The Civil War

hanging out with Colby

Five weeks ago today we left Virginia to start our road trip. We got to Oregon on January 21st and today marks one month that we have been living in Cottage Grove.  Crazy! Mom and Dad recently sent Katy and myself a care package (its like they think I am back overseas, only really I'm just on the opposite side of the country) with some goodies and a letter. Here is an excerpt from that letter that I thought should find its way to the blog...

"It's very strange having you the whole way across th country, but we're glad you get to have this experience...just don't forget where your home is! I read something the other day that made me think of you two..."the world is a book and those who do not travel it read only a page." So read and enjoy!"

This week we got some typical Oregon weather....rain...and lots of it! Not hard rain, just a steady drizzle intermixed with periods of sunshine with the rain still falling. We woke up several mornings with a light dusting of snow, and then on Friday we got some heavy snow during the day...but after it laid down close to an inch it was gone within the hour as the snow switched back over to rain.

The Grass Roots Garden

Thursday night we went into town  to the Axe and Fiddle to listen to some music and have a drink. It was a good time and a place we'll definitely go back to. Saturday we took the dogs running in the morning and spent the rest of the day in Eugene. We went to the "Civil War" basketball game between Oregon and Oregon State at Oregon's new stadium, the Matthew Knight Arena. After the game we went to the Wandering Goat to grab some coffee and then drove over to The Grass Roots Garden that I have started to volunteer at. I go up to this community garden every Tuesday and Thursday and work from 9am-3pm. There are three of these gardens in Eugene and last year they harvested over 140,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce for Food for Lane County, a non-profit food bank that serves Eugene and the surrounding area. Its an amazing organization and is run by wonderful people and I feel very fortunate to have found this opportunity. After visiting the garden we did some shopping and grabbed dinner at Steelhead Microbrewery.

A little sampling

We spent the morning on Sunday being lazy and then went up to Eugene that afternoon to meet up with my good friend from high school, Laura Hutchinson. Laura is based in Coos Bay with the Coast Guard. She is the Executive Officer of a boat with her and fifteen other guys on board...she's a brave woman! We met her and three of her friends, all pilots from the same base, at Nankasi Brewing Company to have a drink and then we went to a Mediterranean restaurant downtown for dinner. It was a great time and wonderful to see Laura and catch up.

Now on to our second month here in Oregon!