We are checking out a few potential colleges for Julia along
the way and decided to tackle the two small liberal arts schools in Portland in
one day today. Since we had to be at
Reed early this morning we decided to find a place near the school to grab breakfast. Rachel searched for us and found a place
named TOAST, which from the name sounded perfect, and we headed there full of
visions of crispy buttery bread awaiting us.
It took us several minutes, even after seeing their sign with the
martini glasses, to realize that the word “toast” has another meaning…perhaps a
more appropriate one for a restaurant.
We got a good laugh out of that and a great meal regardless.  |
| Lewis and Clark with Mt. Hood in background |
We spent the morning touring Reed College and the afternoon
touring Lewis & Clark and had the exact opposite reaction than I thought we
would going in. In the end, Reed is
probably off the college list and Lewis & Clark probably moved up it. I am trying to let Julia come to her opinions
on her own, but my favorable impression of Lewis & Clark was pretty
apparent (and unexpected). There is still
a long way to go before Julia narrows down an actual list of schools (not a
long time for her to do it in, but a long way to go). She had the opportunity to interview at both
of these schools and that was good experience for her if nothing else.
In between visits we hit one of the restaurants on Rachel’s
list – Bollywood Theater – for some fantastic Indian street food. And, walked down to Salt & Straw where
today there wasn’t much of a line. Tried
three of the flavors: salted caramel (Liz), snickerdoodle (Julia), and honey
lavender (Rachel). We all think that
ours was the best….and I’m pretty sure I’m right.
Even though we’ve been traveling, hiking, etc., constantly
on the go for the past nine days, it was the touring two colleges that finally
exhausted us. I don’t know what is about
those visits, but they take it out of you.
We went back to Travelers’ House to recoup before heading back out for
dinner.
Tonight’s adventure: a movie at McMenamin’s Kennedy Elementary
School – a historic school that was abandoned and remodeled into a hotel, bars,
restaurants, a movie theater, and a soaking pool. So, you can
sleep in an old classroom, smoke cigars in Detention, have a beer in the
Principal's office, and watch a $4 movie on couches in the old auditorium. You can even order dinner to be delivered to
your couch. (I was pleasantly surprised
by the quality of the food!) Nava, a
young woman working 24 hours a week at the hostel in exchange for a bed and whom we
have really enjoyed getting to know, joined us.
She was raised in Manhattan and has just finished her freshman year at Haverford
College, which means she has tons of experience and advice to share on the
college application process. Though Furious 7 was not on the top of the must-see list for any of us, any movie would have been enjoyable in that setting. 
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