We have been in Oregon since May 17, and in Portland since the 22nd (today is the 29th). I'm awestruck by how beautiful Oregon is, happy to be where Hannah is, and to have the chance to see a lot of her and of other family members who live here, and enjoying the atmosphere here. I'm also vaguely amused at how a certain part of its culture is reminiscent of the South in a weird way, in spite of the fact that nothing else about the two places is remotely related.
First, about Beauty: Oregon is almost impossibly green and verdant and lush. The beaches are fabulous and extravagant and dramatic. The mountains are enormous and deeply forested; or else, like Mt. Hood, standing above everything, visible from everywhere, and covered with snow. There are waterfalls everywhere; beautiful lakes, rivers, and rolling hills; lovely vineyards; and at least one city (probably more, but this is where we are) that is beautiful and filled with lush parks, two beautiful rivers, interesting neighborhoods, and more great beer and terrific restaurants than can be visited in a month or even two.
There are waterfalls like this a short drive from Portland. Lots of them.
Beautiful beaches with dramatic skies
Lovely wineries to visit
Dramatic views at the Columbia Gorge, near Portland. That's Washington on the other side
Before arriving in Portland we drove up much of the Oregon coast from coastal California. We stayed in Gold Beach near the Rogue River, and in Newport, a sweet town midway up the coast (where the great Rogue Brewery, or as they like to call it, the center of Rogue Nation, is located), and it was fine indeed. We then visited a corner of the Willamette Valley wine growing region and tasted some wonderful Oregon wines. Amazing in every case. We fell in love with a town called McMinnville in the Willamette Valley not far from Portland, and this would be a Cottonwood/Cambria/YourTownHere fantasy town I will remember when the trip is over.
The joke is this: for months Bob has been teasing Hannah that she would know we would be arriving at the Portland portion of our trip by the arrival of a box filled with extension cords. This would signal our plan to park our trailer in front of her house and stay for a month. Every time he tells that joke, we all laugh.
We planned to stay here for a week. As part of our being here for a while, we thought we would bring the car to a Nissan dealership and have it checked out, since 14,000 miles in less than five months, and pulling a trailer, is hard work for a car.
Here is the place where we start thinking about the South again. Nothing in Oregon (or Portland, anyway) seems to happen in a hurry. It's all very relaxed and pretty soon and maybe tomorrow and why don't we talk about it again in a day or two. We discovered that some work needs to be done on the car. Not dangerous, but better-to-do-it kind of work. We have a warranty that should cover it. Can't talk to the warranty people now. Gotta go to lunch. Call you later. Maybe it's covered, maybe it's not. We will get back to you tomorrow. Maybe the next day. Then the warranty people say if they agree that the work needs to be done (which they haven't yet, but maybe will tomorrow) and you leave Portland, and whatever could go wrong does go wrong, that would void the warranty, which MIGHT have covered it. The representative of the warranty company who was supposed to look at it to approve the work didn't come to look at it today, or yesterday, but maybe he will come tomorrow.
In the meantime, our time to leave Portland has come and gone, and we are still here. Eventually, (today) we got a rental car, which the warranty will cover for five days. Which may or may not be long enough, because the service guys work on Saturday but not Sunday or Monday. So the car should be ready on Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday.
So....another week in Portland. Feels like that joke is coming true. We are feeling glad to find out we are being proactive about the car. Sad to say goodbye to the days in and among the islands of Puget Sound which were to be our next stop. Happy to spend more time in Portland because we get more time with Hannah. But...pretty agitated about the amount of time this is taking. In Boston, both the customers and the dealership would be screaming at each other in two days. This just WOULD NOT happen there. Wrenches, contracts, cell phones would be flying through the air. But......we are RETIRED. We are trying to learn to go with the flow. And what choice do we have? If they have identified a problem and we might void the warranty if we leave, we have to wait it out. And take the opportunity to get another lesson in patience and mindfulness. And just CHILL OUT. Relax! Have another beer! Right?
Tonight we went to the "last Thursday" celebration street fair that occurs in Hannah's neighborhood
on the last Thursday of the month. It was like the 60's all over again, hippies and macrame and health food and free music and kids and dogs and street vendors. But unlike then, there is a more open GLBT culture, and there doesn't seem to be a hostile attitude from the police in an environment that still feels a bit like the "counter culture" from way back then.
Bicycles are EVERYWHERE. This city has gone a long way towards making it possible for bikes to coexist with cars. It's an easy place to use a bike to get around. Another thing we have noticed about Portland (which I suppose might be part of why it's taking so long to get our car back) is that this is a VERY casual place. Everyone dresses so much more casually here than they do in the East, or even in San Diego or San Francisco. It is really a dressed-down and laid back place. The joke that Portland is where young people go to retire, which we have heard a lot, means mostly that this is a pretty slow-paced and relaxed place. Among the fashion trends here is the "utili-kilt," which is not a Scots kilt but a kilt just the same, worn by men with boots and a shirt. We have seen that quite a few times. And dogs EVERYWHERE, at all the sidewalk or patio spaces at cafés and breweries, and in stores and some bars. The percentage of dogs in the total population seems high. Like tattoos, which seem practically a requirement to live in this city, dogs are seemingly part of the whole deal.
Among the sights at this street festival were two that stand out. A man was walking down the street with a sign that said "Free Shrugs," and, as you would imagine, when people looked at him, he shrugged. We liked that a lot. Then there was a man wearing a Red Sox hat who was standing near me. I commented that I liked his hat, and said "that's my team." He said, "Oh, really? MY team is the NEW YORK YANKEES." So of course I asked him why he was wearing the Red Sox hat, and he said it was just so that every time someone said that was their team, he could tell them he was a Yankees fan! How disheartening is that?! In the first place, I don't believe he was from Portland. Too hostile. In the second place, I don't actually believe a Red Sox fan would do that. It's hard to imagine a Red Sox fan putting a Yankees hat on and walking around with it...even to piss people off.
At a winery in theWillamette Valley
At the Rose Garden, in Portland
My own Rose blooming in the Rose Garden
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