We had a couple of hours to kill before heading to the theater, so the first stop was, obviously, Powell's. We found a parking spot near the bookstore that we could stay at all day, and then went to Powell's. I love that place so much. Just books upon books upon books upon books. Sigh.... This is what heaven is like, isn't it? They had a wonderful history section and I was good and only walked away with two books- one, which was "The Island on Bird Street", which is one of my favorites. I also found a Deborah Crombie book I didn't have yet, which was another bonus.
From Powell's, we walked down through the little Portland neighborhoods until we reached the river. We walked up and down the river a bit, then popped into Voodoo Donuts to pick up some "snacks" for the next two days. One of mine was a maple bacon donut. Oh my, no words. No words. I also didn't really know any place for dinner in Portland other than the Portland City Grill and so we were transported by elevator to the 30th floor, which gave us gorgeous views of Portland. We got a seat in the bar first but then noticed a table of older ladies paying the check and I asked if we could take their seat. They were incredibly sweet, a maybe a bit tipsy. That was fine- we got a window seat to enjoy our drinks and appetizers.
Then it was off to the Schnitz! As usual, I did a little bit of scoping around the theatre and found a few stage doors but also found the tour buses, so I had a place to stake out after the show. It's all about priorities. The theatre itself was gorgeous and the stage was set up to look like you had just invited a bunch of blues musicians into your living room. Well, a very nice living room, but a living room nonetheless. Eventually, Hugh came out and it was just magical. His supporting band was outstanding- the two women vocalists were so powerful and his trombone player was dancing when she wasn't playing herself and everyone seemed so excited to be up onstage. Hugh would be the first to jump up and cheer and hug this bandmate that had just solo-ed or played some amazing lick. The entire time, he had this look on his face like he was still amazed that this was happening to him and that at any moment, he could wake up and find these all was a dream. I've seen him act in so many different things- and I know that's acting- but this was obviously pure joy to him and it permeated through the entire theatre. I loved the combinations of vocals and accompaniments and the songs they picked were so wonderful. I will say that I have never seen a more hostile audience though- so many people were getting up and coming and going (I understand there was no intermission but you couldn't wait 2 hours?) and at one point this girl walked up to the front of the stage and requested an autograph. Ball-sy, but not at all appropriate and he did not give in. It was pretty awesome.
It took nearly an hour but the patient were rewarded with conversation, autographs, and pictures from Mr. Laurie himself. I told him that we had come out from Boise, Idaho, and he first asked how far that was and then was SHOCKED when we told him about six hours. "You came all this way just for this!?" "Well, we have a whole weekend planned now, but this was the impetus." I replied. Man, was he just the nicest, loveliest, kindest man ever. I'm so glad I waited around. It did make for a LATE night, though, since it was already 11:30 and we still had to drive to Salem, where we were staying with Michelle's friend. It was a bit of a rough night too- I hadn't felt great during the concert and had trouble falling asleep and woke up the next morning feeling totally rotten- alternating between totally stuffed up and a runny nose, and with a big headache. Good times.
We ate breakfast at Michelle's friend's house and then headed out to Newburg, where Michelle went to school and where Joanna now works at George Fox. I stopped at a Walgreens first to get some decongestants, Tylenol PM, and some tissues. It was lovely to see Joanna and after a short tour of the campus, we walked over to a campus coffee house to warm up a little bit. It wasn't too cold but it was certainly drizzling and wet. The sun did eventually come out and we went over to the Herbert Hoover house to a little tour of the house where President Hoover lived in while he was in Oregon. It was a fun little experience form this history student- but also different when compared to the huge spectacle that is Mount Vernon on the East Coast. We finished off the afternoon with lunch at a fun sandwich shop and then it was off to the coast, unfortunately in the pouring rain. We hit up Lincoln City first, wandered in the rain through an old cemetery that overlooked the ocean, stopped to look at the raging ocean in Depoe Bay, and then checked into our hotel in Newport. I needed an early night so I made some dinner for us, we relaxed watching motel TV and I was able to fall asleep pretty early- thank you Tylenol PM.
The next morning was beautiful- we walked down to the historic Newport and watched the crabbers pull up baskets of crabs. There was a large platform in the water with the sea lions that go back and forth between Oregon and San Francisco, as well as some old ships that you could tour and book trips around the harbor on. There was this beautiful large bridge over the harbor that reminded me a lot of the train bridge near the bunker in Vancouver. I still wasn't feeling great but appreciated the warm weather and the fresh coffee from this little organic place down by the water. Before heading up to Lincoln City for the afternoon, we stopped in at a little farmer's market and picked up some strawberries to snack on. I wish strawberries grew better in Idaho climate- one place at these hanging baskets of strawberries plants that I wanted to take home with him.
We got lunch at a fish 'n chips place in Lincoln City and then parked at Brooke's parents house before walking down to the beach. It was so lovely to just sit on the shore, eat my lunch, read some Madeleine L'Engle and just relax. Oregon coast beaches are like if Southern California beaches and England beaches had a child- they're very long and seem to go on forever but are cold and sandy instead of pebbly. The relaxation was just wonderful- and for Memorial Day Weekend, it wasn't too busy and there were some people flying kits with a lot of talent. We also wandered around the tide pools at low tide, which was a bit painful as you were essentially walking on barnacles, which wasn't very comfortable. There were so many sea creatures and it was fun to see them in the wild after just seeing them in the aquarium the previous week. The water wasn't as cold as I anticipated and it was practically warm in the tide pools. After a few hours, we moved a bit south to meet up with Jill and spend some time with her and her family- I loved catching up with her and being able to see how much Sammie had grown within the last few months since I had last seen her.
Because it was so lovely, I wanted to watch the sun go down over the ocean, so I bundled up, grabbed the dinosaur blanket, my sandwich, and a book, and headed down to the closest beach near the hotel. Instead of walking down to the water, I stayed on the grass up on the top (kind of like at CDM) and read while the run slowly started to sink. I had hoped for a bit more colors but it was still gorgeous- I do miss that about Orange County! It was a beautiful end to the trip.
The drive home was LONG- you really don't realize how large states are until you have to cross them. I made the executive decision to drive through Bend instead of up the interstate since it was less mileage. The first part was through the mountains, which was wind-y and bendy but so beautiful. The second part was through the high desert of central Oregon. Boring but nobody was out there so speed limits weren't a huge problem. We made pretty good time and, as I was still feeling pretty bad, I was so happy to get home and sleep in my own bed after a long shower. Despite the unexpected cold, it was such a wonderful trip and I'm so glad to have checked a new part of the country off my list!
