Halloween morn arrived bright and early at 8am. It was 5pm in Spain and I read Time magazines until my cute sleeping friend woke to help me figure out her coffee machine. By noon we hit the costume store where I selected a lovely convict minidress and Donita, the gangster equivalent. Perfect, Halloween was ON. Donita had so many fun tourist ideas, the fish market, the Space Needle and a boat ride called the Duck but time was running a bit late, so next time Seattle, I promise!! After a quick stop at Taco Time with a very unsatisfied employee worker, we were off to Portland!
Oddly, once we crossed over the Oregon line our Oklahoma accents returned with a flourish. I am not sure if it was us getting tired or the fact that the state began with an O but the twang was back. And I liked it.
We arrived at my brother’s home with my nephew and orange margaritas patiently (impatiently?) waiting for us. So nice to see my family, I never see them often enough. Avery changed into his spider costume and then was off to get some sugary sweets for Aunt Kim. He scored some good stuff – Nerds, Lollipops and Pixi Sticks were MINE. Now, time for the adults to celebrate Halloween. 
My brother and his wife joined us out for Halloween at my mom’s goading and my happiness. It was such a fun night out with them and their friends. So much better than Donita and me going out to random bars and getting hit on by random men (hey, we’re cute, it happens a lot), but no worries my handsome German, they all pale in comparison to you….cue romantic music.
So, Halloween! Donita and I checked into the Hotel Deluxe in Portland. Awesome hotel, fabulous price, muy delicioso brunch….and just call front desk if you need ANYTHING. We spent most of Halloween at the hotel bar, The Driftwood Room, with our group of eight. I thought my department of corrections outfit was really cool and was in the mood for breakin the law….don’t worry, never did. A few went out to smoke and I was telling the rest of the table that I was the jail doctor because the word DOC was on my left front pocket. We made up silly jail doctor stories and when Donita came back from the smoke break I proudly proclaimed:
me: D, I am a DOCTOR. See, it says here (as I underlined the word DOC on the front of my outfit with my finger). DOC.
D: (grabbing my shoulders and turning my back to her) Um, no, you are Department of Corrections. As it says on the back of your dress.
me: (light bulb, blonde moment) OoooooHHH!!! Wow….damn, I thought I was a doctor!! Whatever, still going to be a doctor. Another vodka tonic please!
Soon The Driftwood closed and we hit a dive bar around the corner where we played the Jukebox and pretty much goofed off acting completely stupid. What’s new? The drink of choice was Sweet Tea Vodka. OH MY GOD! You mean I can have sweet tea as an alcoholic drink too? If you live in the south you know about sweet tea. It was goooood. Sweet Tea Vodka (mixed with Sprite?) , a Jukebox, hilarious time with friend and family – it will be a Halloween I will never forget. Soon, the dive bar was closing too, Donita and I grabbed handfuls of candy from the basket and ran out the door.
November 1st arrived nicely without a hangover and some scrumptious brunch at Gracie’s Restaurant in the hotel. My favorite breakfast ever was on the menu, eggs benedict, each of us ladies ordered one and shared – the classic with bacon, smoked salmon, baby spinach and wild mushrooms or Dungeness crab and Oregon Bay shrimp cakes. YUM. My brother had the corned beef hash which looked really good too. Sadly, once brunch was over so was my time with Donita. She was meeting BF#2 (or was it #3?) before she headed back to Seattle. D….you are a rockstar. Thanks for the escaped convict/gangster memories.
Next up: Hangin with the fam in Portland and the exciting world of Celtic Thunder.
GOING NINETY MILES 