You Can Be a Follower, But Who is Your Leader?

september 10/09

i am now on the move again and this time its back to vancouver. yeah, yeah - i know - i was just there. but ill just be passing through today. i swear.

ive started to come down with a bad case of backpackers budgeting (aka: going to any means possible of trying to save a buck). hense why i woke up this morning at 4 a.m. to catch the ferry. hense why im choosing to travel for 15 hours today. hense why im going back to vancouver. its cheaper.

in my last few days of researching for the best route to take to get to LA - i discovered something. ferries arent always a nice and convenient way of travelling. but, when they are - theyre freaking fabulous! i have learned that ferries are ridiculously expensive under 2 specific conditions - a) when travelling via car on the ferry and b) when being a passenger on a ferry that does not carry cars. the latter is the type of ferry that transports people directly between victoria and seattle. in order to ride the "clipper" i have been quoted prices anywhere from $69 to $85 USD. and thats just one-way.

so when i looked into my other options i found that i could get to vancouver for $9 CAD (its $13.50 on weekends), take the bust to the train station ($5 CAD), then take the trian to portland for $49 CAD. thats only a total of $63 CAD and id be further along my route than if i took the clipper to seattle. the downside is that, yes, i had to catch the 7 a.m. ferry, roll out of bed at 4 a.m. and i probably wont be to portland untill 9 pm tonight. to me its worth it because it adds a little extra adventure to my trip.

as it stands, today has been fairly uneventful so far, save for the fact that both the bus and ferry have chosen to blast the air conditioning as though its 30 degrees outside. i stubbornly refuse to cave to my desire of buying a cozy hoodie - hot chocolate is cheaper.

yesterday i spent the day hanging out with a friend i havent seen for years. shemine and i explored the shores of victoria, checked out the bunny infestation at the university (they are overcome with over 1000 bunnies all because someone had decided it would be a good idea to leave a box of their unwanted ones on the property some time ago... they have since multiplied) and hung out - catching up on all our stories. it was nice to see a familiar face again and it was sad we only had a few hours together.

the rest of the afternoon i went running around downtown like a mad woman - trying to find a sleep mask (the brilliant yet dorky things that cover your eyes to block out light as you sleep) for less than $5, sold my books at a bookstore and explored chinatown. by 9 p.m. i was in bed and almost was able to fall asleep right away. that was untill one of my new roomies had the fabulous idea of blowdrying her hair in our room at 10 p.m. geez.

anyway - the ferry is almost at vancouver here. i should start attempted to figure out what bus will actually get me to the train station.

****

i cant stand to touch anything at this hotel. i think thats a first for me. im just thankful i wont have to worry about being cold tonight now that ive thrown all the bedding on the floor. its a hot one tonight in portland.

the train made it in right on schedule and once i got off, it took me a bit to find someone who could tell me when the bus leaves for bend tomorrow. i figured if it was super early in the a.m. id just catch my shut-eye at the train station rather than find a place to sleep for the night. i was told that the bus would not leave untill 1:30 pm the following day. i was astounded to find out that the bus also would cost me $46-49 USD for a one-way trip from portland to bend. thats MORE than what the train cost from vancouver to portland. sheesh.

anyway - i requested directions to the nearest hostel and was sent walking 20 blocks away to find it. eventually i made it there and asked if they had a room for the night. they didnt. the lady at the desk gave me the phone number for the other hostel in portland and i went to use the phone, but another lady got there first. she apparently had decided that NOW (at 9:45 pm) would be a good time to call some place for an eco-tour she wanted to go on the following day. the clincher? as she stood there rambling on forever into the hostel phone, she was holding onto a cellphone. sheesh.

eventually i was able to use the phone and called the other hostel. they informed me that, yes, they had room but that they were closing down shop in 10 minutes. there was no way i could make it across downtown in 10 minutes - even by bus. i reluctantly hung up the phone and was struck by the curious thought of why a hostel would be CLOSING up at 10 pm on a thursday night. wierd.

so i thought that maybe i would just walk around downtown and see if i could come up with any other brilliant ideas. i knew that if worst came to worse i could always go back to the train station and crash there. so i walked. and walked. and walked. as i was taking in the buildings of downtown portland, i saw movement out of the corner of my eye. i looked down to the sidewalk and there was this big rat staring back of me not more than 2 feet away. i had never seen a rat before and all i could think about was that show called fear factory that occassionally challenges people to sit in a box and see how long they can stand a bunch of rats running over their body. seeing this rat up close and personal - i dont think i could do something like that. fortunately the rat decided to squirm its way down through the grate that was on the side of the sidewalk. i continued on my way.

a few blocks later a guy approached me and asked, "whats the best nation in the world?" i told him i had no idea, figuring he must be some drunk guy all happy on USA love. he answered, "its a donation!" i was so confused as to where this conversation was going. he then handed me a card and asked if i ever eat at soup kitchens. i told him no, and he said that the card would get me a free meal at one - right. i walked away and wondered if he was handing out cards to everyone or if i had started to take on the look of a homeless person in need of a hot meal on a late thursday night. who knows.

after a while i made it to the kent hotel. as advertised, they had both hostel dorm rooms available and super cheap single rooms. they only had the single rooms available so i booked one for the night. as i climbed the stairs to my room i began to have second thoughts. i had seen a sign posted near the prices that stated the hotel required an ID from all persons booking rooms and that they were willing to take prison IDs. perfect. i also reflected on how the hotel was directly beside a local club and decided that it would be best to quickly find my room and lock the door for the night.

by the time i got to my room i was exhausted, but felt on high alert. the shared bathroom i passed on the way up had a large stain in the middle of the floor and someone had casually tossed an used diaper near the toilet. the floors and walls were built on odd angles and everything felt as though it was going to cave in at any moment. i opened the door to my room and was immediately faced with the smell of stale smoke. i gingerly set my bag down in the cleanest corner i could find and was careful not to touch anything.

the floor was sticky, there was stains on all layers of the bedding, the TV unit had some sticky goop on it and there was some type of dry animal food scattered in along the floorboards. i stripped the bed and layed out my sleep sheet as there was no way i was going to sleep on what they had provided me with. i carefully made sure that nothing of mine touched any questionable areas of the room and reminded myself that i would only use the common washroom for emergency-related purposes. fortunately i managed to fall asleep rather quickly.


september 11/09

today is the anniversary of september 11 and as i have spent time walking around portland here - its all ive heard about on the news and radio. i havent quite figured out what i think of portland and that might simply be because i have spent a majority of my time here either attempting (and finally succeeding) to get a place to stay at last night or waiting for my bus to arrive today.

the types of people i have seen around give portland (or at least the downtown of portland) a very eccletic feel to it. homeless people distribute themselves among the streets, claiming their piece of concrete in anyway they can. as this goes on, people all dressed up bustle down the streets on the way to their jobs - all the while cyclists and drivers zip down the streets.

during my wanderings around downtown as i waited for my bus, i met katie who happened to have stayed in the kent hotel last night as well. i asked her how her experience was and she told me that she had been asked twice, by 2 separate men if they could pay her for sex. she had later been asked by another man if he could pay her to let him sleep in her room (no sex) -- she declined all the offers and was thouroughly creeped out. i dont blame her. we spent the next hour or so chatting it up about our experiences of portland and surrounding areas untill we decided to part ways. i decided to check out a second hand clothing store to which i could only wish that i had more money and room in my bag as it was the first time i have ever found a second hand clothing store where i could find some good stuff. instead i walked away emptihanded and returned to the train station to wait for my bus.

****

well - i have made it to bend and it was a rather uneventful ride over here. since then i have just spent time catching up with my extended family and i am ready for bed.


september 12/09

today was a blast. me, tim and shelley (my aunt and uncle) went out for a mountain bike ride. i havent gone to do that in so long so i was both stoked and a little nervous. we ended up going on a path that was rather dusty, so we ended the ride with the 3 of us wiping dirt off of our teeth. regardless, it was a ton of fun to be able to get out there and be in the fresh air - especially when we ended the ride by going to visit mackenzie (my cousin) at her work at the local smoothie shop to get a refreshing drink.

the rest of the day i just lazed around a read a book - catching in some of the afternoon rays.


september 13/09

today we all piled into the car and drove out to OSU (oregon state university) to help chelsey move into her dorm. it was crazy to be back at an university and it brought back so many memories of when i went to UofA. we then went out to lunch and then piled back into the car for the slightly long ride back to bend.



NOTE: i have completely filled up my most recent photo album of "west coast adventures" and have started another one that you can check out at: WEST COAST ADVENTURES (2)