Oregon Getaway 2013 with JM

I just got home from a fantastic quick trip to Oregon.  It was jam packed with friends, family and activities.  I am exhausted!  But it was ab absolute blast, and I loved it!

Tuesday:

Landed and met up with Dane to run this route in Portland.  Cross it off the Bucket List!

I was really nervous to run 6 miles with such a well-known and extreme athlete, but he was very kind about letting me set the pace and never made me feel like I was slow or lame.  We ran it backwards, starting at the g.  He jumped into the street to "dot the i", which was funny.  We quoted Friends, he yelled (and I do mean yelled) PIVOT! when we had to make a 180 degree turn, and at the bottom of the heart, he made me run in circles for a few times just to see if I was paying attention and would follow him!  It was really fun, and I'm glad I'll always have this experience to remember.

Then I headed to Newberg.  Brenda had invited all of her kids over, so I got to see Tyler, Kendall, Kristen and Lindsay!  I love my cousins!  We played Just Dance (I had 'Move Like Jagger' in my head the whole trip after that!).  Brenda is a blast to talk to about running because, like me, she's obsessed and it never gets old to chat about.  Tyler has started getting hooked and is running his first half marathon in September!  Woot!

I forgot to take any pictures on Tuesday! Oops!

On Wednesday, Lesli came and picked me up.  We spent the day in Mac just hanging out.  We ate lunch at The Sage and got lots of chatting in.  I love her!  I fell completely in love with her adorable 4 sons.  I loved getting to know them better.  Lesli was one of my main priorities for this trip because I felt like I didn't get nearly enough time with her last year.  Love this girlie!  I also got to see her parents and Amy Asay.

That evening, I went down to 3rd Street in McMinnville to meet up with my high school friend, Deann.  We have NOT seen each other in 14 years.  It was SO fun to see her!  We talked and laughed and had a ball.  I feel like I found a new friend, and I am so excited that we are reconnected again!  We walked down 3rd Street and reminisced like crazy.  We walked down to the library and pool and went and got ice cream.  She has had the same "journey" into cycling as I've had into running, so that was really fun to talk about.  Plus we just laughed.  "That was it?  3rd street used to be longer."  Wanting to see Ron Kam, and he was right in the window!  Both of us having to catch our breath at the top of a huge hill, but being embarrassed because we both claim to be so in shape!  Shivering during our ice cream.  Hilarious high school stories.  Good times!  It was so great!  Check out our view during dinner!

On Thursday, Nikki came and picked me up from Brenda's, and we headed to Neskowin (the coast) with a big group of girls.  SO FUN!!!  Just like 3 years ago (slightly different group of girls), we sat around and chatted.  Like last time, there were usually atleast 3 separate conversations going on at once.  I loved being with my wonderful friends.  All 7 of us are active LDS members, and I think that is so amazing and special!

Seeing Robin was a special treat because she was actually in town visiting from Michigan!

Me pointing out that she is pregnant!

That afternoon, the girls all had to leave for home, so it was just Nikki, her girls and me.  I loved getting to know all of the kids better.  We got some ice cream and took our time getting back to Portland.  We stopped by the temple and saw the new Visitor's Center.

That evening, we went to her house and finally got some good kid-free chatting in, which was great.  I love Nikki so much!  I think out of all of my Oregon friends, she and I have the most history and experiences together.

On Friday, we slept in, then went on a nice 5-mile run.  Lots more chatting there!  We took our time getting ready and then went to a park in Vancouver so her girls could play while we...you guessed it...chatted!  It just never gets old!  I love my childhood friends so much.

Looking across the Columbia River into Oregon.

Okay.  And now the big finale.  JOHN MAYER!!!!

Ready for the show!

The venue was literally 15 minutes from her place.  We knew a friend of ours from Mac, Nicole, might be there, but we weren't sure how to find her.  Turns out she ended up pulling in right next to us!  And THEN it was a complete shock and surprise for me that Kathleen Fraser ended up being with her!!  Kathleen and I grew up doing ballet together!  I have not seen her in a good 15 years!  We didn't get to chat for very long because we didn't sit together, but we did get to catch up for a few minutes, which was just a complete cherry on the top of this trip!

Phillip Phillips opened for John, and he was awesome!   We had lawn seats, which weren't great for pictures, but just fine for the overall concert experience.  The sound was perfect, and watching the tv screens was fine for us.

Ok.  John.  JOHN!!  MAYER!!!

The set was AWESOME.  The whole vibe of the show was so so cool.  He was so happy and funny.  The music was unreal.  I just sat there and soaked it in.  So incredibly brilliant, I can hardly stand it.  He was so kind to the audience, gave hilarious blurbs between songs, and you could tell that he is so happy to be back!  One fan was holding up a sign asking him to play 'Fool to Love You', so he had them film her sign and he sang it to her!  It was an awesome show.  His best yet, I think.

My pictures are not very good, so here's a few of mine, and then a cool shot from his website.  Nikki's camera did better too, so I might throw hers on here when I get them.

Set list:
Queen of California
Paper Doll
I Don't Trust Myself
Dear Marie
Half of My Heart
Fool to Love You
Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad
Love is a Verb
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Your Body is a Wonderland
Wildfire
Something Like Olivia 
Who says
If I Ever Get Around to Living
Waiting on the World to Change
Born and Raised
AGe of Worry
Gravity

Face to Call Home

It was good to come home this morning.  Claire ran up to me, jumped in my arms, kissed my cheek and squeezed my neck.  So sweet!  Now we just have to wait about a week for Daddy to get back!