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.

The Drive: Day Four

Our check in time in Portland was at 5 p.m. so we were able to get some extra sleep yesterday. At first, the drive through Oregon wasn't quite what we had pictured. There were a lot of rolling hills but they were all brown. Eventually, everything became lush and green though. It was beautiful! 

Cedric loves Oregon too!

We drove along the Columbia river most of the way. It was what I think a river should look like. It was wide enough that we spotted several barges. One bridge was lifted vertically, instead of separating in the middle with each side lifting. The drive was anything but peaceful though. The road had many curves and required concentration to make sure I stayed in the lanes. I wanted to pull over every 5 minutes to take pictures but we were all restless and ready to end the drive.

Driving along the Columbia River.

Normally Ellie keeps to herself.
Apparently, four days in a car makes her desperate for love.

The hills were beautiful but the curves were not fun.

Portland is great, so far. We haven't explored much yet. We took the dogs on a walk last night and twice today around the neighborhood. Every yard is filled with flowers, bushes, and trees. It's hard to see street signs because of all the foliage. It's amazing! On our walk tonight, I kept pointing out flowers and trees that I loved. I eventually stopped because I realized that I was pointing out almost everything we passed.

They love the day bed too.

Our temporary place is cute. I like it but Brandt isn't as happy; he'd like something more modern but he hasn't complained. There isn't AC, which is common in Oregon. We've had the windows open the whole time and at night it gets quite cold. They added a day bed that wasn't in the pictures on Airbnb. It's in the living room and serves as a huge couch. Brandt has been lounging on it, watching Netflix and searching for things to do and see in Portland. Our hostess is nice and gave us helpful information, like Portland has a leash law and poop must always be scooped. That's not an issue for us but good to know. Portland encourages composting, which I love, and trash is only picked up every two weeks. Recycling is a big thing here too (yay!).

The dogs slept in with me too.

I slept in today and then started the job hunt again. My priority is to find a job I'll love. Then we can find a permanent home and begin making plans for our lives here. We want to get bikes and I want to explore the state parks too. There is a Rose Festival that's happening all month and we're planning on going to the festivities on Saturday. We'll also visit the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry because their membership reciprocates with my membership at Exploration Place. We're also going to a farmers market soon. They have one every day instead of just on Saturdays! I'm really loving Portland and Oregon so far. Not having a job is a dark cloud hanging over my head right now. I'm ready to find a great place to work and excited for our adventure to begin!

We Made It!

We are at our temporary place in Portland! Brandt, all three dogs, and I are exhausted from four days of driving. I will write about today's drive and our apartment on the morrow. (I've been listening to Game of Thrones while driving and it's seeping into my brain.)

For now, here's a picture of Cedric loving the green that is everywhere here!