We made our way east via a quick layover in Chicago which turned into a staring contest with a little storm on the tarmac, eased by the discovery of new little phone holders installed on the back of the seats. We (read: Stu) were VERY excited about it.
The delay caused us to arrive a little late into Portland where we hopped on the MAX train to our home for the night- the Jupiter hotel. A retro throw-back mixed event space/motel/restaurant/gallery feel welcomed us to the distinctive flavor of Portland. With only a few hours between our arrival and dinner with an old friend, we spent the time wandering the labyrinth of Powell's city of books. A three-story, city block, wall to wall/ floor to ceiling book store metropolis. The rooms are color coded in order to increase confusion, after all who would associate physics and photography with silver? Those are obviously green and sepia, respectively. And poetry, red? Never has something been more innately violet.
Stu wandered out with a hardcover Einstein relativity (15th Ed.) And I got a poetry book that's half lust/half fruit. I'm very excited. We needed days, but with regret, we left Powell's a mere hour later to catch our Lyft to dinner.
Sarah Post-Holmberg lives with her family in my dream home. It has stone floors, lofted tounge and groove ceilings, and a wrap-around deck that fades from tomato and basil plants to hammock to fire pit to hot tub. We spent three hours there with Sarah, Jeffery, and their sons Covin and Tenzin drinking their wine, eating their garden, and washing it all down with strawberry shortcake and discussions of somali pirate stocks. After a long day, we went to bed tired, but excited.
Today started with a full English breakfast for me, and some bacon/chedder/biscut-hashbrown/brisket monstrosity for Stu, topped with a fried egg of course.
Then we waddled towards the Chinese gardens, stopping by Stumptown along the way so Stu could nab the most exquisite shot of espresso I have ever seen. While we sipped, I also enjoyed some very funny tiles and a bathroom straight out of Bladerunner.
The Chinese gardens are smaller than their Japanese neighbor (which we're saving for the end of our trip), but are very delicate and beautiful. Carved wooden bridges span a lily-strewn koi pond, next to which stands the main attraction: the teahouse. Stu and I sat and gazed out across the elderly and overweight tourists trying to frame each other out of their pictures as we sipped delicious pu-erh tea.
A quick walk to retrieve bags and another Lyft finally brought us to Wendel (the westy, our trusty VW campervan), waiting patiently for us on the treelined streets of the Irvington neighborhood. We got a quick introduction before we were handed the keys to start our adventure.
Wendel takes a little getting use to. As we might have expected from his age and experience, he's a bit persnickety-slow, a little stiff around the corners, and sticky on the accelerator. Sitting so close to the front means we park, repark, and then remark that we probably could have pulled up further when we come back to the parking spot. Oh but is he a beauty. His boxy curves and flat face have led to many admiring walk arounds and approving nods from leather faced beatniks on our trail.
A quick stop at whole foods for provisions was a bit of a trail by fire for Stuart but the more open back roads out of Portland have helped him get his pac-westy legs. The afternoon was interspersed by a parade of waterfalls as we cruised along the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway at a cool 35 mph (approximately). Wendel's speedometer is an art more than a science.
We especially liked some of the smaller falls that we had entirely to ourselves, but we ended our day at the big daddy, Multnomah falls which thunders down on a picturesque bridge of tourists.
We made the arduous climb to the top (11 swithbacks-you better believe we counted) where we waded through an entire highschool of Asian tourists to get a peek over the edge of the vertiginous drop. It made my belly flip, but was worth the hike.
An unanticipated drizzle caught us on the way down, and we got some drowning jokes from the coffee cart as they made our hot chocolate at the base of the falls.
Since we plan to spend a little time in the Hood River/Oneonta Gorge Area, we decided to go looking for campsites for the night. The first one we tried was full, but the second had a choice location next to another van couple and overlooking the Columbia. We appreciated the view but spent a good deal of our time, sipping wine, eating cheese, and admiring Wendel.
When it started to rain again in earnest, we went inside, set up the bed, and have been reading as it gets dark. We'll tell you more about it all tomorrow.
Good night from Wyeth, Oregon.
Love, Stu and Chelsea ♥️
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