Portland Memories ~ Callahan

 12/26 (Thursday)

• We flew out, I went through standard security with Dad and Cooper, we finished before Landon who went through TSA precheck and got his bag pulled. Watching dad go through normal security is very fun to see. Multiple delays at the airport but we made it. 
• We confirm Dad got scammed on VRBO but he got his money back. His VRBO had no reviews which I can see Mom teasing him for that. 
• End up staying at a Holiday Inn which is fine, but the beds are less than ideal. Keaton and I shared a room and Coop and Landon shared a room. 
• When we told Colton that we ended up at a hotel, he says “I know the hotel you’re staying at.” Later he tells me the reason he knows this hotel is because he came here once to get a free breakfast lol

12/27 (Friday)

• We went to breakfast at Riverside Bar and Grill. This started a 3 day stretch where I order pancakes every morning. I love pancakes lol
• We go to the college and Colton shows us around. Seems like they have a pretty good set up. The court has really nice grip, Colton said that when we played ball in Utah when he came home for Christmas, that he could tell a big difference in how “grippy” the court is. He was also playing in high schools when he was here, so it might just be that the college takes better care of the court than high schools normally do. 
• Dad took us to a knife shop to kill some time today. I like knives, but I can only look at them for so long. All of the boys were ready to leave within 10 minutes of arriving but Dad loves to look at knives lol. We weren’t there that long though, maybe 45 minutes. 
• We went to Oswego Grill for dinner. Dad and I both got the filet mignon. It was fine, doesn’t compare to Dad’s filet. With that being said, filet always tastes amazing, so I had no problem finishing mine at the restaurant. 
• Dad popped an edible before dinner without telling us and it started to affect him half way through dinner. He seems fine at the restaurant, but once we got to the car he just needed to sit in the back and close his eyes. The 5 boys went to Salt and Straw and left Dad in the backseat in the parking garage. We got our ice cream and brought it back to the car where we hung out until we all finished our ice cream. I think Dad was okay, but he wasn’t able to communicate very well. 
• We drove back to the hotel and played the Great Dalmuti for a while before calling it a night. 

12/28 (Saturday)

• Ranee’s for breakfast, I think everybody decided this was the best place we ate for breakfast. Colton wasn’t with us, and that’s why we went because it’s 21+. I got pancakes again, and dad got the eggs Benny, and Keaton tried it because dad said it was good. Keaton recently has trust issues with ordering eggs Benny from restaurants because he’s had nasty ones the last 3 times. 
• Colton played Green River for the first game of the tournament. Green River had a few players from Utah, one that went to Copper Hills. The game was very close until halftime, and remained close for most of the game but ended up losing by 10. I thought Colton played decent while he was in, but he did foul out. 
• I think we ended up having McDonalds for dinner again
• We played the Great Dalmuti again for a while.

12/29 (Sunday)

• Biscuits Cafe for breakfast after trying to go to Babica Hen. 
• The sun finally came out today, I was starting the think Oregon was like Alaska where it never sees the sun in the winter. 
• Colton played Walla Walla today, which they have played before and Clackamas lost that game. This game was more fun to watch than the previous game. Walla Walla has the top 2 leading scorers in the NWAC, so they had to play well to win. The top player for Walla Walla had some pretty difficult buckets, and watching good players make good plays is always fun to watch. Colton had a really good game and was the leading scorer on both teams with 24 points. Colton’s roommate Conner had a good game as well, I believe he had 20. 
• We went to Bamboo Sushi for dinner after Colton’s game. The Green Machine roll is the roll that everybody loves. This was the first trip that I had it. It lived up to the hype. I got another roll that was pretty good as well, but when we go back, I’ll likely just want more Green Machine. When you put 3 rolls of sushi in front of 6 guys, it’s gone pretty fast. 3 Green Machines came out at 8:15, and they were gone by 8:16, we kept an eye on the clock. 
• After dinner we went right next door to Salt and Straw for some more ice cream. I’m sure the workers are tired of seeing us, but it’s okay since they won’t see us for a while (after tomorrow).

12/30 (Monday)

• Colton played Edmonds today in the last game of their tournament. The first half was very close and competitive, it felt like the refs were letting some foul calls go, but I thought it was fine because it seemed to be going both ways, just a lot of physical basketball. The 2nd half stayed pretty close for most of the game, the last 10 minutes of the half there was a lot of foul calls, especially against Clackamas. It got pretty hard to watch because every possession the game would be stopped by a foul call. They ended up losing the game, but they had a chance to win it if they hit a few more shots throughout the game. Colton had a decent game, he hit 3 threes, which was good to see because I know he’s been struggling from 3 a little bit. (I give him shit about his percentage) Overall foul count on the game was 28-16, Clackamas with 28 fouls. 37 free throws for Edmonds and 13 for Clackamas. 
• Din Tai Fung is overrated in my opinion. There’s a few dishes that are pretty good but Bamboo and Tepanyaki are better overall 
• Small struggle to get out of parking garage after dinner at Din Tai Fung. Colton parked in a hotel parking garage that closes at 7pm, and we got back around 8 I think. We had to get into the hotel lobby, which was also locked unless you had a key card from the hotel. We got in to the hotel because there was a security guard close by that was able to help us. 
• Went to Salt and Straw for the last time, it was delicious again. Colton and I got double scoops and Keaton made sure to tell us that a double scoop is “too much ice cream” and Colton ended up spilling in his car. Keaton used that as another reason why not to get 2 scoops. 
• Played Great Dalmuti for a few HOURS after dinner and ice cream. Dad played for a while which was fun because he doesn’t understand the strategy as much as us (and he doesn’t care lol). That led to multiple funny plays by him. 
• I ended up winning most of the games tonight, the game is much more fun when you’re on top. 

12/31

•  McDonalds for breakfast today (Colton’s request lol). I don’t really have an issue with McDonalds breakfast, but it is funny that that was his choice. 
• At the Portland airport, Dad got us into the Delta Sky Club (he thought he could only bring 2 guests in, but was able to get all 4 of us in). Keaton and Landon had experienced the sky club before, but it was a first for me. There were complimentary drinks and snacks. I’m not normally a drinker, but since they were free, I had a few mimosas. They were okay considering how much of a baby I am when it comes to tasting alcohol. 
• We spent around 2 1/2 hours at the sky club because we were pretty early for our flight. Dad and Keaton were very happy to be in the sky club, and it was a lot better than if we were just sitting by our gate. We played the Great Dalmuti for the last time and I continued my winning ways. 
• The flight went quickly this time with no delays. 
• I was very excited to get home because I hadn’t been sleeping very well in the hotel bed, and to see my wife and dog.  Kate came to pick me up at my parents house and she brought Vera so we could walk her around my parents neighborhood because it’s much nicer than walking her in my neighborhood in Kearns. As soon as I let Vera out of the car she chased a cat that was off by the Hansen’s house. I chased her down and we went on our walk and went home.