Now in Portland

I can’t believe two weeks at the Gypsy have already passed, but they have. I have pages and pages in my journal about everything that we did, but am too lazy to relay it here except for this: lots more cob, made a delicious quiche, planted some basil and squash, patched a cob floor, WWOOFer’s dog got sprayed by a skunk (FUN), campfire and lots of music, made two amazing plum-rhubarb pies with Barb, said goodbye. Okay, moving on…

I am now in Portland. I haven’t taken many photos yet, but I hope to soon. So far, I’ve really really lucked out. I sent a bunch of messages to people on couchsurfing and ended up with this amazing couple from Montreal. I can’t even believe how lucky I got. They are both just fantastic, friendly, warm and helpful people. They live on Belmont, which is a nice central location, close to everything in the southeast and a short drive from Alberta, etc. AND, they have two of the most adorable dogs I’ve ever met. A Dachshund and a Westie. They love to lick your face, and this morning they woke up and came and slept with me on the couch. It made me so immensely happy.

Last night the three of us went to the Tin Shed for dinner. I had a delicious vegan burger and they both had mac and cheese – apparently a lot of restaurants in Portland have all-day happy hours, which is neat. From there we headed back to their place and played a strange but totally fun version of scrabble. I headed out just before 9 to go to the Moon and Sixpence, a super cute British pub. Anna from the Gypsy Cafe recommended Sunday night’s old-time music, and she was right on the ball. It wasn’t crowded at all, and the band (Foghorn, they’re local) was amazing. I’m definitely taking fiddle lessons when I get settled. I met a really awesome woman from couchsurfing, Christy, and we hung out and talked about WWOOFing (she has WWOOFed in Europe, Hawaii and the States) and a few of her friends came by, so it was nice to have some company. But after one beer and being slightly mesmorized by the band, I felt like I was being kind of antisocial so I took off. It was already about 11:20, though, so I was glad not to get back to the house too late.

Today, after wondering how I was going to show myself around the city, I made a day out of it. I got ridiculously lucky with the weather – it was PERFECT. I went to Voodoo doughnuts and had a kind of disgustingly sweet breakfast, but it was cool to see the place. Then I got utterly lost trying to find the Portland Audubon Society’s big park. But I somehow managed to find Forest Park, the big recreational park in Portland, and took a long walk and took some photos of birds. From there I drove to the Alberta Arts District and walked around checking out some of the galleries and shops. I ate at a mediocre (compared to SF) taqueria and drove around some more after that. Now I’m sitting in a coffee shop near where I’m staying. Tomorrow I will try to get together with another couchsurfing person, and maybe head to Christy’s house to see her new chickens! She’s building a coop for them in her back yard. I’m already kind of convinced that I should live here. The people are so friendly, and the neighborhoods are new to me, which is just what I think I need right now. I know there will be some annoyances as there were in SF, but I feel good about it, and think I could find my roots here.

In general, I’m enjoying the self-exploration that comes with exploring new places alone. It’s definitely not easy to spend so much time by myself, but I’m learning lots of things about myself. Like…I really don’t see the point in shaving my armpits. HA. And brushing my hair doesn’t really do any good. Okay, so I’m not going to turn into a full-fledged hippy, but there are definitely some social standards that I am fully rejecting right now, and having a damn good time doing it. I’ve almost completely sworn off makeup as well, and it feels good. But don’t worry, I’m still showering.

I’ve added captions to my photos and added a few. More to come…