The Empire Builder

go West... Portland, Eugene, and back

We leave tonight (11:15) for Portland, arriving there some 36 hours later. With any luck, some of the trip through the mountains will be in daylight.                                                                                                                         

Then, we'll spend a week in Portland before renting a car and driving to Eugene to visit Michael, Jen, and family for another week. We've renting a "charming cottage" near their house, which should make the trip more pleasant... as opposed to camping in their backyard, which is what we did last time.                                                                                                                                                                                   

And back to Minneapolis by train, another 36 hours.

40 hours, more or less

We left Minneapolis around 11:15 PM and got to Portland on time... roughly 10:00 AM. The trip was mixed, but I'd do it again, though maybe not for a few months.

First, the downside. The ride is very rough and, obviously, slow. Allegedly, we got up to 79 mph once or twice, but mostly it was much slower. The lurching from side to side made it hard to walk; European trains are much smoother. There was no wifi, except though the phone of a guy we were talking to. Sleeping in the coach seats was nearly impossible.

But, people were friendly, and we were right near the lounge, with more comfortable chairs and large windows. Plus, the food was really very good, and not all that pricey. And much of the trip was beautiful, even through North Dakota.

Some people we meant filled us in on the situation in western ND, since the oil boom. Jobs at Walmart and McDonalds are going begging, even though they are offering as much as $17.00 per hour. Modest 2 bedroom apartments in small towns rent for as much as $2500 a month, if one can be found. Old people and others on fixed incomes are being forced out of their long-time rentals. And there are dozens of "mancamps," which provided room/board for the oil workers. Some also provide traveling casinos, complete with poles and dancers, that go from camp to camp. 

Unfortunately, we hit the mountains about dark, but did get to travel along the Columbia after dawn... simply beautiful but too dark for photos.

Portland

really is a lovely city... were it not for the grandkids and my gym, I'd move here in a minute.

First, it's beautiful. Today is bright and sunny, with all the mountains visible. We went up to the VA Hospital and took the skywalk over to OHSU. The tram wasn't running, but the views were amazing. 

Second, the mass transit is awesome. There are buses, trolleys, light rail, and who knows what else. "Honored citizens," the euphemism for old people and those with disabilities, pay only $7.00 for a week pass that works on everything. So, we've gone all sorts of places, just to see what's what. And the rules are clear: one HAS to give up one's seat for the aforementioned honored citizens... and people do.

Third, there is great beer (OR leads the country in craft beers), and lots of big/small/medium restaurants that serve all sorts of food. This seems to be a center for locavore dining, which makes for funny menus. Plus, even the hotel breakfast buffet offers soy milk.

Fourth, there is no snow. It's chilly (around 39), but no ice or other nasty, slippery stuff.

Fifth, it's also a walkable city. Plus, people are friendly.

bus passes

Did I mention that passes for a week cost us $7.00 each? And I think we've gotten our money's worth out of them. 

Today, we took the bus out to Tigard, to visit some venomous snakes (what can I say... the museums are closed on Mondays). They were beautiful, though watching them scarf down already dead newborn mice was a bit gross. Then we took another bus out to Lake Oswego, which is an upscale little town about 1/2 hour from Portland. It seemed sort of like a Wayzata in the mountains, with similar stores (Chico's, for example) and some nice restaurants. We ate at Zeppo... good food, decent service, and nice jazz in the background. What more could one want?

Tomorrow, I think everything is closed. 

And so to Eugene

Eugene is cool... it's sort of hippy central, with lots of food carts, odd little restaurants, and quirky stores. In those ways, it's not that different than Portland, but smaller and with less mass transit. South Eugene, where Michael and Jen live and where we stayed, is a conglomeration of old/new/big/small houses, sort of clustered together haphazardly and with streets (some unpaved) that go at bizarre angles. 

We rented a "beautiful Eugene cottage" for the week, and it really was very cute. It may have been a garage in a former life but, if so, they did a nice conversion... queen-sized bed, kitchen area, tiny but adequate bath/shower, and a great location. We were within .6 miles of Michale and Jen, and about the same distance to a shopping area with coffee shops, a few restaurants, etc. What more could anyone want? Maybe a better internet connection?

 So, every day Len went off to have lunch with Michael, and I walked down the hill for coffee in front of the fireplace at the coffee shop. In the afternoon, we walked around (there's a nice walking tour of the old part of town), went to a few museums, and looked at stuff. In the evening, we had dinner someplace with Michael and Jen and one or two or no kids. 

All in all, a nice trip... but I think I'd rather do it in the summer.

 

The trip back

seemed a whole lot longer than the trip out. Maybe because we were already tired, maybe because the people were less interesting. In fact, some of them were decidedly odd.

For example, there was right-wing man. We didn't actually talk to him, but he was sitting near us in the lounge car, so we heard him natter on for hours about a variety of topics.... Obummer's birth in Kenya, the fact that it takes 38 years to pay for the installation of solar panels, the ease of killing people with knives instead of guns, etc.,etc. 

And Christian man, who marched up and down the cars, chanting "God is good, father, son and holy spirit" for hours on end. Fortunately, he didn't chant very loudly and seemed to stay out of the coach car at night.

My personal favorite was social skills guy. He was about 40, bearded, and sort of back-woods seeming. I assume that he was then and always had been single. He mentioned that he was from Oshkosh, and I said, "I was born in Manitowoc." He responded, "All the pretty girls are from Manitowoc." WTF? I haven't been a girl in decades. He then went on to say that he and his brother had a life goal of skiing in either Argentina or Chile. "We going to shave and get all tanned and toned up and then chase Chili girls." Good luck with that plan.

OTOH, the food continued pretty good and Len managed to get some arranging in. And I read a lot. An internet connection would have helped pass the time, however.