God I love spontaneity.

Somewhere along the way I met a kindred spirit in the form of a young woman, looking to explore more new territories by my side. We decided to high-tail it out of California and make our way to Portland and Seattle.

We drove out of Grass Valley and made our way north.

Stopped to see the volcanic grandeur of Mt. Shasta.

After a few other stops we made it to Portland in time to experience some nightlife.  After all it was Friday night.   

Somehow we ended up at a burlesque club where the women were not just beautiful, but put on a show that was entrancing.  There skills went beyond nude dancing – it was seriously theatrical!  (All I can offer is this picture above tho 😉

Afterwards, we found out that Portland is the land of food carts – and they are awesome.

That night, to conserve money for travel, we slept in my car, which handles two very nicely.

The next day much coffee was drank, and between bouts of rainstorms, we managed to actually check out some of the sites the city had to offer.

Although the rain didn’t make it a very good day for shooting.

Later on, we wound up meeting up with some other couchsurfers and having a great night.  One in particular looked just like a friend from home.  Shout out to Paul Martin if you’re reading this!

Saw a pirate named Captain Shadow jamming ballads of a life of plunder and pillage.

More street food?  I think so.

After Portland, we headed up to Seattle to stretch out a bit.

Hit the Public Market for a walking brunch.

Found our way to the original Starbucks (it’s the only Starbucks in America with the original logo.)

Then went to Seattle Center to scope out some more architecture.  Seattle Center is the location of the 1916 World’s Fair, and home of some world famous architecture.

The monorail in flight.

Pacific Science Center.

A trip to Seattle would not be complete without a picture of the Space Needle.

Seattle has been great.  More to come soon…