Pacific Coast Adventure: Day 2 Portland

I woke up before 6:30am with every intention of being on the road by 7, but between finishing up my previous blog post and trying to figure out how to get my go pro set to record my trip as I drove I got out closer to 8am.

Along the way I stopped at Subway and Walmart to buy a pocket knife since I knew I was going hiking today. Then I got gas and made it the rest of the way to Portland, Oregon. It was very exciting crossing the bride and finally making my destination. Now maybe it's the small simple things like that, which get me excited, but that meant I was at my 20th state visited!

I went straight to the hostel and they had my room ready. The hostel is this beautiful house with a few different floors of rooms. I was greeted by a woman who was full of information of the area! She gave me a map of Portland and wrote on/circled a few places I may want to visit since I'm only here for a day. I told her I was looking to go to Forest Park, and she suggested stopping at Pittock Mansion, because it would give me a great view of the city. It amazes me how being up in the mountains you can still be so close to a city. They truly are such different worlds. While at the mansion, I stopped into the museum gift shop area and asked if they had a map of the hiking trails, explaining I wanted to see the witches' castle, which I had seen on Pinterest. The woman there informed me that due to the landslides they had part of the path was closed, so I would have to go all the way around and take a different path as well. Being a solo traveler, I opted out of starting there and went on that good ol' Google again to see if there was a better starting point. I found a location that put me within a mile and a half of the witches' castle, which made me feel a lot better.

I got into my car and went to my new starting point and was not disappointed at all with the hike ahead of me. Let me first state I'm sure whoever was driving behind me must have been getting frustrated because I kept slowing down to look at everything as I was driving. A mile and a half hike turned into a few hours since I kept the same slow pace I had while driving. Losing yourself in a forrest is more like finding exactly who you are. Clear air causes you to have a clear head. Nothing mattered, and nothing could bother you while you were amongst the trees. I crossed paths with a few other hikers and none of us bothers each other. A quick hello or a smile and we were all on our way.

Being out there made me think about so many things, but nothing that really seemed important. It was all just about me having fun and exploring. Of course I went off the path to climb on trees that went over a little creek/small river. I took photos of everything. I imagined what it must have been like when people were traveling along the Oregon Trail, coming to this new land for the first time. Trying to figure out how to survive and build and grow. The woods have always been there, it's the people that needed to figure out how to grow. I know most people will walk into the woods and think about everything that had been bothering them, or want to get out, but it was amazing just pretending to find a new land, because in a way, it was for me.

In a strange way the woods also made me feel like I was in a fairy tale. I thought of Hansel and Gretel as I was on my way to the witches' castle. I imagines little kids just happy as can be out there having fun. I felt like a little kid out there just having fun.

Even when it started to rain, I was still happy. I didn't have an umbrella, and I didn't care. I just let the rain hit me and I felt every raindrop on my skin. I felt the cold, yet still kind of warm air all around me. I was just at peace with the universe. I was at peace with myself and just being... just being there.

Too often I find people stress because of a situation they are in, when really there is nothing they can do about it. If everyone took a trip to the woods and just didn't worry about anything for a moment, the world would be a less stressful place. Just zen out and let the universe do it's thing. Rain doesn't last forever, and with out rain you can't get a rainbow.... which I saw as I made it to the top of the hill where my car was.

I was on the last stretch of the hike back up to my car. I was looking out at all the tress, kind of at the canopy layer, and I saw this giant arc! It was a full rainbow stretching from one side of the forrest to the other. As I continued to stare at the beauty, I realized it was a double rainbow! There was a less vibrant one right above it. I let a few of the other hikers know, and we were all about to share a moment few people may get to experience.

Then I drove back to the hostel, and on the way I was looking to my right across the water to see the city, and there was a wide rainbow. This one didn't cross the entire sky, but it was the widest rainbow I have ever seen. I pulled over and took a few photos.

Now if I had a plan for this trip, or became a slave to the clock having to have every minute of my trip calculated, I would have missed these moments. When I was in the woods I was going to leave earlier, but then I told myself to just sit on a rock on the side of the creek and just enjoy the moment longer. Why give up a moment of serenity when you don't have to? The joy of living spontaneously is you feel these moments, and your heart is open to accept all that the universe puts in front of you. You don't feel pressured to be somewhere or to do something, you just kind of do it.

Once I got back to my hostel I showered and changed. I had gotten a little muddy while hiking. Then it was time to walk down to the waterfront! I walked through China Town and saw some of the historic district. I saw the Steel Bridge and the Japanese Memorial. I can only imagine how pretty it looks when all the Japanese Cherry Blossom trees are in bloom.

On my way back I stopped at Tilt, a burger place, for dinner. Now I am sitting in my hostel writing and uploading all my photos. I'm also making sure all my devices are charged, since I hope to be on the road around 4am tomorrow!

'Til tomorrow!!