I have been M.I.A since May but now I'm back! I had to put a hold on the blog because these past four months have just been CRAZY. But today I'm going to start catching you up on whats been happening in mine and Shawn's life.
We have moved to Little Rock, Arkansas (by way of Vancouver, Washington for one month)! Shawn and I have always talked about moving out of California so when the opportunity arose to move to Vancouver, Washington we took it. Who wouldn't want to live near Portland, Oregon, right? It's kind of a crazy story so bear with me here but I'll start back in May.
So, at the end of May, a company in Vancouver was very interested in hiring Shawn. They made a great offer and he was scheduled to start mid-June. Everything happened so fast. With our move/driving day scheduled for June 19th we literally only had about two weeks to pack everything up and say goodbye to friends and family. Before we moved there, I wanted to at least visit the apartments we chose before we signed the paperwork. My generous mother-in-law offered to pay for the hotel and rental car, so from June 12th-15th we flew up to Vancouver to get everything settled. Thank you again, Laurie!
During our few days there we did so many typical Portland things- like Voodoo Donuts, Salt and Straw Ice Cream, and the Vancouver Farmers Market. It didn't take too long to understand why the motto is "Keep Portland Weird". It was a very fast trip but absolutely worth it. When we flew back on June 15th we knew that we had to go to Disneyland one last time. We barely even rode any of the rides, we just bought a ton of souvenirs and watched the 60th anniversary fireworks (and yes I cried). But it was like a perfect California goodbye.
So, at the end of May, a company in Vancouver was very interested in hiring Shawn. They made a great offer and he was scheduled to start mid-June. Everything happened so fast. With our move/driving day scheduled for June 19th we literally only had about two weeks to pack everything up and say goodbye to friends and family. Before we moved there, I wanted to at least visit the apartments we chose before we signed the paperwork. My generous mother-in-law offered to pay for the hotel and rental car, so from June 12th-15th we flew up to Vancouver to get everything settled. Thank you again, Laurie!
During our few days there we did so many typical Portland things- like Voodoo Donuts, Salt and Straw Ice Cream, and the Vancouver Farmers Market. It didn't take too long to understand why the motto is "Keep Portland Weird". It was a very fast trip but absolutely worth it. When we flew back on June 15th we knew that we had to go to Disneyland one last time. We barely even rode any of the rides, we just bought a ton of souvenirs and watched the 60th anniversary fireworks (and yes I cried). But it was like a perfect California goodbye.
Now that we were back home we had to pack like crazy. Quick shoutout to Becky, Robby, John, Casey, Gina and Blake for helping us with all the packing. We would not have finished in time if it wasn't for all of you! June 16th-18th were the craziest days. We were packing from the moment we woke up to the moment we went to bed. Who knew that within a year of getting married and living in a one bedroom apartment we would have enough stuff to overflow a 15 foot Uhaul.
On June 19th we began the 900+ mile journey through California, Oregon and finally Washington. I drove with my sister, Emily, in my Subaru and Shawn drove with our friend, Casey, in the Uhaul while towing our Honda. We originally planned to stay overnight in Redding, California but by the time we reached Redding we were halfway there and just wanted to get it over with. My sister and I made it all the way to Vancouver in just over 15 hours. And that included our detour to Trader Joe's for Northern California themed bags. Obviously we had our priorities straight. Shawn and Casey ended up staying the night in Eugene, Oregon but met us the next day.
Our first weekend in Vancouver was spent doing tourist things because we wanted to show Emily and Casey the town. Plus there is SO much to do in Portland! We went to Multnomah Falls, The Vancouver Library, Powell's Books (which is VERY dangerous if you are a book lover) and we walked and drove all over downtown Portland. By the way, a word of caution- if you ever go to hiking at Multnomah Falls, bring bug spray. I somehow brought fleas home and had to deal with an infestation in our apartment all because of a one mile hike.
On June 19th we began the 900+ mile journey through California, Oregon and finally Washington. I drove with my sister, Emily, in my Subaru and Shawn drove with our friend, Casey, in the Uhaul while towing our Honda. We originally planned to stay overnight in Redding, California but by the time we reached Redding we were halfway there and just wanted to get it over with. My sister and I made it all the way to Vancouver in just over 15 hours. And that included our detour to Trader Joe's for Northern California themed bags. Obviously we had our priorities straight. Shawn and Casey ended up staying the night in Eugene, Oregon but met us the next day.
Our first weekend in Vancouver was spent doing tourist things because we wanted to show Emily and Casey the town. Plus there is SO much to do in Portland! We went to Multnomah Falls, The Vancouver Library, Powell's Books (which is VERY dangerous if you are a book lover) and we walked and drove all over downtown Portland. By the way, a word of caution- if you ever go to hiking at Multnomah Falls, bring bug spray. I somehow brought fleas home and had to deal with an infestation in our apartment all because of a one mile hike.
We were loving living in Vancouver. There was so much to do and it was just so beautiful! And then literally the day we unpacked the last box Shawn got a call from Hendrix College in Arkansas (his alma mater). They wanted to interview him for a position as an admissions counselor. I immediately said no. I was not ready to repack everything that I just unpacked, load it up and drive across the country. But he went ahead with the interview just to see what it was all about. Of course he was immediately pulled towards the job and, again, of course they wanted to hire him. Now, keep in mind that barely a week and a half ago we moved 900 something miles, unpacked and now we were thinking about moving again - but this time it would be about 2,200 miles away. That is why the blog has been on hold. We stayed almost exactly one month in Vancouver before picking up and moving to Little Rock, Arkansas.
I had two requests that needed to be agreed upon before I committed to moving to Little Rock. The first was the we had a professional moving company drive our things to Little Rock. And second was that we fully took advantage of our last few days in the Pacific Northwest. Because of time constraints I didn't get to do everything on my bucket list but we accomplished a good amount. We went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), a lot of restaurants that were on my go to list, and thanks to a one year wedding anniversary gift from my mother-in-law we went to a fancy dinner at The Grant House which is part of Fort Vancouver. I was even able to get a National Parks stamp in my passport book! But by far the highlight of living in Vancouver, Washington for a month was being able to see The Decemberists live! Their concert was just a few days before we left town and like Disneyland was a perfect goodbye to California, this concert was a perfect goodbye to Vancouver and Portland.
I do wish we would have had a little bit more time in Vancouver and Portland just because I know that there are so many things we didn't get to do. But that just gives us more incentive to go back and visit! But I do know that if we would have still been living there right now I probably would have gone stir crazy weeks ago from not having any friends there.
So yes we are now living in Little Rock, Arkansas and yes you can expect a post about living here in the next few weeks. Next Wednesday I will be sharing about our three day drive from Vancouver to Little Rock. We went through Salt Lake City, Denver and nine states to get here! So make sure you come back next Wednesday to find out about our drive across the country!
I'm so happy to be back to posting regularly! If you are new to my blog, I post every Wednesday with the last Wednesday of the month being movie themed. Every once in awhile I throw in an extra movie post just for the fun of it too. So take a look around! I started posting at the beginning of the year so there is a lot to catch up on.
You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Beme - all @thrucaitseyes
And, as always, feel free to leave a comment below! Have you visited Portland or Little Rock??? If so what was your favorite part about it?
I'll talk to you next week!
So yes we are now living in Little Rock, Arkansas and yes you can expect a post about living here in the next few weeks. Next Wednesday I will be sharing about our three day drive from Vancouver to Little Rock. We went through Salt Lake City, Denver and nine states to get here! So make sure you come back next Wednesday to find out about our drive across the country!
I'm so happy to be back to posting regularly! If you are new to my blog, I post every Wednesday with the last Wednesday of the month being movie themed. Every once in awhile I throw in an extra movie post just for the fun of it too. So take a look around! I started posting at the beginning of the year so there is a lot to catch up on.
You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Beme - all @thrucaitseyes
And, as always, feel free to leave a comment below! Have you visited Portland or Little Rock??? If so what was your favorite part about it?
I'll talk to you next week!
Caitlin