Cirque du Soleil (!!!) and Trout Lake heaven

Hello everyone!

I had a really wonderful weekend. Friday night I met up with Elaine, Dave & Gina and we drove to the Delta for dinner. Mmmmm southern food! We had the fried okra appetizer with lots of hot sauce. I thought of my dad of course as he grew up eating lots of okra in North Carolina. My dinner was half a bbq’d chicken in Delta Red sauce, potato cheese casserole & collard greens with pork. So much food, so very good. I always leave with leftovers. We then drove across the river and parked. We had tickets for Cirque du Soleil! There’s not a bad seat in the house though our seats were just a few rows from the stage. It’s really beyond me how to describe what it was like to see this show. It is absolutely incredible what these people can do with their bodies. My hands hurt from clapping, I said “omigod!” countless times, my mouth was agape for ages. It was truly amazing. The men in gold lame suits flipping each other around, the woman on the ring flying above the crowd as she hangs from only her neck with no safety harness, the beautiful men (twins??) performing unbelievable acrobatics while swinging high above the stage, the crazy bendy girl balancing on a single hand while spinning around! It was truly a spectacle! The show let out to traffic fun and we made our way back to Elaine & Gina’s house. Gina and I watched Austin City Limits with Jack Johnson and Rilo Kiley then we all scattered to bed.

Saturday was a beautiful day! Tons of sun and warm already by 9 AM. I packed up my stuff and headed over to Elaine & Gina’s house. We were all running around getting ready to go up to Trout Lake. Elaine came back from the store with insane amounts of flank steak and habaneros. She sliced the meat and I julienned the peppers. I wore plastic baggies on my hands to prevent horrible burning from the insane oils of the hot peppers. Elaine mixed the meat, peppers & onions together in a huge Rubbermaid container and marinated them for several hours in preparation for that night’s potluck feast. We got on the freeway around 12:30. It was a beautiful sunny drive. I could look at the tops of the cliffs in the gorge through the sunroof. I saw a bald eagle flying above the Columbia and grinned. We crossed the Hood River Bridge and had an incredible view of Mt Hood from the Washington side. As we drove up we got fantastic views of huge snowy Mt Adams. At Wampler’s house I set up my little tent in his backyard since a mob scene of house guests was expected.

We went to Jason’s cabin in the woods and then walked to the frisbee golf course. There ended up being 12 people and two dogs on the course so it was a fine example of herd golfing. There were a few patches of snow left but the wild strawberries are growing again and I can’t wait for the meadows to be choking in daisies again. I hit many trees and took lots of pictures. Hunger began overtaking us and we headed back to Wampler’s to begin preparing dinner. Gina & I prepped the salad while Elaine began grilling the habanero steak. Wampler made two pans of cornbread. I laid down in my tent for a bit to nap then I walked down the street for some unobstructed views of Mt Adams. I got back to the house just as dinner was being served. Lincoln & Alicia had arrived from Portland and made gnocchi & marinara. Trout Lakers arrived bringing fresh pineapple and baked eggplant with mozzarella. It was a fantastic meal. Wampler’s house is a great spot for a potluck. After dinner we cleaned up then made our way down the street to the Inn.

The Inn was hosting an Earth Day celebration with tons of music. Dave played along with Wampler on accordion, Steve on mandolin and Eric on banjo. Lincoln also played his mando & guitar and Jimmy played electric guitar. Michael Sean Cummins sang & played his guitar also. I’d never seen so many microphones on the stage before. I counted 10 guitars, banjos & mandolins on stage at one point including a 12 string guitar which Steve can play beautifully!

Out in the back yard there was a big fire going in the fire pit. It was a beautiful place to sit and look at the crazy field of stars hanging above our head. We all drank beers and listened to music and danced and played cards and sat by the fire and talked and talked and talked. Of course I took too many pictures. I’ve been trying to remember to take video too which is always fun. The night ended with Dave singing one last song on the porch (World’s Greatest Lover) but he messed up the punchline and we all heckled him. Terry meanwhile was strangely accosted by a man who kept wanting to know what it was like to be so tall (Terry is 6’8”). “Do you like it? Do you like it?” The world is full of strange people. We traveled the few blocks home and sleeping bags began filling up the floor. I was happy and warm in my tent. I had my mummy bag inside an old-school flannel bag as the lows were supposed to drop into the 30’s. I slept beautifully and was never once cold.

I woke up to sunshine and breeziness. Any day I wake up in my tent is the start of a good day. We drank coffee and sat outside in the sun while the eggbake cooked. By early afternoon we finally motivated to get on the road back to Portland. It was a beautiful, sunny drive back through the gorge. At Elaine’s house I started taking my pictures off the camera. I went in their backyard and sat in the sun with my book for quite awhile. It was in the upper 70’s so I was happy to just be outside. Elaine & Gina came back to sit in the sun and we chatted and had drinks. Gina went to the store and got stuff for dinner. We grilled chicken legs & thighs served with a big Caesar salad. It was very tasty and I’m lucky enough to have it again for my lunch today. I went home after dinner clean-up and unpacked. I listened to music, watched an episode of Six Feet Under and then read my book before going to bed.

So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you’ve been up to!
I hope all is well!

Xoxox,
carolyn