Under a Red Roof

Road Trip: Louisville I

March 18, 2015 in Drinking, Eating, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Belated Greetings from the 502! I had every intention of posting yesterday but got caught in a whirlwind of errand after errand and a super fun St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Life is good!

The fact that the Louisville area code is one digit away from Portland’s 503 seems to be more than an interesting coincidence, as they have a very sisterly feel to them: open, friendly, creative, lovely river cities, of which, if you haven’t noticed, I am a rather big fan.

This is Butchertown in NuLu, our most excellent home away from home, with that top photo our abode, a 125 year old building on Main Street. Take a look at those giant doors; the ceilings were twelve feet high. We walked and walked under mostly sunny skies, the rains only coming in earnest, with a most spectacular downpour, on our way to our next destination in Indiana. Heaven!

We ate and drank v e r y well, with bourbon of some sort at nearly every meal. One place put it over pancakes(!), most others by the glass. The jelly jar was a bourbon slushie, a.k.a. the best adult version of a kids drink EVER. Our favorite restaurants were Rye and Feast, with Rye having the most creative and delicious menu we’ve seen since leaving Portland (sorry, Pittsburgh! We’re still looking!). Those are the best rolls I’ve ever had the good fortune to eat, soft, buttery, wow. And that kind of wild looking mess with meringue? A banana crepe! A m a z i n g. Feast was crazy good barbeque and the home of the yummy slushie. It is wonderful to be spoiled by marvelous food and service, peeps. Indeedy.

The neighborhood is super cool, dare I say hip, and full of shopping (check out Why Louisville) and fun; Colonel Sanders and Abe Lincoln photo opportunities, squee-ee; an alley called Billy Goat Strut. Then there are the aforementioned eateries and really great architecture! My goodness, I love beautiful buildings. Oh, and murals and iron work! Choice examples lined the streets. It all makes me so happy. I want exclamation points everywhere! Then to see little bits of history, like the Thomas Edison brick house, and the world feels a bit smaller and more personal. I’m here, and he was here, and think of all we can be and do. It makes a body grateful for the privilege of travel.

More of Louisville on Friday, I hope!

Tags: Traveling

Road Trip: West Virginia & Lexington, Kentucky

March 16, 2015 in Drinking, Eating, Exploring, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Wild and wonderful West Virginia fog. I love the way it whispers and hugs the landscape. We could not have asked for better weather on the first leg of our inaugural Pittsburgh based road trip. We left in darkness to beat the traffic, and boy, did we! There was hardly a soul on the road. I still can’t believe my dumb luck to be born in this great nation, with beauty at every turn.

Lexington is a fun town, with much to admire and try. The Parkette has been on my list for some time, mostly because of that fabulous neon sign, though I was terribly sad not to see it in full regalia. In the sci-fi future of my mind, travelers will have the ability to see monuments just as they like, no matter the hour. Sunset? Yup! Bright neon? You got it! Without utility poles and wires? No problem! Anyhoo, the fried chicken, according to the hubster, is good, but not #1 in his book. He likes super duper extra crispy, and this wasn’t that. I can’t fault the man for knowing what he likes. I was charmed by the friendly and fast service, y’all. I must admit that I never imagined Kentucky would sound sooo Southern. Just look at it on the map, the way it skirts that center line.

Being westerners with few original reminders of just how old our relatively young nation is, the hubster and I find ourselves reeling at buildings well over the century mark, with the majority pictured in that category. This last one is also quite historical, being the home where Mary Todd Lincoln was born. Hello Abraham, let’s go back to my house… There’s another of her family homes a couple of blocks away, but, rather sadly, I could not get a decent photo without a garbage can in it, which seemed terribly unseemly, so you will not see it here. I’m sure Mary would approve.

Tomorrow, Louisville!

Tags: Traveling

Scenes From the Road

December 10, 2014 in Exploring, Learning, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Good evening, Pittsburgh! I am here, in permanent fashion, at last! Bone tired from unpacking, fresh from a row in the basement, bowl of cereal and handful of almonds devoured, stinky and deserving a bath, but eager to post is how I am. I have missed this space, brain sputtering before sending my fingers racing. I made do with my phone while dealing with the pressing matters of unpacking the essentials and shopping for yet more, oh, and getting lost. Again and again. New territory. New me, I hope, of a fashion, anyway. But, not yet.

First, the road. The glorious road to our new home. I shed many a tear on it; sometimes joyously, in light of what lay ahead; sometimes sadly, for what cannot be recovered, for what is past; oftentimes for the simple beauty of place – earth, river, sky; of being present and privileged with breath, a beating heart, and love.

Our travels took us through Colorado and our first homes, then Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, nearly the whole of Interstate 70, our family of three rolling along, sometimes quietly, sometimes in raucous laughter punctuated by meows, oftentimes singing, Elton John and America and Radiohead, The Doors. Glad of heart for our gumption and bravery to drive 2,713 miles(!) and start anew, for the kindness of strangers, for gas stations, hotels, the blessings of sunshine and frost, for the world that is.

5280

November 19, 2014 in Exploring, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Scenes from a mile high, though we are itching to be in Pittsburgh. Patience.

The hubster loves a diorama! And if you are thinking about dissing the sweatshirt he’s sporting, talk to the hand, peeps. Coors and my Pop’s thirty-plus years driving a forklift in their glass department fed and clothed me and paid for four years of college, thank you very much.

That’s all she wrote…

Tags: Colorado, Denver

The Road is Home

November 3, 2014 in Exploring, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

The road is home, our truth for the time being. Bound only to each other (tightly, joyously!), our kite aloft, we are no longer tethered to land. A suitcase each in our possession, one bag of shoes, a computer (finally and temporarily connected, huzzah!), and music, always grateful for that (Jonsi and Alex at the moment). Liberating and disconcerting at once. Limbo.

Milo is often confused and more often frightened. He misses the house and Paris (we ALL miss her, though she has visited our dreams). He cries and hides and snuggles close. He would, were there not the lion roar of diesel engines and wild whoops and screams of children happy not to be confined to cramped automobiles, be rather content to explore rest stops on his cute orange leash. But, alas, that is not the way of it, so he remains huddled and car bound while we stretch. All things considered, he is a most excellent traveler.

We have an offer in on a house in Pittsburgh, a gem of red brick construction on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood. It is a short walk to the supermarket, library, hardware store, and bank. There is Thai food and pizza nearby, a bakery, too. We’ve had inspections and all looks pretty great for a house more than both of our ages combined. If all continues on this fine path, we will be official Pittsburghers, hearth and home, on December first! Hedging our bets by buying Penguins paraphernalia!

And you? I hope you are well and enjoying fall. Happy Monday!

Tags: cats