The Pilgrimage: Burnside Skatepark

Well, its been a solid decade since the thought of flying through the air on a glorified plywood plank has seriously crossed my mind, but during the visit to Portland I felt like I needed to make the pilgrimage to the world renowned Burnside Skatepark. This spot has been around for as long as I can remember with features in magazines galore, skate videos, even video games.

It took us awhile to figure out exactly where it was. While we were there I had the single greatest experience of my life involving someone asking me for money. A kid came up to Luke and me, looking sober enough to be coherent and said the following:

Can you give me two dollars and fifty cents? My friends and I are cooking a pasta dinner and we just realized that we don't have a cheese grater. We really need a cheese grater for this meal so please give us a spare two-fifty.

It goes without saying that I did not give him $2.50, but have since regretted not asking him to trade me a plate of food for cash. Maybe even a sliver of the cheese he so desperately needed to grate would have parted me from my $2.50. Then again, maybe I'm just not hip to Portland slang, and he was telling me that he and his friends were dope fiends.

On Finnair, Finland, the Unceasing Darkness, and Reindeer Flesh

I left Hong Kong Monday morning at 6am to go to the airport. Upon arrival at check-in I was told my flights from London to Helsinki had been canceled due to a Finnair pilot's strike. I was also told that Cathay and British Airways were working to re-book everyone and I should be fine. With this knowledge I boarded a 14 hour flight (and had the great misfortune of sitting in the same aisle as two children under the age of 5, whose parents decided early in the flight there was no way to shut up their kids so they would just drink "another full glass of white wine" and "another full glass of white wine, please" until they, not their children, fell asleep. But I digress.) Upon arrival in London I was told I had no flight to Helsinki after all, but they could get me there by the 19th. My return flight to Hong Kong is for today, the 18th.

After much rigmarole new flights on Scandinavian Air were secured. I spent the night in an airport hotel in London, where the guy next to me at the bar proceeded from check-in to "two double gin and tonics, please" so quickly he actually beat the computer system's ability to recognize his room number. Suffice it to say his drinking speed was stupefyingly rapid. Before I could finish a pint he was four double gin and tonics deep and I retreated to my room for an 8:30pm bed-time rather than face the conversation that was sure to follow. In my younger years I would have stayed put and done my best to figure out this guy's deal and what drove him to such depths, but I have aged.

The next morning I awoke at 4am to head to Heathrow to head to Stockholm to (finally) arrive in Helsinki. I got into Helsinki at 3:00pm, leaving me exactly 30 minutes of sunlight which were squandered on the drive to the hotel. The driver did tell me about an island off the coast of Estonia, where there are many Ukrainian girls. He insisted I change my flight home so I could see this spectacle to which I replied I had a busy schedule and this would not be fit in. He told me that if I didn't slow down one day I would look in the mirror and a 60 year old man would be staring back at me. Welcome to Helsinki, have a nice day.

Last night's dinner; however, was such badass Finnish cuisine (or Lappish if you want to cut hairs here) that I must share. Our apertif was a vodka-esque concoction called the Reindeer's tear. There was no clarification if tear was from the tear duct, or a ripping of the flesh. I will ask next time. Up next was Finnish beer, elk with cabbage, and salmon soup; all served with traditional breads and homemade butter. I was quickly getting into this meal. The main course was a reindeer fillet along with a reindeer roast. Both were served with potatoes and some berries. We finished the meal with a Lappish cheese with cloudberries and a cinnamon cream sauce. My coffee was served in a wooden mug, that has a special name that I could not pronounce, and therefore do not remember.

While my trip has been aggravating, this meal was so rad I know I will forget all the travel issues within a few days. I realized last night that there are really few places left that don't export their dietary staples to the rest of the world. In Vietnam, I ate food I could reasonably expect to find recreated (albeit on a slightly sub-par level) in Atlantic City, or Hong Kong or San Francisco, or on and on. The same is true with most places I've been. This was one of the first meals I've had abroad where if I didn't eat it in the local setting, I would probably never have the chance elsewhere.

More Frankel to turn frowns upside down

Shit eating grin? Check.

Follow and support Jay.

Frankel, Margot, and Sophia show off their poses.

What's better than a day at the beach? A day at the beach doing Asian Poses with Sophia, Margot, and Frankel, that's what. No need for commentary on this set.

Men Shake Hands

After a touching reception on the South Lawn, the delegation from Seattle was given a firm handshake and sent on its way.

Luke v Roy

Roy was a good man, who enjoyed to Dine & (presumably) Dance with frequency at Mary's. Luke is a better man, because he appreciated Roy's dedication and noted that they are still honoring him on the billboard a full five years after his passing. Good catch, Luke.

Sisters, outside of Bend, Oregon

Really enjoyed our time in the Bend/Sun River, Oregon area. Only spent a little bit of time there, but it was enough to make me want to come back. The drive from Portland is amazing, progressing along the Columbia River, up to Mt Hood, then through the high desert. Lots of different landscapes to be seen in just a few hours. There will be more photos from the drive posted at a later date.

Once we got in we decided to do some hiking. This is the first of the two hikes we did; a 7+ mile saunter up to and through a desolate lava flow, surrounded by The Sisters (two of the peaks shown), and some of the other Cascades. Hiking over volcanic rocks is a bit uncomfortable, as its similar to poorly packed gravel. Lots of minor slips, but no major falls. We went to a short peak, around 6,000+ ft, had a couple apples, took some photos, and went for a massive Western style breakfast. Good times.