Portland

As I was flying to Portland yesterday I got gorgeous views of winding Dakota rivers, leaf-vein-like mountain ranges, and even magnificent Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood (at least, that’s the natives’ best guess as to what I saw).  I am not used to mountains towering over the cloud horizon.  And now, of course, I would like nothing better than to rent a car and go off to see the Columbia River Gorge, the mountains, and some beautiful waterfalls I am told are nearby.

But instead I’m gearing up for a long day of papers, mine among them.  The conference schedule has shifted so that a bigshot is now on my panel.  Which is why I will soon leave to run through my paper a couple of times!

Although yesterday began at 2am with a two-hour drive to the airport, things went well.  I didn’t sleep much, but found myself inclined to read articles for work.  After I got into town the public transportation worked smoothly, and I made it to my dorm housing on the University of Portland’s campus without incident.  Last night I went out for dinner and a walk with my friend Stephanie, a Cornell grad and a Portland native, and we had a fabulous time.  So incredibly wonderful to meet up with a very good friend and work our way through a thousand topics.

Erin