(11/11) I woke up the next morning high in spirit. The wife and I had a great talk about everything that went down - the people, the energy, the way it all unfolded - and she could tell I had a great time. But now came the next question: what are we gonna do with the rest of our time in Portland? First stop? Nature.
 I hate traveling somewhere new and just sticking to shops - I need something outdoors to ground me. So we headed about 30 minutes out to Latourell Falls and ended up walking way further than we planned. But it was beautiful. Towering cliffs. Cold mist. Quiet trails. It felt like the first real breath I’d taken in days. We swung through a few of my favorite secondhand spots - Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, 2nd Street - and yeah, I picked up way more than I should’ve. But whatever. I was still riding high. Even better: I got to spend a couple of days with one of my best friends and his family. He gave me a much deeper tour of the Nike campus, and somehow…it hit even harder the second time. Like getting to walk through someone’s creative cloud account - except everything’s built at 1:1 scale. It’s tough to fully convey how good this trip was.
 Like, really good.
 I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so in it - like I was actually part of something. And it felt good. Sneakers - they used to feel like a kind of superficial connection. Something a little vain. But now I can see they’re just another doorway. The real connection comes through the stories, the people, and the ways we show up. As we landed back home, one thought kept spinning in my head: How do I get back to that place - mentally and physically - where my own neurosis make sense? I don’t have the answer yet.
 But I’m already preparing. And you better believe I’m going to be there early.