PDX!

Sorry for my very much overdue post for the city of Portland...nothing against Portland....i just dont know where my head has been in the last two week. Wrapping up my west coast adventures, I headed north of Cali and trained it up to Oregon State which btw was one of the most beautiful legs of landscape I saw on my journey. Coming up on the coast and passing through the dense thicket of evergreen trees that just seem to be infinite in numbers is incredibly grounding and makes anyone feel like so small.
I was nervous and excited to finally make it up to Portland. For it being the sort of prodigy child of planning, sustainability, and a "we sure know how to do everything right" attitude, it was intimidating to see it first hand. The city itself if actually not very big and you can traverse it fairly easily so I felt like I got to see a good part of it. I was impressed at how clean and perfect it was and maybe even a little chocked that there was hardly and dirt and grind to it which to me are a big part of a city too. Everyone out there that I spoke to on my daily explorations was friendly and willing to share their stories. The man pictured here was a super cute old Mexican man who claimed to have the best tamales in the world. Look at that thing, ITS HUGE!! It had all these different meats and veggies inside it and it looked really good but Im sad I didnt get ot actually taste it.
During my stay there, I crashed at Ms. Nishiel Patel's swanky portland apartment and we took a personal day to explore outside of the city. She rented a zip-car aka a car-to-go and off we were to Multnomah! She was like a walking adveristement for the rental cars jajajaj. So for those that dont know, Multnomah is gorge outside of portland that you can hike in for mile and mile on end through various waterfalls and neat little paradises as you hike up this steep mountain. Nishiel and I did about a mile and a half hike up and then doubled it on our trip down hill. The views were incredible and the water was FREEEZING but Im sure I speak for both of us when I say that it was an amazing experience to walk barefoot through the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. Later that day, we met with Alixis and Pete for celebrate Pete's big 30 something birthday jajaja. Im sure he probably doesnt remember much from that night but I was happy to see those to boys one last time. For a long time I had a strong desire to visit that city, and Im really glad I did. I cant say that it was love at first sight but I seeing the reality of it in person made me realize how different an experience can be from that of a perceived reality from afar. I may be making a premature judgment in saying that it wasn't what I expected but I think I got enough of the city to know what it has to offer and why it makes that people that live there happy, but I dont know that I would live there myself. Maybe it was too perfect, too clean or maybe it just wasnt Austin, jajaja. Who knows...I had an amazing time thanks to my lovely host and I hope one day I can return and see more of what I missed.

The next day I packed my bags, and off I was to undergo a 3 day train ride across the country to Pittsburgh.....

xmas in July in San Francisco

So I'm about three cities behind on my updates... so I apologize..I gotta catch up before the end of my trip comes and bites me in the butt. So after my stay in LA I got on the train and made my way up to Northern Cali , also known as San Fran. After being in perfect(maybe at tad chili weather) in LA, I moved north to the land of fog and cold, wet nights. The night I came in it was 50 degrees IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER! But its ok because it was the perfect excite to go shopping. For as quick as my stay was Janice really outdid herself in making sure I covered the as much of the city both touristy things as well as fun local things.
Day 1 consisted of architecture sightings and ended with a fun shopping filled afternoon at the "federal building" jajaja. On day 2 I fell in love with the most incredible chocolate croissant I have ever had. We went to a trendy coffee shop called the Taburne(ok so im not 100% sure that was the name), if anyone is every in San Fran, its a must(its in the Mission District). We did the whole Pier tours, ate traditional clam chowder, and of course visited the bridge. Natalie happened to be in the area and it worked out that she was able to drive in and spend the afternoon with us doing the "tourist" things. For it being my "vacation" from my trip, Im glad at the incredible number of thing we actually got to do and see. It is definitely I place i'd like to revisit soon!

Party Like a Rock Star

Man oh MAN!!! what can I say about LA except that I was blown away!!! Although I wanted to go into this whole trip without preconceptions of stigmas about these cities, it really wasnt what I expected. My stay was broken into two parts and I got to experience so much of the city because of that. The first few days I stayed with my buddy Brooks down on Marina del Rey(Venice Beach area) and I seriously fell in love with everything about life out in the beach. Its soooo peaceful, sooooo fun and calm. After exploring a ring of mostly mexican neighborhoods that surround the downtown of the city for my thesis research, Brooks(who is apparently a mexican herself) and I felt right at home. On our quest to find all and anything mexican including Topichico, we were told of this illusive "market" which is this incredible whole sale warehouse for any mexican product you can possibly want. I WAS IN HEAVEN! we pigged out on candy, chips, drinks, etc.
On the second half of my stay, I had to leave the beach and move over to hipsterville, also know as Echo Park and the current home of Mr. Andrew Bell. Little did we know that this was going to become a super UT architecture reunion . By total coincidence it was Andrew's birthday and we all happened to be in town: Jake George, Mike Lama, Kevin Johnson, Andy Hall, and myself (although we'd like to make him think we all came in just for his birthday). We partied, alot, and one of those nights at the Standard Hotel. Seriously, it was like living in an episode of Entourage, partying on the rooftop, the weird red waterbed that Andrew, Jake, and I are enjoying epitomized the ridiculousness of the setting but it was AWESOME.
LA was LA, people love their cars, their highways, but I loved it too! Their public transit system was impressive, people were genuinely nice, helpful, and never did I feel unsafe. Oh and of course, there was the was architecture too, which didn't hurt to make it the best.

Meet Me in St. Louis

I left Michigan and Chicago to meet my roommate Jenna and her husband to be to take part in a wonderful wedding. As exhausted as I was from all my travels and in preparation for the big day, I managed to pull through and rejuvenate for the my friend's big day. It was definitely a fairy tale wedding and I enjoyed meeting so many fun people, especially the bridal party, my new mid-western girlfriends. There were two incidents when I fell the day of the wedding, thankfully never in front of a crowd, but no matter who's watching, tripping down the stairs is never fun. The food was AMAZING but I gotta say, my favorite was the bacon candy served at the cocktail hour. It basically consisted of a crispy strip of bacon covered in a carmel/nut glaze...AHHHHH it was to die for!! two thumbs up to Jenna and Wes for that one.

Sunday morning came and while Jenna and Wes were on their way to Hawaii, I had made a switch from the fantasy of partying non stop to my hotel downtown St. Louis where I would be staying to start my thesis research. I was really weird to be honest to stay at hotel by myself. I roamed downtown to work on my documentation of the area and it was incredibly sad for me to see this major metropolitan area in such a decrepit state. With density that could be indicative of a thriving metropolis, most of its contructed towers that date to the early 20th century are abandoned and in limbo of our crashing real estate market. Nevertheless, I managed to find pockets of life and hope of rejuvenation for the city. I left St. Louis and went west. More on that soon to come.

Pure Michigan Love!

After coming back from Niagara Falls, I spent a the next few days being spoiled by the beauty and peacefulness of Michigan. We went to a small neighboring town called Saugatuck, which was a sort of Fredericksburg type place, cute shops, touristy, and incredible wine!





After our fun walk around downtown, we climbed a million and a half what I consider the Mt. Bonnell of Michigan and I got to see a spectacular view of Lake Michigan.


So of course we went on our own wine tasting adventure before buying a few bottles to take down to the beach. The beach was incredible and who know sand is not always salty! But after lots of food, lots of love and lots of family, it was time to leave it behind and leave to St. Louis for the wedding.
I was sooooo excited when I finally got the opportunity to roam the Chicago on my wait down there, and so of course I had to see the bean, millennium park and I finally met on a very hot and sweaty afternoon. I can honestly say I think Im in love with that city. So until we meet again my love...my heart is waiting for you. ;)

Long Way North

so thursday morning I got on the train and very excitingly opened my fortune cookie only to be disappointed. Tell me if I'm wrong but this is not really a fortune as much as a command -" you find beauty in ordinary things, do not lose this ability." Nice but maybe not for a blog name, but I'll keep that in the back of my head while I'm out seeing the country.
The first leg of my journey was 1160 miles northeast to the windy city. I am in love with the trains though. Its like a flash from the past. All of the carts are 2 story tall. Attached to the coach carts are a lounge cart, a dinner cart, and the sleeper carts. The lounge cart is an observatory deck with a window ceiling, lounge chairs, and a downstairs snack bar(which also sells alcohol jajaja). And the dinner is like stepping back into a 1950s dinner which attends by reservation only. Its super cute. I became friends with these two black ladies who were on their way to Springfield for the h.s class of 1975 reunion. Their names were Mary Lots and Mary Acres, jajajaa, and they had been best friends since the 6th grade. They kind of reminded me of Daf and I. Black people are funny, when I told them I was going to St. Louis to a wedding one of them grabbed my hand and said "Girrrrrrlllllll.....you betah get your nails done before the weddiiiingg!!!" jajajaa


We encountered some mechanical errors on the train and were delayed a couple of hours. That ment I wouldnt get to roam around Chicago on my layover there as Id planned. But its ok, I'll be back a few more time in the remainder of the trip. I met up at Union Station with my cousin Laura and we almost missed our train to Holland, MI.
But we made it, only to arrive at Holland and discovery a new journey was awaiting us, we would be leaving to Niagra Falls the next morning at 4am. That was a 10 hour car ride to New York State. In the end it was all worth it. That place was incredible and we got to see the edge of Canada!














so today we're off to the beach. I leave Michigan thursday morning for St. Louis. Cant wait for the wedding fun to begin, then the research will begin fooohh suurreee, thats the scary part.
-E