"Ocian in view! O! The Joy!"

So after some frenzied job searching while visiting the cites of Corvallis and Portland OR, I have come to the conclusion that I need to head back east. I had multiple conversations with potential employers, and just people around the city that said they didn't want to hire someone for just 3 months. However, the good news is, that I know if I decide to get some culture for a while and move to a city, Portland is a good bet for me. (And a pretty sweet place.)

Just the three days that I spent in Portland I got to experience some of its character. One of the first nights there Matt and I went to check out "Last Thursday." Last Thursday is a gathering of local artists and musicians, out on the street at night, selling their work, and performing their music. The street was not shut down, but it might as well have been. The place was crawling with people. People looking at the art, performing music, walking around on stilts, riding modified bicycles that were about 10 feet tall, and juggling fire. While there I bought a necklace from a guy with some of the most intense facial piercings I've ever seen. The next night Matt and I were invited to a pot luck dinner/ blue grass jam session by an old friend of Matt's from when he lived in Portland. The next morning I went out on my bicycle to explore the city and run some job search related errands. I decided to head toward the East Bank Esplanade, and discovered that the Red Bull Flugtag was happening. The best I can make of the goal of Flugtag is just to make some kind of silly vehicle, that may or may not operate a bit like a glider plane, and run it off a ramp into the river to see how far you can glide. Awards are given for distance, and favorite team. Ridiculous vehicles and costumes are more common place than highly technical engineered marvels.


When I decided that it was time to make my decision, and come back East, I knew I still had one thing to do. I made a pact with myself that I would not return home without dipping my feet in the Pacific Ocean. So, I headed for Canon Beach OR from Portland. After a short drive I made it to Ecola State Park, where I parked... Then hiked just over a mile on a pretty steep trail to get Access to Crescent Beach. (The only access is via that hike, so there weren't many people there at all.) I spent a few hours watching the waves and the birds nesting on the rock formations out in the surf, took a little cat nap while listening to the waves, then decided it was time to get a move on when the incoming tide threatened my comfort.



The hike to the beach was well worth it just for that relaxing afternoon, but it was doubly worth it when I discovered a banana slug! (No, I did not kiss it. I have to draw the line somewhere.)



After Canon I made my way down the Oregon Coast on Route 101 for a bit, taking in the views and small ocean side towns along the way. I camped right on the Pacific at Lookout Point State Park, where I watched the sun set into the Ocean before passing out in my sweet new tent.