Portland forever will be etched in my heart. Somehow, for some reason I will never understand, this place felt like home since the day we arrived there on September 4th, 2004. It is still the only place I miss...even if I don't plan to come back for good.
По несчастью или к счастью,
Истина проста:
Никогда не возвращайся
В прежние места.
Даже если пепелище
Выглядит вполне,
Не найти того, что ищем,
Ни тебе, ни мне.
It is always a mix of feelings of quiet happiness and sadness. The friends I left behind are the best I will never have again, and the place is beautiful, and every turn is memorized in my brain without straining any thought process to dig it out. But it's the past. And thus I simply visit...
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| Family is where you have a consistent chore, no matter when you show up next - and I had 2 years worth of unmatched socks to pair up:) Monika and Stan and their 4 kids ARE family. |
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| Wildwood trail, Forest Park, mile mark 9 and 1/4. Yes, it's an important information:) Lots of runs started here, and one of the staples - a 15M lolly-loop including Maple trail. I ran it in a time matching my best ever here. I also ran every step...and I had only done it a couple of times in years before:) |
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| Happily done! Last 4M my i-Pod died and my legs felt like lead. I really had to focus on the beautiful trees, easy smooth trail and great weather. |
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| My son Alex. We had a fantastic walk in Washington park. Spent all day together before I left for the night to Gail and Sid - other people who are always there, no fanfare, no flashing, just always a couch and an omelet - and a lot of talking... |
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| I saw a sunrise over the Gorge...for a thousand's time. |
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| Met with Amy - yes, THAT AMY, and tried to keep up with a World 100km Champion on our Gorge run. |
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| She made me work honest, but I did take a bunch of photos and we talked a whole bunch, catching up on so many things and people. I did run my best time on this 12M loop - by a good chunk too:) |
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| And as usual, I yelled "Good morning, Gorge!" at this spot. |
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| The City of Roses. Last night belonged to my Russian friend Anna. One more home, where I can walk in, open fridge, take a shower, spend a night - at no notice at all. |
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| Second day with Alex, more talking a shopping trip or few, a movie...and a sad good bye. When is the next time? |
All photos from the trip.
Life goes on.
7 comments:
I've only been to Portland once, but it found its way right into my heart. I fell in love with the city and especially with the trails and the Gorge. It's my dream home if I could bear to leave my family in Oklahoma which I probably could not. But I think about it and how much I'd love the great running weather there and the gorgeous trails and forest! Great pictures, Olga!
After reading about your Gorge runs back in the day before I'd ever been to Oregon, I'm glad I got to experience your Gorge with you. And you might have planted a seed in that I'm going to try to start adding early morning Gorge runs to my week-day schedule.
I knew you were there the day before, but I still thought of you when I ran by Maple trail on Sunday. :-) Sounds like a great trip and so awesome that A is doing well and you got to spend some time together.
Sounds like a wonderful weekend! So glad you got to spend time with Alex - nothing better than mother/son bonding time. And I have plenty of unmatched socks if you want to come my way :)
SOunds like a fantastic trip to carry you through until the next visit. And probably a nice reprieve from the humidity and heat of Texas! And on top of all that, a visit with your son and some PR's on the trail....wonderful!
My family and I just went home (Norther Michigan) and I did not want to come home. My husband cycled 160 miles and I got to run my 22 miler up there. It was amazing!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful time!
Feels great to get a PR run in when it only counts for you - No plan, schedule, race number, or entry fee. Just you and the trail against yourself. Glad you got to spend some time with your son - Very awesome. When will we see him on the trails following Mom's footsteps?
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