Two months can certainly fly by in a flash if you are not careful. The New Year started out on positive note and certainly has mostly maintained that momentum. What would life be without some ups and downs sprinkled in though? Despite some recent drama with my dryer, my new apartment has served as an enjoyable home base to my busy schedule. I rang in the new year by hosting a housewarming party with a handful of friends. The aroma of freshly prepared food and sounds of boisterous laugher permeated the newly decorated space while wine flowed freely during several rounds of Cards Against Humanity. We counted down to the New Year as we watched the ball drop and even burst into a small chorus line while New York, New York played in the background. I can't think of a better way to have celebrated my new home and the New Year.
Arcadia Sunset
My photography endeavors seem to be busier than ever. Shortly after ringing in the New Year, I discovered my Arcadia Sunset photo received an honorable mention in the top ten of the Coast Weekend photo contest. Shortly after that piece of good news, I received an email congratulating me on being elected to the Portland Photographers Forum board of directors where I will be in charge of memberships while I simultaneously learn the Treasurer duties so I can take that role over in 2018. I joined the Portland Photographic Society this month as well and am excited to attend my first gathering in March. I continue to host monthly networking Meetups at Blue Sky Gallery for local photographers and did my first hanging of a four image series on their No Strings Wall for two weeks. In addition to my front desk volunteer shifts at Blue Sky Gallery and Newspace Center for Photography, I took a six week Lightroom class where I picked up some extremely useful photo organization skills that will help streamline my photo sharing process going forward. Recently I was approached again by ShelterCare to see if I would donate again to their annual art benefit. Of course I happily agreed since all proceeds support their programs for homelessness prevention. Finally, this Friday night is the opening reception of Memberspace at Newspace Center for Photography in which I have one print included. If you're in the Portland area, please stop out.
First trip to the coast together
With the new year came a new relationship. Several weeks of talking finally culminated in a first date one magically snowy Portland night over Italian fare downtown in early January. There was an immediate connection that has turned into many meaningful moments since. I was quick to introduce my new beau to two close friends over a home cooked meal of my family-secret-recipe lasagna and was excited to get the official seal of approval from both of them before they even got back home that night. Since then, we have enjoyed many wonderful conversations, discovered all sorts of things we have in common, and ventured out to concerts, movies, parks, for drives, walks, dinners, art events, and even football (despite our Cowboy/Packers rivalry). The ease in which all of this happens is like a breath of fresh air. We have several big trips on the horizon in the coming months and I couldn't be happier on how things are going and couldn't feel any luckier than I do to have him in my life.
Despite my photographic and romantic successes, it has become overwhelmingly clear that there is still something not quite right in my life. My general stress level and issues with anxiety still seem to be an issue despite my weekly therapy sessions. Although the current state of affairs in our country could be a major contributing factor, after watching a documentary called Minimalism, I decided it was time to intentionally minimize the "noise" in my life. I don't have a fully developed plan on what this will look like but I started by doing a social media and email cleanse. I took a hard look at my friends list on Facebook and based on when I could remember having the last meaningful interaction with each person, slowly reduced my friends from 616 to 150. As each new email comes into my inbox, I decide whether or not continuing to get that email would bring value to my life. If not, I unsubscribe. I imagine the next steps will entail evaluating how and where I currently spend my time. I've already cut back on some of my volunteer hours to allow more flexibility in my schedule as well as more time for photographing. I feel it will be important to continually reflect upon each interaction in my life to determine if it truly adds value and whether or not it aligns with what is important to me. I'm excited to incorporate this new element to my life and blog going forward and I hope you find a similar value in it.
There are lots of fun adventures on the horizon including a weekend getaway to San Francisco for my 37th birthday in March, a four day Reno wedding road trip in April, as well as a weekend in Seattle to see an iconic U2 performance in May. As usual, there will be lots of photos and tales to tell so be sure to check back again soon to follow along.
This past year has been quite the whirlwind. Between work,
school, photography, volunteering, dating, friends, travel, and politics, I
pushed myself hard. While it’s been rewarding on many levels, it also came at a
cost that caught up with me recently.
Driven by my desire to learn more about graphic design,
film, website design and photography, I spent the first half of the year as a
full-time student at Portland Community College (PCC) in addition to my
full-time work load at ECONorthwest. I found the multimedia program fascinating
and learned a lot of cool things while enrolled there including how to do more
in Photoshop, shooting/editing film, how to create multimedia web-based programs,
design elements, photography concepts, and more all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Meanwhile, at work, an employee’s leave of absence allowed me the opportunity
to learn and take on a new role over the summer. Sadly, the demands of that
role did not coincide well with my course load at PCC so I had to make the
difficult decision to take a step back from the program after just two terms.
My parents in Bandon, Oregon
This summer I was surprised to learn that my parents could
finally come visit me in Oregon. I planned an action packed, ten-day adventure
that spanned three states. I was worried that I may wear them out with all the
places I wanted to show them and things I wanted to do but I was surprised to
see that they could keep up. I underestimated their energy level, perhaps I
even discovered where I get my own energy from. I showed them the Oregon coast,
three mountains, the Gorge, eastern Oregon and the California Redwoods not to
mention all sorts of things in Portland. It has been a long-time fear that my
parents may never see Oregon through my eyes. They had seen plenty of my photos
but there is a huge difference between seeing something in a photo versus
in-person. I feel so fortunate that I was able to spend that time with my
parents this summer here in the Pacific Northwest, a place that is so special
to me.
Once things calmed down at work this fall, I turned my focus
back to photography. I started volunteering at two organizations: Newspace
Center for Photography and Blue Sky Gallery. At Newspace I cover the front desk
each Saturday and help answer phones, check out equipment, take payments, and
process class registrations. A group of volunteers there gathers once a month
to do a photo critique and I have found that eye-opening and insightful. Through
connections at Newspace, I learned of the Portland Photographers Forum and
became a member there as well. We meet once a month, share prints and listen to
a different speaker each time we meet.
Cole with the prints for the ShelterCare art auction
One Sunday per month, I do a gallery sitting shift at Blue
Sky Gallery. There I answer the phone, greet visitors, answer questions about
the exhibits, and process membership, book, and art sale payments. I’ve also
returned to my Meetup.com roots and now host a photographers networking group at
the Blue Sky Gallery once per month and am happy to report that the group seems
to be well received and growing. I think it will be hugely helpful for
connecting with other local photographers in Portland. In addition to these two
endeavors, I also find myself attending many of their artist talks at the
gallery which have been quite eye opening as well.
Earlier this year I was introduced to the Photography
Council Brown Bag series at the Portland Art Museum. Each month, a new
photographer is brought in to present a body of their work. I have thoroughly
enjoyed each and every one of the photographer’s presentations so it seemed a
no-brainer to become a member of that group as well. I’m looking forward to
doing more with that group in the New Year. So far, I’m rather impressed with
all they are doing.
My photography endeavors had some pretty cool moments this year as well. I received wonderful feedback from an accomplished photographer/instructor at Portland Community College which was hugely encouraging. Two of my prints were accepted into an art auction for ShelterCare to benefit homelessness prevention programs in Lane County. Through my membership in the Portland Photographers Forum, I was able to show three prints at the Cedar Hills Recreation Center for almost two months. I won an honorable mention for my entry in the Wallowa Country Photo Contest. I was privileged to have the opportunity to do my first engagement photo shoot this spring. I was invited to jury my work for consideration to join the Portland Artisan's Co-op.
This year I moved twice, first from my home of almost two
years near Union Station to a shared house in St. Johns. I quickly learned that
I am not cut out for roommate living nor long commutes to and from work so I recently
moved back downtown, this time right across the street from my work. The
two-minute walk to work is my favorite part. It allows me to walk Cole pretty
much whenever I need to with ease. It also makes getting to all my volunteer
and photography meetings rather painless. The easier commutes have greatly
helped me manage my stress level better.
Cottonwood Canyon State Park
What would another year in Oregon be without spending time
in the beautiful outdoors? Despite my schooling and heavy work load, I was
still able to squeeze in some visits to state parks, wildlife refuges, beaches,
viewpoints, mountain lakes, waterfalls, and even snuck in two camping trips. I
would have liked to do a lot more and feel some regret that I did not get to
explore all the places I had intended this year.
2016 has been a lot of things: stressful, busy, difficult,
fun, emotional, and rewarding. I learned a lot this year in many ways. Perhaps
most important, I learned that I need to prioritize my well-being. In the New
Year, I want to keep things simple. First, I want to focus my energy on continuing
to advance my name in the photography world and improving my craft. Second, I
want to spend significantly more time exploring the Pacific Northwest and
beyond with Cole by my side. I will continue to surround myself with people I
look up to and who I can learn from, who inspire me to be a better person. I
hope I’ll be able to be that same kind of person to others I meet as well.
I’ll be ringing in the New Year with a gathering of friends
at my new apartment. I wish all of you the best in the coming year and look
forward to sharing my adventures with you. I hope you’ll continue to follow
along.
It had been two years since I had been home to
Wisconsin for a visit with friends and family so I decided it was time to make
a pilgrimage to America's Dairyland the first week of December, before it got
too cold and snowy. Getting ready to head out for a ten-day vacation was a bit
more stressful than imagined but after wrapping up things at work, packing, and
dropping Cole off with friends, I soon found myself being shuttled off to the
airport by a dear friend. After a very quick layover in Salt Lake City, Utah, I
safely landed in Madison, Wisconsin where the air temperature was a chilly
thirty-four degrees, a significant difference from Portland at the time. Shortly after de-boarding the plane, I grabbed
my luggage and quickly headed for the rental car pickup counter. In no time
at all, I was on the road, headed to my favorite dive bar, Topp’s Hideaway in
Windsor, to see my first round of friends and take in a traditional Midwest Friday
night fish fry.
At Topp's Hideaway
On Saturday morning, after crashing at a friend’s
place in Windsor, I headed to the west side of Madison to treat myself to sushi
at Takara, a place that just happens to have the best California Rolls I’ve
found so far in all my travels. I had a little time to kill before my next meet
up with friends, so I drove by my old apartment, the one I had been living in
last before moving to Oregon, to see how it was doing. As much of the city, it
appeared as not much had changed so I headed downtown to wander around the state
capitol building and take some pictures. Unfortunately, my camera went on strike, apparently it did not
appreciate the cold Wisconsin temperatures, so I had to make do with my iPhone.
After exploring each level of the capitol building, I met up with a friend at a
new microbrewery, Octopi Brewing, that had opened in Waunakee. After sampling a flight of beers,
I was off again and headed to Middleton to see my favorite local jazz pianist
at Louisiannes. After a dirty martini and a delicious appetizer sampler, I was off to
meet up with some friends for dinner at Sa Bai Thong, my favorite Thai
restaurant in Madison. It was fun catching up with everyone over the familiarly
delicious food but before we knew it, we found the restaurant eerily quiet and
it was soon clear they were closing down for the night. After saying farewell,
a few of us girls headed over to a wine bar, Eno Vino, to keep the conversation going. A
couple hours later, I found my eyes too heavy to continue with the festivities, so I headed
over to my friend’s house to crash for the night.
Sunday morning snow
Sunday morning, I awoke to a winter wonderland
of falling, fresh, white snow. I quickly took a shower and dressed in my
Packers gear and headed out to make the one hour drive east to Delafield to
meet up with my family for an early Christmas celebration. The drive was a bit
nerve wracking at first, after all, it had been three years since I had to
drive in snow but, I soon found it was like riding a bike and before I knew it,
after grabbing some lunch at Culver’s, I had safely arrived at my parent’s
house in one piece. The Packers game was in progress and my sister and
her boyfriend had already arrived so it was easy to slip into the festivities; it almost felt as if I had never left. Throughout the night, we drank my dad’s famous brandy old-fashions, cheered
on the Packers as they went on to win their game, exchanged presents, and ate a
decadent dinner prepared fresh by my dad.
Packers Christmas with family
Monday morning, I said farewell to my sister and
her boyfriend and once my parents were ready, we headed out to their local U.S.
Cellular store to trade in their old flip phones and get them new iPhones. That
process took a little longer than expected but once all the paperwork had been
signed, contacts had been transferred, and accessories had been installed, we
were off to lunch at Applebee’s next door to begin the training process. My
parents had never used smart phones before let alone texting or Facebook.
After a slight technical setback in the setup process, they were soon on their
way to practicing texting, making phone calls, using FaceTime and so forth. I
wish I had had more time to spend with them to get them better acquainted with their
new phones but as in most of the trip, I was on a tight schedule and needed to say farewell and make the
drive back to Madison to meet more friends for dinner and drinks. The night
flew by and it was so good to see everyone and catch up with all the things
that had been happening in my friend’s lives. Before I knew it, it was late, I
was exhausted, and it was time to head to my cousin’s place to call it a night.
Dinner with friends at Bonefish
Since my cousin didn’t have to work on Tuesday, we had the entire
day to hang out with each other. We ran a few of her errands before
stopping at her favorite wing place, aptly named Chicken Lips, for lunch. We
then grabbed a Bloody Mary at the Eagle Crest Tavern before heading north to see my
sisters new house in Pardeeville. After getting the grand tour there and
hanging out a bit, we drove to Topp’s Hideway (aka the best dive bar ever) to meet
up with some more friends and watch my DJ friend host karaoke night. Before I
knew it, it was time to take my cousin home. While at her place, I gathered up
my things, and headed back to Topp’s to finish out my last night in Wisconsin, karaoke-style.
After the bar closed, I got a room next door at the Super 8 hotel, and hung out
a bit talking with a friend. In no time at all, it had gotten way too late and I had
to say goodbye and get some rest.
A few hours later, with a bit of a headache, it
was time to get up and get on the road. After checking out of the hotel, I
stopped next door at the Mousehouse Cheesehaus to pick up some cheese curds
for friends back home. Then I met up with some more friends for my last lunch in
Wisconsin at Ha Long Bay. Again, it was great seeing everyone and catching up over
delicious food. When the time came, I hugged everyone goodbye and headed to the
airport to drop off my rental car and catch my flight back home.
Landing in Portland was a bit frightening, there
were some strong winds that night that shook the plane around and even turned
our stomachs a bit. Luckily our pilot could navigate through all that and we
landed safely. My same friend who originally dropped me at the airport picked me up and took me to pick up
Cole from my other friend’s place before taking me home. It was great reuniting
with Cole, who expressed his excitement for my return by running around in
circles, barking a high pitched, excited whimper, and essentially climbing me
like a tree until he was in my arms and licking my face. It is my humble opinion that everyone should get to experience that kind of greeting at least once in their life, it’s a very
special thing. After my friend dropped me and Cole at home, I unpacked, got in my pajamas
and hit the sack.
Cole relaxing with me while I was sick
Thursday morning, I woke up with a cold. I
wasn’t surprised, my trip had been a whirlwind six days of go-go-go, with lots
of drinking and not a lot of sleep. I was relieved that it had held off until
after I got home though so that I was fully able to enjoy my time in Wisconsin. I
still had four more days of vacation time, originally slated for a road trip to
Eastern Oregon, but since a snow storm was approaching and I was sick, I decided
to stay home and simply focus on resting in the hopes that I would be feeling a
lot better by Monday when I returned to work.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Saturday and
Sunday nights, I was unable to sleep and was experiencing mini-panic attacks
every time I dozed off. I had the feeling that if I were to allow myself to sleep,
for some reason, I would stop breathing. After 48 hours of not sleeping, I went
to urgent care on Monday morning, desperate for their assistance. They gave me
some medication for the anxiety, which also helped me sleep, did a chest x-ray
to make sure I didn’t have pneumonia and monitored my heart and oxidization
rates while I dozed to make sure I was getting enough oxygen and that my heart
rate was ok when I slept. The medication did wonders and soon I was feeling a lot better.
Since I couldn’t drive on the medication they gave me, a friend picked me up
from urgent care and drove me home. Once home, I slept for eight hours, woke up to
eat dinner, and then went back to sleep for another ten hours. I woke up Tuesday
morning feeling so much better and went back to work to begin the long process
of catching up on all that had built up while I was out of the office for
eleven days.
By Wednesday though, we had more snow in the
forecast. I had left early for an appointment that day. It was already snowing heavily
(by Portland standards) when I left work for my appointment and by the time I
was done with that, the traffic was almost at a standstill. It took two hours
of slipping and sliding but I eventually made it home without any incidents (or accidents). A
lot of other folks in the city were not that lucky. Many people slid off the
road, into other cars, while others had to abandon their vehicles because they
couldn’t get up hills. Unlike Wisconsin, Portland does not use salt on the
roads. The whole city shut down and most folks enjoyed a snow day at home on
Thursday and even some on Friday too since most schools were still closed at
that time.
My new home
I had gotten word on Wednesday night that my
application for an apartment I had looked at earlier that day on my lunch hour had
been approved and that I needed to take possession of the unit by Friday in
order to get the special concession they were offering. Having one day to
prepare, I spent a good chunk of time on my snow day making arrangements to
move to my new apartment. I managed to get everything in order including
packing all my belonging before I left for work on Friday morning.
At 1:00pm on Friday, I signed my lease and by
7:00pm my helpers had arrived in St. Johns to load up my belongings and by 10:00pm,
everything had been unloaded into my new apartment in downtown Portland. Shortly
thereafter, a friend and I headed out for celebratory cocktails and food a few
blocks away at Luc Lac. My new apartment is conveniently located just
across the street from my work so my commute is now a two-minute walk instead
of a 45 minute drive. It’s much easier to walk Cole whenever I need to and my
stress level has significantly been lowered by the move. I’m excited to start
cooking at home again and can’t wait to host my first party on New Year’s Eve.
It’s amazing how much can happen in such a short period of time.
The past couple of months have been busy, emotional, difficult, motivating and inspiring. Let's get the difficult part out of the way first. The election results were extremely difficult for me to process. I, like many folks I know, were shocked with the outcome. I had a really strong and emotional response -- it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before so needless to say, I was ill prepared on how to process the reaction. I think this comic sums it up pretty well.
I knew I couldn't hide under the covers forever so I took a day trip with Cole to the coast to clear my head and regain my composure. After I failed to find my intended trailhead for the God's Thumb hike, which has been on my "must hike list" forever, Cole and I ended up at Roads End State Recreation Site in Lincoln City and spent the day walking the beach, taking photos and chatting with a few people we ran into along the way -- mostly though we were alone and that is exactly what I needed. During my walk, I came across a heart-shaped rock which seemed like just the sign I needed amidst my sadness, fear, anger, disappointment, and frustration. When I got back home that night, I did a lot more reading about logical things I could do in light of this new incoming administration. I decided to increase my monthly charitable giving so I could add in some new organizations that I feel will be more important now than ever to support. I also decided to get more involved in local politics here in Portland in hopes to be more informed about the issues locally and nationally and can take action if and when needed. I'm looking forward to attending my first Civic Drinks event at Portland City Club in just a few weeks. If you're in the area, maybe I'll see you there?
Found at Roads End State Recreation Site
On the upside, I have been lucky to attend some especially great lectures these past couple of months at Blue Sky Gallery, the Portland Art Museum, and the Multnomah Arts Center. Rich Rollins' presentation at Blue Sky Gallery was a breath of fresh air to how photography can be approached, what it can mean and how it can be shared with others. The stars aligned the other month when I reached out to the gallery to become a volunteer. The gallery manager had been wanting to start a networking event for local photographers through Meetup.com but didn't have the time to get it off the ground. Lucky for her, I have a successful history of leading Meetup groups and am happy to report I organized and hosted the first Blue Sky Photography Explorers Meetup event at the gallery as well as began my monthly gallery sitting shifts there the other week. The networking event was a success: it was fun, a diverse group of photographers showed up, and it seemed to be well-received by all who attended. I'm looking forward to resuming our Meetups in the New Year, after everyone is finished with the holidays.
I've been regularly attending the Portland Art Museum Photography Council Brown Bag lunches since earlier this summer and was lucky to be present for Charlie Haughey's presentation in October. After Charlie was done showing his photographs taken during the Vietnam War and opened up the presentation for questions, we (the audience) all watched as a man from the audience stood up, announced which division of the the army he served during the Vietnam War, then held up a pencil and said "and I have a pencil here with your name on it". Charlie squinted from the stage to see who the man was and shortly thereafter, recognized the man, called him by name, obviously surprised, and then asked him to join him on stage. The audience erupted with applause as the two men reunited with a hug on stage. Charlie said they hadn't seen each other since the war (40+ years) and it was clear he had no idea the man would be there that day. Charlie shared with us the story of how they met in the army, how Charlie asked the man for a pencil, then erased his civilian job title from the documents that were completed during his intake that he was carrying. Charlie asked the man to write in "photographer" instead (so it wasn't in his own handwriting). When the time came in Vietnam to determine what role he would play in his unit, after a slight misrepresentation of his professional background to his commanding officer, Charlie was given the role of army photographer and hence, the wonderful images he shared with us that day. It was such a special moment to be witness to.
Who truly most inspired me so far at the brown bag series was November's presenter, Austin Granger. His choice of words, so poetic, give me hope that it is indeed possible to beautifully meld words and images into something spectacular -- just like what I hope to achieve with a project I've been working on the past few months, the Spaces Between Collection. You can listen to Austin's presentation here and above and I highly recommend you do. His words are like poetry and when combined with this images take the experience to a whole new level. I also purchased his book, Elegy From the Edge of a Continent, a selection of photographs from visits to Point Reyes spanning ten years as well as a collection of his essays. If you're looking for a great gift for a friend who enjoys photography, this would be perfect.
Cottonwood Canyon State Park
On Thanksgiving day, in light of last years misadventure, Cole and I decided to give the whole holiday road trip idea another try and drove to Cottonwood Canyon in eastern Oregon to do some hiking. If you've been following along my journey here for some time, you may remember that I attempted to hike this park last summer but sadly, due to a poorly timed pulled back muscle, I only got to experience the park for the time it took to setup a tent, make a sandwich and then tear down the tent once realizing that camping, let alone hiking, was not going to cooperate with my back. I'm happy to report that this years visit was successful though and Cole and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the canyon via a trail that runs between the John Day River and the edge of one of the canyon walls. The fall colors were spectacular and the desolation of the place was exactly the sort of thing I enjoy. That alone time to just be, to take in the sound of the wind and river and the smell of the grass. To imagine all the history that comprises the area -- a place that predates civilization. It was a wonderful reminder of exactly why we need to preserve places like these.
Lastly, some shameless self-promotion! I currently have three photographs on display in the Portland Photographers Forum Annual Show at the Cedar Hills Recreation Center. That show goes through December 3rd so if you're in the area, I highly recommend you check out all the great photographs on display and for sale there. While on the subject of items for sale, I also have 2017 calendars available for purchase. If you would like to order one, please shoot me an email. With the holidays just around the corner, I also have a lot of new prints available on my website, so please be sure to check those out, they make for wonderful gifts!
My photographs available for viewing & purchase
at the Cedar Hills Recreation Center
A couple of friends and I decided to do a girls weekend camping trip on the Nehalem River in the Tillamook State Forest shortly before Labor Day. One friend got there early to hold our walk in, non-reservable camp site. The other friend arrived the next day and I arrived the following morning. Cole enjoyed running around the site, hanging by the fire and of course eating some camp food. My giant new tent definitely took up some serious real estate at our site but we managed to all squeeze in. It was nice; with how stressful the first half of this year has been, I needed to get away and just relax with my friends for a bit, even if for only one night.
I had been living downtown near Union Station since November of 2014. I liked my apartment and parts of my particular neighborhood. It was close to my job, the Saturday Market, the waterfront and the Pearl District. It was super easy to get just about anywhere in town because I was pretty much in the center of Portland. The rent was fairly reasonable for the area but still way more than I wanted to keep paying. I started looking on Craigslist for apartments and rooms for rent. I met with one couple in Hillsboro who had a room for rent in their house. They seemed nice enough but it quite didn't feel like the best fit. Then I met with a group of women in St. Johns who had a room for rent in their house and after three hours of conversation and two glasses of wine, it was clear the chemistry was right. So, I gave notice at The Yards at Union Station and began planning my move.
Hello, St. Johns!!!
Since I was going to be condensing my life into one bedroom at the new place, I decided to downsize and get rid of a lot of my furniture and belongings. I sold a lot of things on Craigslist and Offer Up and gave a lot of things away to my neighbor as well. Since I didn't have much to move after that, I decided to forego my usual hiring of movers and planned to move everything myself and with the help of a few friends. Instead of boxes, I used Instacart fabric grocery bags. Instead of a truck, I used my Toyota Corolla and made several trips back and forth as well as hiring a couple on Task Rabbit who got the majority of my personal belongs transported to the new place in one trip. For the bit of furniture I had left, a couple of friends came over with their pickup truck and made two trips. After cleaning up the old place, I took one last look around, turned in my keys and with my bike strapped to the rear end of my car, drove off to start a new chapter in my Pacific Northwest adventure.
After getting everything situated in my new place, I sat on my bed, took one deep breath, a quick look around, and said to myself, "Now what?" The move was rough and took a lot more work than anticipated. The thought of heading right back to work the very next day felt like more than I could bear. Since it was Labor Day and most folks were headed back to Portland, I decided it was the perfect time to treat Cole and myself to a pampered night on the coast. I used some travel points and reserved the nicest room available at the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort. When Cole and I arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that our room was super spacious, had a gas fireplace, balcony overlooking the bay, a jetted jacuzzi tub and super comfy King size bed. I ran into town and picked up some snacks and wine and proceeded to enjoy a night in by the fireplace, watching the sunset over the bay while some relaxing music from my iPod filled the room.
Cole enjoying being dried off on his birthday
The next morning was officially Cole's 8th birthday so I wanted to make it an extra special day for him. I ordered him his very own room service breakfast to enjoy in bed. We did lots of lounging in bed, listening to the gentle rain fall outside. We went for a walk in the rain and afterward, Cole enjoyed one of his favorite things: a towel rub down to get dry. He always makes the funniest noises while he rolls around in the towel, usually falling over at some point and then wiggling around until he gets his footing and starts the cycle all over again. After I enjoyed a much needed foot treatment at the spa, we took advantage of our late checkout by lounging just a little bit more before hitting the road, heading north along the coast, stopping at Cape Kiwanda to enjoy some beach time before heading back to Portland.
I recently started volunteering at Newspace Center for Photography, helping out at the front desk, answering phones, registering folks for classes and such. There is a group of volunteers who meet once a month to do a photography critique and I've been to one meeting so far. Every photographer there is super talented and I'm looking forward to getting to know each of them better. Through one of the staff people at Newspace, I learned of another group called the Portland Photographers Forum which, after checking out their website, seems like a really good fit for me. Soon, I'll officially be a member and will begin enjoying lectures, outings and opportunities to showcase, and possibly sell, my work. While on the subject of submitting work, I submitted some photography for the first time ever for consideration in a gallery exhibition whose black and white theme seemed like a good fit for what I've been most interested in lately. Unfortunately, my work was not selected but, as usual, it was a good learning experience. Soon, I will also begin volunteering at Blue Sky Gallery and already have an opportunity to help with closing down an exhibition to get it ready for the next one.
Last weekend I went hiking with a friend on Mt. Hood at Catalpa Lake. The weather was supposed to be clear but just our luck, the rain did not let up until we had already hiked to the lake and were on our way back to the truck. Cole didn't seem to mind the rain too much until we were in the truck on our way home where I imagine the lack of movement helped the cold set in. He did enjoy being wrapped up in a blanket and cuddled most of the way back to Portland though. Once home, I was pleasantly surprised to learn I could watch the Packers play and then not so pleasantly lose to the Vikings.
Reminiscing with the forest
This past weekend, with the weather beautifully sunny and warm, the same friend and I returned to Mt. Hood and explored some other areas, including one off-road spot near Bonney Meadows. After a mile or two in on the rocky, dirt "road", we turned back and decided to check out High Rock, where we ran into an older man in the area for a funeral who decided to check in on the forest that he once managed before heading back home to John Day. He told us he started working in forest management when he was 20 years old in 1967 and then pointed out toward the mountain and explained how some of the work was done in specific areas. It was fascinating to listen to him explain the work, it was obvious he had a strong respect for the trees and landscape of the Mt. Hood National Forest. He also explained how the industry changed over the years, especially in the 1990's, and admitted mistakes were made with the cutting of some areas of the forest. After parting ways with the man, we went to a nearby lake where the fish were jumping and the salamanders were swimming. After leaving the lake, we went to two different meadows where the afternoon light was perfect for photos. Once the sun receded behind the tree line, we began the drive back home.
It's been a busy couple of months with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. There are lots of things coming up and I look forward to sharing those experiences with you here soon.
