Monday, June 13, 2016

Part 2: Our Journey To Portland

As I type this the boys and Elizabeth are playing soccer in a field across the street. Bob and Sarah are down the road at a park. The dogs are on the main floor of the townhouse not sure what to make of all of the change in their lives these last few days and I am sitting on the second floor of our new home in the office space provide typing these words. It seems surreal to be here. But before I get to Portland let me back up a bit and talk about the Boise, ID.

We left Layton, UT yesterday morning. I could not wait to get of there. We only drove 310 miles yesterday and ended up spending the day in Boise, ID. I always thought Boise was pronounced 'boy-zee', but did you actually know the locals pronounce it 'boy-see'? The hotel at Boise was clean and spacious. The town itself is not unlike a lot of the west in that it is a city in the middle of nowhere. I naively thought that Las Cruces was unique in the fact that there is literally nothing surrounding the area except desert and more desert, but I quickly learned that a good portion of the west is this way. Boise was very clean and nice. There seemed to be a lot of fun things to do and the weather was gorgeous. I guess the area has abundant sunshine without the heat that Las Cruces offers. The landscape was weird to me in that it was very arid and had a desert feel while offering abundant streams, rivers, and lakes. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I was glad to have visited the city, but I do not think that I would like to live there. I have already lived in one city in the middle of no where I am not quite ready to take up that challenge again.

We left Boise early this morning and made our way to Portland. Much of the part of Oregon we traveled through was very desert like. I was beginning to get nervous that the pacific northwest I dreamed of was just that - a dream. Alas, as we followed the Columbia River (which is huge) as it snaked its way along the Oregon/Washington border I began to see the greenery, trees, and cloudiness I imagined this place to encompass. As we came upon Portland I could not believe how beautiful it is here. I am so excited to get a chance to explore this oasis of forests and hiking trails and water.

Our townhome is nice. It is on the outskirts of Portland, but still resides within the city limits. It smells of a new home with freshly painted walls and new flooring. It is nice and shiny. The space seems to be pretty good and I cannot wait for our furniture to arrive at the end of the week to make this place my home. There are only a few things that I will need for the house which is a blessing as I do not want to spend a lot of money on furnishings like I did when we moved to Las Cruces. The windows are abundant and the light shines through brilliantly. I think my house here in the clouds lets in more light than my house in the sun did. That is a very good thing.

It is nice to be back among civilization. I loved Las Cruces, but it was hard not having access to so many of the stores I love. I actually went to a Trader Joe's today!!! I was so excited. The kids and I are going to head to Ikea tomorrow to check out the store and see if they have any of the items we need for the house. I haven't been to an Ikea in years.

It is going to take us a few weeks to get settled, but I have a feeling that I am going to love living here. Life is good in Portland.


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