First I’d like to give a shout out to my car Subie for being there for me through thick and thin, endless miles, countless gas stops, and a few mechanics intruding upon her insides a couple of times. She’s a real trooper and for as long as she’s up for it, I’m keeping her.
As I drove west to Portland on Route 30 along the Columbia River Gorge, the winds were whipping pretty hard and hundreds of wind surfers dotted the gorge. Then as I came around a bend, there to greet me was Mount Hood. What a sight and what a welcome!
My destination in P-town was a friend of a friends. My friend Laura in Atlanta had connected me with her friend Carolyn, who offered me a place to stay until I found a place of my own. But before I got to Carolyn’s I decided to stop at Multnomah Falls for a quick hike. Multnomah Falls is breathtaking. It stands at about 620 feet tall and is like the big kahuna of all the waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.
It is a place that also attracts a lot of tourists so I decided since I live here now I can just come back. At that same moment I also realized I had locked my keys in the car. Talk about a great way to end a road trip and begin a new chapter. Luckily I had joined AAA a few weeks earlier! I finally got to Carolyns to find she is not only super cool but has a super cool dog named Jake. She lives in a beautiful 100 year old home with a fabulously thriving veggie and herb garden. It's a great way to start things up in P-town.
Carolyn lives in NE Portland which is close to a lot of things, like a gorgeous, sweet smelling rose garden park just down the street. Today I road her bike to a nearby neighborhood called the Alberta district. It sort of has an East Atlanta feel with tons of boutiques, restaurants, and coffee shops.
There is so much to see here and I’m just getting started.
Posts
Awesome. Got to admit...a little jealous. When I showed up in PDX (01/99) around 2 AM on a flight from Detroit with a gangerous green hand, a 3 & 5 yr old child in tow, a 100 pd. dog and a f'd up cat (the cause of the gangerous green arm), not to mention a disgruntled wife...the internet was barely alive, no cell phones, and as I found out...no rental car. Well...I thought "What the fuck am doing here????". That said...all turned out swell and it will for you as well. I'll ship Mindy off to see you soon and hopefully I'll get there some time soon as well. Love ya babe.
ReplyDeleteI seriously have tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks reading what you wrote; either that or Jake the dog shedding. It's only been 2 days but really gellin' with it so far. The tough part is being 3 hours behind you and Mindy, my family and some friends east of Miss. Love you guys too babe.
ReplyDeleteLila,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see and read about the progress! I'm jealous. Make time to climb Mt. Jefferson. One of my favorite trips ever. We camped on a ledge in the complete fog on our trip many years ago and woke up to Mountain Sheep around us.
Wow, That sounds incredible - I'm putting Mount Jefferson on the list, along with Banff and that region thanks to you and those pictures you showed me!
ReplyDelete