Plans

My assignment here in Port Angeles is regretfully over at the end of August. I have been offered and extension but have decided to stick to the original plan of heading back to FL and staying through the holidays. Its too soon to interview with anyone but the plan is to get an assignment close enough to PSL to drive home for the weekends. I am not looking forward to the heat...I've spent my entire summer between 60 and 70 degrees...but I am looking forward to seeing the family and exploring the natural side of FL. There are so many places I've never seen.

We are going to take the northern route home, stopping at Mt. Rushmore, then head south through the Appalachians, stopping in Asheville for a few days to determine its potential for permanent residency. We have been traveling not only to see the country but also to find a place that we want to settle. We haven't come to an agreement on the perfect place...but we are both discovering what we want. Unfortunately our opinions seem to be going in different directions. I loved Flagstaff and Port Angeles, two smaller sized mountain towns with national parks nearby, tons of outdoor activities, and adorable little downtown areas. Danielle is into larger cities with more culture & diversity and really liked Tacoma. I'm hoping that Asheville is going to be a good combination of the two.

Olympic Peninsula

These are just a few of the pictures from some of our weekend adventures around the Peninsula.

Hoh Rain Forest

Hoh Rain Forest

Hoh Rain Forest-Hall of Mosses

Cape Flattery


I can't even believe how beautiful this cove was.


Lighthouse in Port Townsend

Whidbey Island



Deception Pass

Portland

We wanted to visit Portland sometime during our stay in the NW. Danielle had never been and the last time I was there was in 2004. I didn't love Portland at the time...I had just just moved to San Francisco and everywhere else paled in comparison to my beloved city by the bay. In my more recent quest to find a place to settle, Portland had been creeping its way up my list of possible cities. We decided to go during pride weekend and kill two birds with one stone.

On our first venture into downtown, I was verbally assaulted by a drunk outside of a bar at 10:30 am. Not off to a good start...but the rest of the weekend went smoothly and I think that I would really love it there, if not for the rain. I just can't get past the gloomy gray skies. We did enjoy our trip though and crammed a lot into one weekend: meatless chicken, waterfalls, pride events, Chris Pureka & Andrea Gibson on the same stage back to back, rose gardens, and a lot of walking around to discover neighborhoods.

Gorge on the way to Multnomah Falls


Multnomah Falls...beautiful

Rose Garden


View from the waterside in downtown Portland