Portland

Sorry to disappoint but since we've been in Portland (two weeks), I'm not impressed. I'm definitely not a city person so perhaps I'm judging too quickly or just too old but either way I have to keep reminding myself that I'm here for my son. The first night here we stayed in SE Portland near the trendy Hawthorne district. We walked around and Clay loved it. His "hipster radar" was off the charts but it wasn't my taste. However we did discover the historic Bagdad Theater from 1927 and saw the original Japanese version of Godzilla from the balcony. It was pretty cool although I was a bit disappointed that there were subtitles instead of the English voice over that I grew up with where the lips keep moving even after the voice has stopped--haha! You know what I'm talking about. :-)

We spent the next several days looking for a place to live. I was surprised by how many people did not return emails or phone calls. Our requirements were cheap (because my son has to be able to afford it, with a roommate, after I leave) and takes large dogs. In all it was four nights in a motel with a king size bed because two beds are more expensive and at $85 a night I was pinching every penny. At least it came with breakfast. We signed a lease at the first place we looked at because it fit our needs, was within walking distance of a Safeway where my son was a shoe in for a job, and a four miles from the community college. So far it seems to be the biggest mistake I could have made. Here is why: 1) the management team are idiots, and I'm not saying that from a property managers perspective. I'm saying it because the dim wit that showed us the apartment gave me the wrong address. Of course I didn't learn this until the next day after is spent literally hours on the phone (mostly on hold) giving my 'new' address to at least a half dozen companies. It was especially problematic with Comcast which I had signed up for an internet only deal. I won't bore you with the details but take my word for it. 2) They refused to block off three parking spaces for the delivery of the pod and showed me the place to have it delivered, in the parking lot, lined with a red curb. Of course on the day of delivery the driver says he cannot put it in a fire lane. And the city of Tigard will not allow it in the street--and all the streets in the complex are city streets! So, there were three spots in the parking lot across the street where it ended up going. Now normally a pod only takes up one space but needs three to place it and pick it up. And since there were all sorts of problems with not knowing which car belongs to who, he wisely placed it in the middle of two spots. We emptied about half the pod and decided to take a break because we were hot and tired and hungry. Well, before it got too dark out my son went to the pod to get out the mattresses. He came back with only a blue piece of construction paper on which "You are an asshole =)" was written in purple marker. It had been attached to a combination lock to our pod through flower shaped holes punched in it. Needless to say I was livid and the maintenance team claimed to not have any bolt cutters to help us. So I had a terrible nights sleep in the lazy boy, waking up with a sore back and crick in my neck that gave me a ferocious headache all day, and my son slept on the cold hard ground for the second night in a row. Eventually he broke down and bought bolt cutters and we spent the next two days emptying the pod. I let it sit there an extra few days while empty just to piss off the b**ch that tampered with our belongings and verbally assaulted us (on paper). 3) the wifi box I picked up from Comcast didn't work 4) on our way down to Safeway to get some dinner another apartment complex had some water running out of a tree bed (apparently it was a natural spring that just popped up) and I didn't notice the mud on the sidewalk and slipped like it was a banana peel onto my backside. My left foot and ankle were all scraped and bleeding, my entire backside was filthy and my pants ripped. The only good part was that the property manager witnessed the whole thing so when I went back after I'd changed it was no surprise to her. However a week later and there still is no resolution. :-/ 5) TWICE I've walked through the screen door to the balcony, the second time I busted the glass on the outside light. Ugh!

Perhaps my expectations were too high or maybe we just haven't been to the right places yet. I was told the people are super friendly, I was led to believe it is cheaper here and beautiful. Well, haven't encountered ANY friendly people so far, the $4.00/gal gas and my $600 grocery bill-and still empty cabinets-tells me it ain't cheap and although the side streets are beautiful and there is a lot of plant life everywhere, when you are on the main roads it's easy to forget that. They are noisy, crowded, dirty-not so much from litter, more so just black from car exhaust, in disrepair, a fright to cycle on and lined with junky looking stores and rundown restaurants. Of course I'm not referring to downtown Portland proper, just most everywhere outside of it that I've been. Portland proper, from what little I've seen of it, is nice. We went to the Japanese Gardens which are the most authentic outside of Japan. Five acres of serenity and breathtaking beauty in the middle of-and hidden from-the hustle and bustle of a major city. We also had a scrumptious meal at a Lebanese restaurant afterwards and enjoyed browsing through a vintage store with all sorts of goods and clothing from the 1920's-1940's.

Sorry if this post is a downer. I guess it can't always be roses. I'm not going to let it get the better of me either. I've signed up for some meetup groups and I'm looking forward to meeting like-minded people and exploring the rest of Oregon as I think the state as a whole is beautiful. So I will end on a positive note and list 5 good things about living here. 5) the lawns are not perfectly manicured with big mulch rings around every tree in front of cookie cutter homes, but controlled wild, incredible plant life and beautiful, unique homes 4) my kitchen is bigger than the one I had in Maryland 3) the green-ness. Evergreens of all types are everywhere along with giant rhododendrons, the fullest Japanese lace maples I've ever seen and numerous other flora and fauna I have never seen before. And everything seems to grow bigger and healthier than I've ever seen in such a natural yet controlled habitat 2) Tillamook. It is a farmer owned dairy co-op in Tillamook, OR that make a wide variety of delicious, reasonably priced, high quality products. They have a vanilla bean yogurt that is out of this world! 1) I'm on the West coast!

On The Road

My apologies for taking so long to post this. It is all trial and error and have learned 1) editing my blog posts from an iPad is a royal pain and 2) I can barely find the time and energy to journal at the end of the day, let alone assemble and condense all the thought, feelings and experiences into a blog. Since my last post we had a going-away party. About 50 people showed up, from as far away as Florida and as distant as 32 years. I was so honored and touched, thrilled and saddened. In all, I had a fantastic time and want to again thank everyone that came to wish us well and see us off and for all the very thoughtful cards, gifts and sentiments. We cherish each and every one of them. And each and every one of YOU!!

Without waiting for the house to sell, we had a Pod delivered on April 21 and tickets to see my folks in Tampa on the 23rd. My son and I spent a day and half emptying the house and storage unit into the Pod. He actually did the bulk of the work on the second day while I ran a half dozen errands. I guess he really wanted to go to Portland! :-) After another trip to Goodwill and leaving the furniture that I hadn't been able to sell on Craigslist, we just managed to get it all in. But it all worked out well: by the time our plane landed in Florida I had an offer on the house. And another offer on the second day. And the buyers want the furniture we left behind! So we returned from FL on the 26th packed up our cars, the dog and left Maryland for good on April 27th.

Our first stop was visiting my aunt and her husband in Dublin, OH. They are wonderful people and I'm so glad we had that time together. We went to the Longaberger Basket company and took a side trip to Cleveland and the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Christmas Story house. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted all my photos from them but was able to download a few from the internet that were exactly like the ones I had taken. Gotta love the internet! From there we went to Hannibal, MO, home of Mark Twain. A nice town preserved in the Mark Twain era. We drove along route 36, aka the Pony Express, through Missouri and Kansas. A beautiful, green, hilly and curvy road that took us through the heartland: Farms and pastures and towns so small they have the population listed on the sign under the town name. So much open space! After feeling so crowded in the Capitols metropolis, it's a stark reminder of how big this country really is. We jet set from place to place not really grasping how truly vast those rectangles are that we see from the sky. It was somewhere through here that the realization hit me: I'm going West and never returning. Denver was our next stop and grateful to have a friend to put us up (and put up with us) for three days. Colorado is truly a spectacular state! It was love at first sight! Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks, Golden, Boulder and Breckenridge just reinforced the feeling.

Salt Lake City followed. No matter your religious beliefs, it is a beautiful and impressive place and the people are so nice. In fact, since Colorado, I've been touched by how much strangers have gone the extra mile to help me. From the guy at the Denver Grease Monkey that looked up the address for the VW dealership so I could go there for an oil change instead, to the front desk clerk at the Courtyard Marriott in SLC that despite the hotel power outage, called four hotels to help me find a room (I had just walked in to check their rates but they were full anyhow.) I think this is normal behavior but I'm so jaded from spending so long in the DC area that such acts of kindness actually make me weepy.

Idaho was a place I was looking forward to, that my son wasn't very interested in, but managed to take us both by surprise. Let me preface this with the fact that up to this point on our trip I had done the coordination with little input from my son. He had a laissez-faire attitude and was quite content letting me do all the work. However I wasn't too pleased with the voyage so far, feeling it was rushed and too much the standard main, big city stops so I put the rest of the trip in his court. He went online and chose a place about 30 miles off the main road. Lava Hot Springs is a beautiful, tiny town in Idaho about three blocks long with a river that winds through it, gardens, hot springs and rail road tracks that run along the mountain. We stayed at a pet friendly, 100 year old Inn that at one point had hosted the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid amongst others. The character of the place was so rich we could feel it and the people we so incredibly friendly! We had a delicious dinner in their restaurant and were entertained by a very friendly singer/guitar player from Oregon. We chatted and he told stories, adding to the intimate experience. It was the type of moment I had been hoping to have on the trip; small town off the beaten path that just takes you by surprise with the excellent food, historical accommodations, super friendly people and overall beauty from the simpleness.

Twin Falls, on the other hand was the complete opposite. It's a large, impersonal city but on the edge of the beautiful, twisting, fast flowing, aptly named Snake River. (I'm not sure how many times we crossed it on the way to Oregon!) We went to the Shoshone Falls and hiked along the canyon rim to the jump site where Evel Knievel made his famous jump across the Snake River. I'm sure it is one of the more narrow places along the river but it's still pretty freaking wide! That man was nuts!!

Next stop: Oregon! And, almost as if on cue, as soon as we crossed the state line it began to rain. I suppose that is why it is so green. It was a similar mountainous drive as the one we had been on through Utah and Idaho but much greener, and yellow from the little flowers, with a rushing river and towering pine trees. Trees were definitely missing in our previous travels. We could have made Portland in one day but instead opted to do it in two with a stopover in the 'old west' town of Pendleton. Another great pick by my son. We went into a cowboy antique store, strolled along the river walk and chanced upon a bucking bronco riding competition. Dinner was very modern with hummus, goat cheese, roasted red peppers and such, while being entertained by a group of mostly old men playing fiddles and banjos. Hamleys, the local saloon, was quite a place too. Authentically old west in decor and filled with locals, many whom had been at the bucking bronco competition.

With the sun shining and my top down we set off for the final leg of the journey through the stunning Cascade Mountains, covered in Pacific Silver and Douglas firs with the Columbia River and Washington State on the right. After 15 days, 3,444.20 miles and a blown budget, we arrived at our final destination on May 11th. Now for the arduous task of finding a place to live!