Oregon

My hostel here in San Francisco is nestled among the strip joints, tattoo parlours and dingy speakeasies of a suburb called North Beach (don't be fooled, it ain't no beach) and I suspect that a couple of the gals in my dorm room are 'ladies of the night'. It's a rude awakening, this transition from a self-contained flat in Salem to a life of sharehouse living in the extreme: sneaking round a dark dormroom to avoid awakening fellow travellers; taking advantage of the free bagels and fruit salad each morning to be kind on the pocket; having random conversations with strangers and being cornered by stoner weirdos. All the fun of being a backpacker. I'm loving San Francisco so far, but that's a tale for another blog post. First, let me tell you about my time in Oregon.

Boarding the Amtrak

The train ride from Seattle to Portland, Oregon was one of the most beautiful train journeys of my life. The coastal Amtrak train is fitted with picture windows -- huge floor to ceiling windows out of which you can see the stunning countryside and water views. As we rattled past the amazing vistas I chuckled to myself as a loud Scottish woman attempted to photograph every last view, getting frustrated as trains got in her way, or the photo was blurred. Sometimes you have to just sit back and 'take a photo with your eyes'.

On the train I finished Steinbeck's classic East of Eden, a feat which I believe my friend Nick did on the same stretch of coast a couple of years ago. All 687 pages of the bugger. It was fabulous. Loved it. An epic family saga: my favourite genre. I've immediately started on a more digestible title of his: Cannery Row.

View from Nicole's dining room over Portland

I have to say I loved my time in Oregon. I was quite overwhelmed with the perfect balance of natural beauty and urban fun it presented, and I kept thinking that it felt very much like a place I could see myself living. When I arrived in Portland a friend of a friend whom I have never met before, Nicole, picked me up from the station and generously had me stay for a few nights. She took me on a fabulous hike through a place called Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge to Punchbowl Falls and we ticked the Twilight waterfall (Multnomah Falls) off our list too, in keeping with my movie location pilgrimage. Our hike was a little treacherous in places, with narrow pathways next to sheer drops, but served as a perfect vehicle for us to get to know each other. I found it fascinating how despite our seemingly disparate lives (Nicole is a surgeon) we had plenty of common ground to talk about.

Stunning Oregon fir trees

Nicole hiking in Eagle Creek

Punchbowl Falls

Our intrepid adventurer

Hiking with my fab host!

Multnomah Falls

The next day I explored the wonderful city of Portland alone. Oh how I loved Portland, and wished I could have spent longer there! Definitely somewhere I'd love to go back. Between the beer, vintage clothes stores, bicycles, BEST bookstore in the world and the plethora of bearded boys I think it's my number one place in America so far. Since then I've watched a few episodes of the hilarious TV show Portlandia, which sets it up fondly and knowingly.

Sadly I couldn't spend longer there as I had to head to Salem to stay with an old friend of mine from Uni. I hadn't seen Caroline since she left the UK in 2006 (just before I headed to Aus) but she's now build a wonderful life for herself, her husband Leon and their three rambunctious sons in Salem, Oregon. They kindly let me stay in their fab 'artist's studio' at the bottom of their garden and I was bewitched by the maelstrom that is their life. In the few days I was there we did so much! We braved the slippery ice at Silver Falls State Park, we climbed the volcano Mount Hood to take the boys skiing in the snow, they taught me to play Qwerkle and Mexican Train, I learned a myriad of things about parenting, in particular about parenting headstrong, gorgeous young boys, and I even got to go to a bouncy castle kids' birthday party! They were so generous to have me stay, feeding me and including me in everything. Not the last time on this trip I will be overwhelmed by people's generosity, I'm sure.

My 'studio' while in Salem

Timberline Lodge history (Jimmy Stewart!)

Silver Falls

Silver Falls State Park

My fab hosts!

Salem houses

Start 'em skiing young

Leon teaches Sebastian

View from Timberline Lodge

Timberline Lodge, as seen in THE SHINING

Caroline and Theo in the snow

View from Mount Hood

While in Salem, I continued to sample locally-produced craft beers and we even went to a food and drink fair where I got to try $1-tasters of a whole load of IPAs and porters, including one made by a friend of Caroline's, whose micro-brewery Salem Ale Works produced a delicious winter warmer, the Sleeping Marmot. We also tried out a new diner in town, ACME – Americans sure are good at diner food. I went for another epic 5-hour walk round the outskirts of the city, following my nose through woods and a huge park, while listening to Willie Nelson's autobiography Roll Me Up and Smoke me When I Die on audio book. I'm glad I kept my Audible subscription while travelling – audio books are great while on the road.

Salem Ale Works beer tasting

Vintage store in Salem

Discovery in Salem Park

Cameron's Koala Castle

Hangin' on Mount Hood

I'm still adjusting to the huge lifestyle shift of travelling. One of the things I need to get used to is the plain hard fact that I can't do everything. When I move on from a place there will always be things I haven't done, places I haven't seen, and I guess this is something I need to accept – and to just focus on what I did do and see. And not feel guilty for days spent relaxing, as this is just as important as consuming culture and scenery etc. Something to ponder...