Day Five--Crazy Cats and Green Green Green!

I hate to say this, but I'm beginning to lose steam on this whole really detailed posts of my trip things.  It takes forever.  I have been back from a week, and my narrative is only up to day five of a ten day trip.  I think I'm going to change formats to more pictures and fewer words.  There are other things I want to blog about, like my Marijuana Free 420 Party, the ward talent show, and other stuff I've been meaning to say forever.  But if I follow my current pattern, I'll be blogging about my spring break from now to two weeks from now.  And to that I say, "Booger!"

So we're going to start going faster.  Some of you may  miss the detail; some of you may be thanking your lucky stars.  So here go, the somewhat shortened version of Day Five.

The morning of Day Five (Monday) was dominated by two things: Allie's and my quest for veggies and hummus, and the cats.  Let me just say that I like cats.  I grew up with cats and although the amount they shed has begun to alarm me more as I care more about my clothes and hair in my food, I still find them desirable cats.  Allie just doesn't like animals.  Really.  She and our roommate were talking about pets this week, and Al sees dogs as "dirty and dumb." Cats are less dumb, she admits, but she doesn't like them any better.  That being said, she handled the situation at Angie's remarkably well.  Angie has two cats, Zowie (sp?) and Dr. McGillikitty.  Zowie is all black and very skittish.  Dr McGillikity is a gorgeous cat, and at first I thought we were going to be great friends, until that morning.  Angie had to go to work at five, and Shane had class at seven, leaving us alone in their apartment with their cats.  Apparently having visitors turns the doctor into one grumpy cat.  Every time I came within five feet of him he would set up the low, whining growl that cats usually use as a prelude to more forceful measures to keep their personal space.  He would blockade the hallway, bathroom, or couch.  He would bully Zowie.  He was not a happy kitty.  So our getting ready that morning was accompanied by the nearly constant yowling of the cat.  Meanwhile, Zowie would hide under a table, chair or couch, and we'd have no idea she was there until we accidentally startled her by breathing.  Suddenly a black, furry shape would detach itself from a shadow by our feet and streak away across the room.  As soon as Angie or Shane came home, Dr. McGillikitty would come out and ask to be pet, all loves and smiles.  Zowie would jump up on Angie's lap and preen.  It took me the entire stay in Portland to get Zowie decently comfortable around me, to get McGillikitty to ask to be pet, and to figure out their crazy relationship in the slightest.  How Allie handled it with as good a grace as she did I don't know, especially after McGillikitty chewed the cord on her new duffel bag in two.

Dr. McGillikitty, looking peaceful and content.  I never saw this face again after this picture.

Besides our time spent marveling at the feline residents, our morning also included a quest for fresh veggies and hummus.  After eating rich, heavy food for days, we were craving something light and fresh and healthy.  But when we typed Angie's address into google maps and asked it for grocery stores near us, it became apparent that Angie and Shane live in a grocery wasteland.  With no exaggeration, they were at the center of a dead zone.  The map showed a ring of grocery stores that were all equally far away from where we were sitting comfortably on the couch.  But, our cravings were severe, so we set off in the direction of what we judged to be the closest one.  Besides vegetables, I was craving something whole wheat.  Four days of rich food, white bread, and white rice were starting to get to me.  Luckily, the closest grocery store was Whole Foods, which had ample vegetables, about 20 different kinds of hummus, and, best of all, bread samples.  Allie and I sat there "sampling" different types of bread for almost ten minutes.  Thick, fresh, dark break, full of seeds and wheat and all sorts of yummy things.

When Angie got home from work, we ladies headed out to Oregon's Old Historic Highway.  This offered us great views of the Columbia River Gorge, short hikes to multiple impressive waterfalls, a beautiful drive through Oregon's beautiful forests, and lots of time to giggle in the car.  Even the time Angie took the wrong road for half an hour proved a delightfully scenic side trip.  What always caught my eye was the green.  So much green.  I'd never seen green like that before I went to Japan, and I haven't seen it often since.  I spent all day geeking out about the size of the trees, the moss, and the green.  Here are some of the highlights:

The view.

I OWN waterfall one.

Waterfall Two

Did you know we're awesome?  We're pretty awesome.

Waterfall Two gets its portrait taken.

Multnomah Falls--the famous one!

On the edge.

Look Mom!  I'm dangling over a waterfall!

That evening the three of us decided on pizza and a movie.  A movie theater within walking distance of Angie's place was not only a $3 theater, but also had tables inside where you ate the pizza and drank the soda you purchased by the slice and pitcher.  After about 5 p.m. they don't allow minors in anymore, and that's when they start serving alcohol as well.  Angie, Allie, and I contented ourselves with orange soda.  I got jalapeños on my pizza for the first time ever.  It was pretty good.  Especially with plenty orange soda to wash it down.  The movie itself wasn't what I was expecting.  I walked in knowing nothing except the title, The Illusionist.  I didn't know I was walking into an animated French film that was a beautifully drawn silent movie that would make me cry.  I loved it, but I wish I'd had some time to prepare my expectations for that kind of depression.

I couldn't get any good pictures of the green on Day Five, but I got some good ones on Day Six--Japan and the Drunk, which should be up soon.