Well, I'm still homesick for Provo and I feel a bit lost, but Kenny and I successfully moved from Provo, Utah to my childhood home in Tualatin, Oregon so he can start his new job (and I can find one). It took a lot of planning, packing, and prayer, but we got here and even in one piece! We are indebted to friends in our ward for their loving and kind help in moving everything into the 26-foot truck Kenny rented, getting our apartment clean for the new tenants (Dana, I have never seen such clean windows and blinds!), and cheering us on as we prepared to leave our home for new adventures. We are likewise indebted to Megan, Karl, Camryn, and Tamsin for letting me stay overnight at their house before heading out a day later than Ken for the great Northwest. Their cheerful hospitality spared me from snoozing in my car and ending up who knows where off the side of the road (seriously, I looked and felt too much like a zombie after all the packing and shlepping and cleaning on Wednesday and Thursday to confidently follow the more-rested Ken Thursday afternoon up the freeway). And now we are indebted to Mom and Jim (and Roggie, Satchell, and Paige) for letting us crash at their house until we have gotten the groove of Oregon and found our new place. (Well, not actually crash, like that kid in high school who ran into my house while dropping me off from a speech and debate tournament, then had the temerity to lie about it. Dude - I saw you do it. Explain the thirteen-inch black mark on my house, then, if it wasn't you. Yeah - thought so.)
I had to return the humongous truck today while Ken was at work so it didn't get towed by the business across the street from our house, and with some trepidation set out to accomplish the task. I'm not a fan of driving 26-foot trucks anywhere. Luckily, the truck place was just up the road off Boones Ferry in Wilsonville, just over three miles away. Sure, sweetie! I can take the truck back and just ride the 96 bus home (the bus I almost always rode into Portland, the one I learned to use mass transit on). The Penske guy was really cute, too, and super helpful. I walked to the nearest bus stop, only to discover that the bus runs only during rush hour, so the next pickup would be over an hour and a half in the future. Good thing I wore comfortable shoes, right? I took off walking and enjoyed an absolutely beautiful stroll back home, stopping to admire farmland on the way home, the high school, the neighborhood I grew up in, and finally to get the mail before heading in to let the restless felines out. The air smelled like spicy pines and woodsmoke, and even though I am aching to see the Wasatch Mountains outside my window, it is beautiful to be home.
The Wasatch Mountains that I will miss:
Should we have rented a bigger one?
Camryn enjoying her ice cream at my sleepover:
Wow, I made it to my home state! Eight more hours to go...
Walking home from Wilsonville - a beautiful garden:
At the crest of the hill just south of my high school:
TUHS!
The seminary building, a favorite place:
The trees are starting to turn...
Lafky Park, home of many an adventure of my childhood:
Where I grew up at my dad's house, just across from the park:
3 comments:
Welcome back to Tualatin Katie. We should catch up. I hope that all is well.
I cannot believed you walked home from Wilsonville down that road! I live down the street! You could have called me for a ride home. :)
Sometimes I forget just how GREEN Oregon is!!! I miss the trees! But then, after a Utah sunset, I remember how much I love the wide open sky. And you can't have both. Maybe I need a home in Utah AND a home in Oregon!
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