First Stop: Portland, Oregon

Go by Train. Union Station, Portland, Oregon

When Nicole arrived to collect me, she asked where all of my stuff was. I am the lightest traveler I know. Here is where I will offer you my tips on traveling light: wear the same thing every day, but make sure to shower as much as possible and keep your socks and underwear clean. It's easy. If I was not thinking about going to New Zealand's winter, my bag would have been smaller still, and every time I travel, it is smaller than the last time. Save room for the camera.

My small bag. Three months.

From the station, Nicole and I went to the Farmer's Market where we looked at art and tasted samples of beer and popcorn. While checking out some cool photographs at one of the booths, a vendor approached me to small talk - I love small talk! I can't remember what led up to him saying this, but here is what I remember: "People think they don't deserve art. We have to trick them into buying it." I love that.

Saturday Farmer's Market in Portland.

After wandering around the market, Nicole brought me to Huber's, which is Portland's oldest restaurant. It's really cozy inside and feels haunted. Perfect. Natural light comes into the restaurant through stained-glass windows on the ceiling.

The thing about Portland is that I've been drawn to it since about 2009, about a year after moving to Colorado from New Jersey, and I keep going back. I just FEEL like I am supposed to live there. The first time I visited was in 2011 when I bought a plane ticket after receiving one of those cheap-flight-alert emails. So I buy this ticket to Portland without knowing anyone there, without a plan, but trusting myself that it'll be okay and looking forward to an adventure. A few days before I was leaving, I found out that my boyfriend(-at-the-time)'s sister lived there. She said I could stay on her couch but she had to work the entire time and wouldn't be able to show me around. She didn't know me yet. I was prepared to fully explore the entire city solo - and that I did.

I can't tell you what it is exactly about Portland for me, because I don't really know. I like the music and art that comes out of there. I like coffee shops, rain, book stores, and breweries. I like mountains and green landscapes. I like bicycles and organic food. And then every time I'm there, I'm kind of let down. I think my expectations are too high, but I'm not giving up, and I'm still pretty sure I'm going to move there. Because I believe!

So back at Huber's, Nicole and I ordered Spanish Coffees, based on her recommendation. Besides being delicious and deceptively potent, the best part of the drink was that the bartender makes them at the table with fancy pours, and fire! And then I was kind of drunk in the middle of the day. Lightweight. 

Huber's Spanish Coffee: Who doesn't love a cocktail made with fire?

My lovely friend, Nicole, enjoying her Spanish Coffee at Huber's.

Later on that evening, another Portland transplant friend of mine, Kati, called to tell me she had tickets to the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, if I would like to go. Yes! (Here is a downside of traveling light: I definitely did not have the proper attire for the symphony. Luckily, Nicole has a great wardrobe so she let me borrow a dress and fancy boots.)

Kati picked me up for our date night and we headed to The Arnold Schnitzer Concert Hall. We were dressed up and ordered whisky, like classy ladies.

Arnold Schnitzer Concert Hall

Oregon Symphony Orchestra

Kati telling me a good story during intermission while sipping on whisky (She's holding mine, not drinking two!)

Kati is high on the list of my favorite people. She exudes kindness, thoughtfulness, intelligence, and patience. She sees beauty in the details and reminds me to see it too. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is an inspiration.

We met back in 2008 while working at a flower shop together when I first moved to Boulder, Colorado. She's a Colorado native who speaks fluent Spanish from the years she spent in Argentina. In 2009, she got a job as an au pair in Switzerland and invited me to visit. I flew there alone and had to figure out how to get to the tiny town where she was staying without knowing anything but English. I made it. I always do. And we had so much fun. I'd like to tell you about it, but maybe it's not the time, since we're in Portland. Then again, maybe it is the time, since this is the story of my traveling. I'll save it for later, but I will tell you, Switzerland has chocolate yogurt that I still dream about.

The rest of my trip in Portland was uneventful. I spent the next couple of days wandering around looking for a sign telling me I should just stay. That never happens.

Before leaving, I met up with a friend from high school who relocated there. I didn't get her picture, but I took this while I was waiting for her to meet me! This is a downside of traveling solo: a lot of aloneness.

Where are all of the people?

After three days in Portland and no real signs that I am supposed to live there yet (even though I still feel this pull I just keep missing what I'm looking for! I know it!), I decided it was time to head to Seattle where I would be staying with my friend Rob (who I met in Boulder) and his wife. I figured I would come back to Portland in a couple of days to try again.

Onward and forward. Seattle bound.

Portland: Because if I'm not in the picture, maybe I wasn't really there!