Not A Dollarshort

Portland, Oregon

I'm checking in from Portland, Oregon.

Okay, tell me this: Is "self-service" at gas stations a "California" thing.

After driving up to a pump, we were greeted by the attendant who wanted to know what type of gas we wanted. After Ben said, "Oh, I'll drive around to self-service," the guy said -- "There is no self-service in Oregon."

I have never experienced a full service gas station in my driving life.

We panicked to whether we needed to give him a tip. We didn't since he didn't seem to want one. Do you tip a gas station attendant?

Anyway, Ashland Oregon was great. We stayed at The Peerless Hotel -- let me just say that it exactly the historic experience I was looking for in a 100+ year hotel. It was antiquey and cozy and we were greeted by the most gorgeous bed (with the Portuguese bedspread, Paula!)

I'm going to be checking in now and then. Currently we're at a Kinkos because we couldn't locate a Portland Internet Cafe. Do you know of any?

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

(Seattle people: This post's for you)

And so tomorrow begins our Pacific Northwest Adventure.

Despite our attempts to just go with the hotel flow, we've already forced ourselves to book our accommodations in Ashland and Portland -- our first two destinations .

Actually, spontaneity flew out the moment Ben begin compiling his kick-ass itinerary. Despite our intentions, there is nothing more invigorating than a thorough, well though-out travel plan.

Two excerpts:

Day 5 (Nov 11)
Oregon City: End of the Oregon Trail (HPW p318-9)
Drive along Columbia River Gorge, see the falls
(You know how I feel about the Oregon trail)

...

Day 10 (Nov 16)
Check out of Orcas Island hotel
Take Ferry from Orcas to San Juan Island
Whale Museum
Driving tour around San Juan Island
Ferry back to Anacortes
Drive: Anacortes, WA -> Vancouver, BC
2-3 hours on Interstate 5
Check into Vancouver hotel
Go to dinner

All our trips begin this way -- then, after a couple days the itinerary is reduced to:

11:30 a.m wake up
Complain that I'm too tired to go on that 6 mile hike
Eat dinner

But, of course, change is good and I'm driving myself to me more active on this trip. Although we're not very outdoorsy, the outdoorsy adventures during our past vacations have always been the most memorable and fun.

So, now, the important stuff. Some webloggers have expressed an interest to meet up with us while we're in Seattle. Now that our arrival is tentatively set, I hope that some sort of get-together can be arranged.

I'm thinking November 13 or 14.

Where? I haven't a clue.

Dinner seems best since Ben and I aren't skilled in the art of drink.

If you're interested, email me or add a comment. Hopefully by the time we arrive, you all will have done all the work and we'll just be told the time and place.

Now that would certainly make our lives easier.

The sophisticated traveler.

I bought a poncho two days ago.

Not just any poncho, mind you. This one puts the "Aye!" in "Aye Dios mio!"

I could end this post after the above sentence because, frankly, nothing really good can come out of a story that begins "I bought a poncho yesterday."

But I won't.

Instead, I'll mention that yes, it is a tad ugly and out-of-style. I wouldn't say that it's hideous -- but I would definitely say it's a bit more Native American¹ than my usual attire.

Still, I can honestly say that this silly poncho has brought me an immense amount of joy during the past couple days. You see, this poncho is basically a glorified blanket. And, for someone who is as sleep deprived as myself, its tight knit is more comforting than its out-of-style looks are unsettling.

But why did I buy it in the first place?

Exit good taste.

And "Enter Britney."

Ben: Did you see that cover of Entertainment Weekly?

Me: I know! Who in their right mind would wear that much turquoise?

Ben: Um, that's not exactly the point. "Enter Britney?" That's not too subtle.

Me: Oh my gosh! I'm sure that little trick of headline placement sure made some designer's day. "It says Enter Britney, huh huh."

Ben: That's some classy stuff.

Everyone is a winner!

Can I just say that I truly hated picking one "winner" for this coloring contest. Perhaps it's because I was always on the non-winning side of things and know just how lousy it feels not to be picked -- or maybe I just realized that it's quite hard to judge any sort of artistic endeavor.

And now, the standard closing-contest spiel.

I received many great entries and regrettably can only pick one winner. Thanks go to everyone who took the time to color and send in an entry.

And that winner is: Catherine. Here's her entry.

What can I say? The robe won me over. The decision was quite close, though. There were four other entries that had me second-guessing and rethinking my choice. When it came down to it, Catherine's "painting" technique stood out.

Here is the complete list of entries.

Now, would you do this again?

And, if you're interested, you can buy the coloring book that featured this print.

She's like the wind.

We're trying to be spontaneous.

Let me just say, we're trying really hard.

But it doesn't come easy. See, we had plans to go to Europe in December but because of the current state of the country and the rest of the world, we decided to abandon those plans in order to live cautiously.

Living cautiously is nowhere as near as fun as living dangerously, I'll point out.

Friends of mine have been quick to explain that you "can't let the terrorists win" or, "when it's your time to go, it's your time to go."

Well, I'm a bit of an odd case who is way into self-preservation. I don't like taking any chances and because of that, my life is probably a life half-lived.

But oh well.

Here's our plans: I'm waiting for a shipment from Amazon -- a new SmartMedia card for my digital camera (for the trip) and a copy of the soundtrack to Hedwig and the Angry Inch (also for the trip). As soon as this package arrives, we're getting into the Honda and driving.

To where, you may be asking?

We're really not sure. Although we'd love to drive to the East Coast, we're fearful that the road trip will lose its glamour somewhere in Kansas and out of boredom just turn back.

So, we're probably just going to head North to Canada.

It's going to be the vacation that we haven't been planning since July. But, it will be a vacation all the same.

And now, I need your help in "planning" this trip.

Any suggestions about Northwest travel?

What do we have to see? Eat? Stay?