Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Weekend Getaway

I spent this past weekend in Portland, Oregon with my family; for my cousin's wedding. I left home around 6am Thursday morning, flew to Phoenix to meet my brother and from there we flew to Portland. We got in in the early evening, took a local commuter train to Union station and caught the Amtrak down to Albany, where we were staying that evening. I think we put our bags down somewhere near ten, so it was a 16-hour travel day for me, which honestly didn't stand out as being so; I think my recent travels has shifted my perception of how long is too long when traveling. I still get twitchy when sitting still on LA's freeways, but as long as I'm moving I'm all good.

With the wedding being on Saturday evening I had the opportunity to day-trip Portland on both Friday and Saturday. The distance between Albany and Portland is just over 80 miles, so it was trains and busses that got me there. My brother Sean came along, which was cool. He and I don't get to see all that much of each other and now that he's into his teenage years we have a bit more common ground which makes for more conversation and dirty jokes! Both days we Sean and I checked out the Pearl district; there were tons of second-hand clothing stores, music stores, parks, restaurants, and cool people too see. Saturday we just so happened to walk along some of the route of the Portland Rose Festival Parade. It was sheer coincidence that we were there that day, we had no idea that there would be so much to see; there were A TON of people lining the streets, it was really something!

The wedding was awesome; really low-key, family-oriented gathering. It was held in my Aunt and Uncle's back yard (the crammed over eighty people back there!). I had the opportunity of seeing so many people in my family who I hardly see, it was fantastic catching up and seeing change and growth in our lives. Though I left for home on Sunday (which was earlier than most everyone else who made it out there), and my time there was short-lived, I walked away from this weekend with a new found love for Portland and strengthened appreciation of family.

















4 comments:

  1. great captures, my friend.

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  2. Something is terribly wrong with your Aunt chelly. Why does she look so OLD???

    GREAT shots, a fun look at a great weekend!

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  3. You crack me up Jesse. I love you and your Naste self. hahaha.

    These pix are rad! I love your B&W treatment. You totally have a style. I have really started to notice it getting much stronger after your trip. But seriously....really dig the black and whites.

    P.S. I totally would have gone with you to see Douglas Kirkland but I thought it was on Thursday and not Tuesday. I'm a dyslexic drater. hahahahaha

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