I’m sitting in a sun-lit lounge car on a northbound Amtrak train. We passed through Vancouver, Washington, maybe thirty minutes ago. We’ve enjoyed a stunningly summery purveyance of the lands between Eugene, Oregon and (unless something crazy happens) Seattle, Washington where we’ll arrive in hopefully 2.5 hours.

This morning I woke early and sat in a hot tub under the stars and bright-lit moon to rest my running legs. I came back in and made coffee, played with the dogs, chatted with my newfound parents SH and TH, enjoyed an amazing egg-and-elk breakfast TH made for us, chatted some more, and saw TH off to work.

It was jarring to know that was the last ordinary morning I’ll have at this house for the foreseeable. However, it’s not the last time I’ll see them in the near future – I will meet JT in Seattle tomorrow afternoon and then on Friday we’ll drive back down to spend one more night and morning in the place that has been my home for the last month.

My last post was pretty melancholy. I was disoriented and frustrated and tired. I can’t thank God enough for how He met me over the past couple weeks and showered such blessing and goodness over me. I have the H’s and crew to thank for much of that. Thank you, new family. You know who you are.

Confirmation that I wouldn’t be offered the coaching position in Salem allowed me to move forward and make other plans. Like I had expected before this opportunity cropped up, I set my sights back on moving for my next season to Colorado. I’ve signed for a subleased condo arrangement that is furnished and will certainly do the trick. It is located a few miles from JT and on the way to the city center. Provided all the final logistics come through as expected, I’m satisfied with the place and looking forward to having a place to unpack a bag or two for the time being.

Between then and now, a few adventures are yet to be had. After I meet JT at the airport tomorrow afternoon, she and I will spend the evening with her sister and brother-in-law in town. We’ll then drive their graciously-lent car back down to Springfield, OR to stay with my surrogate PNW family Friday night. We will return to Portland on Saturday; run a marathon in Columbia Gorge, OR on Sunday; and drive back up to Seattle on Monday.

We’ll stay at her sister’s for the remainder of the week, leave Seattle the following Sunday afternoon, and drive back to Denver with a stop at a friend of JT’s in Boise, ID for the night. Fun, food, road tripping, and perhaps a smattering of productivities await?

Until next,

-LS