The joy of staying put...

As the rest of the family are no doubt appreciating back in NZ, there is something nice about NOT having to get up, pack/shift bags, travel long distances, and set up camp somewhere new by the end of the day. For the next 19 days I have that luxury, as I have now made it to my final destination, Portland State University. The ability to sleep in this morning, not get showered and dressed before lunch, and generally just potter about all day was a long-missed gift!

But first, how I got here. Leaving the hot climes of Redding last Wednesday, I first visited the local "Sundial Bridge" and surrounding Turtle Bay recreation area (odd name, since it's actually on the upper Sacramento River). This unique pedestrian/cycle bridge was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, whose amazing works we have already seen in Valencia and Lisbon. The glass-decked bridge deck is cantilevered via cables from a large leaning pylon that happens to point due north; hence its shadow is also able to indicate the time by markers on the ground.

The Sundial Bridge, Redding, CA

After admiring the scenery there, I headed a short distance up the road to view the mighty Shasta Dam, the second largest in the US. Built in the 30's and 40's the dam has created a massive lake that provides both recreational opportunities and spare water for parched southern California. What followed over the next few days were some long drives to Seattle via Eugene and Corvallis, interspersed with visiting some colleagues at Univ. of Oregon, Oregon State Uni, and Univ. of Washington. The temperatures slowly went from the 30's down to more comfortable 20's by the time I hit Seattle. Then it was time to bid farewell to the trusty Toyota Sienna that had served us well these last three weeks. Another bout of lugging bags (I'm down to a suitcase, backpack, briefcase and a shopping bag!) and I was on a train to Portland on Saturday morning (and Amtrak were ONLY 20 minutes late today); ~5 hours later and I was lugging the same bags for the final time (in a while) up to my new little home.

It's always so much harder to take photos of yourself when it's just you... (Shasta Dam, CA)

I'm staying in student housing right on campus while they're on summer break. So I have my own little modern self-contained apartment on the 5th floor with a kitchen and bathroom. Unfortunately the kitchen only extends to a fridge, sink and two hotplates, and doesn't come with any utensils. Although I brought a reasonable amount of cutlery, plates, cups from our previous travels, I've had to shell out at the Safeway grocery for a small pot and pan to make it a workable kitchen. Still, it was a nice feeling to be able to whip up a pasta and mince for tea tonight (with some carrots on the side, dear!).

Some pics from my new home for the next three weeks

It's also been nice to get out and walk around a bit downtown, being so handy to everything where I am. Portland really is a fantastic walking environment, on top of having an extensive cycle network and widespread lightrail system (free in the CBD!). I'm not sure if it aspires to be like many of the European cities we saw previously, but it's certainly going the right way abut it.

One lazy day over the weekend was fun, but tomorrow it's time to get back into things. I'll catch up with my colleagues here at PSU, plan a few other meetings and presentations, and work on a few research papers/reports. Two other important things to chase up are (1) my PSU user account so I can access the internet easily, and (2) to borrow a bike so that I can look further afield!