Last week I went to Oregon! It was my first time to go and a long needed vacation for me. First, I went to Portland and had dinner with an old friend of mine, from Baltimore. We ate at Boke Bowl and it was pretty delicious. I really don't take photos of food, but this was really flavorful. We had steam buns, ramen, cauliflower/brussel sprout salad and fried chicken, with hot sauce on the side! The next day I went to Powell bookstore. It is like the Strand bookstore in NYC. I really liked walking around and looking at all the books. This place is big, in fact it is 68,000 square feet big. It also sells totes, socks and posters, which I wanted, but decided against it, since it would get damaged while traveling. I got a tote with a bear playing a keytar, and cat socks instead! I also visited Blue Star bakery and had a key lime doughnut. Walking around Portland, reminds me of Brooklyn, but smaller and more manageable and convenient. I could see me and Matt living there. Lan Su Chinese Garden is small, but tranquil. It has koi fish, lotus blossoms, a small waterfall, pavilions, and ornate bridges. It was nice to walk around this little garden. After spending 2 days in Portland, Matt, Bren and Ben picked me up at my hotel. We commuted down to Bend. We stayed in a residential, resort town called Sunriver. Here we went biking, swimming and tubing. Here's a picture of the whole family, and Tom holding up my exploding kittens card game. Thank you so much Kady and Bren for dinners and organizing the cold Deschutes River, but fun, tubing adventure. On day 2, we went to Elk Lake. In the background is the Cascade Mountain Range. Here is where I finally went paddle boarding! A first for me! It was so much fun. The water is cold, but you get used to it. Earlier that day, Matt and I went to the Lava Lands Visitor Center. We took a shuttle to the top of the lava butte which is about 5000 feet in elevation. We also went to the Lava River Cave down the street. It is a different world in the lava tube! With a 42F temperature, total cave darkness, and rocky terrain, I would not want to get stuck down there! Here is Matt at the entrance of the cave and where you descend 55 steps. It was very dark in there, but my camera had a flash and I finally saw how big it was! I could imagine lava flowing in there, forming a cave 80,000 years ago. Lava River Cave is one mile long and in some places, 58 feet high. It takes about 1.5 hours to tour the whole thing. I was getting cold and tired, so we made a U turn and headed back towards the entrance. This picture is of Matt leaving the cave. I really like caves and it is so much fun to explore. There were a lot of families and groups touring this cave, so get there early! After spending 4 nights in Sunriver, we drove to Cannon Beach. Upon research, I decided to stay at this hotel that was the closest to Haystack Rock. It has an amazing view of the beach and the 235 foot rock! Close up, we witnessed sea birds and tide pools. I have always wanted to go here since I saw the Goonies movie. Haystack Rock was formed from lava flows about 10 million years ago. This lava flow also formed some of Oregon's coast. Haystack was once part of the Oregon coastline, but erosion has separated them. Hug Point is on route 101, about 5 miles away from Cannon Beach. It has small caves that are carved in the sandstone and a little waterfall. The reason why it is called Hug Point is because when early settlers were exploring the coast, they had to "hug the road" before the highway was built. I have to admit, Oregon is beautiful and full of Ponderosa Pines, chipmunks, mule deer and eagles. Next time I want to visit Crater Lake, and the Painted Hills.
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I went to the Coney Art Walls exhibit yesterday and it was pretty fun. I love all the murals and it was such a great, sunny day to go to the beach. First up, from El-Seed, the mural is in Arabic and is translated: The only thing people have in common is the fact that they are different. This style is known as calligraffiti, a combination of calligraphy and graffiti. To me, I didn't see that as first. I saw beautiful curves, and colors coming out of a background full of white and gold. But now it is more meaningful. This is Ron English and he is a toy designer, street artist, and fine artist. I personally don't like any of these character, but I like the way Ron put skeletons in their mouths. This is from Buff Monster. I have seen his stuff before in Bushwick. I really wanted ice cream after I saw this, but got french fries instead. This reminds me of peer pressure of indulging in ice cream, but not so! It is a story of Hercules deciding whether or not to go to the healthy side, or the life of sin. My favorite mural, done by How and Nosm. I love the colors, movement, composition, everything! I'm sure there is a complex story in this beautiful piece. Miss Van! Female artist from France. There are 2 horses on both sides of her main character. I couldn't get them in, due to the people sitting in front of the mural. I really don't like people in my photos! Anyway, I love her green braided hair, and outfit. She does a lot of recurring themes that involve female characters with masks. I love this style! To me this is cartoon-like, and fun! Another female artist, Kashink usually paints men that are fat. Even though they are fun to look at, they are relevant and serious; the murals deal with death and social interactions. This is from RETNA. To me this is a maze and a world you can get lost in. Lastly, this is from ROA. The other side of this mural is a rat, but I prefer the skeleton side. ROA usually paints in black and white and depicts animals. His beautiful art is everywhere, but I prefer to look for it in abandon buildings! There were 34 murals in total, but these were my favorite. I really love all the artists and it was Curated by Jeffrey Deitch & Joseph J. Sitt. After looking at the murals, I walked around Coney Island. Coney Island has been around since the 1890s and is still rad as ever. I remember when I first moved to NYC, 12 years ago, it felt magical to me. I can't explain it, but it has a lot of history that makes people feel nostalgic. Coney Island hasn't been developed (condos, hotels) but the rides have been updated and remodeled. I want a doughnut prize! I think I will make one instead! The original wooden roller coaster, called the Thunderbolt was built in 1925. In 2013, a new steel roller coaster was constructed and has a 90 foot vertical drop, inversion loop, and a top speed of 65 miles per hour! See the people on the top? They are about to shit their pants! Lastly, I attended the Coney Island Sideshow. There are a lot of books/ history surrounding the theme of "freaks", and human oddities. These were real people that had genetic disorders, and had no where else to go in the 1920s. Some people thought they were also being exploited. Now people there perform acts, such as sword swallowing, fire and glass eating, being a human pin/nail cushion, which I all saw...
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My short blog topics include: photography, music, science, crafts, vacation photos, movies, events in NYC, and of course stop motion animation.
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