I woke up to the sounds of my last friend/dorm mate in Seattle leaving at 3am to go on service. He’d been enjoying his last couple of days of freedom before being deployed to South Korea for a year. When he described all the benefits he received it made sense as to why a person would sign up. We didn’t talk politics which is probably a good thing! He seems like a genuinely nice guy and I hope he has a happy life. When I then got up a couple of hours later to get my coach to Portland, I was annoyed I wasn’t as organised as I could’ve been. I banged my head off the top bunk whilst sorting my shit out. I still managed to leave on time to get my bus to the coach station.
It was eerie being there before 7am, the lights were off and there was one guy sat waiting. Of course there was nothing to worry about just an overactive imagination. The route to Portland although mostly motorways the scenery was epic. Tall evergreen firs trying to block out the Sun. I think I might have even seen Mt. Rainier. I am so excited by seeing mountains as I have never really seen them before.
Portland is almost as equally lush and green as Seattle. My hostel is in a very cool area, it feels like a hipsters paradise. On the recommendation of Chloe I immediately went to Blue Star Donuts a few blocks away from the hostel. Sorry for copying! The donuts were amazing, the blueberry bourbon with basil was a revelation. The dough so soft and the glaze sweet but tart and with real depth to it. I think I’m going to have to go back again.
I was really tired from yesterday’s antics so after a couple of hours of wandering I came back to the hostel to relax and watch Netflix. It’s my right as a solo traveller to do what I want when I want. A couple of episodes later I started to feel a bit shaky and I figured I needed a good healthy meal so I went to a vegan place about a 15 minute walk away.
Maple tempeh might be my new favourite meat substitute. It was absolutely delicious and so filling as it came with quiona, black beans, (local) hazelnuts, carrots, and kale. I’m making myself hungry thinking about it.
I then came back to the hostel and Chloe walked in through my dorm, she’s in the bottom bunk. We had a good catch up whilst she ate her tea in the common area. It feels a bit like when you start at school/university you make friendships really quickly as you have travelling in common. There’s another really cool girl in the dorm so hopefully I’ll get to know her over the next few days. Tomorrow is going to be even hotter so finger’s crossed I don’t burn again.
The Girl in the Tall Tree 