Playing tourist in Portland

One thing you need to know about Portland is that our summers consist of 3 months.  The remaining 9 months are gloomy and/or rainy.

I'm ok with the rain and gloom - but it  doesn't make for a good time to have visitors.  The hikes are limited.  The outdoor walking is limited.  The coast is chilly.  

But the 3 months that we DO have of summer are amazing.  We always say we put up with the 9 months of rain for the amazing 3 months of summer.

But the hard part about only having 3 months of good weather is that means there's only 3 months where people can visit.  What does that mean for us?  Back-To-Back-To-Back Visitors.

BUT we love having friends and family get to experience our city - so it's a price we pay!

We recently had the hubs' family in town for 4 days, and then the next day my Aunt and Cousin came to town for 5 days.  

We.

Did.

Everything.

I got super sick (of course) so I was more focused on trying to see if I could work in a nap time with my head cold, but I still put my big girl pants on and played tourist in Portland.

We hit up the coast, the gorge, Hood River, berry picking, and all of Portland (did a West side day, an East side day, and a West + East side day).

Cannon Beach

Crepes!  

Our berry picking view of Hood

Salt and Straw

While I love my city - I learned that I'm a horrible tour guide

I loathe driving, parallel parking, and navigating new neighborhoods.  I was probably more stressed than I needed to be and couldn't quite enjoy the time.  But we got to hit up all of Portland's finest (Salt and Straw, Food Carts, Pittock Mansion!) so I'm not complaining one bit.

Audio Book Review: The Help

My days consist of a 25 mile commute that often takes me over 1.5 hours (...especially in the summer).  While the distance isn't too terribly far, I spend a good chunk of my afternoon sitting in traffic trying to make it over the bridge into Washington.

What makes this commute worse is that I get carsick - even when I drive.

I know I know I know - I hear it 

every. 

single. 

time.  

"I've heard of people getting carsick as the passenger but never the driver."

Not this gal - I get carsick even while driving.

One thing that helps is listening to podcasts and/or audiobooks.

My co-worker recently loaned me her copy of The Help (unabridged) and I can't get enough of this book - so much that I felt the need to write up a bloggy post.

I know you've probably already seen the movie, and you've maybe even read the book, but the audiobook is ah-mazing.

For starters - the book has five different narrators.  FIVE.  In all of the audiobooks I've listened to I've heard maybe two - max.

And these five different narrators aren't just narrating.  

They're acting.

Basically - I was convinced I was watching a play every day on my drive home.  

 The plot is addicting.

The characters are on point.  

The voices are suiting.

And the overall plot of this book (if you haven't seen the movie or read the book) of white privileged women will force you realize how prevalent the racial inequality was during that time.

I laughed.

I cried.

I'm sure my fellow commuters thought I was a lunatic.

But I couldn't get enough of Miss Skeeter's perseverance, Aibileen's sacrifices, and Celia's naivety.

If you've been scanning Audibles trying to find the next book to keep you occupied, do yourself a favor and download this gem.