SKAMANIAKS!
Adam and I spent the weekend at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA. Its right over the Columbia River, via the Bridge of the Gods from Oregon and only about 40 miles from Portland although you would hardly know it because its in the Columbia River Gorge, the result of glacial movement (or something) that created really scenic peaks, some covered in trees and some rocky and barren. It was so beautiful and the "lodge" was really a four-star gigantic hotel. They had a sale on rooms which is why we booked it and because we usually stay in such crappy hotels and motels. Our room this time sported its own fireplace! We sat in the hot tubs (outdoor and indoor) and sauna often, we hiked, took a bike ride into town (a real one-horser)and hit golf balls on the driving range. I really suck at that and got a knot in my arm! Yesterday we arrived back in Portland around 2:00 pm, went shopping at Goodwill, got fake chicken and beef Chinese food from a random place in a fancy strip mall in Beaverton (a suburb of Portland I guess at a resturant someone found that is just a regular chinese place except that they can make all of the chicken and beef dishes vegan!) and watched season 5 of the Sopranos. We bought the box set for our friends for Christmas and now we get to reap the benefits. I'm excited to go home and watch more but sad because we only have two episodes left!