The Pros and Cons of Oregon

As some of you know, Isaac and I went to Oregon for about 10 days to visit family and friends. Overall, we very much enjoyed our stay. Here is a list of my favorite and least favorite things about Oregon:

Cons:

• The way they handled road construction. Many long stretches of one lane only traffic (instead of splitting it into a couple of one lane only areas) including a "need" for escort vehicles.
• Not being able to pump your own gas (but we went to several restaurants where we were expected to bus our own tables?)
• The number of spiders! To my fortune, they were not bigger than the spiders here, just much more abundant.
• Aside from the bookstore, food, and coffee, Portland. Yes, I didn't much care for Portland. I am sorry to those that will be disappointed by this. Here it is broken down:
• Confusing roads and many one way streets for NO ease of access anywhere.
• Way too many homeless people approaching us. And some of them were very persistent.
• Generally overwhelming.

Pros:

• The fairy-tale scenery.
• Including the flowers. Hydrangeas grew like mad! 

•  Eugene. Loved it there! I could live in Eugene.
• The beaches. This is the view from our room in Newport. 

 

• The lighthouses! Here are some pictures from our visit to the Newport lighthouse, which excited me greatly.

• Signs like this:

• The food. Amazing food everywhere we went, especially in Eugene. Granary, Morning Glory, Cafe Yumm, etc.
• The coffee--even the plain old brewed coffee was great. I drank more of that than anything else.

• Powell's Books in Portland! Enormous, wonderful bookstore!
• Voodoo Doughnuts. Certainly an experience! The double-bubble gum doughnut actually tasted like bubble gum! Weirdly delicious. And I had one with chocolate icing, oreo bits, and peanut butter drizzle. And there must have been PB in the dough, as well. Awesome.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the marvelous, magical..."

~Cats "Mr. Mistoffelees

It is past time for me to introduce my niece. Yes, I am an aunt! Isaac's lovely sister, Liz, had a little girl on June 8th. Her name is Wren Matilda!

Isn't she adorable? Being an aunt is definitely fun! I think I get all of the fun parts and I can hand Wren back to mom and dad if she gets too fussy.

For those of you who don't know me as well, my experience with children has been limited and awkward. Despite occasional lessons from my friend, Julia (mother of two), I don't know how to interact with them. And I have never changed a diaper (though I am sure that will change in the near future). While I dislike many children and feel out of place with the rest, Wren can stay. I love her already. Maybe it's because she is family, but I like her so much better than other kids and babies. I feel much more comfortable with her than I ever have with other children (though that doesn't say much since I still don't know what I am doing). I also attribute that to her being family. I know and am friends with Liz and Peter, and I know the family so I know the boundaries and what to expect.

Babies sure change the dynamics of a family. Everyone is so excited about a new baby (but, let's be honest, who wouldn't be excited about this cutie?) and everyone wants to be around. I think this is a good thing. For one, it's nice to have people around to help the new parents. For another, I think establishing strong family ties early on is important. Regardless of the reasons, Isaac and I have been over there an awful lot and so have other family members and friends.

Anyway, I am infinitely proud to be an aunt (Auntie Mara? Aunt Samara? I guess Wren will decide that one day). Liz and Peter have been amazing parents! It has been almost as fun to watch them grow as parents and people as it has been to hold Wren. You will probably see more about her in the future! I am so excited!

Our Drive to Oregon, Summed Up

Quotes from Isaac to sum up our journey:

• Wyoming "cities": "Looks like a big truck stop."
• Wyoming, specifically western side: "You can't even graze cows out here because the only plants that grow are sticky and dry and even those are half-dead."
• Utah: "There was almost an immediate improvement!"
• Nevada: "Nevada, known for jails, casinos, road construction, and closed rest stops."
• Oregon: "It's green!"