95% of the physical things we obtained on our week-long vacation. Click through to see the notes describing the items on the Flickr page.
This picture succinctly captures the major themes of the trip Richard and I took to Portland last week (with a one-night stopover in Seattle):
- transit and urban planning (aside from Richard being a PDXphile, we also stayed with his friend who is very familiar with the city, its history and stories. It was, in a word, awesome.)
- art
- pictures and video
- books (oh, the books)
- food (mostly my fault)
- music (namely, Duncan Sheik, a long and odd story that I’ll post …soonish)
Traveling is amazing, but also amazingly draining. The weather was well-balanced: rainy enough on the first two days for us not to get spoiled, sunny enough for the last two days for us to enjoy things like a bike ride on the East Esplanade and across the Steel Bridge (and a ride on the MAX to the airport and an hour at the Farmer’s Market for Richard and I respectively), as well as the occasional silly thing, like the Blazers vs. Spurs basketball game at the Mission Theatre.
We did enough to do stuff but not too much as to feel harried, taking occasional video or pictures when the urge hit but otherwise trying not to be super-touristy. There was the occasional time when I felt we could have pushed further, seen more; at those moments, I would simply take a breath and let myself soak in the city, because poking and prodding feels like the worst way to approach a vacation. There was some paper writing, only one laptop (and one iPhone with 3G disabled for cost-saving) between the two of us. There was quiet eye-rolling at pushy Greenpeace canvassers. Our one day in Seattle let us meet an old-new friend as we strolled around Seattle’s Pike Place Market in the sun sipping drinks from the “original” evil Starbucks. It was lively and a good jaunt. Then gorgeous surprises in the Seattle Art Museum; a little bit of decadence; more beer than usual; and the distinct feeling that spring can hardly wait to happen.
Our welcome home consisted of super-fun Amtrak train trips, triple-decker capicollo mozerella beer bread sammiches, and getting quite up close and personal with the fine officers at, and processes of, the Canadian Border Services Agency.
