Inauguration Libation Tour

Our inauguration day festivities started off with a visit to the doctor for a check up.

Susan grabbed this delicious looking latte from Stumptown Coffee on Division while I was giving up some blood.


We then walked up to Bar of the Gods but, they were closed (opened later than we were willing to wait). In passing, we considered the Space Room (love the sign and the Alien) but, this was not be and we ended up at Vertigo for an initial libation. The staff was very nice and we enjoyed our visit.


As we walked the strip, we had to swing by one of our favorite stores, Elsa + Sam. If you are in the market for some cool dishware, or just looking, we highly recommend checking this one out.


Bridgeport Brewery has always been on our list to check out and so we did. Had a great bottle of Pinot Noire there and passed out a couple of Obama buttons to some other patrons. We were under the impression that these guys were stilled owned by Ponzi Vineyards (we are wine club members) and found out that they were sold off long ago. Apparently the founders of Ponzi founded Bridgeport as well.

"1984 – The Ponzi Family founds Bridgeport, Oregon's first craft brewery and brewpub." - From the Ponzi Vineyard web site

We ended our day in search of some vittles. Meridian was the choice since we needed some hearty Mac & Cheese to soak up the wine.

So goes the day of Obama from the Brown's perspective.

Feel Free To Proceed

Well, it's the last night before Obama takes the reins. As the photo illustrates, it is now time to move forward and make amends for the past.

Enjoy the festivities tomorrow and good bye to the Bush dynasty.

I Pity The Fool

Yeah. That fool would be ME. I had to go check out the liquidation sale. Laptops, Games TV's, Cameras and pretty much anything you would want bigger ticket was a mere 10% off. I picked up Resident Evil The Umbrella Chronicles as Susan and I should be able to play this together. I also noticed after I got home that I still got ripped off.

CD's & DVD's were 20% off and I picked up Nine and this seemed to make economic sense. The selection was lame but, they managed to pry some green from my warm live hands.

Oh and TV stands were a whopping 30% off! As if anyone really needs/wants one of these crappy pieces of furniture.

Another Sunny Day In Paradise

Way windy today which made it feel much colder than it really was. Not that we can complain when it's -32 in Rockford IL.

We took the pooch out for a good walk today up Hawthorne amongst the throngs of people and dogs (For Portland). Hugo embarrassed us sufficiently with his aggressive behavior and high pitched shreak/bark.

Stopped off to see Evil K and Jim. Hugo and Sly visited too (NSFW).

Left, Left, Right, Left, Right

Walking has become a priority for us lately. As such, we bought some pedometers at REI on Super Clearance for $9 bucks each. Pretty good deal we think and we find them to be motivational as well. We shall see if we can stick to it!

We walked 10K+ steps the last 2 days and 5k+ steps today. Our trip today took us to the awesome New Seasons Market (corner of 20th & SE Division). We shot this sculpture dude outside the store and got a good photo of Hugo as well.

Our other priority is to shop the local independently owned stores in our hood. With this in mind, Hugo is sporting a wool sweater from Pets on Broadway, a vegan recycled bicycle tube collar by Etta Says purchased from For Paws on SE Division Street (between 31st & 32nd).

Shop these stores for your pet(s) as they have great stuff. Pets on Broadway has a huge selection and For paws is more on the boutique side with excellent customer service.

Tricky Dick

This may be the republicans best chance in 2012 (Richard Milhous Nixon).

We shot this at Jake's Famous Crawfish in Portland. We had a half dozen little creek oysters and of course, the crab leg cocktail. Not to be confused with a regular old crab cocktail.

Cudos to Oregon!

Are we living in the most progressive state in the country? Most would say not quite but, we do have these highlights to point to that arguably could make the case.

Portland's Mayor, Samuel Adams (named after a beer for God's sake, or maybe a historical figure), was sworn in at 12:01am on the 1st of January. He is the first openly gay mayor of a top 30 city in the nation.

Silverton, Susan's hometown, elected the first ever transgender mayor in the country. We have many friends in Silverton and they were all overly supportive of Stu Rasmussen. I recommend watching the embedded video clip in the attached link and you can see Stu for yourself.

Ashland opened the MAda Shell Gallery on January 2nd and had a interactive Bush shoe toss as the center piece. You could dip shoes into red paint and toss them at a large picture of W on the wall.

I don't know. Judge for yourselves.

Duck, Duck, Goose

So, it's been awhile since the last post.

We took Hugo to the park after visiting Susan's Mom (Marilyn) the other day. We stopped to check out the Geese in the park and got these photos and video.

I believe this is the Canada Goose and they are noted as pests in some cases for their abundant droppings in parks, golf courses and other open spaces that humans use. It is noted that each goose can drop up to 2 pounds of crap per day. Now, that is prolific!

Anyway, Hugo managed to wolf down his share before we could get him to another area of the park to run. Gross.

Rays, Sharks,Turtles, Fish & Moray Eels Oh My

These photos turned out better than we expected. We were snorkeling at Hol Chan and Shark Alley off of Ambergris Caye.

Lots to see and these were the best photos from the lot. And yes, that is me holding a shark. Albeit a pretty tame nurse shark. Still never thought I would do this in an uncontrolled wild environment (or at all for that matter).

Samantha Brown from the travel channel stayed in the same resort as us (no relation) and went on this same outing. Alphonse was a great guide and we definitely recommend using him.
Lil Alphonse

Home Again! Sly's Parents Stop By

Jim & Krystin came by to pick up Sly. He stayed at our house with the dog sitter (Christina did a great job) while we were away.
Days Spent Apart Pet Sitting

As you can see, Krystin is cooking up something that should pop around March (it's a girl!).

Hugo and Sly got along famously as usual.

Buh Bye Belize

We will miss the warm weather and the Belizian hospitality!

We will fly via Houston to Portland and arrive home around 7pm.

Smooth Landing Ex-Pat

Our pilot was awesome and Susan got to sit in the Co-Pilot seat on the way to Belize City. This is the best way to go as I was in the same seat out to San Pedro when we arrived for our trip on the 21st.

Flight To Belize City

Hanging out for our flight at the outdoor waiting area for the San Pedro Airport.


A couple of in flight shots

Wild Mangos

The fish tacos were phenomenal at Wild Mangos.
Frommer's Review via NY Times

The hot sauce that we tried here was way hot but, delicious.
Marie Sharp's Fiery Habanero Hot Sauce

Last dining on the Island and this choice served us well.

Sunset Cruise

Cervesas Please!

Another Sunny but windy day today. Still beats rain, snow and whatever.

Mmmm Good

Susan whipped up some breakfast Potatoes this morning and Rob made the eggs. Fantastic.

Chicken Drop

Sorry on the sideways video but, it makes the point if you have seen this Island tradition.

Hal's Minions

Space Odyssey Take Over By Hal

The invasion begins