Road Diaries Day 1: Portland Revisited

     Good morning from Portland, Oregon! My morning person tendencies are a bit much for some, so my fantastic road buddy is sleeping and I am fighting the urge to burst downstairs and shout excitedly that "We're in Portland! We can't sleep! There are pancakes to be had!" For those who read my previous blog, we are going to Slappy Cakes before hitting the road again up to Spokane, Washington. But until then, I am enjoying the crisp, cool Oregon air coming in through the windows, and writing this blog.

In a Nutshell: Overview of Day 1.

Route: Sacramento, CA to Portland, OR.
Miles traveled: 593
Hours in the car: 10.5
Coffee consumed: Caitlin: 1 cup Starbucks. Cortney: 0. I'm high on life.
Food Highlight of the trip: Vegan Oreo-Peanut Butter Doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts, Portland.
Quote of the Day: Caitlin: "Apparently these people learned to drive from Mario Kart. Pretty soon they're going to start throwing bananas." Yeah, people were cutting us off in a most dangerous manner on the freeway. As we were slowing to come in to road construction. Kind of scary.

Oh yes. My first donut since going vegan. I am hooked by Voodoo magic. 

Happenings from Portland

     We're staying with my new friend Zia, who I met at Lost Valley Blues Recess near Eugene about two weeks ago. She has a lovely cute house with a lovely cute kitchen where I am sitting and typing right now. This is why I love blues dancers. We are an extended family of sorts, and in any city where I know dancers I am confident I will always have a place to stay. I've hosted other dancers myself at home in Sacramento, and will happily do so again :-)

    We went dancing last night, in fact. Portland has a fairly large venue called Tuesday Blues, with a large upstairs ballroom, smooth floor, and several other rooms for lessons, competitions, and general hanging out. The atmosphere was friendly and there were dancers of all levels and backgrounds. I highly recommend stopping in, and first-timers are free. Caitlin put up with me dragging her out onto the floor and subjecting her to my mediocre leading for a couple songs- perfect way to loosen up after ten hours in a car.

    On another note, though, I have noticed so many poor people on the streets in Portland- they stay on the streets in their sleeping bags, some with signs asking for money but most just quietly waiting for who knows what. Entire groups wait outside organizations and agencies like the Rescue Mission and Salvation Army. I am not sure if there are more homeless people in Portland than in other cities, or if we just happened upon where most of them go, but I couldn't help but feel the dissonance in my experience as I flitted around, energized by the area's natural beauty and amazing food, walking right by dozens of people just laying on the streets.

     Portland has a surprising grittiness to it- I am always surprised, because of the contrast with the wonderfully pristine forests and picturesque resorts that make up so much of Oregon. I like the contrasts within this city though. Old industrial bridges stand next to space-age-looking glass buildings that jut up into the sky like needles. There is a diversity of architecture ranging from the Old West to the artsy to the new frontier, all jumbled and linked with dirty concrete steps, idyllic little parks, tantalizing food trucks, street musicians with dreadlocks, and mildly creepy alleyways where people probably smoke pot. I can feel the several hundred years of bustle and history in this Northwestern city, even amid the youth and almost insurmountable hipness. The pioneer days of the 1800s, the growth of logging and industry in the 1900s, and today's largely young hipster population devoted to organic food and recycling make Portland full of life and multiple personalities. And, of course, amazing food. I am so tempted to get a box of donuts before I go...