So the first day I hit downtown. That was pretty cool. Went to Powell's bookstore, one of the largest in the world. I then went to a fancy clothing department store and skyped in front of the Gucchi section, classing the place up with my dirty travelling clothes. The thing about Portland is it is so fast-paced. If Colorado Springs felt smaller than it was, then Portland felt bigger than it was. And the stereotypes about the plethora of coffee shops and bicycles are true.
The next day Peter took me to the coast, and I got to see the gorgeous Oregon beaches and sea rocks. And finally made it to the Pacific Ocean. Touched the end of the continent!
I also visited the Tillamook cheese factory, which was pretty cool.
The next day I helped Peter cut some firewood on some property he has. Got an up close look at the local flora. Tried to keep up with my math class which didnt go quite as smoothly as I hoped. But hey I'm in portland, young people come here to retire anyways.
Later I went to the Sunday Market. Plenty of cool trinkets. Plus I saw this performer, which was cool
As far as all the extreme quirkiness that has been so lovingly stereotyped by the show Portlandia, I did not really see that. It definitely had some neat features, but not to the extent I was hoping for.
I did take a run around the Nike headquarters, and that place is nothing but a white-collar, urban paradise.
Peter later took me to see Mt. Hood, a popular ski destination with a historic lodge built by the CCC during the depression. It also happened to be the place where they shot the opening scene from the Shining, which is kind of disturbing. We then drove up the Columbia River Gorge, checked out the wind-surfing mecca of hood river, and saw some beautiful, but loud tourist-ridden waterfalls.
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| Hood River |
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| View of Columbia River Gorge from the historic scenic Highway outlook |
Later, I headed back downtown and stopped at an Iranian food truck. I'm not exactly sure what I ate, but it wasn't bad.
I then said my goodbyes to Peter, who generously showed me around town, and went to stay a few nights with a sister of my former economics teacher, Mr. Brogan. This gave me a chance to put a dent in my math and relax. The family was very hospitable, and it was good place to recooperate. When my craigslist rides flaked on me three times (I begining to wonder if Craigslist isn't 100% reliable) they generously bought me a plane ticket to Denver.
The night before I left, however, I stumbled upon a house party down the street. It was pretty cool. They rented a taco truck, so you know it's legit. I walked in and they welcomed me. It was supposed to be western themed, but I dont think people in Portland know how to dress like that. It looked more like a gathering of hipsters listening to weird techno-country than a gang of cowboys and cowgirls. Other than being significantly younger than most, it was pretty fun. I just chilled by the fire and tried to tell how I got where I was to drunk people. They seemed to enjoy it. The property it was on was also super cool, kind of like an urban oasis.
After that I went to Denver and stayed with some friends of Mr. Brogan's, Shawn and his wife Carolina. Turned out Shawn was a landscape architect, which was cool for me since I had seriously considered pursuing that myself. They showed me around the Denver night life which was pretty cool. Would have been more fun had I been 21 though. The next day Shawn took me to Boulder, and I got to see what everybody raved about. It was pretty cool, but maybe a bit overrated. Lots of Tibetan shops for some reason. Also the rain probably put a big damper on the weather-sensitive Colorado crowds.I'd like to go back sometime and try rock climbing there.
Then I hopped on a Greyhound that evening and headed out to the ranch in South Dakota. Feels good to be here.
Thanks Peter, Raney and Brett, and Shawn and Carolina for putting me up!!
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