Things you don't see in Portland, Vol. 1: Firearms Fundraiser

A candidate for the office of SC Adjutant General (the guy who runs the state National Guard) held a fundraiser on Saturday where 500 folks "paid $25 for barbecue, a clip of bullets for target practice and the chance to win a semiautomatic AK-47."

Couldn't he picked have picked a more appropriate gun to auction off than the assault rifle of choice for the 'bad guys'??

BTW, the shooting range is 5 minutes away from our house, for anyone who wants to squeeze off a few rounds when they come to visit.

Jack's got a new buddy

The steely resolve of a man is no match for the tears of a woman, and thus I found myself outvoted 1-to-1 on the issue of whether we should get a new kitten. This is Oliver, who's had no trouble making himself at home so far. Katheren helped us pick him out at the humane society and he's been with us for about a week (Kat also holds the distinction of being the first overnight guest at the house). Jack obviously gets along with him just fine. George, apparently uninterested in giving young Oliver the smackdown he deserves, tolerates repeated pounces, grabs, bites and tail tugs, knowing that naptime will come soon enough.

I'm still adjusting to my longer commute (30 mins vs 5) and work environment (much more of a typical/sterile office than I was accustomed to in Portland). Lots of friendly familiar faces, though. Rhonda's been keeping herself busy unpacking and with lots of little improvement projects. It's been raining for several days straight down here- looking forward to things drying up a bit so we can get out and explore town (and share our findings).

The Drive is done!

Didn't have net access for day 3 (and our home internet doesn't get set up until Wednesday), but we got in around 8:45 last night. Total mileage: ~2,800. Total road hours, including lunch/gas/stretch breaks: ~48.5. Coming down into Texas from Colorado on day 3, we had an unplanned stop of 1.5 hours due to a big accident that closed the road. In all states, we had delays due to construction (are all the states spending their stimulus $ on road projects?). Other than that, the trip went very smoothly, all things considered. And we slept like rocks last night in our own bed!

The Drive, day 2

Another busy day today. Ogden->Lamar, CO- 723 miles, and again ~12 hours. Mediocre-bordering-on-crappy dinner at the Cow Palace in tiny Lamar, but otherwise a nice day with plenty of interesting scenery. Got off the interstate for a nice long drive on the High Plains Highway (Hwy 287), which will take us into the OK panhandle and down to Amarillo tomorrow. From there, we'll catch I-40 eastward. Tomorrow should be a relatively easy day (planning only ~620 miles/10 hrs).

The Drive, day 1

We are pretty busted (12 hours on the road will do that to you), so just a quick update about the first day of the trip:
* 732 miles, Portland to Ogden, Utah.
* Jack loves riding, but George was calm and did fine, too.
* The truck is JAM PACKED full of stuff (don't ask- yes, we know we supposedly moved already).
* Picnic lunch at a rest stop, very solid dinner at Patricia's Homestyle Mexican across the street from the hotel. Recommended for sure the next time you're passing through northern Utah! Not recommended is having a beer while you're here, as state law dictates a cap of 3.2% ABV (that's a bit like a broken pencil; it doesn't have a point).

If tomorrow goes as planned, we'll cover a similar distance and end up in Lamar, CO.