I love living in this little city and I hope I can live here for ever. The only thing missing is my children. They didn’t grow up here so they have no other connections in this sweet community except for me. I do not expect them to love it as I do. I have friends the ages of my daughters who did grow up here. After college, they chose to come back here to live and work and raise families. They not only like living here, they like it that we are close to the sea and the mountains and a wonderful “big city.” If you were raised in the Bay Area, not so much.
My children do come visit. Elizabeth “blew through” last weekend to pick up her faithful truck that’s been stored in my back lot since her last “trip to America.” It’s an amazing vehicle and started right up without a jump. 
It has lived a lot of places but it has always worn Oregon Fir Tree plates.
On Thursday evening, I drove up to PDX to pick her up in a flash flood. Thunder and lightening are very rare in the Willamette Valley. Luckily, I grew up in Oklahoma so I am generally unfazed by weather. We immediately began to do our favorite stuff, stopping off at Burgerville on the way home. Did the usual tax-free shopping, played Scrabble, took Roxie to “The Minto,” had “cake for dinner” from the Konditorei, went to see the new show at the Hallie Ford:
I like the”writing on the wall.”
And stocked up for her imminent road/camping/hiking trip at Joe’s.
Did something new too. This was the first time Elizabeth had ever been here when having lunch at Minto Island Growers was “in season.”
Now she and the Tahoe are headed to Missoula and on up for a few days in Glacier National Park. Also on the agenda is Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, all before heading back here in two weeks and back to PDX for the flight home to Maui. Not a bad life at all.
From Hawaii, along with some special coffee, she brought me this black cup:
which magically turns into a volcanic eruption when you pour your coffee into it:
