Besides Kevin referring to me as Gabe a couple of times on Thursday evening, my small trip to Portland was amazing!. Here’s a short re-cap:

“You are here.”

The first person I met in Portland was Phil, Kevin’s ex-boyfriend. Kevin and Phil were together for approximately ten years before they both went their separate ways. When Brant asked if I would stay friendly with an ex, I suggested I would but quickly reminded myself that Gabe and I don’t correspond. Maybe we should.

Phil took us near the construction site of a new Condo he’s purchased downtown near the river. The condo will be in a high-rise building and should be finished sometime next year. We toured through a demo building that showed what the riverfront should look like in the next decade and later walked through the different condo floor plans. I really wish I was rich and could afford a high-rise condo. Filthy, rich.

“My sushi tastes better than yours.”

Kevin took me to small Japanese restaurant and ordered Nigiri sushi. I never thought I’d try slabs of raw fish but since I had an extra large beer, I took a bite. I chewed it, even. And it was delicious. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on!

“Red Roses symbolize eternal love.”

Since Portland is the City of Roses, Kevin and Angus took Brant and I to the International Rose Test Garden. The garden was filled hundreds of different roses and was very neatly cared for; which made me remember how much I missed having a yard even though I always hated doing the work.

“Pardon HER.”

Because I’m a slow walker, I was lagging behind everyone as we were taking a small hike to see Multnomah Falls. I was admiring the green beauty around me when a small girl came running down the trail, zipping around me in a flash. I let out a girly yelp, and another girl coming down the trail rolled her eyes and said, “Pardon HER.” Now when I do something embarrassing (like drink too much in public), Brant says, “Pardon HER.”

“You are so beautiful, I can’t light my cigarette.”

On Friday night, after too many dirty martinis in a bar with red walls, Brant and I stumbled down the street to a strip bar. When I noticed an actual stripper on the stage, I turned to Brant and said, “I can’t believe YOU took me here!” and later worried that I might fall over. A man leaned over and probably said something like, “You look WASTED”, but I told everyone he thought I was beautiful and couldn’t quite light his cigarette. After Kevin carried me on his back to the car, I got out my cell phone and made some calls that I don’t remember.

“Apples to Apples”

Saturday night ended with a barbecue at Brant’s grandparents home where we played “Apple to Apples.” I won both times we played (because I am so cool) and I really liked meeting Brant’s family. Brant’s Aunt Shirley was my favorite because she drank White Russians and called me Kenny.

“They couldn’t call it the Beehive State without the hairdressers…”

After the Pride Parade on Sunday, we went to a Block Party where the beers were only a $1.00! Since I had enough alcohol over the weekend to last me several years, I decided to only have two beers. I got my picture taken with a drag queen and I thought it was really funny when she knew we called Utah the Beehive State.

**I put pictures of my trip here and here.

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