A bunch of stuff up to the first night in Vancouver

Tuesday, August 11: We got up at 7 in the morning and went to catch a city bus on Haight Street. The bus was really crowded so we had to stand awkwardly with our luggage. We got to the Greyhound station and picked up our tickets and waited for the bus. Finally, it came and we got on. On the trip I watched the latest episode of True Blood and then read. There were a lot of stops to pick up people but we got to Sacramento exactly on time. I saw Amy and Jonathan from afar. Jonathan is her gay best friend who I had heard a lot about but hadn't ever met. So we got our luggage and got in the car with Amy. She took us to Yuba City, where we went to get lunch at Sunflower Café. I got a vegetarian burrito. We ate at Amy's house and I finally met her dog, Shelby. After that we went to a café called Has Beans for the free wifi and did some trip planning. We went back to Amy's house and read for awhile. Then we ate leftover vegan kugel which Amy had made and was really good. Then we watched 17 Again with Zac Efron which was pretty cute. At 9 we picked up Taylor and Jonathan and went out near the Buttes which are the smallest mountain range in the world to stargaze. We sat next to a monument (and Jeff and I sat on top for awhile). The Perseids meteor shower was going on and it was pretty cool. Amy's friend Mike joined us later on. Taylor (a girl) was convinced she was hearing people scream and I tried to reassure her that it was a donkey and some horses but she continued to be freaked out. Some cops pulled up really fast and asked us what we were up to and we were like stargazing, and they were like are you all over 18, and they took our word for it. Their dog was barking madly. Then we took everyone home and then went to bed.

Wednesday, August 12: We got up at 7 again and I had some cheerios with almond milk. We left at about 8 on our road trip. After a while we got up near Mount Shasta and it got really windy and beautiful. We were on the road all day pretty much (until 5 or so). We stopped in Ashland, Oregon for lunch at a place called Pangea. I got a tempeh wrap which was really good. Finally we got to Salem, Oregon, to Hannah's friends' house. They weren't sure where to have us sleep. We went out to dinner at Venti's (I got a falafel bowl with feta, which was a sort of odd mix of salad and falafel on rice). Then we went to this café that allegedly has some of the best chai ever, and I got a vanilla chai and it was in fact quite good. We went to the 'waterfront' which was just on a little stream and then went to a bar. We played never have I ever with the rule that you had to clap when you put a finger down and many drinks were spilled (I did not spill my water). Then we were going to go home. Hannah had driven and she had had two drinks and I tried to get her to let me drive but she has a manual and doesn't like other people driving it anyway. I wasn't really comfortable riding with her and neither was Jeff. There were 7 people anyway and 2 of them were walking the mile and a half back so we walked with them. It was cool because one of them, Peter, was an econ major, and the other, Will, was a classics major. Also Will liked Dexter. We got back to the house and I tried some elderberry liqueur. I slept on a couch and Jeff slept upstairs on a floor. I did sleep well, though I got woken by a cat scratching to get in. The next morning Amy and I discovered that the cat making all that noise was really tiny (though not a kitten) and adorable.

Thursday, August 13: Today I got up at 9 (sleeping in!) and took a shower. Hannah took us on a tour of Willamette University which she goes to. It's pretty. We then went to Pita Pit which is like Subway but with pitas. I got a cheddar pita, and it was really good. After that we left for Portland (Hannah drove separately, though). We arrived at Hannah's house in not too long since Portland is only 30 or so miles from Salem. After that we tried to decide what to do. Eventually we went to Voodoo Doughnuts which is quirky, has weird doughnut flavors, is really popular, and is pretty cheap and delicious. We then went to Stumptown which is a well-known coffee place and sat and ate doughnuts. After that we went to Powell's City of Books, which is gigantic and amazing. We spent hours there. I got 4 books and had to restrain myself from getting more. We had taken the MAX in (public train, and we snuck on without paying) but we walked back to Northwest (where the car was parked) and went to a Mexican restaurant called Laughing Planet Cafe. I got a quesadilla with cheese, corn, pesto, and peppers - it was cheap and extremely delicious. After that we went to a 'vegan' strip club called Casa Diablo. It was the first time I'd ever been to a strip club. I got a drink and we sat around the poles and a stripper sniffed me. We moved to the tables after a while. It was a little uncomfortable but fascinating to watch other patrons' reactions. Also I went to the bathroom and all the strippers were in there and I found out what they do if they have their period. So basically it was interesting but I don't want to go again, really. We went after that to a different bar called Bye and Bye which was a hipster bar. Then we went back to Hannah's and attempted to procure sleeping space. It ended up being me and Jeff on a cat-pee covered air mattress shoved into a tiny room with a twin bed where Amy slept. Not ideal, but oh well.

Friday, August 14: We got up and went to a vegan strip mall which had a grocery store, tattoo parlor, clothes store, and bakery. Amy was really happy about that obviously. We then went to Hawthorne street and to Peet's coffee, then No Fish! Go Fish! Which has these fish shaped sandwiches filled with various things (I got one curry vegetable, a garlic parmesan, and a banana and chocolate). Then we went in a thrift store and I unsuccessfully looked for sneakers. After that we drove to Hannah's aunt's gallery to check it out. We then went back to Hannah's house to nap for a while. After that we went downtown to see Time Traveler's Wife which I thought was fairly good. Then we went to a bar called the Tube and I started getting a nasty headache and so Jeff and I left and walked around for a while. We met back up with Hannah and Amy and Hannah's friend Ari later and took the Max back home and went to bed.

Saturday, August 15: We got up at 9 to leave by 10 for the Saturday market but as we were leaving Hannah got into a fight with her mom and we had to wait for her until after 11. So we left Portland instead of going to the market. The drive was nice and pretty. We stopped in Puyallup for gas and somewhere else in Washington for the bathroom. We also stopped in Seattle for lunch at Araya's, a vegan Thai place which had a good buffet. We played Contact and Marry, Do, or Dump and had to wait awhile at the border but got through pretty easily. We got to Laura's house and she wasn't there yet so we broke in through her window. She has a nice little apartment - Jeff and I had our own room! We went out to Ceili's Irish Pub for Laura's friend's birthday. I wore my cleavagey dress. Laura left her ID and tried to sneak in unsuccessfully and Hannah, Jeff, and I waited for Amy to bring Laura back for an hour. We got delicious fries and pesto aioli while we waited. Then we met Laura's friends. I got bored but later danced and had some fun. A girl told me I had 'really cute glasses' and another girl pushed Jeff and I together, saying she thought we liked each other. We then came back to Laura's and went to sleep.