Day 18

Day eighteen, July 26, 2011

After a cold, sleepless night we were back in the car headed to Portland. First we had to drive through the narrow, winding, dirt roads of the Red Wood Forest.  As we existed the National Park, our surroundings did not change very much.  We were in a deserted area surrounded by massive trees. Our first priority of the day was to find a gas station, we did not think this would be a huge undertaking but boy were we wrong.  There was no sign of civilization anywhere.  Our gas gauge was quickly closing in on E and this was definitely not a place that I would feel comfortable in being stranded.   We spied a gas station off to the right and breathed a sigh of relief.  But to our dismay this gas station was abandoned, similar to most places in this area.  We began to feel a little uneasy and regretted talking badly about all of the hitchhikers we have been encountering because I was beginning to feel like Rob might have to become one!  Thank god for him a little ways up the road had a working gas station that must have been pumping gold, due to the price they charged per gallon.  But we had no other choice.  Rob, always thinking, found a way to take full advantage of this pricey stop.  While I visited the connivence store Rob decided to perform a self wash on his car.  After all, the long dirt roads did a job on Coco.  He used the free supplies offered to him - windshield squeegee, dirty, soapy water, and paper towels!  Needless to say I think Coco looked better before all of the dirty streaks left from the paper towels.  There was not too much we could do to fix it at that point so back on the road we went. 

The trip was rather uneventful.  The roads were empty and all we saw were huge Red Woods on either side of us.   Our next stop was lunch.  While leaving the parking lot Rob thought he noticed a machine where you could vacuum your car.  As we approached this rundown shack and parking lot, sure enough for 50 cents you could use the hose to vacuum the car.  Once Rob was done he jumped in the car, slammed his door, and shouted "this is great, but I think I found the holy grail!". Right behind us stood an underpass where you can park your car and for $1.25 you were given 4 minutes to wash it. When Rob dropped the coins into this machine he failed to read far enough to see this time limit.  Before we could even grab the hose (which very much resembled a power washer hose) the time began to tick down.  I opted to stay in the car during this wash and really did not know what was going on, so all I saw was Rob grab the hose off the wall and begin to speed around the car, quickly hosing it down.  He then pressed a button on the machine and suds started spewing out.  During the final rinse, he was going around the car so quickly, I thought he may break out in a jog.  I did not think we were in that much of a rush to get to Portland, so I figured he was just in so much competition with himself or something and was trying to complete the fastest car wash ever.  When all was said and done, he was able to finish the wash in the given time and Coco looked as good as new.

We were all set to head straight to Portland where we would be staying with Rob's friend Marshall.  Portland welcomed us with very unique looking buildings and bridges everywhere.  We met Marshall at his apartment and headed straight for food.  Marshall insisted we eat at one of his favorite food cart (similar to a grease truck in NJ) - a grilled cheese one.  Here is where we learned several interesting facts about Portland.  For example, everyone is Portland rides a bike!  So much so that many streets we drove on have actual bike lanes and all bikers must follow the laws automobiles have or they will be subject to tickets.  We also learned that there is no sales tax in Portland and no fees to cross any of their bridges.  Almost everyone is Portland is decked out with piercing all over their bodies and this is only the first thing that make the people of this city unique.  The individuals that reside in this city certainly are very interesting ( to say the least) and beat to their own drum.

From here we walked to the famous donut shop - Voodoo Donuts.  This place certainly did not disappoint and I am certain that this strange city is the perfect home for a place like it.  You could smell the do it's from a few blocks away and when you walked in all you saw were donuts. Donuts covered in icing, coco puffs, fruit loops, peanut butter, gum, and even bacon.  We did not go too crazy with the kinds we choose but they were very good.  Now in order to really appreciate why this special bakery fits in perfect with this city, I will have to explain the atmosphere and scenery surrounding this famous establishment.  The first shocker was when I learned that people can get married inside the walls of Voodoo.  Legit wedding are held inside this donut making store.  Next, because it was such a beautiful afternoon we decided to eat outside.  When we approached the "eating area" I thought I was being led into an antique yard sale.  One option that a customer could choose to enjoy his or her donut in was a old barber's car, if that didn't float your boat you could always walk over and buckle into the three person airplane seats, or take a seat on a couch from 1920.  Everywhere you looked there was strange furniture that was all put together to form a nice seating area for paying customers!

We continued to walk around the city and make our way back to Marshall's apartment.  After we relaxed and freshened up we were ready to hit the town.  Marshall was a fantastic tour guide and showed us all of the good spots.  We walked around the river and made our way to the other side of town.  Here is where I was able to confirm everything I had been thinking about throughout the day.  This next event was so strange that it will be difficult to put into words but we will do our best.  The event took place in Powell's, a landmark of Portland, being that it is one of the largest book stores .  Neither Rob nor myself are too into reading, however, this building was huge. Each floor was color coded and the aisles went on forever. As we were looking for a book for Rob to read while on our next camping adventure I took part in something that blew me away.  It all started when Marshall recognized a man that had walked down the steps, he called out his name, said hello, and walked over to him.  Rob and I continued to browse through the books in front of us when Marshall called us over to introduce us to his friends, August and Tippy.  August seemed like a typical art student, friendly but a little different.  Then there was Tippy. How do I begin to help you to understand the interaction of the next 5 minutes?  First I'll explain Tippy's outfit to you.  She had on leopard stocking covered in holes, a skirt that resembled a tutu, a stripped tank top of some shirt, topped with a blazer and shoulder pads.  Her and arms and face were then covered in purple, pink, and red war paint.  She was also covered in stamps and a type of homemade "jewelry" that I have never seen before. As I reached out my hand to introduce myself she awkwardly grabbed and held my hand.  She continued to smile and slur some words from the English language that I had a difficult time recognizing.  After a few awkward minutes, we said our goodbyes and continued on our walk.  Barely 3 steps out the door we immediately asked Marshall what her deal was and he assured us she was not a very close friend, but more of an associate from school. He also informed us that Tippy is always like that and she actually went light on the face paint today, it's usually much more exquisite. He then went on to tell us where the name Tippy came from, because this is not her real name, Marshall thinks it might be Kimberly. Apparently Tippy was the name of Kimberly's imaginary childhood friend, no shock there. I'm certain she still has a group of imaginary friends, but this is why we liked Portland so much, everyone is their own person and does not try to change according to society. Or maybe all of the Portland society is this way and they do adapt to fit in, we are not sure, but we are certain we will never call Portland home. After that encounter we were on to our last food cart for the night who specialize in French fries. We were instructed to order Poutine, fries with gravy and cheddar cheese curds. We were not disappointed at all, this was a great way to end the night and see all of the local stops instead of the touristy attractions. All in all Portland was certainly an adventure and we would like to thank Marshall for his hospitality and showing us around town. 
Until next time, 
Peace, Love and Happiness The Nomads