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Today was the last show at our Oakland Pop-Up space on tour. When we started packing up the space, I was much more nestalgic than I thought I would be. Steve and I have been gone the longest out of anyone who works for the company; almost 2 months at this point. It has flown by, but like many things in life, the time seemed to drag on until it was almost over.

I didn’t expect to be so pleasantly surprised by California.

I didn’t expect for California to be sunny. I have been told that it’s just the time of year in the Bay Area. I also know that we were spared the heavy cloud of fog that San Francisco gets and Oakland seems to avoid. Even so, I will always remember how we did not see a single cloudy or rainy day while we were between Los Angeles and Oakland.

I had no idea that so much produce is grown in this state, and what a difference it is to have fresh food. I was blown away by the rich, almost seemingly fake ‘strawberry flavor’ of the strawberries that we picked on our way up to San Francisco. I was also taken back by the amount of fragrance coming from the produce section of Berkeley Bowl as I hunted for the rumored local cherries. And cherries I ate, every night at our apartment for 3 weeks, never tiring of their sweet, dark nectar.

As Steve and I have begun to pack up our little studio apartment, it’s bitter sweet, like an almost ripe cherry. I miss New York, especially this time of year. I see pictures on Instagram that my friends take around the city and it makes me excited to get back home. Sometimes while we were here I got frustrated that I wasn’t. But, I also realize that getting back home also means things like bills, and a commute, and a constant work schedule. 

As we said goodbye to the last show-goer, and began to pack up everything that we set up a mere 18 days ago, I really was sad to let go of the space. It made me thankful for the great things that happened here. Thankful for a few weeks of easy-going work days and endless new places to try, as well as beautiful weather, and perfect coastal drives. I almost feel like I am packing my things, leaving summer camp, and going back to school. 

In a day I will be going home, and I will be glad to ‘sleep in my own bed’, as my Mom always said. The adventures of this summer aren’t over though, and in 3 weeks I go to another city, and on to more for the next few months. And on we go…

Some places that I loved in Portland, OR:

Oven and Shaker
Notes: Presbyterian cocktail, Nostrana Salad, Goat Cheese and Salami Pizzas

Luce
Notes: Crostini with fig and goat cheese mousse

Ace Hotel
Notes: The 2nd floor breakfast reminds me of a bed and breakfast I stayed in once owned by a dutch couple who lived in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky.

Stumptown Coffee
Notes: See Below 

Brooklyn and Portland are often compared. Both have booming young start-ups, a thriving culinary scene, unique art, and bikes. Thanks to the show Portlandia, the city and it’s residents are already generalized in a lovingly satirical way. We even had a native at one of our events refer to the show like it was an older brother who, yes poked fun, but she knew it was lovingly. I wonder if there was a Brooklyn-dia if it would be received in the same positive way.

Getting a chance to work in a city, even if brief, helps you understand the different types of people who live there. We worked in Portland for 4 days, and over those days, we met a wide range of people. This included a down-to-earth (really really down to earth) older generation of artists…Seemingly harmless wanderers who wandered right into our show, and the young, hip professional who demonstrated the subtle differences between Brooklyn ‘hipsters’ (for the lack of a better term to positively describe young, fashionable people who have a passion for a craft, have a big beard, or own a business which employes other young, fashionable people) vs. pacific north-west ‘hipsters’.

Some people in Portland seemed like they were from a very small town, not dissimilar to where I lived in my teen years in Georgia. This was especially true when it came to their gentle qualities of kindness and desire for us to really see the city as it is.

And in all honesty, Portland is a much smaller city than I expected. I learned a little more about it’s small city center when I took a bus across town to run an errand. I quickly was carried out of the city, and into one of the more charming neighborhoods across the river. The small town element came out once again when I rode the bus back to the Ace Hotel and the bus driver told everyone to, “hold on now!” every time we glided out of a bus stop. I heard what sounded to me almost like a southern accent in his voice as he cheerfully chatted with his customers hopping on and off, but in reality I think it was just his friendly demeanor which can be so scarce where we live. When I told a local how I was surprised at the size of Portland, she chuckled like she had heard it many times before.

Today was my one full day off in Portland, Oregon. I woke up early from still being on New York time and decided to use that to my advantage to go for a run before breakfast. I took my co-worker’s idea and brought my phone with me so that I could use my camera to snap some interesting things that I came across.

Later, I met up with everyone in the lobby where the coolest of freelancers who were staying in the hotel, typed away on their computers and drank endless cups of Stumptown coffee. We all worked for a few hours comfortably on the couches in the lobby (equipped with photo booth) which feels way more like a living room.

Steve and I roamed around the city for a while where we encountered every location of Powell’s Books and a few experiences that seemed like they were plucked right out of Portlandia (in the best way). We overheard a girl telling a guy in a coffee shop that she was going to do one of 3 things this weekend:
1) go clamming on the coast
2) garden
or
3) go to the gorge

Just the first half of the day felt so Portland.

Yesterday I left my house in Brooklyn for a month and a half. The night before, I had just come back from a huge antique show in Massachusetts. In order to get to the show, I flew home from Chicago, then got in a car and drove three hours. The month before I took a 10 day trip to Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto.

For six months out of the year I am lucky enough to travel a lot for work. I also have a bit of wanderlust as that extends to my personal life too. Luckily, all of this including work is shared with my travel buddy and husband Steven.

When I got a new passport with my married name, I knew it was a long shot, but I sent a note asking them to send my old passport back. I cherish all the stamps (usually my only souvenirs) that fill the pages. Someone in the passport office must have taken pity on me that day because they actually sent it back to me…complete with a whole punched in the middle. That seemed fair.

Occasionally, I am reminded by someone who doesn’t get to travel much how very special my circumstance is. Over the next 6 months I will get to go on to Vancouver, Cancun, Los Angeles, Oakland, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, ME, Atlanta, Austin, Winter Park, London and Melbourne, Australia, and back to New York here and there.

It seems like a great opportunity to document this exciting time, even if it is just to read about it later in life.

Today marks day one of this expedition journal…