{She Said} Girls' Weekend

I'm going to throw a fairly inflammatory comment out here into the ether.

You may get a tad riled up about it.  

You may think I'm barking up the wrong tree. 

You may have a bone to pick with my opinion.  

But trust me, o best beloved reader...I am right on this count, and I simply won't quibble over details:

My husband is the level best man around. 

In fact, he beats the pants off any other husband, hands down.

Here's why...

I recently observed a birthday.  

My request to El Husband regarding said day:  

"Keep it low key, please. A little slice of cake, a nice meal out with you, and some flowers. That would be just right."

Did he listen?

Nope.

Did he comply? 

Not on your life.

Did he go with my request?

Ha!

What he DID do, however, was beyond my wildest hopes. Funded by a super secret Swiss bank account {note to self: look into that}, Mr. Sneaky-Britches purchased clandestine plane tickets, made under-the-table plans, and on a rare golden afternoon, he presented my {mostly} unsuspecting person with two of my near-and-dear girl friends from Denver.  Thus kicked off one of my favorite weekends ever.

These two lady-yahoos descended on the Pacific Northwest in style!  

Our first meal together involved a visit to one of the food cart neighborhoods of this zany city for a dinner of diminutive fried pies.

Becca (l.) & Michelle (r.) at Weezie's Pie Cart, Portland, OR ~ August 2010

Little bitty savory pies for dinner!  Portland, OR

Saturday morning found us roaming the awesome farmer's market in search of all kinds of tasty and pretty.  Somehow I missed documenting the jalapeno popsicle...trust me, it's no great loss. 

Farmer's Market, fresh peaches. August 2010, Portland, OR

Don't know what the heck this flower is, but it's everywhere. And it's lovely

Then we made like pioneers and headed west for a little coastal time. Over two hours in the car, and I think we touched briefly on every topic in our collective circle of knowledge! I think my girls had the nerve to be surprised that the city soaked us in a summery temp around the high 80's, while the coast was a balmy high 60's.  We wandered in the sand, found itty-bitty jellyfish, avoided the seagull carcasses, and gabbed so much that Michelle started to lose her voice. 

Becca and Michelle at the beach~ Oregon~ August, 2010

Of course, we had to find some awesomely tasty sustenance, because I am all about a good lunch.  {Inlander that I am, before I moved here,  I had no idea that fresh clam chowder does NOT have chewy little shoe-leather bits in it.  Apparently, an encounter with truly fresh seafood is not meant to strengthen your jaw muscles.}  

Coastal clam chowder...soooo tasty.

                          

After 20 minutes of inhaling smoke and eating sand, the doggone fire finally came to life, and we dried out a bit. {I took an unexpected dunk up to my waist while trying to cross a "stream" to some rock formations.}

My chicas, thawing out.  August, 2010

Just in case I hadn't consumed my full allotment of gluttony, Michelle introduced me to a hitherto unknown level of bliss: s'mores with a peanut butter cup in lieu of the chocolate square.  Honestly, people, you must get your hands on one of these as soon as possible! 

{Michelle, my waistline is in danger.  And my mouth is sooo happy.}

Peanut-butter cup s'mores, courtesy of Michelle.  August 2010

                          

I am one of the luckiest people ever...great friends, awesome husband, and such a superb birthday weekend treat!  Bart, bless you for this best of all surprises.  Becca and Michelle, thank you for your incredible friendship!

Three yahoos at the beach, August 2010