Winding Down

Portland is awfully nice. We've had two excellent meals out here, and we like the look of Woodstock and the surrounding areas. There are parks, and we spent some time at one and Alice made a friend as she always does and it was very nice.

But.

Bellingham is closer to my family, and we know people who will be living there shortly. I personally find the intensely urban aspect of a larger city less and less palatable. Portland is great but I know I'd find myself driving on a loaded highway more often than I'd like. Uncharitable though it is to be concerned with this, there are more damaged people in a big city.

I don't want to raise my daughters in an isolation chamber filled with puppies, but I do want some middle ground between a perfect affluent suburb far from sin, and the gritty realities of downtown. Portland doesn't feel quite like that.

Bellingham it is. We think. Time to head north, start looking for a home, and to ponder. Portland is still in our minds, but Bellingham feels more like home right now.