After all the hard work I have been putting in, yesterday I took the day off to relax and be able to go and do something with Shay during the day. We started by going rollerblading along the Willamette River here in Eugene. I believe we rollerbladed for probably 4-5 miles. The scenery was beautiful and we kept running into these world class athletes. You see, they’re having the US Olympic trials for track and field going on in town. When going down these trails and you run into other people, there is a distinction between the normal people jogging and the athletes who are in town with Olympic dreams.
Hunger pangs started to set in while rollerblading. Once we got back we Googled chinese restaurants in the area and decided to get out the Fortune Inn. The reviews were promising but once we pulled into the parking lot and saw the building, I started to have reservations. By no means was this place the type of restaurant you’d pick off of appearance alone. So we got in, got a table and glanced over the menu. All the while, the one waitress who was working the whole room would stop by our table and be very curt with us. We understood why, the poor lady had 10 tables that she alone had to handle, but still… It’s not fun having rude service. We ordered our dishes and in a short while they came out and they were just awesome! It was really good food and certainly not the type of food you’d expect from such a dumpy looking place with rude waitstaff. We dug in and shared our courses with each other and had quite the filling lunch.
After lunch, we came back to Anna and Nate’s place to just relax. We put in a DVD, updated this website with a new blog and some pictures, and even caught up with some laundry. Once the evening hours came, the four of us decided to check out a restaurant that’s situation along the Willamette River, called McMenemin’s. Anna was telling us that they’re a bit of a chain restaurant in Oregon. What they typically do is buy an old building, fix it up and turn it into a restaurant. I guess they’ve redone old school houses, residential houses, and other things of that nature. The food was good and the scenery excellent (we got a table outside).
Once dinner was done, we split off into two groups. Nate and I opted to check out the minor league baseball game while Anna and Shay went to the naked lady party. Yes, the naked lady party. More about that in just a moment.
Eugene has a single A minor league baseball team in town. They’re called the Eugene Emeralds and they’re a San Diego Padre affiliated baseball team. Outside of the St. Paul Saints, I never got to see a minor league baseball game before, especially a team who is affiliated with a major league club. It was an experience because these guys are still pretty rough. Granted, all of them have to be from ages 18-22 or so, but you got to see them make a lot of mistakes. There was plenty of highlights too, but one thing that sticks out is the trouble some of them were having with pop flys. They would make these super awesome catches and they really shouldn’t had to have. They were fairly routine plays and they misplay them and then have to make up for it by diving or falling backwards. Still, it was fun.
And then there was the naked lady party. Let me tell you about this one… First off, it’s EXACTLY what it sounds like. I’m just kidding, but a guy can wish, right? So, what happens here is there is a group of woman that gather and they all bring clothes or housewares they no longer want or need. They, of course, bring a lot of wine to drink as well. So they’ll spend a few hours going over everyone’s items and trying on clothes and take home the things they really like. Anna and Nate are in the midst of moving to Omaha and Anna was happy to dump a lot of the things she didn’t want to take with her. Dumping items off at the naked lady party will always help with a move. 
I have posted pictures from Portland and Eugene, so please check those out.
Day 43 Pictures - Portland
Day 44 Pictures - Portland
Day 45 Pictures - Portland
Day 46 Pictures - Eugene
