I'm excited. My BFF is getting married down in the San Diego area. Which seems PRETTY FAR AWAY considering I've never been south of Seattle on this coast.
So, the current plan is to drive to Portland, leave my car there, and then fly Portland to San Diego. Spend a couple of days in San Diego (see a CHEETAH) and then fly back to Portland, pick up the car, and drive home again.
Why Portland? I'm going to be perfectly honest... I want to see the BridgePort BrewPub that stood in for Leverage HQ during the 5th season of Leverage. Other than that, I hear Portland has a cool bookstore? and some fancy donuts? I honestly don't know. Also, due to wedding/BFF hangs, I'll probably only get a day or two in Portland and most, so I gotta prioritize.
In San Diego, I'm gonna try to do the Cheetah run at the San Diego Safari Park.
Anyway, haven't booked anything yet, but I'm SUPER JAZZED.
SO BE JAZZED WITH ME!
This entry was originally posted at http://hells-half-acre.dreamwidth.org/542792.html.
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Oh, and the bookstore in Portland is called Powell's. I've never been there, just know it by reputation. ;)
I take it you'll be driving south on 1-5? You'll pass right by me. Do you suppose we could meet up somewhere briefly? I've got some presents for you!!!
I've actually ORDERED books from there before through Amazon, ironically. They had some rare used books that I couldn't find anywhere else.
PRESENTS!! Hahah, yeah, for sure we can meet up. I'll probably be driving down on Monday the 6th, I don't know if that works for you. I could also catch you on the way back too... which I don't have a solid day for yet, but might be the 16th or the 17th, but I'll let you know!
America is a tapestry of different cultures and cities, and I look forward to seeing the Portland part!
I do love this area and love Portland. We like to think of ourselves as a big city, like Seattle, but we are the heart of a smaller city.
If you are ever this way, you should stop by for a visit in the Spring or Summer. So many places to go and see here. We really do have a beautiful city.
Portland, being a really environmentally friendly city, filled with nice people, etc... goes against the bad-press that America gets for not being progessive environmentally or socially.
It's a problem of course, defining progressive policies as "unAmerican" as though the quintessential character of Americans IS the backwards negative one that the rest of the world hates, which just isn't the case. The majority of American are not that horrible stereotype.
There's a great quote by one of our former PMs about what it means to be Canadian: "There is no such thing as a model Canadian. A society that demands uniformity creates intolerance & hate."
I think it's the same with America. There's no such thing as some quintessential "American" - if you are a citizen of America, you are as American as any other. Same goes for cities. Portland, being on the West Coast, I think shares a lot of similarities to Vancouver in terms of climate and culture - I know your bike culture puts ours to shame! But that doesn't mean that Portland is Canadian - just as much as it doesn't mean that Vancouver is American! We just live on the same coast and both like biking and beautiful scenery. :)
Edited at 2017-09-06 08:53 pm (UTC)
Yes, when I first read it I was thinking of it as a negative comment. We here up in the Pacific NW, and that includes Vancouver, do have a different culture than other areas, which is one of the reasons I love this area so much. The city planners are always trying to find ways to make better bike paths on the roads and walking paths in the parks and recreation areas. We love our greenery and forests, which is why everyone is so up in arms right now about the Eagle Creek fire. I do love the scenery here, there is nothing like it. Although some states do come close, they just don't have the mountain ranges that we have here.
Also, I know you haven't watched any Jessica Jones...but I'm in the middle of Defenders, and there is a LOT of Matt Murdoch being cute and noble (maybe not in that order) and Foggy has a role to play as well, if a small one...so if you ever get around to watching it, let me know. :)
My friend is actually getting married in a small town on the coast, north of San Diego. So, who knows! I might actually end up in your old stomping grounds!
I'm really looking forward to the trip. It also helps that I haven't taken an actual vacation (as in, not just a long-weekend) in over two years. :P
I'll probably save the scenery for another trip, when it's not quite so sad... I hope you're doing okay in the smoke. It's smokey in Vancouver too, because of the Washington fires. (Earlier this summer is was smokey because of the British Columbia fires). It seems the fire season is just traveling straight down the coast. :(
On a happier note - you want to meet up when I'm there, I'm totally down for that! Right now, it looks like I'll be there on the 7th and the 15th/16th, though I haven't actually booked anything yet.
I'll reserve Thursday evening for you :) I'm sure the friend I'm staying with will be sick of me by then!
But if Thursday doesn't work out, another evening would be good to. I realize that it's inconvenient that I'm coming mid-week, so whenever you can fit me into your schedule is fine. But of course, my preference would always be to watch SPN with a fellow fan! :)
Also, if you don't get to watch the episode before that week, we can watch the previous weeks episode before that weeks episode. So, don't worry if you don't get to it. Maybe I'll see if I can get off work an hour or 30 minutes early so we are not so pressed with time. It shouldn't be a problem if I give enough notice. We'll finalize plans as we get closer to the date. Cool.
I still have your t-shirt too, so I'll have it here for you instead of mailing it.