Despite all odds, I was quite successful at chasing and finding the sun in Oregon.
I only scratched the surface of Portland (got a taste of its coffee shop scene, rolled through Pearl District, ate yummy food on the East side, found a great bakery) but I have to say, even if it’ll be widely unpopular, that I didn’t really get what all the hype is about. I guess I just missed it, even coming back a few days later with fresh eyes and an open mind.
In between my visits I went East to escape the rain and ended up finding more snow, which was not part of the initial plan of getting warmer but made for an epic day hike in the sunny Wallowa mountains.
Nights have been cold and the humidity and condensation made for some unexpected but actually fun defrosting sessions...
I keep seeing the beauty around me and the few people I get to meet make every detour worth it - like the two game hunters from Alaska and Oregon I had a dinner with at this in-the-middle-of-nowhere micro brewery and who shared their life stories, photos of their kids and wives and ended up paying for my home-made Beer Mac and Cheese and rhubarb pie, just because we had an awesome conversation.
I also spent a couple long but delightful days of driving in sunny, trafic-less, mountain and national forest roads, listening to my audiobooks, podcasts and music, with ample time to sit with my thoughts (spoiler alert, no grand revelation yet).
And at last, I experienced again the joy of wearing just a T-shirt and needing a hat to protect my head and face from the sun and heat on another sweet hike. And wearing flip flops in Bend! I had almost forgotten the feeling (aside from my Planet Fitness visits, obviously).
I cruised through the magnificent coast and saw beautiful sunset lights and fell in love with the grey wooden beach houses so typical from here.
And finally I got to see Crater Lake that is, indeed, very very blue.
I really don’t want the trip to end, but I do realize I am starting to get a little worn out, and the shorter days and rougher nights don’t help - still, I’m happy to suck it up if it means I can enjoy the ultimate freedom of the road for just a little longer.
#myepicamericanroadtrip