Portland, but not as we know it...

[Nessa]

At the end of this week Nik and I are off to oregon for Thanksgiving and a bit longer after that. Any USA shopping requiremetns anyone?

sorry about the typos, you should see what they hav my hand bound up in now!

[Rupert]

Portland is great, Nessa - spent a couple of weeks there this summer, while Kathryn was working out there.

[Mungo]

It's a great city, worth getting to know. Quirky laid back population, good beer, good food, decent wine, incredible mountains, even the desert close by, beautiful coastline. Bring your wellies, don't see the sun much this time of the year.

[Nessa]

I have been warned it will be wet! But I am really excited about it. apparently it is a great place to be veggie, we have a trip to the coast planned, I am buying a cheaper camcorder from oregon scientific and of course there is Powells...

what more could a girl want?

We are mostly staying in Corvallis (university town) but will be doing lots of touring round....plus of course it's Thanksgivinga dn I am having tofurkey...???

[Rupert]

Not bad for a veggie. Really liked Powells - the kids and I spent the afternoon in there. Mt Hood should be pretty spectacular, too. We flew in right past it.

[Mungo]

Corvallis, Eugene are even better. Stoned hippies, academics and gun toting rednecks (maybe that should be stoned academics and gun toting hippies, I suspect the rednecks are the stabilizing influence). I think that area is kind of what the USA likes to think it is, an eclectic blend of opinionated people living together without (too much) judgment. Wonderful, beautiful part of the world, have fun.

Sadly the area is too beautiful to survive as it is. It is like Seattle before the wealthy bought it and generated west coast bland. Only pockets of what made the wild, eccentric, eclectic west coast remain. If you are in Seattle and want to know what it was like before yuppies gentrified it and eliminated fun, go to the Blue Moon for a ballard IPA (or many) on a friday night (once my favourite place to drink too much, hopefully it is still there).

http://historylink.org/index.cfm?Displa ... le_id=8339

[Nessa]

we are having a great time - got a copyof Blandfiord's how to build your own boat in Powell's. Off to the coast tomorrow, the Gorge at the weekend.

did black friday today - horrendous! Eugene this week too. loved the corvallis hippies and the coffee shopseven more.