It's remarkable there was any and my guts were not that much in the mood for food. Which was a pity as there was a delicious selection.
I managed some, and a couple of beers too, before Simon and I hit the road to Oregon. We'll be catching up with Owen and Anna again later but there was still a lot of hugging by the Hood canal. Our new American friends had been hosts and hostesses non pareil and we could not have been made to feel more comfortable.
Passing through Union one last time we said goodbye to our digs and picked up the Interstate. As juggernauts cruised by we occasionally caught a glimpse of the dramatic Columbia river gorge. Mountains defined the background and we soon hit Portland proper.
I'm mad for the wrought iron green bridges and we swung down across one and over the Williamette into downtown and our hotel at 4th & Clay.
After check in I chatted to John from Berlin at the bar. He lives in Vancouver now and his mum was over from Germany for a North American road trip.
Simon and I headed to the Yamhill dive bar. I forgot my ID (again) so we had to return to the hotel. Eventually we got served in the Yamhill and got chatting to Justin, Sadie, and a few others.
Sadie looked a bit like Taylor Swift and seemed a sweet natured girl. Her boyfriend, Justin, was a good decade older than her. Initially he seemed to be a common or garden hipster show off who tried to teach us about The Smiths and the 80s Manchester music scene. Something it'd be fair to say we already had a working knowledge of.
This further descended into occasional snide and derogatory comments to Sadie who wore the resigned look of a person who'd grown used to this behaviour.
Stupidly we accepted Justin's invitation to go to another bar along with some other girls who'd been chatting in the bar.
We never made it because a visibly distressed and upset Sadie walked off into the night. It was 2am and it didn't seem the safest part of town so we asked if she was ok - which she obviously wasn't.
That was the final straw for Justin who immediately threatened to kill us both. It was unclear how as he was dancing around like a bad Mick Jagger impersonator at the time.
After some brief squaring up everyone headed off in their own direction. I hope Sadie finds someone who treats her better and I hope Justin mends his ways. He's lucky he threatened two naturally conciliatory guys. He may not be so lucky next time.
When we finally reached the hotel the swipe card in my door didn't work and they had to send an engineer up to fix it. It was close to 4am and it had been a long day. The warmth of the Washington welcome easily overshadowed any ornery Oregonian onanism.
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