The quiet returns

Erica and P-J arrived in Portland Wednesday night. They had been in Vancouver, BC, where P-J had a wheelchair rugby tournament (Sweden finished fourth in the world, by the way, and as a sidenote, wheelchair rugby is hardcore!). Bobby and I met P-J and Erica when we went to Sweden in 2008, and we hit it off right away. This time around, the doorbell rang, and there was Erica! "Good," she said, "I was afraid this wasn't the right house!" We hugged and went out to show P-J where to park the car before bringing their stuff inside. Shortly after, we took them to Dots for beers, dinner, and catching up. When we got home from Dot's, they pulled a few plastic bags from their suitcase. Guess what was inside!



I just about fell over. I'll be saving these for a special occasion. Thursday night, Bobby was in class, so I had our guests to myself. They spent the day shopping on Hawthorne and had already eaten at Cha Cha Cha, so we walked down to Laughing Planet for me to get a burrito and the three of us to have some drinks on the patio.



Walked back to the house and found Bobby returning from school. We hung around the house and chatted for the rest of the evening, and stayed up too late, as usual. Friday, they met me for lunch at the food carts. I went to the Real Taste of India, and they grabbed quick falafels after their GPS sent them the wrong way. I sent them to the Nike store and toddled back to work for the day, anxious for 4:30 to hit so I could go play with my friends again.

Finally, it was time to go. I dropped in on my office's happy hour for a little while before meeting back up with Bobby, P-J, and Erica at Ron Toms.



We were joined by several friends, and stayed for a while before walking over to Rotture, which was surprisingly close, to see Vice Device (Bobby Eagleson and DJ Linoleum) play. Ran into Conor and Jonathan, as well as a few other people, while waiting to get in. We found a table before it got too crowded, and hunkered down. I borrowed this photo from Erica's blog. It's totally great.



Once our friends' set was over and I started to get the sleepies, we walked back to Ron Toms to get the car, and returned home again. Woke up early(ish) on Saturday to take Erica and P-J to Genie's, our typical weekend breakfast haunt. That was very nice because our previous guests from Sweden weren't here on a weekend and we didn't get to take them out for brunch. Genie's was less crowded than usual, but it still took forever to get a table. But, what's a wait when you're in good company?



Genie's was, well, Genie's. When P-J mentioned that the bacon was too burnt, the busser (not our waitress, who is always lovely) said, "yep." This is why hipsters should not work in the service industry. We followed breakfast up with a trip to Target, which is a staple of American life if ever there was one. I lucked out and found the final piece to my Halloween costume while I was there, and we went to the nearby shopping center for Erica and P-J to fulfill more requests from their friends back home. The fine folks at Converse made many sales last week. Because Saturday was P-J's birthday, we had a barbecue and I decided to make him a red velvet cake! Cakes in Sweden are quite different (and also delicious), so I figured this would be a special treat. It turned out mighty well, if I do say, and the birthday boy was pleased. Unfortunately, I forgot to make him wear a party hat.



Sunday was our last full day with them, so we had lunch at Grand Central before driving out to Multnomah Falls for a little while.



On the way back to town, I realized they needed to buy whiskey for a friend, and started calling liquor stores. Stupid Oregon and its liquor laws, all of them were closed. At last, I discovered that the one in the Pearl was open for another hour! Erica and I went in, while the boys waited for us in the car. When we were paying, I asked the cashier if he had any bubble wrap because Erica was going on a plane. That's when an incredibly obnoxious customer piped up, and this exchange took place:

Girl: "You're going on a plane? Where?"
Erica: "Sweden."
Girl: "Oh my god are you from there?"
Erica: "Yes."
Girl: "Say something! Say something in Swedish! Say something in your accent! Say hi!"
Erica: "Hej."
Girl: "Say I wanna [do something vulgar] with you!"
Erica: "What?"
Girl: "Say I wanna [even MORE vulgar] you!"
Me: "Goodbye!"

To think, they made it this far without encountering an ugly American, and this girl had to go and ruin it. Fortunately, it was pretty funny. We made some dinner and settled down to watch Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire (with a bit of Sister Wives, since crazy people fascinate P-J and Erica too!). Soon, though, bedtime arrived. They were due to drive back to Vancouver in the morning, and Bobby and I were sad. We didn't want them to leave! They met me at work the next morning to return the house keys and say goodbye. We hugged, I practiced my rudimentary Swedish one last time with a "hej då," and off they went.

When I came home later, I discovered the guest sheets and towels had been delicately placed in the washing machine, the pillows were stacked at the head of the bed, and the Swedish hair products no longer lined the bathtub. The house is now quiet again as Hotel Awesome is closed for the season. It was wonderful to see you again, friends. Come back any time!