Spent the last 36 hours on a spur-of-the-moment road trip/overnighter holiday to Eugene, OR with my good friend @popegrutch. 

Had an absolute blast. Enjoyed the beautiful cloudy cool days, fresh air, lunch at The Glenwood, dinner at Track Town Pizza, leisurely walks around the city, and '60s hippie tunes on his car radio. (Current earworm: "The Trip" by Donovan).

Of course it helps that I have many fond memories of that city, especially from the "old days" when I lived in Riley Hall at the University of Oregon (early 1990s). That's when I first came out as queer, got into the goth scene, discovered Paganism, and did an awful lot of tripping on LSD (lol). 

Great to revisit my old stomping grounds. Even managed to get a couple of snapshots. (I'm not much of a photog, as you may have guessed).

Probably the most fun I've had with a friend in years. After a month of funeral stress and family duties, the trip was like balm for a weary soul. 

Also, I kind of want to move back to Eugene someday? I think. Maybe?

I had such a great day road-tripping to Eugene, OR with my IRL friend @popegrutch, who will be moving to Eugene in a couple of weeks. 

We had delicious food, beautiful cool weather and grey skies, no traffic snarls or logistical stressors, etc., and the apartment hunt for @popegrutch was a smashing success. 

I even had some time to reconnect for tea and good conversation with two other dear friends who live in Eugene that I hadn't seen in many years. 

So now I have *three* dear friends in Eugene, plus many fond memories of my former life there that date all the way back to my U. of Oregon days in the 1990s. And I love the city anyway, for a long list of reasons.

I think next year I may start putting some real effort toward moving back there.

Six more days to go until my train trip to Eugene to visit friends, including @popegrutch and @trigs.

Not sure how it happened that I have more friends living in Eugene now than I do in Portland, but I'm not complaining.

Previous Eugene travel threads for reference:

Six more days to go until my train trip to Eugene to visit friends, including @popegrutch and @trigs.

Not sure how it happened that I have more friends living in Eugene now than I do in Portland, but I'm not complaining.

Previous Eugene travel threads for reference:
https://warpcast.com/danicaswanson/0xba2ae7bb
https://warpcast.com/danicaswanson/0x735c72a9

Writer, senior editor, music nerd, GenX eldergoth, monastery-bootstrapper. https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson https://tinyurl.com/Black-Stone-Wordsmith

Invisible Gardener. Regen practices. Degen research. Building StatelessDAO open source co-ops. Pixeloodles & Degenomemetics:  https://zora.co/@invisiblegardener

This visit will focus on spending time with friends (I'll be seeing five people while I'm there) and helping with a home decorating project. 

I did say I was planning to put some real effort into moving to Eugene this year. But I'll need to get some other things sorted before I plan any scouting trips.

Though sometimes opportunities show up in unexpected ways, so who knows...? I'll keep an open mind.

A continued (and expanded?) pilgrimage ritual!

Have fun.