Portland

This is a city that I could live in.  There is an actual downtown area, with all the financial and business buildings you would expect in a metropolitan city, city parks, public transportation and coffee everywhere.  There is a decent art museum, hundreds of restaurants, all the services of a big city.  Some of the little neighborhoods remind me a great deal of the small 'hoods in SF, (think Noe Valley) but more accessible and even more diverse in housing opportunities and in local commerce.   While the racial population of Portland might not be as mixed as SF or LA or NY, it definitely is not as white as West Marin. (well, nowhere is.)  

We spent a great deal of Monday simply walking through the city, from our hotel area to the college and looping around to different sections.  We then spent another hour or so driving a bit farther out,  into older neighborhoods with stately homes or small cottage-like homes.  Finally we met up with Tom's niece Camille who lives in an area called Alphabet District and it would be the perfect place for me to live.  Everything is within walking distance and while some of it is a bit upscale, most of it is more down-home: a Trader Joe's but also a very cool independent market, small neighborhood cafes, coffee places and bars, good restaurants, old buildings, laundromats, car repair shops, banks, dentists, everything you need within a 4 or 5 block radius.  Plus it is just a couple of miles (walking distance) of the downtown center.

This is not to say that I am rushing home to pack up and move here.  (First problem:  who would rent to a person without a job?  No one.)  But I might start thinking about jobs here and I would definitely come back if the employment possibilities looked promising.  So much remains to be seen and discovered, but it is encouraging to realize that a city holds great appeal to me.  I told a friend recently that after living the past 20 years in the country I would really like to live in a place that has a skyline.

Today we took a beautiful ride through the Columbia River Gorge area, saw some brilliant waterfalls and a little snow, some blinding sunshine off Mt. Hood and gorgeous country vistas with trees still changing colors.  Tonight we are meeting Camille back in her neighborhood for dinner (via the free streetcar).  Tomorrow means saying goodbye to the Hotel Monaco for now and venturing on.  

Since this entire experiment (not having a home, doing some car traveling, figuring out the next phase of my life) will probably go on for a while, this blog will continue even when I am back in the bay area.  Keep reading.  Who knows where I will end up?  I sure don't.