviewed by the crew members.

No cameras past this point (or else an apparent $250 fine if you're caught).

Err..last night in L.A., enjoying a milkshake at In & Out Burger.

Comfort Food - Oh, the wonderful world of local produce!

I have this "Zinesters Guide to Portland" that I carry around with me everywhere I go.  And even if I'm not purposely trying to go to all the places that are mentioned in the book, it just so happens that I end up going by a restaurant or pizza joint that I recognize from having read about it!!  This has happened half a dozen times this week (I've only officially been in Portland for about six days).

A few nights ago I went to a little coffeehouse called Bare Bones, which used to be Muddy Waters Coffeehouse but went out of business is March.  Anyway, the new place is quite frankly a) adorable and b) affordable.  The artwork is welcoming and the food is fantastic!  Not to mention, the coffee is delicious.  There is a selection of regular and organic.  I had an amazing grilled cheese sandwich with a type of local bread, portabella mushroom, spinach and sprouts.

Nearly every sit-down area I've had the pleasure of dining in has served salads or a type of product from a local farmer's market. 

Yesterday

on  Wednesday I decided to have an adventure and try out the Max (electric transit) and eat at this great sushi place down at the Crown Center but got there too late and missed the lunch shift...soooo....I walked down Broadway and figured I'd find an informal sushi restaurant that doesn't close at 2 p.m.  The first place that I saw was open and I was happy to find out that it was reasonably priced.  I then realized that it's the same restaurant mentioned in the Zine Guide for the Southeast region.  The restaurant is called Koji Osakaya and sure enough, as it says in the book, they serve HUGE bowls of ramen.  They come in two flavors: Soy and Pork.  I ordered Soy but it still came with meat so beware!  Though, I must say that the meat, whatever it was (Pork??!), was deeeeelicious!!!!!

Koji Osakaya also had a decent selection of fancy shmancy sushi roles.  I ordered the Alaska and Spicy Tuna....so good.  I haven't tried the veggie roll yet because I gave into my body's craving for fleshy food about a month ago but I'm sure it is excellent!  These two rolls were less than $5 each.

Baby Bunnies, Topo, View of Portland from my 14th Floor (click photo to enlarge)

These were two litters of bunnies of that I surprisingly got to see on a small neighborhood farm in SE Portland.  One batch was 5 days old and the others were about 14 days old.  Adorable fella's!   

There's a few "retro-looking" shots of Topo at the Goosehollow that I thought were fun!

Landscapes in downtown Portland

Took this one on the Hawthorne Bridge (while driving!!!). We were stopped at a light and waited for a boat to pass through. By "we" I mean me and the other people on the bridge.
I got lost for a few minutes and found this view from a hill close to my apartment. You can see Mt. Hood off in the distance.
This is the view from my 14th-story window. This is looking out toward the North.
This is where Kathy Griffith performed recently.
I passed by this park. A sign strictly said that wading and drinking the water was not recommended but people didn't seem to care. It was a hot day. I wouldn't, either!!