Mon February 5- Arriving at the cabin

After spending the weekend in Portland in the Blooms, we were ready to make the cabin our home. We havenow been here for three weeks and have gradually adjusted to living in a temperate rain forest. Average MONTHLY rainfall at this time of year in the Mt. Hood National Forest in 10-12". Despite its beauty, it is wet and there is an appreciable absence of light except on some days when the sun shines like below!

However, 10 miles away and 2000' feet higher is more snow that you could imagine; we have become regular snowshoers.

We have joined a brand new health club in Sandy, a town about 20 minutes away and have worked out daily. After all those farewell lunches and dinners, we could stand to lose a few and we are well on our way!

We go to the Sandy Public Library for internet access, books, and newspapers and have become regulars at "Freddie's, the local Super Walmart in Oregon (no, we haven't become "greeters" yet!)

Like all hearty Oregonians, we are learning to "find the light." Sunbreaks can be fleeting this time of year but it is always there, so you just have to find it!

We miss all of our family and friends and hope this will help us stay connected with you all. Life is good!!

Day 8, Friday, Feb 2nd
Over and over again, we had been awed by the natural beauty of this country. Driving cross country has given us an added appreciation of this. Our journey has now brought us through 13 states as we enter Oregon. The drive along the Columbia River Gorge was breathe taking. We will definitely be spending more time exploring the beauty of this natural treasure.

It took us about six hours to reach Jay and Toni Bloom's home in Portland. Toni had a huge "Welcome" sign across the front porch. We were happy to have made the trip with nothing worse than a cracked windshield.

A few musings from our trip:

• Thank goodness for audio books and good music.


• While driving two cars in tandem doesn't allow for rest breaks, it does limit interpersonal friction with two independent-minded people (like my wife!)


• We can't imagine what Lewis and Clark and all the other pioneers (men and women)endured crossing mountains and dealing with severe weather on horse-drawn wagons.
  

Thank you all for your prayers, your hospitality, and good wishes. We never would have had such a great trip without all of your support.

Day 7, Thursday, Feb 1st

Another 8 hour drive took us through 3 mountain passes including the Continental Divide and into Idaho. This was our first-ever time in Idaho and we stopped at popular hotspot Coeur d'Alene for a late afternoon lunch. The sun was bright over the large lake and the downton area very quaint. We plan to meet friends Tom and Linda from Bozeman here in the later spring for a longer visit.

We drove through Spokane, WA and stayed overnight aout 50 miles southwest of the city. A good night's sleep and we're on to the final leg of the trip- destination Portland, OR!

Day 5,6 – Tuesday-Wednesday, Jan 30-31st
We had only a 90 minute drive to get to Helena and the home of the Goldes, lifetime friends of Susan’s family. We arrived in early afternoon to quite a nice lunch spread. Aunt Leila and Uncle Joe were wonderful hosts and we totally enjoyed the visit. They took us out on the town to the Montana Club and to a very lively acapella performance at the local theatre.

We saw the new and very beautiful library that Libby Goldes had a leadership role in building. We were able to visit with Jeff and Libby as well as two of their 4 children, Matt and Elizabeth.

We really like Montana, especially Stephen. He couldn’t wait to wear his cowboy hat. We stayed for 2.5 days and had to take a rain check from Jeff on his offer the spend the weekend in the Flathead Lake Region near Glacier National Park. We'll be back in the summer, Jeff!! Joe and Leila live in a wonderful large Queen Ann-style mansion built in the late 1800s and we stayed on the third floor which is larger than most of the homes we've lived in! They were generous hosts and we had a ball visiting them.

Due to snow in the passes, we had to delay our start on Wednesday but finally set off for our trip through Idaho and Spokane, Washingon. Thank you all for a great visit in Montana.

Day 4 – Monday, Jan 29th
With temps in the single digits, we left Fargo early for another 10 hour trip to Bozeman, MT. The states start getting a tad bigger out here. North Dakota is rather nondescript (unless you're a Dakotan!) although the western part is like a moonscape going through Teddy Roosevelt National Park.

Although there wasn't much snow on the ground, the winds were strong this day and the blowing snow created near whiteout conditions. It was the most stressful driving we faced (we couldn't see sh--!)

We finally arrived in Bozeman at the home of Tommy St. John, a college friend and his fiancé, Linda. They took us out to dinner and put us up for the night. Thank you Tom and Linda. It was great to visit. It’s been a long time.

Day 3-Sunday, Jan 28th
We didn’t set out quite so early on our third day. Already we were learning to sleep in and Joan's breakfast had us considering staying for a few more meals! Our destination today was Fargo, ND, about a 9 hour ride through Wisconsin and Minnesota. Getting a later start meant driving into the evening and we did run into some snowy and slick conditions. We had better luck that a few drivers who we saw spinning out of control and sliding off the highway. We were tired and it was pretty icy when we reached the hotel so we walked to the only place that we could find open on a Sunday night and had a fantastic Italian meal and a glass of wine.

Day 2-Saturday, Jan 27th
Our destination this day was the very beautiful home of John Grace and Joan Raducha in Madison, WI, about a six hour trip from Toledo. Our travels took us through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. It was so great to spend time with John and Joan; John and Stephen have been close colleagues through their work heading up state associations of child and family service agencies and John has faced major health challenges over the past year. Thankfully, his cancer is in remission and he has renewed health and hope.



We were treated to exquisite meals prepared by Joan whose passion is gourmet cooking. We really enjoyed our visit and the very good company. We had light snow overnight which made for a beautiful pictures the next morning.

Welcome family, friends, and colleagues to our unfolding "next chapter" story. Many of you have wondered about, marveled at, or otherwise questioned what the hell we are up to as we embark on this move to the great Northwest. When you questioners come up with a good answer, please let us know!

All we are certain of is the blessing to have this opportunity to explore new ground and create our future. We are up for this great new adventure and have appreciated the support that all of you have given us to "go for it." We also are grateful to have each other, trusted partners with whom to take this exciting and uncertain journey. After nearly 30 years together, we feel like twenty-somethings (we know we don't look like that!) starting over again- this time equipped with the confidence that comes from many shared life experiences. Prominent among are blessings are our two sons, Ben and Aris, who have raised their parents to be risk-takers and always young at heart. If not for their love and encouragement, we might not be on this journey.

So welcome to the great adventures of Nuckin' Futz (our trail names aptly annointed by Toni Bloom who along with her husband Jay are our dearest friends and gracious hosts in Oregon). We start with our departure from Connecticut on January 26 and hope you will enjoy the unfolding story.

Day 1-Friday, Jan 26th
We departed CT on January 26 delayed by one day in part by a storm in Pennsylvania but mostly because we just couldn’t get it together in time. All the goodbye dinners and luncheons and the final packing and loading of storage and cars was finally completed by Thursday night. With two cars packed and gassed, we set out at 5am with the temperature hovering at 2 degrees. We did hit a little weather in PA along I-80 (where there had been a multi-car pile-up the day before) but it was so cold that the snow was not very slippery. Along the way we stopped for a late breakfast in PA. Ten hours of driving took us through New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio where we stayed in a Best Western outside Toledo.