Eugene...finally

So we're here in Eugene, and all is well, except I haven't found a job...yet. I won't harp a lot about it, but the jobn market out here isn't so good. Substitute teaching will begin soon, but there is some red tape that needs to be handled before I begin.

The new Sacred Heart Hospital that Lindsay is employed at is pretty freakin' phenomenal. It was just built, and from what we heard, $10 million dollars was spent to make this place far surpass anyone's expectations of what a nice facility should look like. The place looks like a ski resort, no joke.

Anyway, before we arrived in Eugene, we spent a nice long week down on the southern Oregon coast soaking up some sun (and a little rain), relaxing on the beach, making S'mores over a campfire, and sleeping under the stars.

Check out the link below for the pictures from that week.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/OregonCoast#

Veggies of Unusual Size

Had it not been for work, I don't think Lindsay and would have returned today from Oregon. It was that good.

Last Thursday, Lindsay and I piled our usual assortment of gear, clothes, food, and some odds-and-ends into our Subaru and traveled the 5.5 hours down to Bend, Oregon for a few days of climbing with Drew the Cougar Hunter, laughing, R&R, and some good ol' fashion farm work on Jim and Jessi's farm--Big Star Farm.

Minutes after we arrived on Thursday evening, we helped pick veggies for their CSA members. Friday was spent chasing the shade and climbing some amazing trad routes on the backside of Smith Rock. Saturday, we awoke, climbed at Smith again, then headed back to Jim and Jessi's for the 2nd annual Big Star Farm Harvest Party. Adult beverages were swilled, loud noises were made, Gandalf the Grey made an appearance, veggies of unusual size were raffled off, and a dance party ensued as a pretty heavy East Coast contingent was very present. Sunday--recovery from Saturday's activities, plus a short float down the Deschutes River through Bend. And Monday we drove home, packed up the rest of our home-on-wheels, made dinner, then walked Lindsay to work.

News Flash!! "Only 3 days left in Tacoma, then we're off to Eugene, Oregon for another 3 months!!"

Talk about winter destinations has begun...ideas and rumors are afloat about living in a state that has tried numerous times to secede from the union...hmmm...

Check out the cornucopia of pictures from the long weekend by clicking on the link below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/BigStarFarmHarvestParty2008#

Nurses gone wild!!

Check out what the paparazzi caught on film while two nurses visited Vancouver, BC last weekend!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/VancouverBC#

Tacoma Slideshow

Click the link below for some random pics of some random things I found around Tacoma the other day.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/TacomaWAAndOurApartment#

Good Things to Come

Just sitting here at the One Heart Cafe in Tacoma, enjoying our last week or so, absorbing what remains to be absorbed of thi town of concrete, pulp mills, and eccentricity. We have mixed emotions about our stay here. Mostly, we are glad to be leaving what has become the very anti-thesis of us. Getting anywhere is a hassle, and our Vermonter attitudes have been majorly compromised and masked. However, we've met a group of people in our little apartment complex that have truly helped this otherworldly transition. They and their dogs have been nothing less than warm and friendly, humorous and sincere. Funny that we've found a small slice of the Vermont we love right here in an apartment living atmosphere.
Lindsay is ready for a change of work venue. In the three months at TG, she hasn't really found anyone (save for one person, I think?) that she can totally relate to. I think the consensus is, there are many people who aren't too friendly in the Tacoma healthcare industry.

Realizing we're moving to a much smaller town with a different progressive slant on things, we're hoping for a better experience. One that offers Lindsay a fresher outlook on nursing, and one that enlivens the travel bugs in our shoes.

Pictures will be posted later today...

Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

Because we've been doing a bit of traveling, and good driving music normally accompanies long trips, I decided to compile a list from our iPod of the top 10 songs played while driving (thanks for the inspiration, LG)

"Maybe Sparrow" Neko Case

"Morse" Nightmares on Wax

"Campus" Vampire Weekend

"Absinthe Party and the Fly Honey Warehouse" Minus the Bear"

"No Sunlight" Death Cab For Cutie

"Another Night" Heavens

"Good People" Jack Johnson
"Fever" Bonobo

"Back in your Head" Tegan and Sara (Thanks, Graham, for gettin' us hooked!)

"Trees" Pulp

Anyway, we've been getting pretty stoked for Lindsay's next assignment in Eugene, OR. If asked why, it's probably because it's nothing like Tacoma. I should do a compare contrast of the two locales, but I'll save that for a later post...one where I'll have more time and have pent up a week or so's worth of sarcasm to spice it up a bit. But for now, we'll simply say that it's going to be nice to see green again, and be amongst (or closer to) some like-minded folks.

Last weekend/week was spent in Bend with our transplant crew of once-upon-a-time East Coasters. The Lord and Jedi were as hospitable as ever, inviting the dingy climbing crew back to their eclectic little farm in Alfalfa for some impromptu gardening, grilling, and hot-tubbin' fun. On our first day there, Mabel jumped the fence and waited for us in their driveway until we got home...she knew she was bad.

We cranked for multiple days at Smith Rock, and the temps ranged from scorched-Earth-hot to jacket and hat weather. We climbed hard, played hard, and then slept pretty hard too. Unfortunately, Lindsay's sleep pattern was a bit warped the first evening there, as she had just gotten off a 3-night, 12 hour/day, work week, and was firing on about 4 hours of sleep. A few adult beverages helped soothe teh loopy beast inside, though.

Now that we're back in Aromaland (aka Tacoma), we are focusing our attention on young Mabel. Today, she is spending her time at the Hound Hangout in town. In about an hour I'll be hearing from them to see if she successfully passed the initial "meet and greet" to gain her access to frequent visits. I have a sneaky suspicion she behaved.

To The East and Back Again!

Sorry for the delay, folks, but Lindsay and I haven't been very stationary over the past few weeks.
August 1st we spent some time over in Leavenworth climbing with our friend Emily who was out here for a few days.

The weekend of August 8th, we were back in VT for a great wedding. Our friends, Ted and Kristine, got hitched. The stay was all too brief, and the rain was all to present, but we did get to see a lot of friends which is always a treat. A couple of highlights from the trip: Our connecting flight from Philadelphia to Burlington was overbooked, so we offered up our seats in exchange for 2 free roundtrip tickets anywhere in the contigious US. We also stayed with Auntie Nicole, our great neighbor and dear friend in VT. Pizza at "Good Times", and sandwiches from the "Paisley Hippo" punctuated the eating side of things, and a return flight that was delayed for 3 hours in Philadelphia (again!). The wife became quite grumpy as a result...and I don't blame her one bit. We think that city and airport has it out for us.

This past weekend (August 15th-17th), we spent rafting up the Deschutes River in Oregon with our friends, Shea and Annie and some of folks we had met at their wedding, as well as some couples we had never met prior to this trip. (Link to photos from rafting trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisduca34/RaftingOnTheDeschutesRiverAugust2008 )

Mabel stayed at the Cascade Pet Camp in Hood River for the few days that we were away, and according to her doggie report card (yes, each dog gets a report card upon their departure from camp!), she didn't like her stay one bit (we think she was a little homesick). Prior to her going to camp, she paid a little visit to her private pedicurist, Annie, where she hasd her nails examined and trimmed...a dogs life is quite rough.

The few days we spent on the river, the temperatures reached well into 100 degrees fahrenheit. I believe Saturday's temps topped out a whopping 110 degrees, with a breeze that was so warm it felt like a hair dryer was pointing at you from above. Needless-to-say, much time was spent hanging off the raft, or floating beside it in the river as we were swept down river by the strong current. Our campsite was pretty sweet, and I think had we floated further up the river, we probably wouldn't have found a site as large and as accomodating (an outhouse was there!). We were freaked out a couple of times while camping. First, Shea's sister-in-law spotted 2 black widow spiders in the outhouse, and then Annie decided to follow a deer path down river without telling anyone she was leaving. We thought was abducted, but she was just being curious.

In other news, there are some updates as to our next assignment, but I won't spoil any surprises until we are sure that we'll be there.

We're off in a few hours for a couple of days of rock climbing along the Tieton River in Eastern Washington...we'll post some pictures of that when we get back.

The countdown has begun...we only have 4 weeks left in Tacoma!