Greetings patient readers! Yes I am the bad blogger, never updating. But now I am home! With All the Houseguests!
Anyway, where we last left the story, Mark and I had survived much busy socialness and arrived at his parents’ home in the quiet Sierra foothills. And there we relaxed a day or so, completely failing to go hiking or anything else active, and that was exactly what was needed.
And then we were preparing to head north, when we got word of a medical scare involving a relative in the Bay Area, so we weren’t sure whether we were going to leave or not; or perhaps hang around and wait for news; or perhaps rush off to the Bay Area; and so there was much uncertainty; but fortunately, the scare resolved itself, and everything is fine, and there was no need for anyone to do anything. But it did result in added angst and stress, and us leaving lots later than planned.
So then we drove to lovely Weed, California, and stayed in a sub-par motel with no heat, which actually matters in Weed, California.
But Mt. Shasta was looking lovely, if somewhat shy behind her clouds.
And then the next morning we drove to lovely Bend, Oregon, where it was honest to god I kid you not SNOWING. I was driving, so I didn’t get a picture, but I PROMISE you it so was. And sticking to the ground and everything. And on the road, and kind of scary. In late June. Really.
But actually we drove a few miles past Bend to Redmond [OR], to have an early dinner with Mark’s uncle, and there it wasn’t snowing, but it was still pretty darn cold, and when we left the restaurant I spotted this adorable guy huddled on top of a truck, who the moment he saw me sat up and posed, while remaining adorable:
Then we drove to Portland, just another three and a half hours or so…the scenery was astonishing, spectacular, gorgeous, amazing. The whole drive, actually–Weed to Bend, and Bend to Portland. I’ve really not explored Oregon, not east of the I-5 corridor, which is unconscionable, as I’ve lived here three years and I have no excuse, honestly.
Except that I so incredibly love to be home. We got in quite late last night–bedtime, really, though I stayed up another few hours just luxuriating in being home. Then today (after a decently Portland-ish sleep-in) Mark took his folks out to have lunch with an old high school friend of his mom’s (she grew up here, his mother I mean), while I watered the orchids and bought groceries and whacked away at some of these emails and whacked away at some of the garden jungle that has grown in the last week and paid bills and a jillion other at-home things, and WENT TO YOGA OMG, and got my mind around making a blog post. 🙂 And a bunch of other stuff too I’m sure.
And that’s the story to date. Now I think I’ll go help his mom with that jigsaw puzzle a while, then enjoy another night in MY OWN BED. Oh god I love my own bed. You have no idea.