This time 'round was a solo endeavor.
I headed out Sunday early morning and drove to Santa Cruz. I got there in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day hanging out with my cousin and his family who I only see a few times a year. An impromptu water park was created in the backyard. I was treated to wine and turkey dogs and a yummy fruit tart. Excellent times! I crashed in their living room and arose the next day to head to Oregon.
Monday was a full 10 hour day of driving. Portland was my ultimate destination... but I needed to make one stop first...
I meant I stopped in Eugene. Where did YOU think I was going? (ya bunch of stoners...)
Monday night was spent in Eugene where I met up with my friend Nicole and her friends Codie and Caleb who had recently returned from Thailand bearing gifts in the form of alcoholic drinks that tasted, in Nicole's words, "like a grape jolly rancher and a bad frat party". I'll spare the details but the following picture was taken at 3 AM amidst a serious drunken sing-along.
People in Oregon are a hearty bunch of troopers.
Tuesday morning saw us rafting down the McKenzie River with Codie and Caleb (feeling better after separate side-of-road-puking incidents) guiding us through class one and class two rapids. This was my first time rafting and I was incredibly thrilled, excited and mildly terrified all at the same time. We packed sandwiches and ate them in between the choppy bits. It was a lovely day, and we were nearing the end of the trip. We came upon our final rapid. There was speculation later that it was a class 3. We gave it our all, but some how came at it mildly askew and ended up flipping the raft. I remember hitting the water, being completely submerged and clearly thinking three things: 1) I am under the water, but my life jacket will take me to the surface. 2) I have to find the raft. 3) this water is SHOCKINGLY COLD!
It was a bit crazy, but we all made it to the bank-- all oars in tact, all alive, nothing broken. It was quite the introduction to Oregon life! Luckily I didn't bring my camera with me on the boat, or it may have gone the way of my sunglasses during my McKenzie River baptism.
Below is a re-enactment of the moment before we all went over:
Nicole and I drove up to Portland after our rafting trip, and made it into town in time to grab a late dinner at a delightful Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. (pictured below)
Then we went to Laurelthirst, grabbed a drink, took in the atmosphere and listened to a little live music.
Wednesday, I woke up in Nicole's apartment (which I LOVE, by the way. All attic nooks and windows and style!). I stretched a bit, and realized I was sore from the rafting. "hey, Nicole, are you sore?" I shouted out in a wake-up groggy voice. "i don't know. I haven't moved yet." came a sleepy response. I laughed, and discovered more achy muscles. "Ha ha ha--oooh..."
We had breakfast, which is apparently a BIG thing in Portland, at the Tin Shed. I aquired a new beaded bracelet at a nearby boutique. I called a friend of a friend who lived in Portland and made dinner plans. Then we hit some waterfalls and beautiful scenery. (pictured below).
We returned home to Nicole's. She got ready for work, handed me a map, some house keys and suggestions for where to hang out until dinnertime. We went to the rose gardens and parted ways. I took in more breathtaking views and smelled some flowers and headed down to window shop and get some tea along 23rd and Burnside.
(below: shadows near the rose garden)
In the evening, I met up with a friend of a friend named John. He had generously offered to show me some cool places to eat and drink. We ended up getting sushi at a place I can't remember the name of. But it had a model train that went around the bar delivering various sushi foodstuffs. I wish I had pictures, but at this point, my camera battery kept shutting down.
We hit a great dive bar for post dinner drinks, met up with Nicole, had more drinks and then the three of us went to the Kennedy School for late-night tater-tots, hummus and more drinks. This place was an old school that has been turned into a restaurant, bars, hotel, movie theater, etc. It's all school-themed. I think we sat in the Honors Bar, but there's also a Detention Bar-- which would be fun to check out next time.
In the bar, Nicole had met a happy and inebriated couple celebrating their honeymoon (although they hadn't actually gotten marrired yet). They had been together for something like 20 years and were completely in love. It added to the general jovial mood of the whole evening.
I have to take a moment to just say how amazing everyone I met in Portland (and Eugene) is. There is some seriously good energy going on up there. Maybe it's the clean air and all the trees.
Around 2am, we left John (who will hopefully come visit LA sometime), and Nicole and I retired in the wee hours for an early Thursday morning. Well, early for her. She had to be at work at 8:30. I slept in until around 10AM and decided at that moment that I would drive to Astoria.
THUS ENDS the FIRST half of my trip. Another post (chock full of Goonies references) to come later.
1 comment:
that sounds fun!!!! i just went to the wilds of the jersey burbs this weekend. but i did encounter a deer in the backyard...who says the northeast is with out wild life!!!! (besides the kids at the bars)
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