7.27.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: Portland, OR
Friday, July 24, 2004 - Touchstone Coffeehouse
We started out at 6am to make our 10-hour trek to Portland. We knew it was gonna be a long drive so we grabbed some morning grub and settled into our respective seats. We crossed the Oregon state line and made a quick gas stop where we learned about the full service gas law. Laney got out to start pumping when a station attendant intervened saying that he would do it for her. When she asked if she had parked at a full service pump, he explained that it was simply a state law – in Oregon, no one is allowed to pump gas except for station employees. We also learned that there was no sales tax. A $4.25 sandwich was $4.25. Simple. I like that.
We arrived in Portland a little behind schedule due to a back up on the freeway so Laney drove me over to Touchstone Coffeehouse to start my set. Monica, the magnificent barista, showed me around and hooked me up with a nice tall iced caramel mocha. Touchstone is a little pink house with cute little reading rooms and a large back porch area decorated with beautiful flowers and artistically painted planters. My 2-hour set was nice and mellow. I met Amy and Mary, both Touchstone patrons, who were super nice and chatted with them between songs. Before I knew it, my set was up and it was time to go. I thanked everyone, said goodbye to Monica, and jumped in the car to grab some dinner. We ate some late night subs at Subway ($4.25 = $4.25) and went to the hotel.
A Note on NW Heat: When we were driving up from San Francisco, we noticed how hot and humid it was and hoped that it was just rural heat…the kind only applicable to the land surrounding the city. (Hah, silly girl!) It wasn’t. It was hot all over. And to add to our perspiration, our hotel didn’t have air conditioning – I guess they only need heaters for winter and hot summers like this one aren’t a common occurrence. So we sprawled out and opened the window to cool off. Thankfully, the setting of the sun brought a significant drop in temperature and we relaxed into the northwest evening.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a cute little café named the Cameo Café. Hee. Of course we had to:) Afterwards, Johna exclaimed that they had the BEST WAFFLES EVER. She even went as far as to say that they trumped the Mickey Mouse waffles at Disneyland. And she LOVES Disneyland so this was a heavy compliment!
We left the Cameo Café, stuffed with carbs & coffee, excited to make our way up to Seattle. I’m gonna miss the no sales tax though!
More soon…
We started out at 6am to make our 10-hour trek to Portland. We knew it was gonna be a long drive so we grabbed some morning grub and settled into our respective seats. We crossed the Oregon state line and made a quick gas stop where we learned about the full service gas law. Laney got out to start pumping when a station attendant intervened saying that he would do it for her. When she asked if she had parked at a full service pump, he explained that it was simply a state law – in Oregon, no one is allowed to pump gas except for station employees. We also learned that there was no sales tax. A $4.25 sandwich was $4.25. Simple. I like that.
We arrived in Portland a little behind schedule due to a back up on the freeway so Laney drove me over to Touchstone Coffeehouse to start my set. Monica, the magnificent barista, showed me around and hooked me up with a nice tall iced caramel mocha. Touchstone is a little pink house with cute little reading rooms and a large back porch area decorated with beautiful flowers and artistically painted planters. My 2-hour set was nice and mellow. I met Amy and Mary, both Touchstone patrons, who were super nice and chatted with them between songs. Before I knew it, my set was up and it was time to go. I thanked everyone, said goodbye to Monica, and jumped in the car to grab some dinner. We ate some late night subs at Subway ($4.25 = $4.25) and went to the hotel.
A Note on NW Heat: When we were driving up from San Francisco, we noticed how hot and humid it was and hoped that it was just rural heat…the kind only applicable to the land surrounding the city. (Hah, silly girl!) It wasn’t. It was hot all over. And to add to our perspiration, our hotel didn’t have air conditioning – I guess they only need heaters for winter and hot summers like this one aren’t a common occurrence. So we sprawled out and opened the window to cool off. Thankfully, the setting of the sun brought a significant drop in temperature and we relaxed into the northwest evening.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a cute little café named the Cameo Café. Hee. Of course we had to:) Afterwards, Johna exclaimed that they had the BEST WAFFLES EVER. She even went as far as to say that they trumped the Mickey Mouse waffles at Disneyland. And she LOVES Disneyland so this was a heavy compliment!
We left the Cameo Café, stuffed with carbs & coffee, excited to make our way up to Seattle. I’m gonna miss the no sales tax though!
More soon…
