J and I awoke today to a forecast of major wind and rain in Oregon - in Portland, where we've been hanging out the past two days, as well as along the coast, which we'd planned to visit next. This forecast comes as sort of a disappointment as well as raises a question: what do we do now?

Our current plan is to arrive in Southern California around Thanksgiving so we can spend the holiday with friends. This means we have plenty of time to make it down there and we were really excited about that. We'd wanted to drive east a little and see the Columbia River Gorge and then make our way slowly down south along the shoreline, maybe stopping in some picturesque, peaceful town before entering California.

But it's apparently snowing in the Cascades, the mountain range we'd have to cross to visit the gorge, and the coast was getting a deluge from what we saw on the local weather this morning.

So, now? We're not exactly sure. The feeling that we need to press on is always a factor in a road trip like this, and yet we've decided to pause for a few hours here in Portland (a city I adore, by the way) and figure out our next steps. Who knows. Sometimes the unexpected results in great things.

We decided to drive over to the Hawthorne District this morning, this sort of bohemian/edgy part of town with plenty of shops and restaurants where I was sure we'd find a coffee shop with wireless internet no problem. But after walking around - in the rain, mind you - with no luck, we ended up in Starbucks.

And that's where we are right now. In the heart of Portland's counter-cultural district...in a Starbuck's, plotting a route forward in our very own American adventure.