Greyhound day 2

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We boarded our new buses at 1am and headed north to Idaho, arriving in Boise about 7:30. Luckily, while in the terminal I found a normal person who was just as weirded out as I was, and we had decided to sit together. He was a 19 yr old guy moving from the Jersey Shore to Portland. It was easy to tell he came from a good family and didn't have any major social problems.

We didn't talk much during the night since we were both trying desperately to sleep as much as we could, but it was still nice to know that we were at least sitting next to a person who shared a lot in common with. We didn't have to talk much to know it, it was just obvious to the both of us the we were different than everyone else on the bus. We didn't have to worry about who we were sitting next to, or worry about making accidental eye contact (which signals the typical greyhound rider: tell me your thoughts on what ever the hell you're thinking about right now).

The bus bounced along through the night and we came into Boise just as the sun began to rise. It was here that we first started to really talk and learn about each other as we smoked a cigarette and ate some Clif bars during a 30 minute lay over. Back on the bus we didn't talk much because neither of us had gotten much sleep and we just napped on and off until about lunch time.

Eastern Oregon looks almost exactly like western Texas, just with more interesting topography. Yellow grass, green shrubby things, and a variety of vegetation with sharp pointy parts all looked extremely familiar, but Texas is flat and Orgeon was full of broad rolling hills with larger mountains in the distance. The highway eventually met up and followed the Colombia river.

Though the river was wide and full, the area was still pretty desert-like and barren of civilization. We watched a lot of trains snake a long the river bank on both sides and continued napping on & off. About 5 miles east of the Hood river, the vegetation began a pretty drastic change from grass and shrubs to dense vines, bushes, and trees. The Multnomah waterfalls were visible from time to time along I-84, but were pretty weak in water flow as compared to what I saw this time last year.

We got into Portland at 4:35pm and I threw on my pack. Leaving Union station I walked in the direction of Pioneer Square to meet up with my old friend from high school Kristen Madsen. We were good buds senior yr and even went to prom together (as friends). I chilled out on the steps while she and her friend Jake made their way into the city via the public transit (from now on referred to as "the MAX").

After about 30 minutes waiting for them (and gleefully observing "Portland's Living Room") they showed up and we got on the MAX together to head towards Portland State University to meet up with Kristen's boyfriend Greg. Greg and I met this time last year so I was excited to get to see another familiar face. We went to a bar ON CAMPUS (I know, it blows my mind too) and finished a pitcher of Miller High Life (happy hour special...)

Then Greg took me across the street to "Science Building #2" where he works in a lab on the 3rd floor, studying the vascular system of tailless amphibians... hey, somebody has to do it... I dropped of my pack and we went back to meet up with Kristen and Jake. Before heading out to an array of bars and drinking certain sorrows away, we went to the top floor of an apartment complex and got some great group pictures with awesome back ground. (those of you with facebook: pressure Kristen Madsen to get those posted ASAP!!)

With Greg and Jake as my tour guide for drinking spots in Portland, we got pretty trashed on delicious beers brewed locally and had a great night. I believe we started at Paccini on campus, then made our way to Rogue Ales and then finally to Touche. We took the MAX out of the city to Greg & Kristen's apt and Jake and I crashed on their couches about 2 am.

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All 3 bars were pretty stinking cool in their own ways, but Rogue Ales was kind of a big deal because they have so many unique types of beer, and they all win a ton of "world championships". Located at 1364 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR (google street view!) and connected to the interwebs at www.rogue.com

Check out how many years all their individual beers have been dominating the world championships... kind of really impressive, ya know?

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