Week 1 Recap: The Coast, Portland, Powell's Book Store, and More!

Wow- it's hard to believe that we've got one week of nomadic living down! It feel like I have been on this trip for a lot longer than that, honestly! I've definitely adjusted quite well and have been having a great time staying with my Aunt and Uncle in Salem, Oregon to start the first leg of my journey. I will be here until Friday, upon which I will head out to Seattle for the next three weeks.

I knew this would be an adjustment period and a quieter leg of the trip, since I'm staying with family and in a sleepier part of Oregon. I think this was a great way to kick off my new adventure and I will be sad to leave them and Oregon! It's been a really fun ride.

Here's a recap of what I did this week:

Day 1: Crazy Traveling!

Monday was my official first day on the road and I had to get up at 5:30am to make it to the airport in Cleveland. Little did I know, there was so much construction that someone had the ingenious (not) idea of only having ONE security lane open for the entire airport- I'm not kidding. So after spending 45 minutes in line, I was 30 seconds away from missing my flight. Luckily I took off running and somehow made it before the cabin door closed, but I seriously thought I was going to miss my flight and have a disastrous start to the trip. Then I traveled the rest of the leg and had fun in Portland with my aunt and uncle!

We met some friends of there's for lunch at this cozy vegan spot and I had the most delicious BBQ tempeh and an arugula salad. We then headed to Powell's and I fell in love- it has to be the biggest bookstore I've ever been too! Needless to say, I had a good time.

Days 2, 3, & 4: Taking It Easy In Salem

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were work days for me and outside of my professional businesses, I had some fun downtime in Salem and got to spend quality time with my family. We went out to a couple of restaurants to eat, toured the downtown area, and had fun sitting on their deck, talking and reading. It was a really easy and slow-paced couple of days in Salem so there's not much more to share here.

Day 5: A Trip To The Coast

On Friday, we decided to take a day trip to the Oregon coast after I finished the last bit of my work for the week that morning. We drove for about an hour to Taft, Oregon where we went to this amazing seafood place called Mo's. I had the most savory, delicious shrimp and crab- so delicious! There's nothing like eating seafood by the beach. We then took a walk to the boardwalk to see the beach and enjoy the view.

We then drove about 20 minutes to Newport to see a different part of the coast, where we saw live sea lions! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen in nature- there were no cages or zoos involved! Then I had fun exploring, walking, and going into various shops along the coast. It was a really great day overall and exactly the kind of day trip I needed.

Day 6: A Davenport Affair

Saturday, we decided to check out the town fair in the nearby town of Davenport and it didn't disappoint. There was decadent food, rides, artisens, and even a tent with free books from the local library. I loved seeing what life is like in a small town here- it was such a friendly, quaint place to go.

Day 7: Work Hard, Play Hard

Today I'm getting some work done so that I can fully enjoy myself on tomorrow's trip to Portland. I'll be visiting the famous Japanese Gardens and doing some exploring downtown- I may even head back to Powell's! I'm excited to see what tomorrow and the rest of the next week have in store- I'll be heading up to Seattle via Amtrack on Friday so I'll only have a few days left in Salem!



Until soon,
Erin