Day 4 was Sunday. As always, I anticipated the Sunday brunch with a bittersweet feeling. Bitter because it was coming to an end and because I was intentionally skipping out on some possibly good panels, and such, to get a head start on the final portion of my trip. I said my goodbyes after breakfast and headed out on my way to an overnight experience in Eugene, Oregon armed with weatherproof clothing and camera gear. Actually, there was quite a bit more drama, but that will be for my other post.
I saw on Google Maps that the bus and the bus/light combo rail are scheduled to take the same amount of time going from Edgefield to downtown. I didn't want to risk unexpected delays incurred by the transfer so I decided to stick with the bus, even though I prefer the rails. I listened to the pre-recorded Time Was radio program from WRDV out of Pennsylvania that I had on my iPhone. This old time music broadcast from Pennsylvania felt right at home in greater Portland.
The above video is a version of the gorgeous song that the radio program is named after, and which serves as the opening/theme song.
As the time I needed to arrive got closer I grew nervous, but suddenly we were where I needed to be and I hustled over to the Greyhound. I arrived considerably earlier than expected.
On the Greyhound I decided to read the rest of Dungeons and Drag Queens. I voted for it to win based on only a partial reading and memories from a live performance reading from the year before, but when I finished it I was satisfied with my vote. Generally, I love Oregon Greyhound, and the intercity buses of many areas outside California, California is generally a grimy way to ride Greyhound. Overall, I dug the ride. However, there was this highly agitated man who kept wining on the phone with friends and/or relative about his troubled weekend. These people need shame and self-consciousness. There were some nice downpours along the way and I got to see the Oregon countryside for the first time, last year my similar bus rides were after dark.
Upon arriving in Eugene, Oregon it was lightly raining and there was some evidence of good Fall color. I returned to the campus briefly before checking in at my hostel and was underwhelmed relative to my first experience. I had a long walk to the hostel, in the dark.
Overall, my directions and my competence served me well until I missed a subtle turn. I proceeded up the wrong street and got confused when I saw the numbered streets but had not yet made the turn on a prerequisite street. I apparently came to the street I needed but could not turn in the direction listed on the directions due to a dead end. Many of the streets are named after US presidents, by the way. Anyhow, my walk took me across the tracks into some creepy, semi-abandoned industrial part of town and I turned back realizing that I must have royally screwed up.
Fortunately, it was only a few blocks to get back to the nicer part of town. I went to a convenience store and bought some bottled Frappucinos (they actually carried the dark mocha, which I can't find locally anymore...I know that I can always add my own chocolate, of course). Anyhow, I got directions from the man at the counter. Surely enough, I had to turn on the numbered street in the opposite direction because of the turn I missed, which would have allowed the turn as provided by the directions.
This time I had a single room. When the man showed me my room for the night I was ecstatic. I had a desk, a rather large bed, a closet, a nearby semi-private bathroom, and my own doorway to the street. There were also a myriad of gorgeous framed photographs of the coast and marine life on the walls. If that wasn't enough, I still had access to the kitchen and the common recreational spaces. All this was incredibly affordable. This was all enhanced by the Starbucks buzz.
I headed out after some night planning and more caffeine. Unfortunately, UO campus dining wasn't buffet-style for the time-frame I chose so I decided to buy ingredients for myself and make a pizza at the hostel. I walked home by taking the main drag through town as far as I could. Indeed, the dining looked intriguing (much as I imagined it) but it was above my budget and I already was on the path to homemade magic. I ultimately did my shopping at Red Barn Natural Grocery, which was pretty nice. Most of the ingredients were well-priced and suitable quality.
When I got back to the kitchen I realized that I mistakenly bought xanthan gum instead of yeast. I pressed on anyways and had an especially gooey pizza! I sort of smuggled it to my room. The oven was also being difficult so I did some microwaving to finish up before the cut-off time. While I made the pizza they were watching 3:10 to Yuma via the projector, something I can do any night of the week at home.
I went to bed after a little more online activity.
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