New Update from our New Place

After a long (LONG!) hiatus, we are preparing to make daily (or near-daily) entries here on the Padded Shorts Blog again. A word or two of explanation is in order.

After completing the Scenic Detour, we spent a few weeks recuperating at the beach in Lincoln City, OR, before returning to Lawrenceville to retrieve our stuff. Putting the stuff on the truck was easy (we hired a mover); we had our car shipped separately. But when we got back to Portland, we found that the person renting our condo had not, as we thought, moved out yet. Fortunately, the mover delayed delivery of our goods until November 7, so we were good.

Unpacking. For those of you who have experienced a move in your adult life, that word is sufficient to describe the chaos that followed delivery of our stuff on a rainy Tuesday morning. For the rest of you, this forum is too short to describe the litany of emotions of that first day in a new place. Some boxes we would open, only to find a mind-boggling array of unrelated items - and we would then recall the mad last days of packing, when contents no longer fit neatly into one room or another, and we had just a few boxes left anyway.

Unpacking continues.

Meanwhile, we have begun the search for employment in earnest. Nancy has found several interesting prospects, and I have had a few interviews that, I think, went pretty well. Hopefully, I will be able to start somewhere before Christmas; all of the places I have interviewed with are, nominally and by comparison to the distances we covered during the Scenic Detour, within biking distance. Note: We didn't move to Portland, the number 1 Bicycling City in the US according to Bicycling Magazine, so that we could DRIVE to work. Nancy and I both intend to bike to wherever we end up working, even if it involves a ride on the MAX as well.

Our new location, for those of you that have not received a change of address e-mail, is at the northern end of the Waterfront Park along the Willamette River in the McCormick Pier Condominiums. From our bedroom window, we look out onto the Steel Bridge and the historic Waterfront District. Portland's Union Station is nearby, and a rail crossing over Naito Parkway is also right outside our front windows. The train horns were somewhat obtrusive at first, but we are accustomed to them now. We are also treated to frequent river traffic, such as the ubiquitous tugs and barges, but also the occasional pleasure craft. In the spring, there will be some Naval ships, too; and starting tonight, on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next two weeks, a small fleet of craft decorated for Christmas will be passing by.

This morning, at about quarter-to-four, I heard a loud noise (it woke me up, that is to say) that I surmised was the sound of a freight train coming to a stop. When the locomotive stops, all the cars behind bump in to the car in front of them, and it can be loud. This sound seemed louder than usual, though; and as it turned out, a couple cars had actually derailed, and Naito Parkway had to be closed until they righted the cars and cleared the crossing. That happened around 9 this morning.

Nancy slept through it. She claims to have heard it when it happened, so she disputes my assertion that a train could derail outside our window and she would sleep through it. Pfft. She was snoring.

Next time: the restaurants we have tried so far, and the ones on our list to try soon. Also, VOODOO DOUGHNUTS!