Film photos and the surreal tale of our trip to Portland.
“I was once asked my fav place in America to find peace. Portland is the answer. Took a trip and found happiness”
La Flame
Mike doesn’t care about birthdays. He & I were raised differently in that way. Nonetheless, I wanted to celebrate his 26th trip around the sun by going somewhere we both haven’t been, so I booked our flights to Portland. Who are you in a city where no one knows your name?
In those 4 days, we learned the Portland geography, navigating the city and neighborhoods with their trains, cable cars, and ever touristy, bikes provided by Nike. We stayed in the Boise Elliot area, at an Airbnb with a lady named Sonia (pictured above). She had a very touching story about being a recovering addict, and shared with us the music she listened to in the 1960s-70s. One thing I found interesting is that she said the times back then were so much more calm than they are today. That’s given that she grew up around racism and an extremely intense sociopolitical climate. It made me ponder how relative our issues are in any given era. “Yeah it was tough back then, but ain’t no one was messing with me. I was kickin’ it,” Sonia said as she swayed and rocked while cleaning the house, to the sounds of Rose Royce.
On one of those days, we took a trip to Multnomah Falls. There was a distinct moment where I was laying on a fallen tree in the middle of a river and thought, “So this is finding peace in Portland.” I gazed at the sky as my eyes traced the intricate patterns and marveled at the colors I wasn’t sure any one else could see, besides Mike and me. Along the trails we saw a handful of waterfalls, inhaling its fresh glory, peace & power, exhaling all the worries we might have felt that day. On the way home, we listened to Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN album. The only way I could describe how that felt, is that I could see, feel, mentally process, but mostly FEEL, all the layers of music travel throughout the space, inner & outer, as the nature scenery–trees, bodies of water, gradient skies, flew by in the car windows.
Another surreal trip for the books. Looking forward to exploring new cities, places, spaces in the future, to celebrating more life.
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