18th and 19th February - Portland

Greyhound got us in a bit later than planned (predictably), but we still had time to wander round our new neighbourhood in the rain and cloud.

First stop was the barber's (well, 'hairstylists') to get my outrageous barnet sorted out. Panicked slightly when the woman started off by giving me a bowl cut, but worked out well in the end - Portland will be in ginger wigs for the next decade at least.

Got given a free mini burrito each (free = good) on our way to the Notting Hill-esque boutique shops and some clothes shopping to top up supplies and get Sarah and me some more jeans. No sales tax in Oregon means well worth getting the credit card out.

Up early the next day to glorious sunshine so headed out to do the '4T trail' (trail, tram, trolley, train) which takes you all around the city. Was bloody hard work, particularly as we gave ourselves a 2 hour walk to actually get to the start of the trail so we were knackered when we finished.

Headed to check out some of Portland centre's famous food carts for a tasty snack as a treat (spring rolls) before checking out Powell's Books, the world's biggest independent book shop (it was bloody huge and puts Borders to shame).

General vibe in Portland is very cool and it's really a great, great city - could easily see us living here as the standard of living is high and it's really laid back.

More clothes shopping followed by a couple of beers in a cool bar (Muu Muu's) finished off an awesome couple of days.

Took the Greyhound 9 hours to Redding the next day to break our journey to San Francisco - in summary: it is s***, NEVER go there.