On the road again - portland, oregon

Portland proved to be different from Seattle. The city didn’t have that same heavy cloud over it. It was a similar cloud, but different. Upon arriving I immediately starting having the perfect connections and being guided to exactly the right people and places. My first stop in the city was the Millennium Music Store. I found some great buys on movies and some karaoke cd’s. While making my purchase I requested some information about where to find a coffee house and any other interesting places to go. I was informed of a coffee house just down from the shopping area I was in to a section that had not yet been revitalized. It was an unusual location, just under the highway overpass. I walked into this coffee shop and met the owner, Kari. Another one of those incredible meant to be moments and incredible life connections. I immediately felt connected to her and over the next four weeks sharing with her and her partner Erica had created a bond I did not want to let go of.

Kari was my diamond in the rough. She pointed me in every direction I needed to go. We had some intense conversations sharing our personal issues as well as desires about life, relationships and spirituality. I valued every minute she could share with me. Kari helped alleviate my need to feel grounded and be at home. I felt at home when I was with her. I even told her I felt she was a sister to me. I believe her to be a past life connection. Kari, Erica and I had some great eating outings that included those great conversations. Even though I was feeling very lonely in Portland, they always gave me a sense of family and closeness. They were the right people at the right time on my journey. Erica and I shared our own fun moment, when she took me to experience a “bubble tea.” I don’t know if this is just a Portland invention, but I do know it is quite unique. Tapioca gummy bear like balls in a blended frothy tasty tea. The bubble tea proved to be an interesting combination and something not to be missed while in Portland.

It had become routine on this trip to discover the purpose of each place and watch that purpose unfold. Who was I going to meet? What was I going to see? What soul level connections would I experience? Would this be a place I might live? These were just some of the questions that would enter my mind when exploring a new city.

The funniest thing about Portland was I just lived there. It was that simple. I spent one month living and taking care of practical concerns. There were so many things that broke and needed to be repaired or replaced that Kari and I would just start laughing every time something else broke. Even resolution to the problem was comical, sometimes taking two, three or more times to complete. It was a bizarre experience. First, the computer crashed. Ok, we all go through this, but how many people does it take to repair a computer. It seemed each person was willing but not able. Finally, I took it to CompUSA. Even though it was repaired and all seemed back to normal, I was feeling uneasy with a five year old computer. Especially after having almost lost all my data, I believed it time to get a new model. There was a great sale and the staff at CompUSA was very helpful and cooperative. There were delays in shipping and it seemed any promises made just had to be ignored and laughed at. I thought I would be leaving Portland soon, but that was not to be the case. The delays in shipping the computer were just the beginning.

Even the car suffered from the strangeness of the time. I had a flat one afternoon at Kari’s coffee shop. I called AAA and had the spare put on. Kari took me to a local tire place and I just assumed all would be repaired. They called later that day and said the rim had a crack and had to be replaced. I decided to take the car back to the dealer. This is where things got even stranger and more comical. Eric the service manager was great. Friendly courteous and really made an effort to get things done. He inspected the rim and said he would replace it under warranty since I didn’t have an accident and it actually looked like a stress crack. He then ordered the rim overnight shipping and said he would call when it came in. The next day the rim came in and I made an appointment the following day. While waiting for the car, Eric came out to inform me the new rim had arrived damaged. He assured me another one would be sent for the next day and he would call me when it arrived. He called the next day to tell me that this second rim had come in damaged. The problem was they were not shipping the rims in protected packaging material, just plain boxes with the rim inside. At this point Kari asked me to ask Eric if he was lying. It just seemed too ridiculous to be true. Here they are shipping a $300.00 wheel and breaking it in the process. Well the third rim did arrive and it was easily installed and I was on my way. Also while at the dealer, I asked Eric to check one of the tail lights on the car. He did and informed me they could not fix it. He suggested the place I had the tow equipment installed take car of it. I reminded him I was from Florida and that it was unlikely I was zipping back across the country soon. Eric gave me a lead to a place that does that kind of work and off I went for another repair.

I need to back up a minute to before I left for this trip. A very good friend of mine in Florida had recently bought an older car that needed repairs. I had driven the car and noticed that there was a plastic piece in the interior that was broken. Realizing this type of part would not be available at the dealer, I promised my friend I would find it while on the trip.

Ok, back to repairing the tail light. While on my way to the repair place I passed a series of junk yards. I said to my self; don’t forget to stop on the way out of the area. The tail light repair guy at Roadmaster was terrific. The repair was completed in 20 minutes and cost $10.

While waiting I spoke with another RV couple. We had the most stimulating conversation about RV’s. They told me they had one the same model name as mine, but much older. They had just traded it in this year and they had many years of trouble free joy from that motor home. I shared how I loved mine and knew it was all meant to be that I purchased the one I got. It was like receiving another blessing that all was well and on the right track.

Well, the right track continued when I left and stopped by the junk yard to see if they had the part my friend needed. It turned out they had many of those cars and they said they would remove it for me. While waiting, I spent the afternoon talking about this journey and life and how we need to learn to be more open and aware. I explained the more open we become the more great life experiences are presented for us to enjoy. It was an afternoon of teaching and sharing with the guys at the junk yard. They really listened to what I had to say and we got a lot of laughs in also. I valued the time I spent there that afternoon.

Even the motor home needed some minor repairs and someone needed to come out to take care of it. The employees at the RV park office were also aware of what was going on because every couple of days I would go in to pay for a few more nights. They would just laugh when I walked in the office. We actually had some great conversations and laughs each time I went in.

Oh, here is the biggest laugh and conclusion to a story that began back in Spokane, WA. Remember Bobbi the great karaoke sales woman that taught me about all the different equipment available? Well I needed her again too. Even the karaoke machine died. I tried to locate something in Portland, but it just didn’t seem to be flowing, so I called her and ordered a new machine over the phone. She said it would arrive in two days. It actually did! Alleluia!

Overall, Portland was a great time to practice patience and acceptance. I shared quality time with some great people and got so much accomplished. The last day I was there, while running a few errands, I stopped back at the junk yard to see if they had one other small part for my friend’s car. The owner shared he was glad I stopped in the other day and that he enjoyed the visit. That was very validating and I was happy I stopped back there again. I should also mention that one of the guys looked a lot like my sister’s fiancé and I took his picture. You know how people tell you they saw someone who looks just like you and you never get the see or meet that person; I thought it would be cool to have a picture of that person.

After a long month, it was time to move on. A huge thank you and blessings to all the wonderful people who helped me accomplish all those tasks. To Kari, a huge hug and kiss to my other sibling I did not know I had. To Erica for her cool and calm way of sharing and allowing me to share so much with Kari.