Monday, May 4th - I'm Off

After a week of 'getting ready' and a last few days of very concentrated 'getting ready', I took out the garbage/recycling, turned off the water for the toilets, packed the car and headed out ... and then driving away, reassuring myself that yes, I had locked both porch doors and checked the stove ...

I think day 1 was a bit of a test - did I really want to do allllll this driving - this was after an hour at the border and then driving through 2 hours of torrential (and I do mean torrential) rain from Seattle to Portland.  Well, I know my windshield wipers work and that passing trucks in the rain is a pain .... and I got through it just fine.

Jane (my english voiced GPS) delivered me easily and right on schedule to the Portland home of an old friend and her husband who I hadn't seen in over 4 years.  I had worked remotely with her for 5 years where we had spoken nearly every day and it was great, how quickly we were back to our easy conversation, catching up on all our latest news.  We had a really nice visit - I loved meeting her husband and dog who I had heard so much about and seeing her home and neighborhood.  They had recently remodeled their home themselves and it is beautiful - worthy of a design show - and it gave me lots of inspiration as to what can be done with paint, tile and blinds (especially the blinds) to bring colour into a space.

And I really liked Portland - they live in the Pearl district - very cool, downtown vibe - similar to Yaletown - and really walkable.  We walked the dog in the evenings and explored the area in the day - including buying me a pair of jeans as I had definitely been optimistic on the weather when packing ....  But mostly we just talked, laughed and caught up - it was lovely.  (We also went to the best pizza place in Portland which I have to highlight for those that visit)

Thank you C&G for your very warm hospitality and lovely visit!  (and I'll be curious to hear how you find the yoga!)