Portland

6/11/09

When I arrived at the train station in Portland, I assembled my bike and started riding for my destination...the Weaver/Callahan residence. I was greeted with a welcome letter and a couple of boxes that had arrived for me a few days before. (Thanks Kathryn and Christie!) The boxes were full of fun and relatively useful items that will keep me entertained throughout the trip. My favorite of them is a miniature gnome and 2 disposable cameras.

After finding a place for my things and looking up some directions on my phone, I made my way downtown to a place called Voodoo Doughnuts, famous for its ridiculous toppings and even more ridiculous doughnut competitions. I have heard about this place on several occasions and was surprised upon arriving at a little 10x10 ft. doughnut shop with a menu. I had never seen a doughnut shop with a menu that listed the different types of doughnuts, or one that could charge $2.15 for a fruit-loop cover doughnut. It was still fun to see though.

From here I didn't know where to go and just started riding I don't know where I was but it was a fun ride! Portland is the most bike friendly city I have ever been too. There are bike lanes on almost every street and the ones that don't have them were in the process of having them put in. Everyone was riding bikes and the people in the cars seemed like they were paying more attention to the bikes than driving. Fixies and single speed were the bike of choice, but there were all types of riders. Along with bikes, Portland is covered in Hipsters. It has to be the world's largest consumer of skinny jeans, chuck taylor's, and American Apparel.

After my ride I went back to the house where I was staying and had a delicious salmon dinner with Hannah and Bob. We had fun sharing stories and an some interesting conversation on the topic of Voodoo Doughnuts. I can't thank them enough for their generous hospitality and cold beer! Thanks again Hannah and Bob!!!

I have also decided to stay another day just to organize myself better and make sure that I have everything I need before leaving the convenience of a large city. I will be leaving for Astoria tomorrow though. In the process of typing this in Portland's beautiful Washington Park, I managed to push the "delete posts" button instead of the "publish post" button. I am sorry to say that if you were unable to read the first four posts before today, you are simply out of luck...getting used to using the blackberry is harder than I thought.

-Marcus