Oregon Again and Again!

I went to visit my Vietnamese family in Oregon late November til early December. I was just there in past April. Yeah I went again. So what. This time I was able to see a Pete and Steph in their own environment, uptown Portland. Everything was literally walking distance. When I say everything, I mean bars. Pete was introducing me to more scotches, filling me with knowledge. I enjoy blends but single malts are pretty fresh too. Keepin' it G even up in hipster Oregon.

What did I do up there? Ate, drank, played video games, drank some more, and just spent quality time with family and friends. I was able to see their new cars. Kiet got a badass Tacoma and Steph got her cool looking 4WD Subaru Outback. Yeah, we still saw Diego. It was great to see their new apartment. We were able to walk to the Holiday Ale Festival when Khiem got the evil eye from a chic cause he saw her trip. HAHAA! I think thats the only time I drank beer. Everything else was shots or scotch. Wait, I also watched the Chargers lose to the Bengals. That was depressing. After all the drinking, I fell asleep in the bar. It was alright, they had a couch and they let me. You can't do that in Cali.

Another thing you can't do in Cali is experience a true winter. The cold breeze and walking throughout the city is amazing. Architecture was fun to shoot with the seasons changing. I can shoot Portland all day if the weather would let me.

One of my favorite things doing in Oregon didn't even involve going out. It was hanging out in the apartment and talking about life with Pete and Steph. One question that still strikes me "Are you happy?" Such a simple question being so deep. I still talk to Pete on the regular, but in person is a whole different story. Thats why its important for me to visit them. Hanging out with their family was a lot of fun. Chillin' with Mother, mafia Dad, Partner in crime Kiet and Khiem, and it's always pleasant to hang out with Jessica. Like I said in a previous post, it's all about being present. I can't wait to visit Oregon again. Steph and Pete are great host. Thank you guys for everything!!! I miss you guys already.

Camera Info: Canon 20D with either 50mm 1.4 or the 28mm 2.8 and trusty 430ex during indoor flash use.
Since this trip was mostly for me, I doubt people will save these pictures besides Pete and Steph. Check out the photos individually on my Picasa page.


Oregon Trip AGAIN!!! from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Vacation: Oregon Trail Once Again

It's been nearly a month since I left Oregon. Finally had a chance to edit some of the photos from the trip. Great trip. I loved every moment of it. Real fun. So many memories. I'm glad I was able to capture a lot of it via GoPro/dSLR. I was able to do some site seeing in Oregon. We did everything I wanted to do in Oregon, given my wallet agreed with me. LoL!

We went snowboarding at Mount Hood Meadows of Timberlake. First time experiencing powder, empty mountain. I literally felt I was the only rider on the trails. I started to get scared because I wasn't sure if I was near civilization. After a day of boarding, we hit up McMenamins. A local bar that was featured in "Drinking Made Easy" with Zane Lamprey. Walking around the bar creep'd me out with all the scary paintings and knowing it was haunted. I don't know. Something about that place rubbed me the wrong way. I just drank more until that feeling went away. Hahaa.

During my visit, it was also St. Patrick's Day and did some site seeing to downtown Portland. I knew Portland was weird and nice, but didn't realize it was that NICE!! Like too nice. I'm not use to it. I feel like no one can be that nice without a motive. Seeing all the green made me sad that I didn't wear a green shirt. The next thing I know we went to the HQ of Nike. Yeah, I bought a grip of gear. It was awesome!! I was so overwhelmed, I needed Steph and Pete to do most of the shopping for me. So much fresh gear. I like I know what I'm doing when I hit the gym.

Another night of drinking was ahead of me. It was amazing to visit Rogue brewery. Grab some amazing beers, like "Good Chit". Hahaaa. Steph's favorite. After the drinks, hit up the coolest strip club I ever been too. Casa Diablo, meeting "Naomi", one of the hottest girls there. That place has built amazing images in my mind. I'll never forget. That's something that's staying with me. Hahaa.

Go Visit the Trans in Oregon with me next time!!

Oregon Trail '12 from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Mini Vacation: Oregon 2012 from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.