I had absolutely no idea that people on the West Coast would be so nice.

Yeah, I've known lots of people from the West Coast. And most of them were probably very nice. But inevitably they'd go off on a tangent about how much better beer, or food, or the mountains or [fill in pretty much anything else] are in the West Coast, and I'd want to plug my ears.Or engage them, Northeast-style, in a contentious debate about the aesthetic value of small mountains.

But I just spent a week and a half on the West Coast, and I had a great time. The first thing I noticed when I left the airport in Portland is that nobody makes sure you pay your fare on the light rail. How nice is that?

However, I had already bought a ticket from a ticket-vending machine iside the airport, and I killed a bit of time by reading it (I was the kind of kid that not only read the "fun facts" on the back of cereal boxes, but the full list of ingredients as well. I still have no idea what niacin does). I noted that tickets were free for youth and "honored citizens." What? Like, judges and doctors? After a moment I realized that this was the Oregon politically correct term for "senior citizens," which is itself a PC term for "people who remember life before cable."

Being a bleeding heart myself, I felt that heart surge already with affection for this city where the people in charge wanted so badly for people to ride public transportation that they didn't really mind if they paid or not, and where the transit authority honored their elders.

I spent a very pleasant few days in Portland. I was traveling for my now-over job with Greenpeace, so I spent some time meeting with local volunteers and conducting trainings, but I also got some time to appreciate the beauty and pleasant nature of the city.

How can a book geek like me not appreciate the city with the largest bookstore in America?

Seattle was great too. I had perfect weather the entire time I was in the Northwest (literally, not a cloud in the sky), and the mountains around Seattle are stunning.

Greenpeace's largest ship, the Esperanza, was in town, coming off forests work in Alaska, and the ship was open to the public. So I got to spend the weekend hanging out with the crew and helping with tours. I was amazed and humbled at the outporing of support from all the people who came on board.

I'm starting to see what all those Northwesterners are always going on about. The food was fresh, the beer excellent. But even though the Cascades and Olympic Mountains are stunning, I'll always stand by the Appalachians.