We Have a Home!

We moved into our apartment yesterday and the dogs took it surprisingly well. We haven't left them alone yet and plan to take them to the dog park tomorrow to work off the stress and extra energy they've accumulated through the moving process.

Details on our apartment:

• 2 bedroom 1.5 bath apartment on the 2nd floor (also the top floor)
• Vaulted ceiling in the living room
• Fenced in porch that we're hoping my hammock will fit on
• Huge kitchen with lots of counter space for Brandt to channel his inner chef
• No AC, which is normal around here (they're crazy but we're getting used to it)
• Fire place
• Heaters in every room's wall with a designated thermostat
• Wet bar
• Washer/dryer
• Decent sized front porch with a private entrance (this means the dogs won't bark at people coming up the stairs to go to other apartments)
• We're located near a trash bin and recycling bin for easy access
• The complex has a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool, and hot tub
• The best part: They accepted our three dogs and didn't charge us an appendage to let them live here

We started looking for places to live while we were still in Kansas. We wanted to get a feel for what they had to offer in Portland and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, rental houses are near impossible to find unless you want a 4+ bedroom, which we could neither afford nor needed. We had to settle for an apartment and no yard for the dogs.

The hardest part about apartment hunting was finding a place that allowed three dogs. Portland is very dog friendly but apparently most apartments draw the line at two. After that, too bad. What's one more dog going to do that two couldn't accomplish on their own? I thought it was ridiculous because there's no limit on kids and I've seen them destroy houses/apartments before. To be honest, I've seen adults destroy homes before. Brandt and I each had an apartment rep ask if we could "find another place for one of the dogs" while we lived there. I stared at my phone in bewilderment and said thanks but we'll look elsewhere. What were we supposed to do? Pick the dog we like the least and kennel her/him for an entire year? Take one of them to the humane society and say we just didn't have room? No chance we'd ever do that!

There were very few places that would allow all three of our "fur babies," as I often hear them called. "Fur herd" is another term but we're a pack, so I don't use that one. Most apartments that would allow more than two dogs wanted to charge an outrageous amount in deposit (upwards of $500 per dog) or a huge pet rent. We could handle a pet rent but the rent out here isn't cheap. Adding an additional $50 per dog on top of rent wasn't going to work either. Plus, neither of us have jobs so it wasn't easy to qualify to live in some of the complexes that would allow our dogs. Our choices were very limited.

We found a great place at a reasonable price that even had a unit ready for us on the short notice! We looked at a one bedroom but we just have too much stuff, even though we sold half of it before we moved. We'll be squeezing in here but I think we'll enjoy it. Not having AC isn't terrible because with the rain, it stays fairly cool or has a cool breeze. We keep the windows open when we're home and I woke up yesterday to a freezing house! That's insane for me to comprehend at the end of June, being so used to Kansas weather. I can sleep with the windows open now because Portland doesn't wreak havoc on my allergies like Kansas did. If I slept with the windows open there, I'd wake up and my head would feel like iron rods had been inserted in my temples and the front of my face wouldn't function (sinuses). It was horrible.

Now, what you've all been waiting for: pictures of our lovely and lavishly furnished apartment!

Open kitchen with lots of counter top space.

Our high-end seating for the next week and a half.

The girls enjoying our lavish queen size bed.
We had to steal dog blankets since we don't have any.

The wet bar with the little alcohol we have.
You can see the wall heater in the reflection.

Ellie enjoying the view yesterday.

I will post more pictures once there's something worth looking at. We should have our things on the 7th, or around then. If you read my last post, you know I don't have high hopes for U-Haul providing anything worthwhile and I expect them to be late on the delivery. Who knows, they'll probably even lose one or all of our pods.

For now, we're enjoying our indoor pool floaties as chairs or lounging beds. The dogs love the open space and I'm sure Cedric will be devastated when we get our furniture. He was just running around like a race car and doing some pretty sweet sharp turns in the living room.

The location is great too. We're technically in Portland but if you drive two minutes south or east, you're in Beaverton. If you go slightly west, you're in Hillsboro. I have no idea why or how they drew the city lines. We're just north of a highway so we have easy access if we dare to drive on those insane and packed roads. For now, we've been driving around Beaverton/Hillsboro/Aloha getting to know the area. I really like it so far! Columbia Sportswear's headquarters is literally just down the road from our complex. I drove past Nike's headquarters on my way to get our internet modem yesterday. It was gorgeous, from what I saw.

I'm happy with our location, the apartment, and our rent. I still wish we had a yard so we didn't have to leash up the dogs and so they could run to their hearts' content. It just means more dog park trips and lots of walking!

The Nightmare That is U-Haul

We have a place to live for the next year! I'll update more on that after we move in tomorrow. First, I'd like to tell you a little story about U-Haul and the mess of a company they have. The people at U-Haul know less than Jon Snow and will rip you off.

Once we put a deposit on the apartment Friday, Brandt looked at the shipping prices for our U-Boxes. They had grown exponentially! They wanted us to pay more than $1,000 higher than their website said in May. Brandt called U-Haul in Wichita to inquire about shipping our three pods and what was going on with the price hike. He was transferred all over: to the district office in Kansas City, to this place, to that guy, and so on. Turns out, the manager in Wichita likes to leave at 3 or 4 p.m., which is 1 or 2 p.m. our time. U-Haul said the manager would send him an e-mail on Monday. We were out of luck until then.

Monday came and went with no response from the manager. On Tuesday, Brandt tried calling again and when he made it through all the transfers, he ended up at the U-Box department in KC. The regional manager said she'd make sure guy in Wichita would respond to Brandt that day. An hour later he spoke with the manager in Wichita and that guy didn't know why the price was higher and didn't really know much of anything, for that matter.

I had offered to speak to these people and lay down the law, if needed. Brandt told me about his conversation with the manager and I promptly got on the phone. I went through the chain of transfers because it seems like no one at U-Haul knows what's going on. We think that they pay people to sit in an office and transfer people. Just a whole building full of phones lines being transferred to others. At least they're helping the job market!

I spoke with someone at the regional office in KC and expressed my dismay. I told him we could easily fly back to Wichita, rent a truck, and drive back for less. We could also have sold everything and bought it cheaper here than shipping for that price. He put me on hold several times and even had to call me back twice so he could check some things. He said that the shipping rates aren't determined by U-Haul. I told him that doesn't matter, there is no reason for a $1,000+ rise in price in a month with no explanation and no warning. We'd chosen U-Haul specifically because of the prices.

I didn't need to get angry because he was reasonable and worked with me. He ended up dropping the price quite a bit but the total was still more than what the website said on May 26. Now we have to wait until July 7 for our pods to arrive and pick them up ourselves to drive to the apartment. We'll be hanging out in a mostly empty apartment for a week and a half. At least we'll have WiFi!

I would not recommend using U-Haul if you're moving farther than across town. The managers (or at least this one) don't know much and you can expect to be transferred a minimum of four times all across the country. I've heard of them losing containers for up to three weeks and we're not the only ones they did this to with prices. I'm glad this nightmare is mostly over. Once we unload our pods, we'll never use U-Haul again. Four days of being in limbo and stressing about whether or not we could afford to ship our things was not pleasant nor needed during this upheaval in our lives.

We're excited about our place and I'll post pictures soon!

Quick Update

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates recently. We've been focusing on the job hunt and have been looking for a place to live.

We haven't found any actual houses in our price range like we did in Kansas. We'd hoped for a yard for the dogs but it looks like we'll be leashing them up for potty breaks for the next year.

We looked at several apartments today and found one that we both like. Hopefully, things will come through and we can rent it. Our time it's limited because our sublease is up on Thursday!

My job search is looking hopeful as well. I took a break the last two days for the apartment hunt and I'm getting back in the game tonight. As soon as something concrete happens on either front, I'll post it on here!

Forest Park

We're doing as many free things as we can while we job search. This week, we made an excursion out to Forest Park and it was gorgeous. THIS is what I came to Oregon for!

Forest Park is literally what it's name says it is. According to their conservancy website, in 1903 the same guys that designed Central Park in NYC suggested that the densely wooded hills in NW Portland be conserved as a forest park. It's a long and winding drive to get there but it was like we had stepped in a portal and come out before the Pacific Northwest had been settled (ignoring the paved road and my car, of course). The park is 7 miles long and has trails throughout, ranging from "easy" to "hard."

We took the dogs with us to wear them out and chose an "easy" 3 mile walk. We often walk about that far on our long walks and I figured the dogs could handle it and they would be exhausted when we finished. I was partially right.

The first part of the trail was just a dirt footpath. We were immersed in greens and browns and everything
was silent, except my bug fan. I imagined traveling with Lewis and Clark or being one of the people who settled the area before they tore down the forests. I would have been terrified to walk through these woods, not knowing what was hiding. Without the walking path, the area had steep hills, vegetation that was at least as tall as my knees, and tree branches crisscrossing each other. I loved the natural beauty but I wouldn't want to walk through without a path. I'd twist my ankle or be impaled by a deer I should have seen. The smell reminded me of the rain forest exhibit at the Sedgwick County Zoo but less moist. It was refreshing to breath in the crisp cool air. It also reminded me of forests during the dinosaurs reign. It must have been too cold in this one to have sustained them but there were ferns everywhere. Any time I see a fern I think of fossilized patterns of fern leaves and, therefore, dinosaurs. Brandt also commented that one of areas dense in ferns reminded him of Jurassic Park.

Ellie absolutely loved the walk. Even though she's the most reserved, she's also the most instinctive. I've seen her flush birds at a dog park in Wichita and she has a strong hunting desire if she sees anything small on walks. She even killed a mouse in our house a few years ago. She loves to explore and roll in everything. She went crazy on the first part of the walk! She was sniffing everything, rubbing on whatever she could, and her tail was wagging constantly. She had a very difficult time staying on the path.

Eventually, our trail ended and met with a paved trail. There were steep hills on our left and often a sheer drop to our right. After that trail, we headed back to the car on another footpath.

Brandt taking a picture and
Cedric waiting patiently.

Brandt has Cedric trained fairly well during walks. Cedric doesn't like other dogs when he's leashed though. Go
figure, since he's the only one that enjoys dog parks and is the most social little thing I've ever seen. We encountered very few dogs on our trail so Cedric wasn't a huge issue. The girls, however, were almost left behind to fend for themselves. They're cute enough and I'm sure someone would have taken them home. Ellie was on the hunt constantly and tried to run and kill anything that rustled the leaves. Sparrow is an instigator and was barking at everything and tugging her lead. I think she was upset most of the walk and didn't like the strange new place with its unique and new smells.

The last part of the trail included a long steep hill. We had to stop part of the way up because I forgot my inhaler and couldn't' breath. A quick drink of water solved the problem. Sparrow was having a pretty rough time on the hill too and I thought she might drop dead on the spot. Poor thing has such a short snout and has a hard time breathing any way.

All three dogs fell asleep immediately when we got in the car. It was hard to get the girls to move once we got back to the apartment as well. We were successful in exhausting them but my patience was also exhausted. I have now officially enlisted Brandt's help as the Dog Whisperer's protege, or so I call him, and I'm going to make both girls behave during walks. I enjoyed letting them sniff around and explore but they're starting to become more than I can handle.

We plan to go back to Forest Park and hike on our own. I'd like to take a path that's longer than 3 miles next time. The park boasts the tallest tree within a city and mushrooms as big as dinner plates. I'd definitely like to see those! Going without the dogs will allow us to walk together and take more time to absorb the natural wonders around us.

The trees were enormous!

A hillside of ferns.

A view of the paved path.

Parts of the walk, we couldn't see the sky.
This was when the tree coverage cleared.

More ferns!

I loved the greens, browns, and blues.

Special Talents

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've spent a lot of this week with my nose to the grindstone searching for jobs. Turns out, you can't see much when your nose is on a grindstone so that may be the reason I have yet to find a job. Don't even ask where I found a grindstone!

I thought I'd add a little humor to the blog before I head back to submitting applications to employers telling them how awesome I am and that I would like money, please.

Apparently, you shouldn't do this during an interview? It's my go-to move when they ask if I have any special talents!

Ponderings on Portland Traffic

I've decided that I don't like driving in Portland. Fortunately, this city is known for it's public transportation (TriMet) and we plan to take advantage of it soon. They have buses, trolleys, and trains that take you all over town.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Brandt and I have both decided not to take the freeways, if at all possible. I attempted taking one on my way to get groceries last week. It was fine, at first. The problem was that the traffic on the freeways here is so congested, you often find yourself not moving or your top speed is 30 mph. After this happened to me once, I decided to save myself the stress and set my GPS to avoid all highways. My trips are a little longer, or so my GPS claims, but at least I'm moving and not stuck on a ramp hundreds of feet in the air.

The driving is cramped, as in the lanes are small and sometimes you're driving so close to parked cars that I'm surprised we haven't taken off anyone's side-view mirror. The trees around here are great, unless you'd like to see what street is coming up. Then their branches almost always cover the street signs. That is, if there is a street sign to begin with. I appreciate the wonderful way Wichita has labeled their streets. The huge signs that hang between the lights are amazing. I wish Portland would do that. If there is a sign saying which street you're about to cross, it's one of the small ones that you see in neighborhoods. Its also tucked away off to the side, barely visible.

I have a Garmin and Brandt uses his phone, but they only help a little. Even those aren't very good at directing among these crazy streets that suddenly fork, and don't look like what the GPS says they should. I've taken many "long ways" to my destination because I've missed a turn or took the wrong fork. Even though I try to be safe and not switch lanes at the last minute, which is the number one cause of driving accidents, I have made a few dumb decisions while driving in the last week. I'm sure at least one person behind me yelled profanities and cursed Kansas drivers, when s/he saw my plate.

Driving downtown is similar to Old Town. There are a lot of one-way streets and little parking. Some of the streets don't allow left turns, even if they aren't one-way. That can make navigating a little difficult as well. They've got these amazing parking structures called Smart Park that have an app that tells you if there are any spaces left. We used that when we went to CityFair on Saturday. When I went to Voodoo Doughnuts (famous doughnut shop, with huge yummy doughnuts) I used a machine that lets you pay with cash or card. You decide how long you're going to take and it prints a piece of paper that you leave on your dash.

Bicyclists and motorcycle drivers aren't as smart as I'd hoped. There are a ton of bicycles in use here and when there's bike lanes, it's great. I love that these people are staying in shape and not contributing to pollution. However, some need a refresher on the rules of the road. Brandt was driving and was about to cross an intersection, when a bicyclist came out from behind a car to ride through a red light. We both jumped and yelled when we saw him. There have been other bicyclists doing similar things. They have the right of way but being stupid doesn't count. Most of the bicycle riders I've seen have been great riders, wear helmets, and follow the rules. It's just those few that give you a quick heart attack and make you glad for good breaks.

We're going to get day-passes for the TriMet and give it a try soon. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out the system and not get lost. I've never actually ridden in public transportation (besides the subway in Washington D.C.) and Brandt rode the bus occasionally in Topeka. It'll be an adventure!

CityFair

I know what you're thinking: "Two posts, in one night?" I finally feel like writing again! Sorry for the last few posts that were more of a listing of what we did. The dog park one and this one should be more interesting to read.

The Rose Festival takes place during most of the summer in Portland. I didn't realize it, but Portland is known as the City of Roses or Rose City. For three weekends, they have a fair downtown called CityFair. Saturday, they also had a parade so we ventured downtown to check it out. We decided not to actually watch the parade because it's from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and people camp out 24 hours in advance to save spots. We didn't think we'd find a place to watch.

We went to the fair and Brandt had a huge corn dog and I got a strawberry, banana, nutella crepe. We walked around and weren't all that impressed. They had an exotic animal viewing area that was packed. The cages were small and it reminded me of how they used to exhibit animals at the turn of the century (not this last one, but 1800-1900s). I think I saw a sign about them being rescues but I can't imagine they enjoy all of the noise, crowds, and extreme heat. They had a place where you could have your picture taken with various animals, including a baby tiger. It was only $10 and would have been awesome to hold a baby tiger but the line was long. I also hope they use more than one tiger because I'm sure the little guys get overwhelmed doing that all day.

The midway had a lot of rides. I saw several that are always at the Cowley County Fair and many more. There were games, prizes, and many running children. There weren't any animal showings since it wasn't a county fair but I was disappointed because they didn't even have local artists or 4H there. It was dusty and hot, so once we walked the entire length, we left. I noticed that right as the fair ended, there was a market, so we headed that way.

I loved the Saturday Market! It had numerous vendors and crafty things. We didn't get to see everything so I'm going back next Saturday. Brandt was a good sport and walked along the stalls with me but he didn't enjoy it near as much as I did. I stopped and got my first boba tea then we headed to find the floats. They were supposed to be on display somewhere starting at 3 p.m. but we couldn't find them.

After walking most of the way back to where we started, I asked an event employee. Turns out they had closed down the street and the floats were parked there. We'd been walking on the wrong side! We took a short cut across the fair and on our right, were the floats. The only floats I've ever seen were the ones we made for homecoming back home. These were much more impressive. They were filled with flowers and were very well made. I could see straps where the people were tied in while the float was moving. No such thing existed on our floats! From what I could tell, nothing is painted, other than maybe the floor. I was able to get close to one and they had used rice for the white sections. I was impressed at the amount of work it must have taken and how nice the end products looked.

I loved the dragon float!

This float was really impressive.
None of that is painted.

Close-up of the Fred Meyer float.
So much detail goes into these!

The pirate float was my favorite.

A star fish made of oranges. Very creative!

Dog Park Day

After four days in the car and several days in a new home with no yard, the dogs were ready to burn off some energy. Portland's park department has a nice website that easily guides you to dog parks. It also divides them into fenced and not-fenced. Our rowdy "fur-herd," as some people often call pets, cannot be trusted without a fence. They would immediately run to their death, whether it be by car, cougar, or snake infested waters. They aren't as smart as the dogs on Homeward Bound either, so if they got lost they'd never find their way back.

On Friday, I chose a park that was out of the way, but that
looked nice on the website. We loaded up my car and headed out! It was close to 5 p.m. so there was a decent amount of traffic. I've set my GPS to avoid all highways (that story to come later) and so we enjoyed the city scenery as we drove.

The dog park was worth the drive! It was huge and had shade! The three free parks in Wichita are decent sized, especially the one near the drive-in, but they have 0 shade. The one near the drive-in built little hut-like shade spots for the dogs but it's not the same. This dog park had trees everywhere and used sand or wood chips instead of grass. The dogs were unsure of the sand at first but once Cedric was free, he didn't care. The girls spend most of their time at the park following me like, well, puppies. They gallivanted around for a while but Cedric was eyeing the other side of the fence, where there were more big dogs to follow. We went to that side and the fun ensued.

Even Ellie enjoyed herself.

Cedric always makes friends quickly, two-legged and four. He enjoys chasing packs of dogs that are playing and barking. I imagine him like a little brother trying to keep up with the big kids. Like he's saying, "Hey guys! Look. I'm playing too! Look at me! I can run!" When a dog tries to stop and play with him, Cedric becomes confused and just barks. These dogs were perfect and ignored him as they ran and played. He bounded along barking and wagging his stub.

Ellie and Sparrow even managed to enjoy themselves. Sparrow is always popular and goes to everyone she can for pets. That's her favorite part of dog parks. Ellie mostly followed me but did venture off a few times. I sat on a huge log (more of a horizontal tree, really) and she hung out with me.

Cedric also found a new best friend, Olive. Olive was a decent sized chihuahua with lots of energy. The two ran and played most of the time we were there. Cedric was like her, larger, fluffier, shadow. There were a few times I was concerned because they were both being barkey and I thought he was being too aggressive. I pulled him away and gave him a time-out in my arms so he'd calm down. Olive's owners said she could hold her own and not to worry if he got out of control. I put him back down and he was back by her side, better behaved this time.

We ended up staying an hour and a half and only left because most of the other dogs had gone. Usually the dogs are begging to go after an hour. I loved the park but not as much as the dogs did. I am sure we'll visit again, even though it's a bit of a drive to get there.

It's So Green!

This one is my favorite pictures.
It's now my desktop background.

We've had some time to settle in and are adjusting to the different lifestyle here in Oregon. I love that everything is green and that they encourage "green" lifestyles as well. I have always loved flowers, trees, and nature in general. I took the dogs for a walk while Brandt was on his own excursion to the Willamette River. I stopped to take pictures of all the flowers I thought were beautiful. The dogs did not appreciate the constant stops but I got a few good shots.

Ellie often wonders what I'm doing.

She stopped to sniff the flowers
but still didn't know why I was
making them wait.

I love this rain catcher idea.

They have zipcars here!

Brandt took some time for himself to take a scenic walk down to the Willamette River. He got some good shots and it looks like it was beautiful. I'll join him on the next one. We're not sure if the dogs can handle walking 25 minutes down there and back yet.

We also went to a New Seasons market and I was in awe. Almost everything was organic, natural, or local! It was really busy, had no parking, and the inside was cramped. Brandt has described that part of town as "a small town that never grew." Everything looks like and has a small town feel but the roads are crazy and everything is jammed together. I like it but it makes me feel agoraphobic. New Seasons was a little pricey but I love organic and local, so I was OK with it. We don't plan to go back to one again but it was a nice jump into what Portland food has to offer.

Yesterday, we went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (for free, thanks to my reciprocal membership). They had the dinosaur exhibit that Exploration Place had last summer. Theirs was larger and had more exhibit components than ours did. It was fun to go through it again and I saw a terrified 8-year-old run away in fear when one of the animatronic dinosaurs roared.

They had an electric car charging station
in the parking lot. I squealed with joy!

Brandt with his favorite dino.

OMSI teaches kids the
importance of recycling.

And about different sources of energy.

And about the importance of saving energy.
I love Portland!!

Brandt and I also played Connect Four with robots. I won!

While at OMSI, I got a message from our Airbnb hostess, that the dogs had been barking since we left. We decided it was time to leave any way but first went outside to look at the decommissioned submarine. It was massive! We were walking along the river back to the car when we saw a boat with odd paddles on the Willamette River. It was a Dragon Boat practicing for the Rose Festival race this weekend! The Rose Festival takes place all month with activities occurring mostly on the weekends. We're planning on attending the CityFair on Saturday.

Today, we weren't comfortable leaving the dogs alone again. Brandt drove around to get to know the city and got a great picture of one of the bridges. Portland is well known for it's many bridges. I even saw a book about them while we were at OMSI.

Later, I went to Fred Meyer (grocery store similar to Dillons but with more than just food, like Wal-Mart). On my way home, I stopped by VooDoo Doughnuts because, even in Kansas, they're legendary. So far, I've tasted the grape and Brandt took a bite of one that we thought was peanut butter but was upset to discover, was not.