Tag Archives: Memorial Day 2023

Jul10

Memorial Day in Portland – the Climbing

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Saturday, Sunday, and Monday – 25-May-2023, 26-May-2023, and 27-May, 2023

Historically, I used to go on big Memorial Day adventures – trips to Acadia, flights to France, adventures in Joshua Tree, and recently a drive down to Sacramento. This year, though, I kind of needed some rest and relaxation… Life, the Universe, and everything has been a heck of a time, and some downtime was exactly what the doctor was ordering.


Monday, 27-May-2023

Jess and I went climbing! At Ozone! Again!

It’s simple, right? I’d lived in Portland for ages, but how often did I actually get to go climbing outdoors? Not that often… though I will admit that, in retrospect, I did get out a fair bit… it always felt like a major objective, some huge challenge to get out into the outdoors to climb.

Now, it seems quick. A drive to Ozone isn’t long, even though I live further South than I did before. Maybe it’s not having to commute during the week, that lets me appreciate the drives a bit more?

Meh, who knows. We got to climb!


Memorial Day had been chill – biking around on Saturday, lazing around the house on Sunday… I was ready to stretch out and get some climbing in!

The Routes:
– Old Toby, 5.7, Trad, Lead!
– First Breakfast, 5.8, Trad, Lead!
– Second Breakfast, 5.9, Top Rope!
– Prancing Pony, 5.7, Trad, Lead!

And… that was it.

We didn’t do that many climbs, truth be told… and even then, I’m not 100% certain that the routes I wrote above are correct. I didn’t actually take notes, this time, and I frankly can’t quite remember why… Either way, I’m very certain that we did get out and get to climbing.

Why am I so sure?

Because, dear reader, I remember the picnic we had next.




After climbing, we drove down the road a little bit, off the main highway, and found a spot to rest.

Jess laid out the spread we’d bought the night before – a meat and cheese plate, with crackers and jam and drinks and… my ohh my. It was seriously amazing! We ate, we drank, we chatted, and I even flew my drone around a little bit… getting one or two good pictures of your favorite picnic-eers.

Yay Memorial Day!

Jul9

Memorial Day in Portland – the Biking

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Saturday, Sunday, and Monday – 25-May-2023, 26-May-2023, and 27-May, 2023

Historically, I used to go on big Memorial Day adventures – trips to Acadia, flights to France, adventures in Joshua Tree, and recently a drive down to Sacramento. This year, though, I kind of needed some rest and relaxation… Life, the Universe, and everything has been a heck of a time, and some downtime was exactly what the doctor was ordering.


Saturday, 25-May-2023 (and a bit on Sunday, I think?)

I’ve also always had a dream of enjoying Portland from a bike… I’d biked around a fair bit while living in North Portland, but the rides were generally few and far between – and almost exclusively solo. I wanted to ride with a friend, enjoy the long warm summer evenings, and just appreciate what Portland has to offer.

Jess and I both have bikes, are both in solid shape… so hey! We got a bike adventure going!

The majority of the adventure took place on Saturday – we did a glorious loop all around Portland, going from her place in Southeast to her new place in Southwest, then into Northwest for some desserts followed by dinner (since you never know how long the world will last… have dessert first), and then a lovely ride back home.

We took the gondola, we appreciated the views, and we ate some absolutely glorious food from Papa Hayden (amazing deserts) and Matador (glorious tacos). We biked ’till we were exhausted… and then biked a bit more. We cruised home riding the high of a perfect day, with perfect weather and perfect sunshine (deflected by perfect sunscreen!).



On Sunday, we relaxed for most of the day, but made a point to head out onto the town in the evening to harvest a bit more of the lovely biking weather. A ride to dinner (German food! I had Schnitzel for the first time!), an attempt at dessert (Pix isn’t open anymore, sadface), and then a successful dessert run (an ice cream shop that also sells Charcuterie plates to go?).

It wasn’t the full-day adventure of Saturday, by any means… but it was still absolutely lovely, and gave us the freedom to have a super lazy day and pretty much binge all of Arcane (a great single-season TV show that I absolutely adore). So… absolutely a win of a day!