I was so much older then...

Written on September 28, 2007



We've been in Portland for one week now. It's been great. The trip out here was both quick and long at the same time. Straight to Chicago without a break. A 3 hour nap around Chicago. Straight to Fort Collins, Co. Spent a few nice days with Lauren's family. Straight to Portland.

We can't pump our own gas.

State Law.

So it goes...


The city, the house, the neighborhood are beautiful.

Our neighborhood and the majority of the city doesn't look or feel like a city most right coasters would be used to. Our neighborhood looks just like any other neighborhood you would see in Pittsfield (our hometown) or any other smaller town. So does some 80% of the city. There is a downtown. It is small. If you blinked you'd miss it. Think of it as a really, really large town. But, of course, there is so much more going on. We live 3 blocks from Mt. Tabor Park. It's the second largest park in the city. It's actually an inactive volcano. You can walk, drive or hike to the top. Gorgeous views from up there. 2 blocks in another direction is a small downtown for the 'Montavilla' district. There are a few bars. We stopped in on Sunday to watch some football. Small hole in the wall that we loved. Told me they'd play all the Bears games. Only thing is they allow smoking. There is also a movie theater where you can catch a movie for $3 and buy beer and pizza if you please. Every Sunday in the Summer there is a Farmer's Market with Music and great food. This is all 2 blocks from our house. There is much more of this in the city. Everything in the city is no more than 10 minutes away. We are about 1 mile (3 minute drive) from a Target, WalMart, 24 Hour Fitness (Great gym we joined for really cheap), tons of restaurants, some great grocery stores, so on and so forth. Yesterday we went to 'Forest Park'. A 10 minute drive at most. As close as Greylock was to my hold house. It is the largest park in an urban setting in the U.S. It is, quite literally, a forest.

Lauren just took a temporary position at an independent toy store. I just took a job as a line cook. We're working on that.

Alice, our cat, just got out here today and it's starting to feel like home. When we first got here we had nothing. Slept on the floor a few nights, ate on the floor and so forth. We now have a couch, tv stand, computer desk, bookshelves, bed, etc.

Oh, and Portland offers free internet service. A company puts out free wireless signals at strategic signals in the city. We live right next to one. Fast as broadband.

We're doing pretty well so far.