I spent last weekend in Portland, Oregon. Yes, a friend and I went off to the big city. We visited the massive Powell’s bookstore, the Rose Garden, and possibly the most impressive Goodwill store I’ve ever seen in my life. (If you like thrift stores, it’s not to be missed!) Although Portland is a cool city, as we crossed the Long Bridge on the way back home, we both felt a great sense of relief.
I’ve met many people who have commented on the view and the feeling you get as you cross the Long Bridge, so it’s not just us. There’s something very soothing about the mountains and the lake opening up before you as you drive across the lake.
When you live here, it’s easy to forget that cities are noisy. There’s always some sound, whether it’s traffic or people, since they’re all crammed together in a small space.
I’d sort of forgotten about the noise of things like garbage pickup. In Portland, they have curbside recycling, so picking up the trash takes several passes. Here I have to take my garbage to the dump and sort the recyclables into their appropriate bins, rather than just putting it out by the curb.
It’s a trade off. We trade many conveniences for the pleasures of living in our quiet forest. In talking to Portland-ites, they related a memorable week when the city shut down because of snow. It was a really big deal to them because they couldn’t get pizza delivered for *days*.
Some of us haven’t had delivery pizza for years. I’m pretty sure the pizza guy can’t get to my house in 30 minutes or less 😉