Planning

We leave for Portland in a few days. We’d decided to drive up, taking our dog and as much else as we could fit into our car. Day 1 – Los Angeles to Pleasanton, Ca, overnighting with Maxine’s sister and daughter. Day 2 – Pleasanton to Grant’s Pass, Oregon. Day 3 – arrive in Portland sometime early afternoon. In all, 956 miles at what seems like a leisurely pace compared to childhood trips of New Jersey to Cape Canaveral, Florida: 1112 miles, 2 days, 2 parents and 4 kids.

Last October, Maxine was searching internet home rental sites and came upon a house in Portland, Oregon. We’d been up to Portland 4 or 5 times over the last 15 years and always found the place fascinating, imagining we might move there some day. This house was in a neighborhood we’d considered living in, the house about the size of our home, and the landlord willing to waive her “no dogs” requirement. Cassie, our 12 pound Sheltie, was written into our lease.

Maxine and I are inveterate planners; the lease was signed and a deposit made by early January. Our plan is to arrive early in May and be there till mid June, expecting to experience some of Portland’s notoriously rainy weather. We wanted that. We want the trip to be about more than just sightseeing.

So, with the drive about to begin, we’ve got a fairly full schedule planned. We’ve both spent time over the last 2 months accumulating lists of things to do -- ones we imagine we’d pursue if we lived here, signing up for meetings and registering for events.

The luggage will get packed tomorrow – we’ve already checked to see how much we can fit in the trunk. We’re traveling with 2 computers, 2 ipods, an electronic book reader, 2 cameras, and our cell phones. Hard to see how we got by before all of this existed, but it lets us feel more connected.