miller's crossing

It's been raining for days. Honest, soggy, Portland rain. But today, the sun came out. And Mt. Tabor Park was brimming with activity. I've been working on a story on the park and learning the history of my neighborhood. It's fascinating stuff. Mt. Tabor's Reservoir 1 was built in 1894 to hold the city's drinking water from the Bull Run watershed and is still in operation today. As part of an MLK service day, students from Portland colleges were picking up trash around the park and the reservoirs. Check out the pictures from today's adventures on Mt. Tabor.

I just got this clock. It was my great aunt's.

I loved all the many people parading Cannon Beach over Thanksgiving weekend. I know it's ridiculous to ask, but what if all our public commons were as beautiful and healthy?

Added more photos from the coast to Flickr.

I can see the ocean from our room's window. The semester's end rolls towards me like big surf, but Thanksgiving provided an excuse to spend a couple of days on the coast.

Today, I'm working on a revision of a long essay for class and the words come like an ebb tide. They recede. The new interfere with the old. Confusing cross currents erode the word count. High turbidity surrounds craggy rocks. Still, I'm grateful to be out here. And I trust the tide will turn and the words will flow, carrying in interesting pieces of driftwood, shell fragments, and withering jellyfish.

photo: will m

The weather was great last weekend on the coast. The ocean's gentle breezes swept through the muck of my brain, body and spirit. The sand polished my feet and smile. The give and take of tides lulled me out of the high-stress overdrive that characterized my second week of full-time school. I took a deep breath and looked out as far as my eyes could carry me towards the horizon.

Summer's sweetness gets denser as we draw closer to the equinox. Grapes become raisins. Vacation idle flows into reading assignments. Bright hot sun modulates to piercing golden rays. Chewier. More pungent. I love it.

Organic farm tour today. Pictures at Flickr.

Vacation. The Pacific NW Vacation Odyssey, to be specific. Family style. Fresh pix.

I've been playing hooky. Added more photos to Flickr.

I've been taking the train to Seattle once a month for the past year. The ride is great--lovely view, no wifi, not many distractions. I credit the train ride for kick starting last summer's novel reading binge. Sometimes the train runs late. Sometimes it's crowded. But it still is the best way go.

The tide is turning. I can feel it. There is another change getting ready to manifest. I'll float a little longer, though. Timing is its own thing.

In the meantime, I had a great vacation last week in one of my favorite places. Photos here.