Triple Whammy: Pacific Northwest

After numerous bus rides, flights, friends, and not a whole lot of sleep, I can finally settle down to tell you all about the lovely States of Oregon and Washington.

Portland is the greenest city in the United States (discounting Chicago, who clearly mis-understood the term). It's also home to Powells city of books: the best if not largest bookstore on the planet. This place was HUGE - and dense too. I found literally every obscure book I could think of, and Harry Potter in latin!


I only spent a couple of nights there, but the atmosphere in Portland combined with the jaw dropping scenery of the drive through southern Oregon (which I didnt take pictures of) really create something special. The West coast is proving to be way more laid back than over in the East.

Getting to see where Frasier lives seemed like a great idea for going to Seattle. I did enjoy the coffee there, but the city turned out to have too much cool stuff for me to define it that way. I started out in the market down by the docks, which has loads of fish, and nice places to eat, but also the worlds first Starbucks. You can tell its different from normal Starbucks cause the symbol is different, and the lady is naked on it.



The space needle is as impressive as it sounds, but for me the great thing were the museums right next to it. I didnt visit the science fiction museum, but the Experience Music Project (AKA the Jimmy Hendrix Museum) was well worth the price. I got to see DMC talk about how the 'Walk this way' track with Aerosmith came about, play Bass guitar, see some Hendrix footage and view a collection of impressive photo's from the last 40 years of music.

The week was rounded off with a trip to Eugene. My good friends Ross and Haley (to whom congratulations go, by the way) were good enough to put me up for a while. Well Haley and her mum did anyways. Eugene is a town with a really large university, which means its a great stopping point for bands to play while touring the West Coast. The vibe here is really relaxed, really friendly, and it was lovely to spend a few days here in the bars and houses of the city.

One final mention goes to the weather. It is SO nice to not have snow.