I left the house Thursday morning and picked up the rental car. At my first stop for fuel, I noticed that in my foggy, virus-infused haze, I had put on my sweater backwards. After resolving that issue, I continued north through the rain which varied from light to heavy all the way to Seattle. I arrived in one piece, although my head felt somewhere else and after greeting the staff and a quick bite to eat, proceeded to get organized with my plan for helping the office come together. When I was done with the planning phase at the office, I had just three blocks to drive to get to the hotel. Unfortunately, the rush hour traffic inadvertently diverted me onto the interstate and my easy drive to rest and comfort turned into an hour long affair.
Once checked into my room, I mustered up the energy to grab some sushi nearby which lucky for me was having a happy hour in the lounge so all the food was far reduced in price. Once back to the hotel, I loaded up on the NyQuil and dozed in and out of sleep all night.
The next morning, I was surprised with a fever which made my navigating the city and running errands all day oh-so-much fun! This is where I learned that all day, not just rush hour, the traffic in Seattle, no matter where you go, is atrocious. My last stop at Home Depot ran way longer than it should and after a series of comical customer service experiences (which warranted a lengthy letter once I was feeling better), I high tailed it for Portland. The delay in getting out of town left me stuck in stop-and-go traffic pretty much the entire way back to Portland. The trip was less than fun but it did feel good to do the work that needed to be done without postponing the trip. The next time I go to Seattle though, I will be sure to take the train which I'm told is a beautiful ride, sans stop and go traffic.
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| View from my new home |
November 10th was my eagerly anticipated moving day. I cut out of work early to pay my deposit, pick up the keys and see my apartment for the very first time. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in addition to the courtyard view I was promised, I also had a nice view of downtown Portland. After completing my move-in condition check list, I picked up the U-Haul I reserved. Once back on the east side, I started to load up the truck. Luckily my roommate was home and helped with a few of the bigger furniture items. By the time Morgan arrived, there were only a handful of things left. With Cole on Morgan's lap, I drove off to my new home, my first apartment rental in Oregon!!! The combination of security door and elevator to the 5th floor proved a slow unloading for the two of us but we pushed through and dropped the truck off a little after 9pm that night. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back to the apartment to fall fast asleep. With all of my furniture and boxes still in Wisconsin, my apartment is a bit bare but I do have the essentials I need to get by for now. I am officially home!
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| Hilary, Me and Morgan exploring Portland's night life |
A week after moving into my new place, I had a friend from Wisconsin in town and she stayed with me for the weekend. That Friday night, Morgan and I took her out to a few of the fun places to eat and drink around town including Departure, Jackknife, Gruner, Vault, Driftwood and Muu Muu's. The next morning, although unusually cold for Portland, we grabbed some coffee and hit the Saturday Market. While at the Market, we did some shopping and ate yummy food-cart food and then went over to Tugboat Brewing for a low-key evening of board games and beer. We walked over to Sizzle Pie for some pizza and then to Pints for a quick beer before heading home to get comfy and watch a movie before calling it a night. Sunday morning Morgan had to go to work but Hilary and I went out for brunch at the Daily Cafe (which was delicious). All too soon it was time for Hilary to head back home to Wisconsin but it was great to be able to host a friend from back home and show off some of the awesomeness that is Portland.
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| Cookie decorating on Thanksgiving |
Having no family in Oregon, I was thankful to be invited to a friends family Thanksgiving dinner with her husband, daughter and daughter's boyfriend. With Morgan, Cole and the pumpkin pie I baked the night before in tow, we headed out to enjoy a lovely afternoon with delicious food and fun conversation with Genie and her family. It was a great opportunity for Cole to get familiar with their home too since just the next week, he would be staying there for four days while I traveled back to Wisconsin for an early Christmas celebration with my family and friends. The two cats seemed to be relatively OK with Cole's presence so I felt good about leaving him there, especially since Genie and Ed are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.
All in all, my ever-evolving transition from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest is coming together splendidly!!
To see my PNW adventure through nature photography, please visit my Flickr page here.
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