Unexpected Connections

Oregon is one of those places where we just wanted to stay and stay and stay. We had already been there during our first tour, and had a blast...so this time we wanted to see some different stuff. We traveled through the Columbia River Gorge...which is beautiful (and sometimes claustraphobic), and came out on the other side into a city we love, Portland.

(L to R: Jessamyn, Sara, Denise, Stephanie)
We set out on a very rainy Saturday morning...our first stop was to meet up with a friend I had met online but never in person, Denise...aka Boho Girl. She had flown up to Portland from San Diego to meet her friend, Jessamyn, and everyone was going to Akemi Salon for dread maintenance with Stephanie, "The Dread Goddess". I was up for that! We had an amazing time ... even though it was just for a short visit. The love and acceptance in that place was sunshine to my soul! It set the stage for even more fun with these ladies in San Diego and Phoenix (more on that later!).

(L to R: Shauna, Monica, Sara)
We spent the rest of the day exploring...lunch at Laughing Planet, cupcakes at Saint Cupcake, and a quick stop at REI. As we were heading out the door that morning, my friend Monica whom I had known for several years online had messaged me on Facebook because she saw that we were in Portland. It didn't work for us to meet up during the day, but as the day was coming to a close, we connected again via texts...and made plans for her and another one of my online friends, Shauna, to meet us back at the RV that night. And oh we had such fun! The next day, Monica and her friend Ryan (who just happens to be an amazing photographer...yay) met us at Imago Dei and then we went out for Thai food together.

This is why I love technology. If not for that quick message on FB and that text, we may have never met up with Monica and Shauna. But we did. And these two amazing women have become dear, dear friends over the past couple of months since we were together there. 
It makes my heart all warm just typing this. Monica is an amazing mama to 2 and works with YWAM in Salem, OR...and Shauna is the mastermind behind Mama's Herbal Soaps. If you haven't tried her amazing concoctions...run to her site now!

Before leaving Portland, we spent time with some of Matt's extended family, and enjoyed catching up with them. The next day we headed south to Eugene to start our 3rd veggie oil conversion in 2 years!

Photos of Portland are here.
Photos are available for comment on Flickr.