Pulled into O'Fallon, Missouri (suburb of the StL) last night at around 7p...
3704 miles and 55 driving hours after it all began.
Pictures can be seen here.
Until I travel again, any interesting things or ramblings that happen can be read about on the other blog.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Wide Open Spaces
Here I sit after another 13 hour day in the car...3k miles into my journey...and somehow, still enjoying it. Sure it might be the fact that I'm in a better-than-ok hotel room watching Tommy Boy for the millionth time, but I also have to admit that my appreciation for America has definitely benefited from my trip. It really is a beautiful country.
A couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday:
1. The Testicle Festival. I don't know which I love more, the fact that the billboards offer the festival's schedule for like the next four years (just in case, you know, you can't make it this year, but wanna pencil it in for 2011)...OR the fact that the website is "testyfesty" dot com. "Get in the car kids, we're headed to The Testicle Festival!" Definitely takes Montana's weird level to 11.
2. Good morning Mr. President. Before I left SF, Tara passed along the audiobook of Barack Obama's "Dreams From My Father." Anyone who reads my other blog, knows I love listening to Obama talk...well he reads the book, and then they also tacked on his speech from the 2004 Democratic Convention. So it was kind of like he was there with me in the car. Chatting it up. Telling me his story. It felt so real that last night when Obama was on the news, I actually felt like I knew him. Hilarious...
(**Also hilarious is that my favorite part of Tommy Boy is happening right now. BEES! Save yourself!! Don't be a hero!! Your firearms are useless against them!! **)
Alright, onto today's events:
The first event of the day was crossing over into Wyoming. Another new state! By the time this trip is over, I will have been to at least 33 (?) of the 50 states. (I'm not sure I remember exactly which ones of the little northeastern ones we did on our 1996 roadtrip. I know I haven't been to Maine, but think it's possible we went through Delaware and/or Rhode Island or Connecticut...)
First up on the sightseeing front: Devil's Tower.
So bizarre. Erosion at its finest? Definitely a sight to behold. You can climb it, but I'm not really into hiking and climbing by myself. Mostly because I'd like to live, or at least have people know pretty quickly if God forbid, I didn't.
So then there was lots of driving. (Actually it's only like 125 miles from Devil's Tower to...the four prezzies. The "world famous" (seems a lot of things are world famous) Deadwood is in between.)
I got giddy as soon as I rounded the corner. It's just a weird thing to see, even if you're expecting it. I also liked that on my way up, a little sign told me that North by Northwest shot in the area. As it works out, that's one of the Netflix movies I currently have in my possession. So now I'm even more excited to watch it. (I also love Jimmy Stewart.)
They're having an Easter service tomorrow morning at the Mount, but I didn't stick around because everything near the monument is still closed. Matter of fact, a lot of the little kitchy stuff along my route is still closed because of the time of year...Thankfully I have continued to have good luck in the way of winter weather and road closures (as in, none of either).
So back to the exhibit. I was most intrigued by the stories of the workers who chiseled the faces off the mountain. Tom Brokaw narrated a short movie about it which I also enjoyed. In addition, I learned that the workers only made between $5 and $10 a day. A day. To precariously hang over the side of a mountain and either jack hammer or blast it with dynamite. Crazy.
Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, so I saw that. And then I decided to take the long way back to the highway and check out the Badlands. Which were pretty bad ass.
Until I decided that I had been on this particular road for too long. I consulted my trip tik, but the road I was on didn't have any signs or markings so I couldn't figure out where I was in comparison to where I wanted to be. So when I saw a sign with an arrow pointing to the highway...I took it...
Eventually, I made it out alive. And right in time for Wall. Which KDL had been excited about me seeing. And which I would have missed if I hadn't taken the dirt/gravel road dotted with plague-afflicted prairie dogs.
Here I met a super nice guy. Dad age. He worked at the boot store. I told him what I was doing and where I was going and why. (The story came out after I fell in love with a pair of boots that at $180, are too pricey to rationalize in my currently unemployed state.)
Aren't they adorable? Can't you almost picture me in a Taylor Swift-esque sundress and boots combo?
The guy at the store, we'll call him Ken because that's his name, believed in my cause, and liked what I was doing, and said that sometimes you've just got to do something like what I'm doing. So he took my name, and has put the boots on hold until May first. They've been discontinued so he's pretty sure they'll be clearanced in the next week or two. At that point, I can pay the lesser cost, and he'll send them to me.
So, yee haw!
The Corn Palace might be the only thing on tomorrow's itinerary. I would like to go to the Telephone Museum in Lincoln (yes the one they went to in "Yes Man" is a real place!), but seeing as it's a holiday, I'm pretty sure they'll be closed. Wunh wunh. (On bad timing, not the holiday.)
Happy Easter! I will definitely miss the Hollywood Bowl church service I've gone too the past few years.
A couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday:
1. The Testicle Festival. I don't know which I love more, the fact that the billboards offer the festival's schedule for like the next four years (just in case, you know, you can't make it this year, but wanna pencil it in for 2011)...OR the fact that the website is "testyfesty" dot com. "Get in the car kids, we're headed to The Testicle Festival!" Definitely takes Montana's weird level to 11.
2. Good morning Mr. President. Before I left SF, Tara passed along the audiobook of Barack Obama's "Dreams From My Father." Anyone who reads my other blog, knows I love listening to Obama talk...well he reads the book, and then they also tacked on his speech from the 2004 Democratic Convention. So it was kind of like he was there with me in the car. Chatting it up. Telling me his story. It felt so real that last night when Obama was on the news, I actually felt like I knew him. Hilarious...
(**Also hilarious is that my favorite part of Tommy Boy is happening right now. BEES! Save yourself!! Don't be a hero!! Your firearms are useless against them!! **)
Alright, onto today's events:
The first event of the day was crossing over into Wyoming. Another new state! By the time this trip is over, I will have been to at least 33 (?) of the 50 states. (I'm not sure I remember exactly which ones of the little northeastern ones we did on our 1996 roadtrip. I know I haven't been to Maine, but think it's possible we went through Delaware and/or Rhode Island or Connecticut...)
First up on the sightseeing front: Devil's Tower.
So bizarre. Erosion at its finest? Definitely a sight to behold. You can climb it, but I'm not really into hiking and climbing by myself. Mostly because I'd like to live, or at least have people know pretty quickly if God forbid, I didn't.
So then there was lots of driving. (Actually it's only like 125 miles from Devil's Tower to...the four prezzies. The "world famous" (seems a lot of things are world famous) Deadwood is in between.)
I got giddy as soon as I rounded the corner. It's just a weird thing to see, even if you're expecting it. I also liked that on my way up, a little sign told me that North by Northwest shot in the area. As it works out, that's one of the Netflix movies I currently have in my possession. So now I'm even more excited to watch it. (I also love Jimmy Stewart.)
They're having an Easter service tomorrow morning at the Mount, but I didn't stick around because everything near the monument is still closed. Matter of fact, a lot of the little kitchy stuff along my route is still closed because of the time of year...Thankfully I have continued to have good luck in the way of winter weather and road closures (as in, none of either).
So back to the exhibit. I was most intrigued by the stories of the workers who chiseled the faces off the mountain. Tom Brokaw narrated a short movie about it which I also enjoyed. In addition, I learned that the workers only made between $5 and $10 a day. A day. To precariously hang over the side of a mountain and either jack hammer or blast it with dynamite. Crazy.
Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, so I saw that. And then I decided to take the long way back to the highway and check out the Badlands. Which were pretty bad ass.
Until I decided that I had been on this particular road for too long. I consulted my trip tik, but the road I was on didn't have any signs or markings so I couldn't figure out where I was in comparison to where I wanted to be. So when I saw a sign with an arrow pointing to the highway...I took it...
Eventually, I made it out alive. And right in time for Wall. Which KDL had been excited about me seeing. And which I would have missed if I hadn't taken the dirt/gravel road dotted with plague-afflicted prairie dogs.
Here I met a super nice guy. Dad age. He worked at the boot store. I told him what I was doing and where I was going and why. (The story came out after I fell in love with a pair of boots that at $180, are too pricey to rationalize in my currently unemployed state.)
Aren't they adorable? Can't you almost picture me in a Taylor Swift-esque sundress and boots combo?
The guy at the store, we'll call him Ken because that's his name, believed in my cause, and liked what I was doing, and said that sometimes you've just got to do something like what I'm doing. So he took my name, and has put the boots on hold until May first. They've been discontinued so he's pretty sure they'll be clearanced in the next week or two. At that point, I can pay the lesser cost, and he'll send them to me.
So, yee haw!
The Corn Palace might be the only thing on tomorrow's itinerary. I would like to go to the Telephone Museum in Lincoln (yes the one they went to in "Yes Man" is a real place!), but seeing as it's a holiday, I'm pretty sure they'll be closed. Wunh wunh. (On bad timing, not the holiday.)
Happy Easter! I will definitely miss the Hollywood Bowl church service I've gone too the past few years.
Friday, April 10, 2009
They Say That The Road Ain't No Place to Start a Family
I hit the road running this morning at 8a Seattle time...12 hours and nearly a thousand miles later, I checked into an inn in Billings, Montana. I forgot to check the speedometer before coming up to my room, but I think I've logged just about 2300 miles. That's a lot.
On my way here, I:
- saw this:
Snoqualmie Falls
- Turned up the contemporary Christian music when driving through the foggy wintry passes got nerve wracking...
- Drove through the county that produces the most potatoes...what might surprise you is that it's in Washington state.
- Ventured into Idaho for the first time. And fell in love. Seriously, the sight of Coeur d'Alene lake may be one of the most breathtaking stunning views I have ever seen. The entire drive on the 90 in Idaho is stunning, but this lake, and the backdrop...wow. The road is such that it doesn't lend itself to pulling over and taking pictures, but I thoroughly enjoyed this leg of the journey, and would (gasp!) consider vacationing in Idaho without much arm twisting. For serious. I was surprised too.
- Next up was Montana. And the transition into mountain standard time. And LOTS of mountains. And the continental divide. Which, horrifically and honestly I don't remember the significance of, but I guess it's worth mentioning because they put a little sign up about it.
- Got off the highway in Butte to gas up for the side journey to Yellowstone, only to consult my AAA guidebook and find out that the roads in the park are only open May - October...so I guess whenever I head back to Idaho or something, I will have to tack Yellowstone on to that trip. Fingers crossed that Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore are open for business.
So here I am in Billings, enjoying free wifi and a lil Sex and the City...wondering what tomorrow will bring.
On my way here, I:
- saw this:
Snoqualmie Falls- Drove through the county that produces the most potatoes...what might surprise you is that it's in Washington state.
- Ventured into Idaho for the first time. And fell in love. Seriously, the sight of Coeur d'Alene lake may be one of the most breathtaking stunning views I have ever seen. The entire drive on the 90 in Idaho is stunning, but this lake, and the backdrop...wow. The road is such that it doesn't lend itself to pulling over and taking pictures, but I thoroughly enjoyed this leg of the journey, and would (gasp!) consider vacationing in Idaho without much arm twisting. For serious. I was surprised too.
- Next up was Montana. And the transition into mountain standard time. And LOTS of mountains. And the continental divide. Which, horrifically and honestly I don't remember the significance of, but I guess it's worth mentioning because they put a little sign up about it.
- Got off the highway in Butte to gas up for the side journey to Yellowstone, only to consult my AAA guidebook and find out that the roads in the park are only open May - October...so I guess whenever I head back to Idaho or something, I will have to tack Yellowstone on to that trip. Fingers crossed that Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore are open for business.
So here I am in Billings, enjoying free wifi and a lil Sex and the City...wondering what tomorrow will bring.
Springtime in Seattle
I fell in love with what I now know were cherry blossom trees in Portland. So when yesterday, I was trying to figure out what I should see next up here in Seattle, the answer became clear: I had to head to the quad.
Something happens to me on college campuses. It used to be anxiety. Now it's like "oh to be back there." Well kinda. I'd like to go to like one class. Not class after class after class and do homework about it. So I arrived on the campus of UW and started walking. I made several observations.
1. Despite declaring the other day that I was not a co-ed, not yet a cougar, I found myself attracted to more than a couple of these college guys. I tried to rationalize that the ones I thought were cute were most likely graduate students and nowhere near 20 years old.
2. Girls are bitchy. Walking behind them, listening to them talk. Ugh. Glad that time is over. I searched the crowd of passersby for a group I could have belonged in. I'm pretty sure I found one.
3. But I couldn't help but think that those guys, some of them at least, were going to end up with those bitchy girls and that really bugged me.
Then I found the cherry blossom trees. And nothing else mattered. Even under overcast skies. So beautiful. And I didn't care that everyone was probably like "what is that one white girl and Asian tourist group doing taking pictures all over the quad??" They walk by those trees every day, and I would guess ESPECIALLY on a cloudy day, just pass them by.
After my college experience, I met up with Jill for lunch at Six Arms. We got some tots. They were yum.
The sun was trying to peek out in places so I headed to another stop on KDL's list: Gas Works Park. It was on my way to Fremont. I walked around and enjoyed the view of downtown and all the metally things and the boats and I walked up to the very tip top of Kite hill, and while really wishing I randomly had a kite, I had a moment of zen. Just calm, quiet, do-what-I-want moment.
I was too ancy to sit and read the book I carried up, so I walked around some more and left. Walked around Fremont, remembered I can't buy anything, and went to talk to Lenin about it. (For those who are unfamiliar, there's a statue of him there.)
About that time, Heidi got off school, so we headed out for some vintage shopping...helped Nicole P take the Boss on a walk in Capitol Hill...and ended up at the Coastal Kitchen for dinner. I had the Tunisian-Prepared-Swordfish with another glass of Oregon Pinot Gris. Good, but not the one from 50 Plates...I need to look that one up.
Then we came home, made cookies, tried ANOTHER Pinot Gris, and watched "Yes Man."
That's when I decided that I think I'm ready to move on. Eastbound. Figure out what I'm on the road to figure out.
First stop: Snoqualamie Falls.
Something happens to me on college campuses. It used to be anxiety. Now it's like "oh to be back there." Well kinda. I'd like to go to like one class. Not class after class after class and do homework about it. So I arrived on the campus of UW and started walking. I made several observations.
1. Despite declaring the other day that I was not a co-ed, not yet a cougar, I found myself attracted to more than a couple of these college guys. I tried to rationalize that the ones I thought were cute were most likely graduate students and nowhere near 20 years old.
2. Girls are bitchy. Walking behind them, listening to them talk. Ugh. Glad that time is over. I searched the crowd of passersby for a group I could have belonged in. I'm pretty sure I found one.
3. But I couldn't help but think that those guys, some of them at least, were going to end up with those bitchy girls and that really bugged me.
Then I found the cherry blossom trees. And nothing else mattered. Even under overcast skies. So beautiful. And I didn't care that everyone was probably like "what is that one white girl and Asian tourist group doing taking pictures all over the quad??" They walk by those trees every day, and I would guess ESPECIALLY on a cloudy day, just pass them by.
After my college experience, I met up with Jill for lunch at Six Arms. We got some tots. They were yum.
The sun was trying to peek out in places so I headed to another stop on KDL's list: Gas Works Park. It was on my way to Fremont. I walked around and enjoyed the view of downtown and all the metally things and the boats and I walked up to the very tip top of Kite hill, and while really wishing I randomly had a kite, I had a moment of zen. Just calm, quiet, do-what-I-want moment.
I was too ancy to sit and read the book I carried up, so I walked around some more and left. Walked around Fremont, remembered I can't buy anything, and went to talk to Lenin about it. (For those who are unfamiliar, there's a statue of him there.)
About that time, Heidi got off school, so we headed out for some vintage shopping...helped Nicole P take the Boss on a walk in Capitol Hill...and ended up at the Coastal Kitchen for dinner. I had the Tunisian-Prepared-Swordfish with another glass of Oregon Pinot Gris. Good, but not the one from 50 Plates...I need to look that one up.
Then we came home, made cookies, tried ANOTHER Pinot Gris, and watched "Yes Man."
That's when I decided that I think I'm ready to move on. Eastbound. Figure out what I'm on the road to figure out.
First stop: Snoqualamie Falls.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Diggin the Duwamps
You see, I learned that the original name of the city of Seattle was Duwamps. And that Seattle was the name of an Indian Chief. And that those little pieces of purple glass in the sidewalks of downtown Seattle are actually skylights for the network of tunnels below. That's right, I took Bill Speidel's Underground Tour. It was actually super fascinating, really enjoyable, and our tour guide Lucy was just the right amount of funny to not make the silly jokes Speidel incorporated into the tour so cheesy. Suuuper...
I made friends with two groups from Orange County, California...so that was nice.
I gotta say, I woke up feeling like I would randomly run into Jason The Bachelor today. Mainly because A - I'm really missing random celebrity sightings, and even tho he doesn't really count, he would enough for me. And 2 - He likes girls whose names start with "M," so I qualify.
But first things first...I got here yesterday in 3 hours from Portland. Met up with Heidi and Jill and headed to Greenlake. A lil walk, some coconut shrimp, and a lotta talk and we called it a night...
Jill has promised me that she will pose in front of Heidi's Subaru for cover art purposes for the single Elena and I wrote about the all wheel drive's popularity in the northwest. (Jill is pregnant, which is also apparently a ubiquitous NW spring sight.)
This morning, I woke up and started the day off right Top Pot Doughnut style. After the Voodoo Froot Loop experiment, I kept it simple here with a Cinnamon-Sugar simplicity and really enjoyed it.
From there I went on the aforementioned underground tour...perused Elliot Bay bookstore...and wandered around Pier 50 and into this old store tourist trap of weird things. I watched a nickel Charlie Chaplin movie and paid 50 cents to get my fortune told from one of those machines like in the movie "Big." The card is across the room in my jacket pocket but it basically said I believe in fate and a pre-destined plan to my life and that I'm gonna be happy...I'm pretty sure that's probably what it tells everyone, but it's nice to hear.
Next I drove around and got confused a lot, but finally - randomly - ended up in Ballard where I wanted to be...Archie McPhee was my first stop, but I also meandered through a children's book store (natch!) and a kitchen goods store...I skipped KDL's cupcake rec because I couldn't decide that I was in the mood for one. So I skipped it.
It should be mentioned that KDL offered me a personalized guide email of like 16 things she hasn't shown me in the three times I've been here with her. She also packed me an amazing bag of snacks for the road that is still about half full and still gets perused practically every time I get in the car. She also was my phone-a-friend when I got confused coming back to Heidi's in the dark. She's pretty awesome.
After Ballard, I headed over to visit a family I used to babysit for in San Diego. Ian was 2 when I took care of him there. Now he's almost 7 and his little sister is 3, but this is the second time I've randomly gotten to drop in on them up here, so that's fun.
Tonight I hung out with a crew usually reserved for destination weddings. Not surprisingly we don't need out of town nuptials to have a good time. The beer pong of yesteryear has become a pea exchange between babies, but laughter is laughter, right?? Superfun times.
Not sure what's on tap for tomorrow...I really got a lot done today. Would still like to see the tulips in Skagit Valley...thinking Vancouver can wait until another time...
I made friends with two groups from Orange County, California...so that was nice.
I gotta say, I woke up feeling like I would randomly run into Jason The Bachelor today. Mainly because A - I'm really missing random celebrity sightings, and even tho he doesn't really count, he would enough for me. And 2 - He likes girls whose names start with "M," so I qualify.
But first things first...I got here yesterday in 3 hours from Portland. Met up with Heidi and Jill and headed to Greenlake. A lil walk, some coconut shrimp, and a lotta talk and we called it a night...
Jill has promised me that she will pose in front of Heidi's Subaru for cover art purposes for the single Elena and I wrote about the all wheel drive's popularity in the northwest. (Jill is pregnant, which is also apparently a ubiquitous NW spring sight.)
This morning, I woke up and started the day off right Top Pot Doughnut style. After the Voodoo Froot Loop experiment, I kept it simple here with a Cinnamon-Sugar simplicity and really enjoyed it.
From there I went on the aforementioned underground tour...perused Elliot Bay bookstore...and wandered around Pier 50 and into this old store tourist trap of weird things. I watched a nickel Charlie Chaplin movie and paid 50 cents to get my fortune told from one of those machines like in the movie "Big." The card is across the room in my jacket pocket but it basically said I believe in fate and a pre-destined plan to my life and that I'm gonna be happy...I'm pretty sure that's probably what it tells everyone, but it's nice to hear.
Next I drove around and got confused a lot, but finally - randomly - ended up in Ballard where I wanted to be...Archie McPhee was my first stop, but I also meandered through a children's book store (natch!) and a kitchen goods store...I skipped KDL's cupcake rec because I couldn't decide that I was in the mood for one. So I skipped it.
It should be mentioned that KDL offered me a personalized guide email of like 16 things she hasn't shown me in the three times I've been here with her. She also packed me an amazing bag of snacks for the road that is still about half full and still gets perused practically every time I get in the car. She also was my phone-a-friend when I got confused coming back to Heidi's in the dark. She's pretty awesome.
After Ballard, I headed over to visit a family I used to babysit for in San Diego. Ian was 2 when I took care of him there. Now he's almost 7 and his little sister is 3, but this is the second time I've randomly gotten to drop in on them up here, so that's fun.
Tonight I hung out with a crew usually reserved for destination weddings. Not surprisingly we don't need out of town nuptials to have a good time. The beer pong of yesteryear has become a pea exchange between babies, but laughter is laughter, right?? Superfun times.
Not sure what's on tap for tomorrow...I really got a lot done today. Would still like to see the tulips in Skagit Valley...thinking Vancouver can wait until another time...
Monday, April 6, 2009
Primetime - and Playtime - in Portland
Today I was left to my own devices to entertain myself in Bridgetown aka The City of Roses aka Portland aka *cough* send my things I'm not leaving, wait what?
First stop: Powells.
As a lover of not only books but bookSTORES, I've been dreaming about Powells for a while now. I was not disappointed. Not only did I feel at home, but I found everything I was looking for even though I didn't know the title or author of the book. In one case I found the book myself just by perusing shelves. In the other case I described random details of the book to one of Powell's info peeps and she found the book for me in literally less than two minutes. I was in heaven. (PS those random details were "it's a memoir of a girl who when she was 4 her dad switched places - and families - with another dad because they fell in love with each other's wives.")
So after she found it, she was like, that is crazy, I'm totally gonna read that book and I'm like, right?! I read about in People Mag...I was kind of embarrassed to mention that I read People Magazine there. They don't even carry it.
I of course hung out for a bit in the children's section. I listened in as a dad sat on a bench reading kid books to his little boy. I look forward to those days.
Because the weather was still so amazing, I felt guilty to sit in the store and read books (which is definitely what I would do on a rainy day) and since I had already picked out two, I didn't wanna spend any more money, so I headed back out into the sun.
From there I went to meet Elena for lunch. We ate at a great Italian place. I can't remember the name which super sucks. But I had radicchio salad for the first time there. Wait, I found it! Nostrana! (all by searching "radicchio salad Portland" I heart google!) When I dropped Elena off, I toured the station, met the news director, and got my personal roadtrip forecast from Rod the weather guy. He said it will be smooth sailing winter weather wise, so that's good news.
After that I visited the elephant statue, which excited my dad because he remembers it from his visit. It excited me because I love elephants, so I think of it as another sign. I walked from the statue to the infamous Voo Doo Doughnut. I do love bacon but I couldn't stomach the idea of it on a donut, so I went with Froot Loops and icing instead. It was good. Super sweet, but good.
I finished my donut and drove up to NW 23rd. I walked the length of the shop-studded street and then sat at a table on the sidewalk for - LITERALLY - two hours. People watching. Pregnant girls, Subarus, and weiner dogs were the most frequent spottings.
It was then almost time to meet Elena for dinner, so I drove over to the area where the condo the contractor told me about. It's across the street from PGE Park, which is where the new major league soccer team will play. It's also like three blocks from the NBC affiliate.
Dinner: 50 Plates. Oh so yummy. Elena and I are good meal partners because we both like little plates. Most of our meals we've been able to get a variety of things and share. I also very much enjoyed (maybe too much!) the Oregon Pinot Gris. It went down like water. Even Elena was like, you must really like that I've never seen you drink wine so fast. (as I downed the second glass...) It was super good. Then with the check they gave us the equivalent of a spoonful of chocolate frosting. Literally. on a spoon. Big ups 50 plates.
So I've applied to both the ABC and NBC affiliates here. Neither have openings but, you never know. Who knows what will happen, but I'm interested to find out. Tomorrow I head north to Seattle. Got several people to see, and I'm excited to see them.
First stop: Powells.
As a lover of not only books but bookSTORES, I've been dreaming about Powells for a while now. I was not disappointed. Not only did I feel at home, but I found everything I was looking for even though I didn't know the title or author of the book. In one case I found the book myself just by perusing shelves. In the other case I described random details of the book to one of Powell's info peeps and she found the book for me in literally less than two minutes. I was in heaven. (PS those random details were "it's a memoir of a girl who when she was 4 her dad switched places - and families - with another dad because they fell in love with each other's wives.")
So after she found it, she was like, that is crazy, I'm totally gonna read that book and I'm like, right?! I read about in People Mag...I was kind of embarrassed to mention that I read People Magazine there. They don't even carry it.
I of course hung out for a bit in the children's section. I listened in as a dad sat on a bench reading kid books to his little boy. I look forward to those days.
Because the weather was still so amazing, I felt guilty to sit in the store and read books (which is definitely what I would do on a rainy day) and since I had already picked out two, I didn't wanna spend any more money, so I headed back out into the sun.
From there I went to meet Elena for lunch. We ate at a great Italian place. I can't remember the name which super sucks. But I had radicchio salad for the first time there. Wait, I found it! Nostrana! (all by searching "radicchio salad Portland" I heart google!) When I dropped Elena off, I toured the station, met the news director, and got my personal roadtrip forecast from Rod the weather guy. He said it will be smooth sailing winter weather wise, so that's good news.
After that I visited the elephant statue, which excited my dad because he remembers it from his visit. It excited me because I love elephants, so I think of it as another sign. I walked from the statue to the infamous Voo Doo Doughnut. I do love bacon but I couldn't stomach the idea of it on a donut, so I went with Froot Loops and icing instead. It was good. Super sweet, but good.
I finished my donut and drove up to NW 23rd. I walked the length of the shop-studded street and then sat at a table on the sidewalk for - LITERALLY - two hours. People watching. Pregnant girls, Subarus, and weiner dogs were the most frequent spottings.
It was then almost time to meet Elena for dinner, so I drove over to the area where the condo the contractor told me about. It's across the street from PGE Park, which is where the new major league soccer team will play. It's also like three blocks from the NBC affiliate.
Dinner: 50 Plates. Oh so yummy. Elena and I are good meal partners because we both like little plates. Most of our meals we've been able to get a variety of things and share. I also very much enjoyed (maybe too much!) the Oregon Pinot Gris. It went down like water. Even Elena was like, you must really like that I've never seen you drink wine so fast. (as I downed the second glass...) It was super good. Then with the check they gave us the equivalent of a spoonful of chocolate frosting. Literally. on a spoon. Big ups 50 plates.
So I've applied to both the ABC and NBC affiliates here. Neither have openings but, you never know. Who knows what will happen, but I'm interested to find out. Tomorrow I head north to Seattle. Got several people to see, and I'm excited to see them.
Some Photos to Whet Your Appetite
A random collection of the redwoods and Portland so far...
Gnomie and the Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise. So happy!
Driving through the Redwoods on a sunny day.
A break in the trees, a view of the coast. I wasn't complaining.
Photos can't do justice to the amazing color of the water in this river.
This is what Oregon looks like.
Elvis has left the Saturday Market.
Elena, my host/friend/former KUSI colleague @ the Market.
Hugs...Portland style.
Multnomah Falls. Yes we walked up to the bridge. Yes there's a picture of us there.
Erin's nephew Harper demonstrates "downward facing dog."
Elena's husband Ryan outside Mother's exemplifying the "It's sunny! Get your shorts and sundresses out!" attitude of the locals.
I kept saying. "It's sunny, it's not 80." But it was 70, and that was enough.
Bikes!!!
My VooDoo Doughnut of choice? White icing, fruit loops. It's like breakfast squared.
NW23rd. aka Where I sit typing this right now. These trees are in bloom all over the city. I love them. Can anyone tell me what they are??
More to definitely come. Like in an album.
Gnomie and the Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise. So happy!
Driving through the Redwoods on a sunny day.
A break in the trees, a view of the coast. I wasn't complaining.
Photos can't do justice to the amazing color of the water in this river.
This is what Oregon looks like.
Elvis has left the Saturday Market.
Elena, my host/friend/former KUSI colleague @ the Market.
Hugs...Portland style.
Multnomah Falls. Yes we walked up to the bridge. Yes there's a picture of us there.
Erin's nephew Harper demonstrates "downward facing dog."
Elena's husband Ryan outside Mother's exemplifying the "It's sunny! Get your shorts and sundresses out!" attitude of the locals.
I kept saying. "It's sunny, it's not 80." But it was 70, and that was enough.
Bikes!!!
My VooDoo Doughnut of choice? White icing, fruit loops. It's like breakfast squared.
NW23rd. aka Where I sit typing this right now. These trees are in bloom all over the city. I love them. Can anyone tell me what they are??More to definitely come. Like in an album.
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