Yup, I said it! Which means of course, that I am in Oregon! After a looooong and uncomfortable train ride, I arrived at Portland Union Station this morning at 10:25. I slept on and off through most of the ride until around 8:30. I finally decided to look out the window and take in the Northwest. I was taken back by the beauty! There were so many amazing colors. Green and yellow and orange and red! AH! It was amazing! I found myself totally lost and just staring out the window. I really didnt notice anything going on around me. As I looked up onto the hills, the tops of the trees were covered in fog. It looked almost...dare I say... Twilighty. Another thing to love about the Northwest.
As I stepped off the train, I was instantly hit by the smell... if you are from here, then you know what I am talking about. That smell that comes right before the rain hits the ground. I just stood there and took in a huge sniff! I didnt care who was looking. Nobody could take that moment from me. The air was crisp and cool and evertyhing was perfect.
I called my mom to let her know I had made it and she was running a little behind, so I decided to head into the staiton and look around. There is not much to it, but Union Station is pretty cool. Kind of historical. I sat on a bench and watched people for a while before I decided that I was in desperate need for a caffiene fix. I grabbed a double tall white mocha and went out front. You know your in Portland when the first thing you hear outside is a symphony of car horns, street sweepers and sirens. For some reason, it made me feel right at home. I was pretty much in heaven.
The first person to come up to me outside was an older gentleman. Probably late 40's I'd say. He was selling news papers for the homeless. I opted out on buying one and went back to reading my book. About twenty minutes later he sat on a bench next to the one I was sitting on. He pulled out a baggie with a sandwhich in it and a bottle of some Dr. Pepper knock off. As he helped himself to his lunch, I could not help but feel a tug at my heartstrings. My mom always tells me I am too compasionate, and it is times like these that make me think she is right. I have a hard time watching people eat alone. It makes me wonder what their story is. Why they are alone. Have they lost a loved one? Have they ever had a loved one to eat with? So many things run through my head, but today all that ran through my head was to pray for him. So I did. I prayed that God would bless this man that I didnt know. I asked God that if he was homeless as well, that he would find a place to live. I just prayed for a while until the tears dried up. Then I looked up and my mom was there. We loaded the car with my bags and as I was getting in, I looked over and the man smiled at me. I said to him "have a really great day" and he said "well thank you, you have a good day as well." I hopped in the car and he was standing right in my view and nodded at me. I feel like this was God saying "Hey Erin, he is surely going to be blessed today". It just gave me an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.
So, that is my first hour in Oregon. I hope that man is blessed today. I hope everyone is blessed today. I know I am and I cannot wait to see what other awesome things happen on this trip!
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