Understanding the Poem

We slept in and then headed to the truck for the drive to the beach. I mentioned yesterday how I had been lucky to find good parking next to the apartment. Turns out that was because I was parked next to a fire hydrant. There wasn’t a sign and the curb wasn’t marked, but I still got a $100 ticket. Kind of stinks.

The drive to beach was pretty cool. Lots of trees whizzing by…

The beach was nice. Kind of chilly though. Still, some people-watching…

kite flying…

and some sun on the beach is tough to beat.

Tomorrow we had towards Yellowstone. I’m going to miss Portland. I’m going to miss Tom and Kristy even more.

We got Tom and Kristy moved in today. Started around 8:30am and we were finished by noon. We got lucky on finding parking near the apartment. Ate lunch at Chipotle and then spent the afternoon unpacking. Things are looking pretty good.

My iPod Touch came in pretty handy today. It has a built-in faux GPS that works off of cell towers and WiFi networks to triangulate your location. Helps you to find your way in a new city.

Went to Kenny and Zuke’s for dinner. Had the absolute best pastrami and rye I have ever had.

Then we went to Powell’s City of Books, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. It was huge… 68,000 square feet and over 1,000,000 volumes. The Washington Post calls Powell’s “perhaps the best bookstore in the world.” It was pretty amazing.

The temperature was in the 60’s most of the day and I actually got kind of chilly tonight while we were waiting on the trolley. But I’m not complaining. Heard the temperature back home was around 100 degrees.

Tom and Kristy’s apartment here in Portland is right downtown and there is no AC. Last night was a little hot so we slept with the windows open. A few people got noisy in the night. We are near the campus of Portland State University. Then a trash truck comes down the street emptying trash bins at 4:00am. And then at 6:00am the construction crew at the building across the street began work.

So not a lot of sleep. But when we got up, we had only a two block walk to the coffee shop. And lots of great people watching during the day. Played some scrabble. Went shopping at IKEA. Had a nice dinner on the Williamette River… lots of talking and joking. Kristy said her cheeks hurt from laughing.

A great day. Then we rode the street car home. And there was a couple of the bus who its probably safe to say didn’t know Jesus. She was a little drunk (trying to swing from the bar) and he, well let’s just say he had his mind on something. Got me to thinking that I wish they knew what we know.

There’s a cool Goo Goo Dolls video: Better Days that says it pretty well…

I wish everyone was loved tonight.

And somehow stop this endless fight.

Just the chance that maybe we’ll find better days.

So take these words and sing out loud,

Cause everyone is forgiven now.

Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again.

We made it into Portland this afternoon.  By my odometer, we traveled a total of 1,819 miles in three days.  The longest part of the trip was Wyoming.  There were some nice parts, but mostly a lot of sage brush and hills.  So even though we were driving 80+MPH, it still went slow.  Got a good look at the Columbia River and also Mt. Hood today.  The Hood River area was pretty cool… lots of windsurfers and kite surfers and kites.

Tom and Kristy’s apartment is in an urban area, near the campus of Portland State University.  I’ve never lived in a big city.  Neither have they.  Its going to be an adjustment.  Parking is troublesome, but lots of restaraunts and coffee shops within walking distance. And good public transportation. It feels like a neighborhood, we just don’t know yet who are the neighbors and who are the strangers.  Tom says maybe we should just ask people “Are you a neighbor, or a stranger?”

Now we wait for the “pod” to show up so we can unload.  It will be parked about two blocks away and we will make trips back and forth.  Should be fun.

Well. We are about 1300 miles into our 1800+ mile road trip to Portland. Tonight we are staying in Boise, Idaho. Its a really cool town. Very alive and vibrant downtown area. We had a nice dinner at a local brewery. Sampled some good beers… “Buttface” was my favorite.

We are staying in the nicest $35/night hotel I have ever been in. It’s actually a Marriott thanks to Tom who scored cheap rooms from his Dunn Brothers discount. Sweet.

Found a great way to freak out your wife while you are driving down the road. Just read aloud the billboard that says “If you die tonight, do you know where you’ll spend eternity?” Then exclaim, “let’s find out” and swerve toward the bridge abutment.

Going for a run in the morning (there, I said it publicly so maybe I’ll be more likely to do it) and then heading to Portland. Good night.

Hey, did everyone hear that Brandi and Lucas are getting hitched? Hope that wasn’t a secret.

It’s my Doug Mann / Ronnie Burgess look. Going to have to work on the tan a little though.

As I was mowing my lawn tonight, I kept thinking about how I would be looking at mountains in 24 hours.  I really wish we had mountains here.  And cooler weather.  I am looking forward to vacation.

This morning, I read in Matthew 7:20 that Jesus says false prophets can be recognized by their fruit. I thought about how by implication, He was also saying that true believers can be recognized by their fruit. I thought about my fruit. I actually decided I was doing pretty good…

This evening, I read this. And realized I have so seriously far to go.

Check it out:

Pastors like alliterations.  Can you say “Metro-Moped-Midlife-Madness?”

Ok a lot of good guesses yesterday on who the hair belonged to. Heather, who guessed Gwen Stefani, is probably closest to the right answer. Here is a look at Gwen in case you don’t know her.

The actual correct answer is…

That’s right. MIKE SNOW. I have no idea why. But I have spent some time thinking about what it would be like to work with Gwen Stefani instead of Mike.