Portland, Oregon. "CA-KAW"!!!

Above: The Portland, Oregon skyline might be small but the nightime skies are rather impressive.

This summer we have been traveling quite a bit and still have a few more trips planned before the end of he year. While Paul and I are living on the West Coast, we really want to visit as many places in the surrounding area that we can. Seattle, Arizona and Hawaii are on the list, Paul has been to all three - I have not. Portland, Oregon was also on that list but now we can cross it off.

Above: One of he many drawbridges we saw in Portland, Oregon.

Our trip to Portland was for a softball tournament, so we decided to head up a day early so we could enjoy some of the sights the city had to offer. We also were going with many friends, yes another trip with several friends! Most of us stayed at a renovated motel called Jupiter Motel, it's an old 50s motel that was refaced and given a gay modern makeover - it was pretty cool. There was a tasty restaurant attached called Doug Fir that was very enjoyable.Our first full day in Portland we were meeting up with our friend Casey, Mark and Joe. We were all going to cram into one car and go sight seeing along the Columbia River. Mark and Joe decided they needed more "room" and opted for the cab rather than to sit on a few laps in the car - so Casey, Scott, Paul and I headed on a scenic tour through Portland! Mark and Joe were missed while we were on our little tour.

Above: Me, Scott and Casey enjoying the scenic views.

Above: Whatchu lookin' at?!?

Above: Me

Above: Me and Scott admiring the views.

Above: The Vista House.

I have to say, Portland was very impressive. The scenery was lovely with so much greenery it reminded me of New England in the summer - very green and lots of mountains. Our first stop was the Vista House that had a really cool stained glass castle on the mountaintop and offered views for miles! We tramped around the area for a while then headed to some one the most impressive waterfalls I have ever scene! It was breathtaking. Take a look below.

Above: Multnomah Falls in Portland, Oregon. How amazing is that!?

Above: Me and Paul in front of the Falls.

Above: Casey, Me and Scott.

Above: Casey, Scott and Paul in front of the massive waterfall.


Above: Casey holds up a hilarious sign that we found in a gift shop. The sign is suppossed to be used when you drive and it comes with many differnt sayings that you can flash to people while driving.

Above: Stop staring at Scott.

Above: What IS Paul talking about!?

Above: What ride am I talking about?

After our jaunt through Portland we headed back to the Jupiter Hotel where several hundred gays were gathering to register in the Softball Tournament. We saw many familiar faces from San Fran and several other men from Seattle, Portland and Vancouver. It was pretty cool to be part of a large tournament like this. I have never played in an official softball tournament like this before and I was anxious and excited to play with the big boys!

Above: The Jupiter Hotel.

Above: Each motel room door was also a chalkboard and everyone wrote some fun things on their doors. As you can see above, I decorated the door but some people defaced it by writing trashy things all over it! It must have been Bette Davis!

Above: Our neighboors door.

The next day started bright and early with a full day of softball ahead of us, we knew we had to play at least four softball games so I was prepared to get dirty and play. Our first game started out rough and we were playing a game we should have beat, but we lost. Our "team" was not the full official Pups C division team - the team had a combination of Pups D players and players from other softball teams. So, although the team had a common bond of playing softball and we all got along, we didn’t have the "glue" of the full official Pups C team that played very well this year and I really think that's the reason we ended the day with losing ALL four of our softball games.

Above: The "Oregon" version of The Pups.

Above: Troy and Scott watch in awe!

But what's a gay softball tournament without a teeny weenie bit of drama, eh? Our last game of the day introduced us to a robust lesbian as the umpire and I am being kind when I say robust. She started off on the wrong foot right off the bat (no pun inended) - she had this angry empowerment to her and I knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience. Since I play catcher, I am close to the ump with them being right behind me for a large part of the game. So as the game went underway, the ump told me I was too far back from the plate. Too far back from the plate? I have never heard of such a thing, but I just moved up close to the plate and thought nothing of it. The next inning she then proceeded to tell me I was too close. After she made several bad calls and now she was just being ridiculous with me I plainly said "What the Fuck!?" Now, apparently you cannot swear in a softball tournament, I have no idea why you cannot swear but you just can’t. So she told me that if I swear again she would throw me out of the game. At this point I had already listened to enough of this dyke's bullshit and I turned around, looked her in the eye and said "Then throw me out of the game!" I think she was a bit shocked that I stood up to her, a big badlesbian; I am not scared of them even some of them they try to come off as bullies and power hungry.

Above: Joe is up to bat and the man, I mean woman, in blue is the angry lesbian ump.

Above: Poor Scotty sprains his ankle!

Above: The Pups unite after a hard day of softball.

Above: Jim and Ed! Ed kept score for us and gets my vote for MVP!

Anyway, the fun didn't stop there! After she called a really bad call against PJ, who was playing shortstop, he got upset and threw the ball at the ground towards the pitcher. The ump thought he was throwing the ball at her and all hell broke loose. All I have to say is she most likely won't be umpping a game after this year. End of story. I don't understand why a large majority of lesbians are so angry all the time. They love confrontation, they love to fight, and they appear miserbale..what's the deal!? It just blows my mind. So, we lost all four of our games and earned the last place spot in the brackets for Sunday’s tournament! Ha!

Above: Casey, James and PJ getting through our last game....

Above: ...and Joe has had enough!

Since we were the last place team, we were punished with having to play the 8am game the next morning but that didn't stop up from dancing the night away and getting to bed after 1am! OH NO! We still had our fun and pretty much knew what our fate would be in the morning. We were pretty tired and sore from the previous day and most of us mentally checked out. Scott was hurt physically and I think a few of the players had bruised egos. So we ended up going 0-5 but we all had smiles on our faces and went to go enjoy the entire day in Portland slumming around the city.

Above: Mark and Joe get romantic. They just celebrate 7 years together! Congrats!

Above: Troy and Me are holding a book, I'll let you fill in the blank.

Above: PJ acting all studly.

The trip was great and yet again another bonding experience with friends. I do have to say that I am not a big fan of softball tournaments, I had fun with my friends playing, but I didn’t like playing in the stressful competitive tournament. I prefer the fun and carefree attitude my D division team has and will still to the regular season games. I am ot saying Pups C wasnot fun and carefree, it was just the overall vibe from the other teams. I was pleased with how I played; I did better than I thought, so that was a positive. Enjoy the photos!:-)

"CA-KAW" "CA-KAW"

Above: Me falling asleep Sunday afternoon waiting for the train.

Above: Casey and Joe.

Above: Chip Away is a game Paul and I love to play! Check out who has the high score - it's my all time best!

Above: Manja!