Images

Portland, Oregon!

I finally figured out how to post multiple photos!! The time involved to create this mini photo post was out of proportion to the simplicity of the presentation. Truly frustrating.

Crossing the Burnside bridge, this sign welcomes you to the West side of Portland.
Crossing the Burnside bridge, this sign welcomes you to the West side of Portland.

 

This human-sized "nest" looked recently installed. It was on the northeast side of the Burnside Bridge.
This human-sized “nest” looked recently installed. It was on the northeast side of the Burnside Bridge.

 

I discovered I know someone else in Portland! For those who grew up with the Fanta family, Carol Fanta is out here and saw my Facebook post from Jupiter Hotel. She picked me up last night and took me to a wonderful little restaurant called “Mother’s” in downtown Portland. The premise behind the restaurant’s name is very cool… every month the restaurant features a page of recipes from a different mother! The restaurant has a fine dining air to it with “crystal ” chandeliers throughout and white table cloths but you quickly sense the relaxed vibe. I would recommend it to anyone.

 

The MAX train was an inexpensive $2.50 from the airport to downtown. The ticket is good for 2 hrs and includes riding the bus.
The MAX train was an inexpensive $2.50 from the airport to downtown. The ticket is good for 2 hrs and includes riding the bus.

I don’t know why WordPress is so temperamental on an iPad, but even something simple like placing my cursor in a sentence to edit is proving to be a challenge. For the life of me, I can’t seem to put any text below the last photo to wrap up this post.  So I will end this cobbled mess for now and hope successive posts will flow smoothly!

If I didn't know better I would have thought this was in Miami,
If I didn’t know better I would have thought this was in Miami!

Freaking Out & Shifting Dimensions: Subtropical to Pacific Northwest

Freaking Out & Shifting Dimensions: Subtropical to Pacific Northwest

My day started early, the alarm sounding at 3:30 AM. The Super Shuttle was slotted for 6:00 AM but I was determined to be ready at 5:30 since they had a 15 minute leeway pick up window. By 5:35AM my bags were packed and at the door. I was wrapping up last minute things like taking out the garbage and unplugging the computer modem when the call came from the guard house. Sh*t! They’re early! I grabbed my bags and the garbage and ran from my apartment crossing my fingers in hopes I wasn’t forgetting anything.

We rolled down Biscayne Boulevard toward the highway that would take us west toward the airport. Climbing the on-ramp, my stomach knotted up with the realization that everything I had printed out… that morning’s plane tickets, hotel and flight schedules, bus tickets, information for the Philippines, had all been forgotten on my desk at the apartment. I mentally assessed. Thank goodness I’m anal about organizing my email. I have folders for everything… airlines, hotels, communication with hotels I’ve never even stayed at… I even duplicated emails where necessary so I could have a folder dedicated to this trip (not creatively titled: “2014 Trip”). Whew! I think I can find anything I need so long as I have internet!

Anyone have seat preferences when flying? I prefer window seats. But I now choose aisle seats for any flights over 3 hours. I can’t stand feeling captive to the people in the aisle seats when I have to go to the bathroom. International flights where people have taken sleeping pills are the worst. I’ll take the aisle, thanks. (P.S. This photo: I got a rare window seat… thankfully all women in the row. Women always go to the bathroom at some point).

A morning of jangled nerves has gently morphed in to my return to a favorite city of wisteria, coffee houses, brewpubs and beach-to-mountain possibilities. I promise to figure out how to post more than one photo tomorrow!

Jet Set Learning Curve 2014: Where’s Jody Now?

Jet Set Learning Curve 2014: Where's Jody Now?

Has it been a year already since you followed me around Bali? Well, fasten your seat belt on your favorite surfing chair – – this year’s trip launches tomorrow!

My learning curve this year includes a new way of traveling with technology. This first post is coming to you from my new iPad and it isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. As a 20 year veteran using the Macintosh computer, confusion has replaced confidence. I don’t know exactly where to locate information, how to make things happen the way I want them to, and I’m crossing my fingers that I will manage to access all the information I will need while traveling. It’s disconcerting, or exciting, and I will opt to remind myself of the latter as often as possible!

Departing from MIA (Miami), I expect to land on Jupiter by mid-afternoon. Actually, I will be landing in Portland but staying in Jupiter Hotel, a qualified “Jody” hotel based on reviews, their self-described boutique-ness and the Buddha image painted on the wall in one of their room photos. I hope to meet up with a friend from college, absorb some of the Portland vibe, and I will surely hang out in a few coffee shops while pecking away at my iPad informing all of you about my travels.

Then it is on to Port Townsend, WA via BoltBus and Budget rentals. An acquaintance from Key West, FL has found herself relocated to the exact opposite corner of the country. I gave her little room to refuse me so she has generously opened her home for a couple of nights. I hope to see the shop where she is learning sail making ( a shout-out to her own blog: http://www.sailmakersapprentice.squarespace.com) as well as commune with Mother Nature’s brilliant Olympic National Forest.

My final stop on the North American continent is Vancouver, BC Canada. I have arranged a stay with a graphic designer who offers her home from the 26th floor in a downtown high rise through AirB&B.com. I plan to rent a bike and take in whatever I can reach while perched on 2 wheels.

Finally , I will make my first leap to a new country: Manila, Philippines! Stay tuned.