Oregon - There and Back

The Oregon trip was great, though a little taxing.  I am exhausted, but I figure a return to the normal routine, including some regular and consistent sleep, will right the ship quickly.

We had quite the adventure getting out to Portland.  Our flight was supposed to leave DIA at 9:15pm and land in Portland at 10:56pm.  Thanks to the weather that rolled in for ONE night, we were delayed by over two-hours and ended up not landing in Portland until close to 3am.  So we began our trip sleep-deprived.

We hung out in Portland, did the touristy things like eat a Reggie from Pine State Biscuits, enjoy a bacon maple bar from Voodoo Doughnut, wander around Powells Books, and get drunk at Deschutes.  Next, we went south to Eugene, where we met tons of fantastic people and gorged on food of a primarily vegetarian variety.  This included stops at Cafe Yumm, Laughing Planet, Ta Ra Rin, Hot Mama's Wings, Eugene City Bakery, Agate Alley, 19th St. McMenamins, Pizza Research Institute, and several fine bars and pubs.  If I were a bear, I would be ready for a long winter hibernation.

Elizabeth also humored me as I let my track nerdiness fly by wandering around Hayward Field.  I excitedly watched Andrew Wheating do a warm-up on the track while Vin Lananna supervised.  Hayward Field is to runners what the Vatican is to Catholics, what Mecca is to Muslims.  I sat in the stands and marveled at the great races that have been run there by legendary, mythical figures.  It's awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Thanks to all the folks who showed us a good time and greatly appreciated hospitality!

Runner Holy Land.

Bowerman still keeps a watchful eye.

Watching imaginary, long-ago run races in my head.

Truer words have never been spoken.