DAYS FOURTEEN-EIGHTEEN: ADRIENNE & ANGIE EDITION

My friends came to visit this week so I spent more money than I otherwise would have...but WORTH IT for good life experiences.

Day 14 (Wednesday): Adrienne arrived at noon and Angie at midnight. I drove my car twice to pick both of them up from the airport. I spent $53.45 on groceries and pet stuff. Adam and Adrienne and I had a late lunch at Laughing Planet (there are only two in the country; coincidentally Bloomington and Portland) ($5.50). We enjoyed the rest of the day at Laurelhurst Park and Mt. Tabor Park and had some appetizers at a bar along the way for dinner.
Total spent: $58.95

Day 15 (Thursday): Awesome day. We ate some rolls for breakfast then packed a bag for a day of hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. We hiked Eagle Creek - a 12.5 mile out-and-back to Tunnel Falls. It was a perfect day for hiking and we saw some great waterfalls. After hiking we drove to Hood River and took the Mt. Hood scenic byway back to Portland. With no clouds hindering the view, Mt. Hood looked amazing. We stopped for gas and water ($39.79). Back in Portland, we made a frozen pizza for dinner and then went to The Pied Cow for drinks and hookah ($14.50).
Total spent: $54.25

Day 16 (Friday): Portland is usually not hot. Especially not in mid-May. However, this weekend was HOT HOT HOT. We joked that Angie brought the warm weather from West Palm Beach with her. We started the day with an amazing breakfast at Paradox Cafe. Paradox is one of my personal favorite places because not only is the food great, but they have lots of vegan and vegetarian options (I'm vegetarian). Also they use only locally produced organic food. Yum. After breakfast we drove to the Washington Park area to check out the view from Pittock Mansion. The view of the city and Cascades from the Mansion grounds is probably second only to that from an airplane. The Mansion, home of pioneers Henry and Georgiana Pittock, was completed in 1914. The Mansion remained in the family's possession until 1958 and was purchased by the City of Portland in 1964. Today visitors can tour the interior of the Mansion or picnic or just hang out on the grounds. After visiting we returned to my neighborhood and went shopping in the Hawthorne district and I DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING!! I have a new policy: I'm not buying new clothes - only used clothes (exceptions include: under garments, swim wear, jeans, and any necessary work clothes). With all of the cool vintage shops in Portland, there is no reason to waste the money and resources on new clothing. I did, however, buy a dish of ice cream at Ben & Jerry's ($3.50). I don't recommend the brownie cheesecake ice cream. Next time I'll stick with my tried and true half baked frozen yogurt.
After shopping and chilling in our hot, AC-free house (Portland is usually mild so many homes, apartments, and shops do not have air conditioning) we walked back to Hawthorne for dinner and drinks. We wanted Thai at My Thai Bistro (great pad thai and even better salad spring rolls) but it was closed so we had Vietnamese instead at Pho Van. I had a noodle dish. I've had better Vietnamese (in Garden City, Kansas - Pho Hoa) but it was good ($27.60). After dinner we met up with friends at The Back Stage for drinks, snacks, and card games ($44.25 minus $20).
Total spent: $55.35

Day 17 (Saturday): Another hot day in Oregon! Angie and Adrienne experienced public transit for the first time when we took the bus downtown for the Farmers' Market and Saturday Market. I bought some asparagus at the Farmers' Market ($3.50) and had lunch there as well ($4.50). We again boarded the bus and headed to Old Town for Saturday Market. On the way we stopped at Voodoo Doughnut and I bought Adrienne and Angie their respective birthday presents (mmmm...doughnuts ($7.00)). We ate our doughnuts in Waterfront Park then boarded the bus and headed back home. Adam and I drove (yes, drove) to the grocery store (hey it was 95 degrees) and bought stuff for our barbecue. We had people over and a good time grilling out. Maybe too good of a time...I spent $15.00 on SPARKS.
Total spent: $30

Day 18 (Sunday): Angie left in the wee hours of the morning to catch her 6am flight and I drove Adrienne to the airport at noon for her flight. I cleaned up the giant mess that we created last night and ate the rest of the potato salad.
Total spent: $0

Grand total: $198.58

I wish Adrienne and Angie were still here..... I already miss you guys!!!