Back in Oregon - this time for good...

Once in Portland I was picked up by the friend who helped me make the drive. He had stayed behind to baby-sit the dog. I was envious to hear of all the fun he had exploring my new state. He told me the stories over dinner in a cute area of Portland. Ironically the exact same intersection I had explored back in January when there with another friend - but that was at 11pm desperately looking for a place still serving food, so this time I got to see it in a more relaxed way. My friend took my dog to Mulhnomah Falls which I had also seen in January - they are beautiful and there are several falls there. I want to go back to hike; when I was there all was icy as it had just stormed. He also took her to Mt. Rainer park where she hiked and swam in a lake. He got this great pic of her shaking off after the swim. My little dog was spoiled!

The following day the two of us took her to the beach, which is only about an hour's drive from my new house. The beach was terrific though the ocean water is ice cold. At the beach there was a dog people thought was lost. It turns out he was with some surfers who had left him on the beach while they were in the water. I suspected as much since each time someone emerged from the water's edge the poor dog would run up to them looking excited then look depressed to find that it was not his owners.

Audrey loved the ocean - she loves everything. She chased the birds and ran at the edge of the water. We threw a tennis ball for her and watched her confusion as it moved around in the waves. She learned quickly to fetch it before it got carried too far away. The sand there was very very fine and soft. I enjoyed running it through my fingers. I laid back in the sand and just enjoyed the fact that I was home and there was to be no more moving around.

We stayed long enough to watch the sunset. That was a popular idea as lots of people (a few dozen?) showed up to do the same. It was really nice. My friend took pictures; when I get them I will post some here.

The next day - we unpacked my office at work and ran errands. The following day was my birthday and time for my friend to go to the airport and return home. So back to Portland we drove. I stayed in Portland long enough to shop at Ikea before heading south again. I did more shopping on the way home since there are no major stores in my town. That evening though, I was very happy to be back home!