Goodbye Portland

By now Portland is miles away and Mark and I are on route to our next tour of duty - Denver, Colorado. We spent a little over ten months in Portland, and while the weather wasn't always sunny and my job here felt at times unbearable, there were many things we really loved about this city and the beauty that surrounds it. So, as a farewell to a place that stretched and changed us both, here's a Top 10 List of what I love most about Portland.

{a Benson Bubbler}

10. The bicycles. I love when people of all ages, shapes, and sizes can be seen riding around the city. Throughout the summer there were routinely 40+ bikes parked outside my office; impressive since I worked in a state office building. Even the bike rack at the airport was filled to the brim the other day. Why drive when you can ride your bike...

{one of my favorite areas of town, near NW 23rd}

9. The MAX. Thanks to an urban growth boundary that protects surrounding farms and forests from urban sprawl, Portland is an extremely compact city and is very manageable without a car. I heart public transportation, especially Portland's.

{Sunset Transit Center - my first and last stop Monday thru Friday}

8. The summer weather {which lasts for about 45 days}. No humidity. Sunny, warm days mixed with cool evenings. It truly can't be beat.

{the Steel Bridge}

7. The green, green parks and greenways. Portland is one of the greenest cities in the country with a ba-zillion parks, including Forest Park, which is HUGE! You can be walking right in the city but feel like you are miles away in the forest. It's just nutty.

{some of Portland's many food carts}

6. The people. Artists, hipsters, musicians, yuppies, hippies, crazies, and the "Plain Jane" people like me...all living harmoniously in one city. People who look "normal" can be crazy; people who look "crazy" tend to be quite normal. Nowhere is the phrase "You can't judge a book by its cover" more true.

{the light bulb shop on Mississippi Avenue - run by a slightly nutty, yet very knowledgeable lady}

5. The Farmers Market, which lasts from March to Christmas. Between June and September I was eating several pints of berries a week, sometimes more. The market is AMAZING, and they are located all over the city. Berries, I will miss you.

{oh sweet yummy}

4. The way of life. I don't feel like this is a culture centered around work or money. It's casual and you are just as valued in Portland if you are a poor artist, a barista, or a doctor. I honestly can't tell how much money anyone makes. People tend to be more interested in simpler things {like wondering if the sun will ever come out again}. Your car, your house, your job...they just aren't the most important thing about you.

{the happiest mailbox}

3. The surroundings. We are an hour's drive from the Pacific Ocean, the Cascades, and Mt Hood. Seattle is three hours north and Vancouver, Canada isn't too much further. There are four beautiful National Parks within a five hour {or less} drive, plus a handful of National Monuments. The second highest waterfall in the country is a stone's throw from Portland and it's nestled within the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. If you become bored with all the green, you can travel three hours east into the desert and the beautiful Cascade Lakes area. And it's cheaper to fly to Hawaii than most other places. Seriously, if there weren't gray skies for ten months of the year, I think everyone might live here. It's gorgeous!

{a typical Fall to Spring evening in Portland}

2. Our church - Solid Rock. I cannot say enough amazing things about our church here. Portland is one of the most un-churched cities in the country, which is completely opposite of my home in the South where church is part of the culture. Unless you have a true passion and love for God, there is no reason to go to church in Portland; no one expects you to ...which is honestly what makes it so amazing! We have never been a part of such a genuine, authentic, and beautiful group of believers. It taught us what a real relationship with Christ is supposed to look like and we are truly better for it.


{West Side campus at Solid Rock. Photo from www.ajesuschurch.org}

1. Our friends. Over the past ten months, we have collected a wonderful group of friends that we'll carry with us. It's funny how your heart never gets too full; even when you feel like you already have the best friends in the world. Your heart just opens up and lets new people in. So thank you Francina and Christoph, Kurt and Erin, Aaron and Tauna, Jamie, Yoonwa, Kaleena, our amazing House Church family, and all the other lovelies out there who are making it hard to leave. You have all been a tremendous blessing to Mark and I. We'll miss you but you have given us a reason to come back, repeatedly, for visits.

{Pam, Erin, me, Francina, and Sue - wonderful ladies from our House Church. Sue came over Monday and packed our kitchen. Thank you Sue!}

Honorable Mention: The candy barrels at Winco, donuts at Donuts Plus, Fred Meyers, Pastini's cheap but yummy Italian food, Tillamook ice cream, ridiculous amounts of moss, and the millions of banana slugs.

Farewell Portland! We'll miss you.