Why I love Portland

Lately, I've really been missing Maryland and the general D.C. area. But this weekend reminded me of why I have come to love Portland so much...

First, Dan and I went to the Portland Urban Iditarod. The description from the website captures the event much better than I could:

"The event is held on the same date the “real” race each year - the first Saturday of March. In the Alaskan Iditarod, more than sixty dog sled teams race across the frozen tundra from Anchorage to Nome. In our urban version, teams of ‘dogs’ lead by a musher will pull their sleds (shopping carts) through some of Portland’s most scenic areas. These teams of barking humans must negotiate through the unrelenting and unforgiving dangers of Portland’s urban frontier."

The best part is, each team dresses up alike and likewise dresses up their shopping cart. My favorite team was the USPS team:









Here is the mayhem at the start line (with the Hawthorne bridge and the city in the background):









And the ninja turtles team:









Then Saturday night we went contra dancing!

And Sunday my friend Jonny of PCS fame took me cross country skiing!

Here is Jonny, taking a break from teaching me the basics:









A nice gentle slope












Jonny's girlfriend Linda has a huge turtle who rode through the snow with us (it's been in the car for 12 years)









After the 3 miles or so of skiing, we went up to the Timberline lodge, which is where the Jack Nicholson version of The Shining was filmed. I loved the snow drifts piled up against the window!!












When I got home from my skiing adventure, Dan had a surprise! He bought his first road bike from a Craig's List seller, and here it is!!












We tried it out on a ride to NW Portland (apartment hunting). It is very smooth and is especially nice going up hills!! I think he should name it Gazelle, becuase it is very lightweight and stealthy. Any other name suggestions???