Flamingo on a Stick

The river in Bend In our travels we have come across different places that we have enjoyed and a few we even thought we could live in. Bend is probably at the top of our list. This was our second visit here and a short one but we get the same feeling we did last time we visited. It is a beautiful town with lots of tings to do and just a feel we love. Of course the number of microbreweries here (one person told us the current number is almost 30) doesn't hurt either. We have some RV friends who have settled here and we got together with them. They so fell in love with this area that they settled back down to a sticks and bricks house with a small travel trailer for camping adventures. The reasons they stayed are the reasons we could see ourselves here. A vibrant community with outdoor life as a way of life here. Plenty of trails, hiking, water sports and if you like to ski, the slopes are not far away. It does have all four seasons but a little milder than the Midwest winters

Portland still in bloom Finally sitting down to post and you would think with all the rain here I would have done this sooner. Portland is weird and they embrace it; as far as I can see, it's a compliment. It's much different than I envisioned. It has that older city vibe to it and I think I was expecting something more modern. I like old, so I can say for the most part I like Portland. There's only one downside: the rain. I feel like we have had way too much rain ever since leaving Iowa and frankly I need more sun. Intellectually I knew it rained here but day after day of rain and gray skies, well that's enough for me. Part of it is we are pushing the season being here in October and I knew that too so I will plan our next visit here better. I don't think I understood until the last few years how much I am affected by the sun and getting outside. I really don't have even have to do much outside if I can just sit in the sun for awhile. So tomorrow we are