Oregon-- 6 of 50

04/08/2010

Well tomorrow I'm going to the great state of Oregon where there is no sales tax, you can't pump your own gas, and even the tap water tastes good! This will be I think my second or third time Ive been to Oregon. Im going to visit a very old friend, Roger. We met in Washington DC when we both went to an engineering summer camp... we're cool. And no I did not end up being an engineer, but he did! (kinda... physics is close enough right?). I have not seen him since July 2004! It should be a lot of fun. Of course I'm staying up late to do laundry and hang out with my roommates one last bit before I venture off again. Wish I didn't have to work at 5 am. :( Here's a photo of us loong loong ago. I'm sure we've both changed a little bit.

Eugene Day 1 (04/09/10)
After waking up at 4am, working 8 hours and flying for about 4 hours I finally made it to Eugene Oregon! Its a nice little airport. I watched Dexter on the flight over and I think the lady next to me was a little curious as to what I was watching. As I walked through the EUG airport I could help but laugh at the ridiculous wall decoration. It was some sort of pop out art of flying people dressed in really touristy clothes... idk. Maybe its a Eugene thing. As soon as I grabbed my bag off baggage claim I looked out the front door and there was Roger! I recognized him right away (contrary to what he said "You wont recognize me!") It was so great to see him.

His friend, Anna, picked me up and drove us back to Rogers apt. After I dropped off my stuff Roger and I went to get dinner at this cute little cafe, Cafe Soriah. It was sooo good! Our waiter was so nice. I love talking to people. To hear their stories. To see where they come from and how they got to where they are now. After our fabulous dinner we walked back to Rogers apt and got ready for my first Eugene house party. Roger failed to tell me that it was a themed party.... cut off pants. hahaha Lets just say my first impression of people from Eugene was... an interesting one.

Eugene Day 2 (04/10/10)

I, of course, woke up this morning very early. Even if I'm on vacation and stay up late... I still happen to wake up at 730, as soon as the sun shines its way in. I know not everyone is a morning person so I decided I'd let Roger sleep in... I didnt wake him up til about 10. We both got ready and made our way to the Saturday Market. It was sort of a farmers market meets peddlers fair. Lots of hippies selling tie-dye shirts, gadgets, meatless entrees, and hand made clothes. I love Eugene! Roger bought us some Oregon honey and handmade fruit roll ups. So good! After we went to this little sandwich shop called The 'Wich House. They make everything from scratch. Breads are made that morning, meats are roasted and cured by them, even make their own soups! I had a basic sandwich like I always get... hey, I know what I like. But this time I had them add their lime-herb dressing to it... it was so good! They need to bottle it!

Roger gave me a mini tour of Eugene. He showed me some street art work. We our way over to U of Oregon's campus. I loved it! So green. Beautiful brick buildings. He gave me the grand tour of his building, the campus, all the cool hang out spots, the recycling containers, etc. Oregon is serious about their recycling. You walk up to throw away your trash and you have like 7 different bin options. I ended up just giving the Oregon residents my trash and had them sort it out for me. It was great to see the campus. Last time I was in Eugene I only saw the basketball court. Its such a beautiful campus. I could definitely go to school there. On our way home we got some film to feed Rogers photography fix. :)

Later we went out to eat with Jessica, Rick, Anna, and Chuck. All of Roger's friends are so nice! They are all smart science people so it made me feel smart to be around them. haha! The food was good but I was definitely getting tired from stay up so late last night. After food we went to get gas in Jessica's car. Incase you all dont know, you are not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon. So odd to me, but I guess it supplies more jobs and hey, you dont have to get out of the car in the rain! Jessica drove us to some sort of art show between a logging factory and some train tracks. Seemed pretty sketchy, but I trusted her! We walked in and heard this horrendous noise of some naked men drumming... besides that were was some interesting art on the walls and it was a definite experience.

The night was still young!!! (at about 9pm) so we went to their favorite hangout spot, Jameson's, it was this neat bar/pool hall place with some pretty cool reto decoration. I sampled some authentic Oregon Hefeweizen beer. It was really good. Had to teach Roger about adding an orange or lemon to it to make it taste better. Its still shocking to me that I'm here, after six years, hanging out with him! Blows my mind. Well with the help of my new pool teachers Nate and Roger I was able to win I think maybe three games of pool. Im bad ass. It was such a fun night. When we decided to leave we made a run for Rogers apt... my not so great boots pretty much did nothing to keep my feet dry in the rain and huge puddles. I might as well have been wearing socks!!! But it was great. So fun! If the rest of my time in Eugene will be like today I'm in for a wild ride!

Eugene day 3 (04/11/10)

I was able to sleep in a little bit more this morning which was nice. Roger still wasnt awake when I got up though so I watched a few episodes of Dexter. Gosh that show gives me a heart attack sometimes! I was too scared so I ran into Rogers room for him to protect me. haha. We went out to breakfast with the gang (Jessica, Rick, Anna, Chuck, Kim and Peter). The breakfast was verrry good! Of course I got pancakes and hash browns. I stick to what I like! This after noon was a very relaxed one, we just watched some movies (I've never watched so many movies in my life!) and walked about Eugene some more (I swear Ive walked like 17 miles so far!) Later that evening we met up with everyone again for some dinner at Laughing Planet Cafe. It was very good.

Seems like all the food here is soooo good. Everything is organic, made from scratch. Nothing like the chains in CA. YUMMM! After we went to this incredible bakery with a huge assortment of sweet yummy things to buy. That night we played Settlers of Catan. I shocked Roger yesterday when he said "hey wanna play Settlers of Catan?" and I said "OH my Gosh YESS!" ... apparently not many girls like to play settlers of Catan.

Eugene Day 4 (04/12/10)

Today was another wonderful day in Eugene, Oregon. Everyday I love this place more and more. Roger had school today so I got to hang out on campus alone for a bit and walk around. I really love it. We didnt do too much besides walking around and relaxing. It was a great day though. Makes me think that I could move here. Everyone is so nice, everything is so laid back, everything is with in walking distance, all the food is so yummy!

Eugene Day 5 (04/13/2010)

WOW day 5! I haven't spent this much time in one city in a long time!!!! This is crazy! I was going to go to another state today, but I having such a great time here I don't want to leave! The weather is a bit unpredictable. I've stepped outside Rogers apt every morning to decide what kind of coat to wear and I always end up being too warm on the walk to school. Today we were the subjects of Ricks photography assignment. We spend some time running around the science building in the rain posing like models for his pictures. Watch out! When were famous those

photos will be worth something Rick!!! :) Roger was very busy today. He had to TA a lab which I sat in on. He had class which I didn't go to but hung out with Anna and Rick instead. We were able to go on a nice walk around the lake before his photo class though.

Eugene Day 6 (04/14/10)

Okay Im really leaving today... I have to. I work tomorrow. I am leaving on the last possible flight though :) I don't want to leave. This place is wonderful! Roger had a talk today. I listened... I didnt really understand anything that he was talking about, but it was great! haha on our way back to his apartment I saw a palm tree! Probably the only palm tree in all of oregon! I am sad to leave. Back to the real world.

Well I just got home. What an amazing trip. its 1 am... thank you Skywest delay... boo. Im very glad I got to hang out with Rachel during my layover. That made it okay. Otherwise I would have been pissed. It was such a wonderful trip and Roger is such a wonderful guy. I cant wait to go to Eugene again. Maybe a detour before another Skywest Trip???