re.write road trip: Portland, OR

After our week in Mammoth, we hit the road for the beginning of our business trip, which we dubbed "re.write road trip." We packed into a tiny Prius C, drove over 2,000 miles from Mammoth to Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Redding, CA, and finally to San Francisco, CA. Everything about the road trip exceeded our expectations. We met so many amazing, influential, creative, and inspiring individuals that I don't even know where to begin. With each person we interviewed, Mark and I walked away, mouths agape, in awe of how we got connected with them, how powerful their stories are, how much they blessed us, and how people will be deeply impacted once their stories are shared. On top of that, we met countless individuals in passing, who simply encouraged us like no other and got us pumped for what 2014 holds.

The beginning of this journey started in Portland, a city neither Mark and I had ever been to. It didn't take long for us to fall in love. With two days to spare before the interview, we explored as much as we could, eating delicious food and drinking delicious coffee (*cough* Stumptown *cough*). I bought a used book at Powell's from one of my favorite writers, Gay Talese, who was a forerunner of the genre of journalism that Mark & I studied in college and that re.write magazine embodies: literary journalism. The entire experience—perusing the aisles, finding the LJ section, searching for "Talese", dragging the stepping stool to reach the desired book—was quite romantic and the perfect precursor for the road trip.

The interview itself was powerful, intimate, and the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The subject is a contributing artist for Kinfolk Magazine, a quarterly magazine focused on small gatherings and finding new things to make or do. The magazine has grown quite popular over the last couple of years, and to me, it is the model for the future of magazine publishing. So, as you can imagine, I felt quite honored to be able to interview this particular person. But all the nerves I felt prior to our meeting were completely shattered by her immediate warmth and transparency. For the next four hours, we dove into her story, one that is marked by renewal and a deep, deep love for truth. I can't wait to share it with you!

[Our favorite restaurant in Portland was Double Dragon. 

Below is the coconut curry ramen and the pork belly banh mi.]

And here are a couple shots & a video taken from my iPhone.

[This was taken at 4 a.m. on our way to Portland. Suddenly, the black silhouette of
the hills turned into white, snow-covered mountains that were, simply, majestic.]

[At Salt and Straw for some caramel and chocolate ganache ice cream...yummmmmmm.]

[Our morning runs through Mt. Tabor Park.]

Stay tuned for stop #2 in Seattle, WA...