Leaving Portland

It was much harder than I thought to leave Portland. But I had to do it – I’d already had 3 going away celebrations and I couldn’t bear the thought of running into anyone and having to explain why they made me a road-trip CD if I wasn’t taking the trip.

So it’s official: I’m gone. And I cried. And then I napped in Hood River, on my way to Bend. (I didn’t get much sleep between Karaoke last night and packing all morning.) If I’d been smart and charged my camera, I’d have taken some snapshots at The Dalles. Turning off of the interstate for the last Burgerville “snack” I’ll have in 3 months, I discovered the most awesome vistas and views of the gorge and river.

Then, when I had dusk on the left and sunset on the right, I drove through a small town in the White River Falls State Park. Here the houses reminded me of my childhood home in small town Nebraska, except the mansions extending over the cliffs. (And thoughts would drift in and out of life in either of these scenic, small towns…could I really leave Portland? Could I hack the country life being single? What’s the most distance from a city I could handle?)

After a bit of snow in the high desert I arrived at my Aunt’s in Redmond, where I intend on sleeping for the first night in a long while. Don’t tell my kitties, but she has the most beautiful, blue-eyed fluffy cat I plan on snuggling with.

Kisses from Oregon,

~jewel