Not the message but the clicking of the tape. Every 45 seconds it would click. Someone was calling over and over and over again. I looked at the clock 8:59am I knew something was wrong. I jumped up and hit play, “turn on the TV!” “America is under attack!” “A plane flew into a building in NYC!” There was message after message and as I listened I raced back to the living room and turned on the TV just seconds before the 2nd plane crashed into the South Tower.
I screamed, “No! Oh My God!! What is happening???” WpgBesty came running into the room. We sat there in tears watching the horror unfold. Then the 2nd building hit came roaring down. Right there. On my TV. Live.
Shock and questions. How many people were in there? Who did this? Were there more attacks planned? We knew there were other planes but the information coming out was sketchy. What would happen to the first building hit? Minutes later we had our answer as the North Tower came crashing down upon itself.
The footage was so graphic and terrifying. White ash was everywhere. Screaming. People running. We had just seen people jumping out of windows and now the skyline was filled with smoke and gaping holes where 2 huge buildings had just been standing.
Hours later when I stepped outside to try to clear my head and make sense of the information coming out, the quietness of the city was noticeable. Even in Winnipeg so far away from the tragedies unfolding, we sat in fear and unimaginable sadness.
I remember being glued to my TV set for days. Invested in all of those lives that were stolen under that beautiful blue sky on that September morning that changed everything.
As a country, the United States of America came together that day. Today they are a very divided nation but that day, 17 years ago, everybody wept together.
This weekend Ninja and I traveled to Portland, Oregon. Every moment counts and we want to make the most out of every second we have.
We had such an amazing time! We met some incredible people! The spirit of America is strong… Resilient. We were treated with kindness, humour, and respect. While we were there we got to MEET our Besty from Reasons Are Several and not only that, we got to podcast with him… in the same room! It was awesome! After hearing his voice in my earbuds for so long, to see him face to face was like meeting a celebrity! Check out our latest episode 83: Can-Nah-Dah Comes to Portland featuring Matt from Reasons Are Several HERE
Cinnamon Bundt Cake
Adapted from Belly Full
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating between each one.
Beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.
Pour batter in the prepared pan.
While the cake cools, make the cinnamon glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Heat over medium until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack set over a plate. Using a fork, poke holes all over the cake, then drizzle with the cinnamon syrup glaze.
Portland. What an amazing city! I had been there as a child and my memory of the city was dirty and rainy. This visit left me with completely opposite memories! I will remember this weekend as one of my favourite weekend getaways… ever!
Day 1
Ninja and I left at 5:30am 😳
We drove through Washington amazed by all the different views, landscapes and the mighty Columbia River that seemed to go on forever. We stopped at The Pub of Yakima for the “best burger in town” and a local pint. This was the theme of our weekend. Great food and local craft beer 🍻😜. Our hotel, The Mark Spencer, was phenomenal! The staff were helpful and knowledgeable. After we showered up from our 9 hour drive we headed up to the rooftop patio for a glass of local pinot noir. We shared a delicious sandwich with homemade provolone wiz 🤤 at Lardo and then headed to the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom to see Frank Turner. What a fabulous show! Everyone was singing and dancing and just having a good old fashioned folk punk kinda time. I danced my ass off! Best. Time. Ever. After the show Ninja and I went to The Roxy! It is a super cool diner that serves late night greasy breakfast and has autographs from all different types of entertainers that had eaten there throughout the years.
Day 2
I have been to the ocean before. Or at least I thought I had. On Friday we woke up and drove an hour and a half to Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is where they filmed the parts of The Goonies. Remember when the pirate ship sails off behind those big beautiful rocks on that amazing beach? Yeah, that’s Cannon Beach! I honestly don’t have the words to describe the beauty of the coast. It is everything that I always imagined! The sound of the waves rolling up to the shore, the seagulls, the massive jellyfish and the feel of the sand! It was everything ❤️. I fell in love with Cannon Beach! The town itself is much bigger than it we thought. It had amazing shops, restaurants and breweries! We had a fabulous lunch at the Pelican Brewing! After lunch we drove to Ecola State Park. It’s honestly 5 minutes away but it feels like an entirely different world! Dense rain forest with lush greenery and ancient trees stretching up to the sky! We had fabulous weather, blue skies and warm temperatures with no rain in sight! Unfortunately a few of the trails we had planned on exploring were closed but we did manage to hike to the top of a mountain overlooking Tillamook Rock Light! We even heard seals! I also saw real life surfers which I had never seen before! It was all very overwhelming to my senses 😂. We got back to the hotel with enough time to shower and head out for dinner! We hit up Henry’s Tavern and we were blown away by the great service, the phenomenal food, and the delicious drinks! Craft beer tasting is all the rage in Portland and we tried so many delicious brews! I also enjoyed the local gin and wine! From there we caught our very first Uber, next week on How Was Your Week, Honey? I will be describing all of this in more… Adult detail so tune in to hear those stories 😆 our Uber took us to RASBesty’s hockey game! He’s a pretty private guy so there are no pictures but he is the captain of the team and centre to boot so suffice to say we were in our Canadian hockey heaven! After the game the 3 of us headed back to our hotel room and stayed up podcasting until the early morning road sweepers came out 😳. It was an exhausting but memorable day!
Day 3
To say Ninja and I were a little slow going on Saturday morning would be an understatement LOL by late morning we were up and at ’em and exploring the Pearl District! We walked down to the waterfront for the Saturday morning market. We come from a city that has a fabulous farmer’s market so we were unsure of what to expect.
I am also overwhelmed with love and gratitude for my friends and family! Thank you so much to 3 very amazing women for coming together and really helping us out this weekend! Our kids are our everything and leaving them in such capable & loving hands so that we can have a weekend to recharge, means everything to us! Thank you also to my Dad who spoiled the girls rotten this weekend and looked after them with SO much love! I am so grateful ❤️.
1 thought on “9/11, 62 Hours in Portland & Cinnamon Bundt Cake”
Great post, Kristin! We had an amazing time with you guys and we're so glad you got to experience so much of Oregon.
-RASBesty and Ladyfriend