Oregon Road Trip

I had a fantastic weekend trip to Oregon to attend Ducks football and basketball games, and meet my new co-workers in my company's Portland office. I had planned this trip last summer with a couple of my Chicago friends who are UO alums. When I landed my new job in Portland, I decided to come out a day early and drop by the new office.

I flew into town on Thursday night and met up with my brother Justin and my Portland friends Jay and Brett. They broke the news about that evening's Bears game (ouch!) and we downed a couple of pints at Pizza Roma.

I went to my new office on Friday morning. My new boss and co-workers were quite welcoming; maybe it was just good-vibes Friday but it sure seemed like everyone was in a great mood. I was stunned by the incredible view from my new office, which is in the tallest building in Portland. One of the partners found out that I was going to the Ducks football game, and he invited me to his tailgate party. Lots of Ducks and Blazers fans on my floor!

The view from my new office:

Friday afternoon, my buddies Brad, Nick and Jacob picked me up and we drove to Eugene. We had a marvelous home-cooked dinner at the home of Nick's parents, who graciously gave up the guest bedrooms and the game tickets. After dinner, we went to campus for the Ducks mens basketball season opener. It was my first trip to Mac Court since 1991. After the game, we went downtown to meet Nick and Brad's friends "for a couple of drinks" at the Starlight Lounge and John Henry's. Next thing I know, it's 2:15 AM and last call.

Pre-game at Mac Court:

Friday night follies:

Saturday we had a big gameday breakfast courtesy of Nick's mom. We then went to the UO bookstore to stock up on Ducks gear, then walked around campus for a bit. At 2:00 PM the tailgate lot opened, and we began our parking-lot pub crawl. First we dined and drank with Nick and Brad's friends, then over to the Addicted To Quack blog tailgater where I got to meet several cyberfriends in real life. After that I left the guys to go hang out with the partner at my new office. We had a good time and his family and friends could not have been nicer.

Brad, Nick and Jacob at the footbridge that connect the UO campus with Autzen Stadium:

The path to victory:

The main event: Oregon 44, Arizona State 21. Lots of cheering for the good guys as they rolled into the end zone.

Delivering the home-field advantage:

Can't wait to do it again!