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Always Packed for Adventure!

It's the destination and the journey.

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Goodbye Portland

Life is always busy, but the last few weeks have been overwhelming.

Starting in June, we had over two months of house guests: my step-kids visited from Sweden for six weeks, and on the morning that they left, my mother-in-law arrived from England. She stayed for three weeks and a few days after she left, we had friends visit from California with their adorable pug, Jewels. All of this was happening and we had to pack up our apartment for our move back to California, which happened just a few days after our friends left.

The summer was fun, exciting, but also mega-stressful, which is why I had to take a break from blogging. Not only have I not been writing, but I've also not been reading very much either. I'm back with both and feeling like life is finally returning to its normal state of affairs.

Our year of living in Portland was a wild ride. When we moved to Portland, it wasn't a temporary situation. We didn't know that we would have the opportunity to return to California, although we kept our home in Big Bear Lake. Our move to Portland was somewhat sudden and we had to pick an apartment sight-unseen. After reading tons of Yelp reviews, we went with a modern apartment tower in the Cultural District. Our apartment was located right across the street from the Portland Art Museum and the Oregon Historical Society. The apartment entrance was right on the South Park Blocks and we were a block away from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Quickly, we found our local bar to be Higgins, which makes the best Irish Coffees.

Portland living was a difficult transition. Within a week of moving in, ground broke on a major hotel project right across the street. Our view became a construction pit and a large crane. The noise was a nuisance at first; I even called the police department twice, but soon it just became part of the ambiance. Portland is undergoing many changes right now and a major housing crisis is fueling construction projects all over the city. If you don't have a crane near you, you don't live in Portland!

Speaking of noise and the housing crisis, the park near our apartment is where many homeless people camped. Even though we lived on the eighteenth floor, we could often hear yelling and fights. Many of the people openly used drugs and left needles in the park, which was also near a day care center. It was eye-opening and frightening. Even though we lived in a fabulous, over-priced apartment, our direct neighborhood was quite dangerous. I felt sad and depressed every time I walked out of our apartment. It was a mix of feeling grateful for all that I have and feeling helpless towards all of the misfortune around me. It was overwhelming. I felt both scared and uncertain towards many of the people camping in our neighborhood, which in turn made me feel guilty for those feelings. I think the rampant drug problem was at the heart of my nervousness. More than once, I saw people injecting and twice I saw toddlers being removed by the police from parents who had passed out. I was also chased down our block by a woman babbling nonsense in a threatening manner. 

Our neighborhood was the directly affected by the Portland protests. The police with their riot gear used our street as a staging area. All of the vandalism and fires were in our area. Our building even went on lock down more than once. I firmly support the right to protest and express your opinion, but I also support the police in keeping our community safe. It was scary to be living in the middle of all of this. 

I thought living in the cultural district would be an amazing opportunity to see live events, perhaps even get a season theater subscription. I was shocked to discover how expensive it is to go to live events in Portland. It was easily double the price of similar events in Los Angeles. Even though we lived in such close proximity to the theaters, we didn't see much. We did join the Oregon Zoo and The Portland Art Museum. I also loved the local Regal movie theater, which was just a few blocks from our apartment and ran mostly artsy/foreign films. Of course, I can't discount Powell's Books, where I went to a few signings to meet some of my favorite authors. We also had the Wordstock Literary Festival take place in the blocks around our apartment. This was an amazing literary festival and tickets were dirt cheap. If you're a book lover, it's worth the trip to Portland. 

Fall/Winter/Early Spring were rainy and bleak, but summer was indeed, as promised, glorious. I will miss summer in Portland and going to places like The Oaks Park, a smallish family run theme park with an awesome roller rink. I will miss my movie theater and I will miss grocery shopping at Fred Meyer. There are a few restaurants that I will miss, including the best six- dollar burrito cart and Ruby Jewel ice cream. I will miss our city views and our crane. Mostly though, I'll miss the friends that we made. Anywhere you live or visit, it's always about the people you meet. Always.

Here are some pictures of our apartment from our final morning.

 

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We sold most of our furniture, but still had enough stuff to completely fill a trailer and the bed of our truck.

The biggest moving stress was the cats. Like many cats, ours do not travel well. Last year, we drove them from Big Bear Lake to Portland without stopping. This time, we had the trailer and we were getting a late start because a moving company was packing our trailer for us. With these slow-downs factored in, we decided it would be prudent to break our trip in half.

Finding a hotel that accepts cats is not easy. I found a few hotels that would allow one cat per room, but since we only needed one room, we kept looking. La Quinta Inn turned out to be a good fit. Cat ladies of the world take note - La Quinta Inn allows cats and doesn't list a limit. I don't think I'd rush to stay at a La Quinta Inn if we didn't have the cats, but for one night, the accommodations perfectly suited our needs. Plus, with the cat restrictions, we couldn't afford to be picky.

We still had these amazing pink pills that a vet in Big Bear had given us the previous year. Just a quarter of a tiny pill and the cats were knocked out for about ten hours. The meowing was minimal and they didn't seem too stressed. Giving them the pills was a battle. They both were very sneaky about acting like they had swallowed the pill and then spitting it out when they didn't think I was looking. However, the telling sign that the drug had hit their system is that their eyes look funny and they wouldn't be able to pass a field sobriety test. 

Here are the cats pre-drugs, grumpy that their furniture has been sold. A comfy couch used to be in this spot.

And here is Slinky, five minutes after being drugged.

The drive was over a thousand miles and took nineteen hours. We saw beautiful countryside, Mount Shasta, the Rogue River, a Swedish town in CA, part of Route 66, Desert...

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And one very disgusting gas station toilet with odd holes in the walls and instructions to step on floor buttons that were nonexistent.

Here's the record of our drive.

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When we arrived home in Big Bear Lake, we were greeted by a surprise left at our door from our friends Valerie and Bryan. It was so unexpected and wonderful. Thank you Val and Bryan for the warm welcome home!

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tags: Living in Portland, Downtown Portland Oregon, Moving with Cats, Traveling with Cats, Tips for Moving with Cats, Staying in a Hotel with Cats, La Quinta Inn for Pets, Best Hotel Chains for Pet La Quinta Inn, Moving to Big Bear Lake, Higgins Restaurant Portland, South Park Blocks Portland, Portland Protests 2016, Portland Protests 2017, The Oaks Park Portland, Fred Meyer Best Grocery Store, Construction in Downtown Portland, Cultural District Downtown Portland, Summer in Portland, Homelessness in Portland, Drug Addiction in Portland, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Art Museum, Oregon Zoo, Ruby Jewel Ice Cream, Portland Housing Crisis, Route 66, Rouge River, Kingsburg California, Swedish Town in California, Worst Gas Station Bathroom Photo
categories: Visit, Life, Sleep
Monday 09.04.17
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

2016 Wrap-up

It's that time again, to look back and take stock of all that has happened in the year. I know that 2016 has been rough for a lot of people, with the crazy election and such, but this has personally been an exceptionally hard year for the Germain family. It's been a year of major life changes, definitely one of the most transformative years of my life.

The year started in an amazing way, Dan and I drank champagne and watched fireworks from our hotel in Orlando during our eight day vacation. Most of our vacations include family, so it was special to have a romantic getaway. The weather was sunny and perfect. Plus, we purchased Disney World annual passes, so that we could have a cost-effective way to return to Orlando with the kids in the summer. We had to test-out the rides first, right?

In January, we learned that Dan's division at work was being dissolved at the end of April. The bad part was the stress and worry that comes with losing a job. However, we had several months to prepare, and he was given an excellent severance package. The unknown is always scary and I'll admit that the first half of the year was bumpy, but ultimately, this loss sent us on a new and better path.

I spent the winter finishing my UCLA Extension Fiction Writing Certificate Program, which I completed a year ahead of schedule and with honors. I'm now finishing my manuscript, which is due at the end of this winter for an instructor review, an incredibly perk for completing the certificate program. The pressure is officially on.

In April, we spent two weeks at the MGM Grand Signature Hotel in Las Vegas, so that Dan could run his final trade show for his former company. We even drove all of the equipment out to the show, which involved hanging out with truckers, and seeing the "behind the scenes" action at the convention center. While Dan was working, I was busy in our hotel room, setting up our new home-based travel agency, Easy as Pie Travel, LLC.. Of course, I also took daily trips down to the pool for some sun bathing and relaxation. Working in Vegas is tough.

In May, we realized that running two houses was draining resources rapidly, and that the best course of action would be to sell my childhood home in Glendale. This was HUGE for me. It was not an easily made decision. We began the process of moving our stuff up to our Big Bear Lake house, which was still ( and is still), under construction. Our hope was to have it finished for Zoe and Felix's summer visit, and although it was livable, it was not completely done, which was a huge disappointment. We moved most of the stuff ourselves, renting small Uhaul trucks and slowly taking up all of our belongings over several trips. I will always use a moving company for future moves. Lesson learned.

Exhausted and needing a vacation, we used my travel agency discounts, and booked a last minute Alaskan Cruise on Holland America's MS Amsterdam. It departed from Seattle, which was a city I had never visited. We spent a day and half exploring before our cruise, visiting the Space Needle, Pikes Place Market, and the Chihuly Gallery. The cruise was amazing, something that everyone should have on their bucket list. We saw the Hubbard Glacier up-close ( the sounds of cracking ice were unbelievable), we flew in a seaplane, saw wild Bald Eagles soaring, and went dog sledding. We also visited the Canadian island of Victoria, BC. Everyone should see Alaska, it was gorgeous.

Our cruise was extremely sad and unforgettable for another reason; when we arrived in our first port of Juneau, we learned that Dan's father, Dave, had cancer and his time was short. We were told not to abandon our cruise, but we spent the entire trip worrying. It was impossible to not worry or feel sad.

The day after we returned home from Alaska, we were on a flight to England. I'm grateful that we were able to speak with Dave when he was still coherent, and to be with him at the hospital when he passed. I'm also extremely grateful for the years and vacations that I was able to spend getting to know my father-in-law. I never really knew my own dad, so this made my relationship with Dave even more meaningful. I met him shortly after Dan and I started dating, and I had a crash-course in getting to know my future father-in-law, when I spent an entire day with him alone at Disneyland. We had so much fun. I will always remember his kindness, his great advice, and his sense of adventure. He had the best stories and was an excellent "grump." We spent a few weeks in England, spending time with family and helping make arrangements. Although our reason for the trip was terrible, we were able to enjoy the family time. We finally got to see my brother-in-law play in his band Beatlejuice (Beatles covers, they're really good!) and we visited the Bombay Sapphire Gin Factory with friends. 

This sudden trip to England, sent our lives on a new path. It meant that Dan had to postpone a job interview, but while in England, Steve (my brother-in-law), gave Dan a lead on a position with Amazon, based out of Portland. When we returned home, he followed up, and soon was flown to Oregon for an interview. As you probably already know, he got the job, and our lives were about to be kicked into overdrive.

We had already booked our summer holiday with the kids, so Dan agreed to start work a few days after their vacation ended, at the end of August. We had to clear out the Glendale house and prep it to be sold, find a place to live in Portland ( which we did entirely online), and we had to get Big Bear ready for the kids. Our plate was overflowing.

In mid-July, Dan flew to Sweden to pick up Zoe and Felix. This was the first time we were spending our summer vacation with them in America, and we had them for an entire month. We spent a few days in Los Angeles and then nearly a week in Big Bear. The big surprise, was we took them to Orlando for two weeks to experience Disney World and Kennedy Space Center. It was cheaper to fly out of Las Vegas ( That's my travel agent expertise saving us money), so we spent two nights at the Luxor on either end of the trip. Yes, we were "Those people", who take kids to Vegas, but really it was the perfect place for a family vacation. We were easily able to avoid anything inappropriate. We rented a cabana at the Luxor and used the pool all day. In the evenings, we saw shows ( Beatles Love and The Blue Man Group), plus we introduced the kids to our favorite Vegas spot, The Pinball Hall of Fame. It was an amazing summer holiday. I have no idea how we will top it in 2017.

We packed a few suitcases and took the last flight to Portland on the evening of August 20th. The next morning, we picked up the keys to our downtown apartment, which we had picked sight unseen. It's worked out, but I don't recommend it. We've spent the last few months having "renters-remorse", as we see all of the other buildings that we could have picked. It's not terrible though, we are right across from the Portland Art Museum, and near all of the major theaters. It was easier to buy new furniture and house goods, so a majority of our things are still in our Big Bear house. The cats were surprisingly okay with the fifteen hour drive, that we made in early September. They were heavily drugged.

This fall has been a blur of getting settled into our new Portland life. Dan is incredibly busy with his new job and I continue to work on my manuscript. The weather is cold and grey, but we have purchased a S.A.D. Lamp ( it works) and I'm loving my new cold weather wardrobe. My ear muffs are so cute, that I even wear them around our apartment. We sold our Glendale house in November, a move made easier because a close friend was our realtor, and the couple that purchased my house, seemed really nice. Plus, they have a cat named Penny, which is probably the biggest sign that the universe has ever sent to me. I know my mom is smiling.

A few other non-travel related highlights: I went to two concerts, Josh Ritter at the Fonda, and the anniversary tour of Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twin's Rabbit Fur Coat album, which was at an gorgeous cathedral in Los Angeles. With the setting and the music, it felt like a religious experience. We attended an awards gala honoring James Cameron, sitting at a table adjacent to Cameron, just a few feet away. Speaking of celebrities, I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Alexander McCall Smith at Powell's Books. I attended my first writer's conference; AWP in Los Angeles, where I packed in two days of non-stop panel discussions. At AWP, I met more authors, such as Cheryl Strayed and Bret Easton Ellis. AWP was one of my best weekends of the year. In Portland, I went to the Wordstock Literary Festival and saw, Karen Russell, Laurie Notaro, Richard Russo, and Carrie Brownstein. This very lit heavy year, ended with me having read sixty-eight books. 

2016 brought tremendous change. I'm hoping to spend 2017 slowing things down a bit, and focusing on getting to know our new city, building Easy as Pie Travel, and polishing my manuscript. But first, it's off to England for Christmas and New Years. Let's start the year off right, by spending it with family. 

 

tags: 2016 Wrap Up, What I Did in 2016, 2016 Year in Review, New Job in 2016, Major Life Changes in 2016, Glass Half Full Type of Person, 2016 Difficult Year, New Years Eve in Orlando, Winter Holiday in Florida, Job Loss in 2016, Scared of Life Changes, UCLA Extension Fiction Writers Program, MGM Grand Signature Hotel Las Vegas, Las Vegas Convention Center, Convention Center Truckers, Easy as Pie Travel LLC, Home Based Travel Agency, Travel Agent Deals, Where Travel Agents Vacation, Selling Childhood Home, Selling Childhood Home in Glendale, Big Bear Lake House, Our Big Bear Lake House, Moving to Big Bear Lake, Summer Vacation Orlando 2016, Moving Yourself, Holland America Alaska Cuises, Cruises to Alaska, MS Amsterdam Cruise to Alaska, Seaplane in Alaska, Dog Sledding in Alaska, Bald Eagles in Alaska, Chihuly Gallery Seattle, Our First Trip to Seattle, Pikes Place Market Seattle, Seattle Space Needle, Alaskan Cruise Shore Excursions, Visiting Victoria British Columbia, Canadian Islands, Glaciers in Alaska, The Sounds a Glacier Makes, The Sound of Cracking Ice, Missing my Father-in-Law, Deaths in 2016, Beatles Cover Band Beatlejuice, Bombay Sapphire Factory England, Moving to Portland Oregon, Near Portland Museum of Art, Moving Cats to Another State, How to do Road Trips with Cats, Tips for Moving Cats, Cat Named Penny, Cabana Rentals at Luxor, Taking Kids to Vegas, Those People who Take Kids to Las Vegas, Family Vacations to Las Vegas, Blue Man Group Las Vegas, Beatles Love Las Vegas, Pinball Hall of Fame Las Vegas, Getting Used to the Weather in Portland Oregon, Do SAD Lamps Work, SAD Lamps for Portland Oregon, Josh Ritter at the Fonda 2016, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins Rabbit Fur Coat Anniversary Tour 2016, Gala Honoring James Cameron, Alexander McCall Smith at Powell's Books 2016, Cheryl Strayed AWP 2016, Bret Easton Ellis AWP 2016, Karen Russell Wordstock 2016, Richard Russo Wordstock 2016, Carrie Brownstein Wordstock 2016, Laurie Notaro Wordstock 2016
categories: Life, Read, Visit
Thursday 12.29.16
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

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