Dust in the wind

This weekend we moved to Corvallis, OR Home of the Oregon State Beavers.  The move was not quite as stressful as the move across the country.  We still had the tetras game of fitting all our boxes, suitcases, bags, and clothes on hangers somewhere between the two cars.  I had multiple moments of feeling that it wasn't all going to fit but somehow we again managed to make it work.  Before we left town we actually met the new travelers taking our positions.  For the first time in three months we actually had another couple to hang out with.  We got to have dinner parties, meet out for drinks, and even go dancing.  Probably shouldn't have stayed out dancing the night before we moved but that's ok.  One of the travelers told us she had only packed 3 bags.  That's when I decided I had way too much stuff!

As we left the dusty desert lands of the east we drove into green lands of trees, flowers, and mountains.  We rented a small basement apartment close to downtown Corvallis. Its a perfect fit with the exception of storage and closet space. We have one small closet in which we have crammed full of clothes and boxes.  We did fill two bags of clothes to give away and yet another big box which we plan to mail back.

Now that we are organized and settled we are excited to begin exploring our new town and Western Oregon.  Already we fill this is a good fit for us.  Corvallis has the highest number of bicycle commuters in the USA with a large number of bike friendly roads.  It has multiple ethnic restaurants including sushi, Indian, and Mediterranean all of which we missed in Pendleton.  Just walking two blocks down the street we saw more culture and activity than we had seen in all of 3 months living in the wild west of Eastern Oregon.  It was almost a bit of culture shock.  Corvallis is a very green city with its cyclists, parks, free public transportation (bus), and they recently passed a law enforcing stores to carry only paper bags in which the consumer can purchase for five cents a bag or bring their own.

So far the weather has been up and down for the 3 days we have been here. It will be raining and hailing one minute and then sunny the next.  The grocery store has a covered walkway from the parking lot to the store which makes it nice.  We've heard the rainy season is ending so stay tuned for more adventures to come!