Jan.9.2009 at 2:59 am | joshua
…west coast, baby // day one
so much to take in today, there’s no other way to do this than the dreaded mind-dump…
- thanks to my dad for braving the awful weather at 3:30am this morning to get me up to detroit aiport.
- thanks to both of my parents for helping to get me here.
- thanks to my wife for letting me come and supporting me.
- thanks to my boss (brandon) for letting me have the time off
- thanks to brent and tam for letting me crash at their hous
now that’s out of the way…
- denver is beautiful.
- coming into portland however, you truly get a sense that god took his time with this portion of the country.
- i was immediately struck while flying above portland with just how green and mountainous the landscape was. there are evergreen’s everywhere.
- and honestly, not everything here may even be a mountain for all i know. ohio is flatter than a pancake, so everything here looks like a mountain to me.
- wish my rental car situation would have gone down another way, but if that’s the worst thing that happens while i’m on this trip, then i count it a victory.
- i did get a pretty pimp ride. a black 2008 dodge caliber. i forgot how much i loved the look of a black car.
- was happily surprised with a phone call from evan as i was leaving the airport. evan is brent’s brother (brent is who i’m staying with), and was up in portland (he’s a music producer) working and wanted to get some promo shots for his website(s). surprise photoshoot within an hour of landing. score.
- meeting evan at the studio he was working in was fun. i really dig the vibe music studios seem to have. kind of makes me wish i was a musician.
- went on a short no-directions detour after the shoot and drove along the columbia river for a while. this land is truly beautiful, and no words i use will be able to describe it fully.
- headed to multnomath falls, took a few pictures, and then the heavens opened up and poured rain. oh well.
- i’ve never been somewhere that so fully embodies the meaning of “scattered showers.” my entire four hour drive from portland to medford was “rain for five minutes, sunny for five minutes, rain for five minutes, sunny for five minutes… rinse, repeat.”
- had jack in the box for the first time. wasn’t that impressed, but it hit the spot at the time (it was the first thing, at 6pm body-time, i had ate all day)
- frontier airlines… i love you. two amazing flights, and my butt never hit a chair waiting for layover inbetween. walked off one plane and right onto another. epic win. and thanks for the free television viewing. and the great seats. and the surprisingly decent coffee. and the funny flight attendents. and for being you. i love you.
- pulling up to brent and tam’s house, i expected to feel a little more nervous, and awkward. but honest to goodness it didn’t at all. i mean, i’ve never met these people in “real” life. we’ve probably only heard each others voices for a grand total of ten minutes, yet here i am living with them for six nights. you can’t tell me internet relationships aren’t real.
- i’m digging the hodge family. great people. brent, tam and i had some great conversation about the church, music, worship, culture and random other things. their kids crack me up.
- looking forward to knocking over a costco this weekend and getting brent a new hdtv. (i kid. sorta.)
- looking forward to spending some time relaxing, and doing what i love.
- i have already done one shoot, have two more for sure, one “maybe,” and one more almost-positive left. will place one more ad on craigslist tomorrow and see what happens.
- planning on visiting some redwoods on monday it looks like.
- sunday evening tam is making what sounds like an amazing dinner that i’m already looking forward too.
- i meet mandy tomorrow. she best recognize my karate skillz.
- the roads here (highways specifically) are loud. maybe it’s just my car, but it’s almost deafening the amount of road noise i hear while going 65.
- got into medford when it was dark out. looking forward to waking up in the morning and looking around at my surroundings.
- goodnight.
Dude. It is such a pleasure to have you here.
And yes. The roads here are really loud. They ate beat to snot from all the truck travel. And most sections are concrete. Drives me nuts!
Karate? Whatever. Like I warned you – I can kill a man with one hand…
See ya in ten hours!!!
I’m so glad to hear that you are having such a fab experience in what I like to think of as my little corner of the world…(okay, I know a lot of people feel that way… and most of them live there. lol!) I love Multnomah Falls and can’t wait to see the photos! Keep enjoying! :)
much love to frontier from us as well. we took them to LA through denver and were very pleased!
glad you’re having fun shuapants!!! ohio misses you! so much they’re throwing a huge snowstorm tantrum tonight :(
brent – i finally put in my shure earphones on the way down here. safest thing in the world? not so much… but oh so calming.
mandy – can’t wait! be safe!
tallie – it seems everyone from around these parts love it ;-)
sheryl – sorry to hear that! it’s going to be fifty-ish and sunny the whole time i’m here.
dont pee on my carpet.
kthx.
better tell everyone there to be nice to you. i’d hate to have to come all the way out there to defend you, but i would if i have to.
Josh, one of the cool things about Oregon is that the terrain is so diverse. You’re in some beautiful country to be sure. Central Oregon, Upper Columbia high desert, Painted Hills further south…lots of places to take in a lot of different kinds of beauty.
Glad you’re enjoying your stay here. As luck would have it, I’m going to be in pdx Mon. evening until Wed. Not sure how that works in with your trip home, but if it works out, I’m buying lunch.