Weekend Trip to Beaver Country

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Carrie Liston and Nate Chipps will be getting married at the end of July. Yet before they exchange their holy never ending vows in front of God and Kate Stein, they decided to see if their relationship could pass the ultimate test-- a weekend with Seth and David.

The four took a road trip through the Diamond State to see the Husky basketball squad tangle with the Oregon State Beavers.

The first stop, however, was the Mima Mounds of Mystery in Southwest Washington. No mystery here, they are really dull. Unless the mystery you are looking to uncover is what’s it like to stand on a really cold prairie surrounded by mounds, while the noise of gunshots from the nearby Evergreen Shooting Range ring in your ear.

Soon they were back in the car and heading into our neighbor to the south. No not the short Bulgarian woman who lives in our basement, but Oregon.

With our bags dropped off at the Corvallis Econo Lodge it was time to explore the OSU campus. Twenty minutes later we were done and ready for some basketball action. However, since it was only four in the afternoon we busied ourselves by sitting in silence at the campus athletic center.

Gill Coliseum is decorated with murals of former Beaver greats; you can imagine our excitement to find that our original seats were under Gary Payton, who was also immortalized on a giant banner.

The game itself was high scoring affair…for Washington, and we marveled in the play of Brandon Roy. He along with the three point shooting of Ryan “The Major” Appleby lead the Huskies to a 96-63 victory. At halftime David marveled in the adorableness of Meat Loaf a Black Lab in need of a home. After petting him for forty minutes he was removed by Oregon State Security.

On the way home it was time for a side trip to the most glorious place on the face of the earth: Powell’s Bookstore. Seth, who had never been, soon found himself in heavenly bliss as he filled his pockets with used and new books.

The rest of our time in Portland was spent having the best Dim Sum we could remember, an ill-fated walk through the Pearl District, David and Seth excitedly planning a summer trip to Portland for a game at PGE Park, and of course a return trip to Powell’s.

Nate made the drive to Seattle in two and a half hours, where the clear day and setting sun made for incredible views of Mt. Rainer. Home just in time for a Jason cooked dinner-- and oh yeah Nate Robinson won the slam dunk contest.

Tonight in honor of President’s Day we will be watching West Wing, The War Room, and eating Lyndon B. Jonsonville brats and pasta.

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