Day 1: From Portland to the coast

Sunday, June 11
Woke up in: Portland, Oregon
Slept in: Seaside, Oregon
Traveled: 26 West, 101 North
Notable eats: Brunch -- a glass of Scharffenberger brut and a plate of lemon-ricotta pancakes with marionberry sauce, Everett Street Bistro. Dinner -- a fresh-grilled salmon burger, Whole Foods Market.
Miles: 78 (plus a mile doubling back for elk/tsunami sign photo op)
Total mileage: 78
Photo Evidence

In the a.m. I took my first Nia class as a White Belt; it was a very different class dynamic than I’d seen during the week of my intensive. A lot more playfulness grew from what seemed to be a greater sense of intimacy between our teachers and the group. It was a good way to say “so long” to the studio and shift from that suspended reality into … well, a different suspended reality of being on the road. To smooth the transition I got caught up on some errands and spent an undisclosed amount of money on ribbon at the divine Oblation Papers and Press.

Subsequently I treated myself to an exceedingly yuppified brunch at a café on Everett Street. I chose the place for the aesthetic experience (sunlight, architecture, and a clean, crisp feeling accentuated by baked goods), but I always feel a bit strange when I pass as a member of the upper middle class elite. What I drive, where I treat myself when I shop, and how I look don’t communicate the fact that I’m more comfortable in the company of pool players and people who read paperback thrillers than among those who use “summer” as a verb (without a trace of irony) and literary elitism as a weapon. Still, good food doesn’t care who’s eating it, and I enjoyed my meal very much.

Later in the day after soaking up many blocks of Portland, the smell of fresh-grilled salmon lured me to its source in front of Whole Foods. A lucky chance, because inside WF as I caught up with my checkbook, I met Tasha and Emily, who are in Portland training to fly the new Q400 for Horizon Air. A fellow cat rescuer, Emily shared with me pix of her furry family and good advice about touring Southwestern canyon country by air (go in a helicopter where you can fly below the rim; take Bryce over the Grand Canyon any day).

Tasha, who’d gotten her early pilot training in the Navy, updated me with percentages of women at the Naval Academy these days – “lots,” she said, “I think the latest is around 13 percent.” Perspective is everything; when she graduated there were maybe half again as many other women in her class.

Took 26 West to Seaside, stopping constantly for photos along the way….