Next stop, San Francisco!

My time in Portland ended just as it began, very much on an up note. Today I started at Saint Mary's in downtown Portland and met with four wonderful young women and the new counselor there. Blythe has joined the counseling staff after being on the other side of the desk for Lewis & Clark. A shot of the exterior of the school is included, but I also snapped a picture of this fantastic quilt that hangs in the school's main hallway.




I can see now that the picture doesn't do any bit of justice but I hope you get a point of its beauty. What a neat thing to have gifted to the community!

Outside on the sidewalk I ran into Brian, the new admissions person from Wooster. Welcome to the gang, Brian! A small world when all is said and done.



I then headed out to Beaverton High School which is somewhat bittersweet as that's where I met one of my favorite students from last year who didn't end up at Kenyon! But I felt much better after visiting and meeting with three terrific women interested in pursuing the liberal arts and sciences... they seemed very open-minded about studying off of the West Coast, and I'm hopeful they'll continue to learn more about Kenyon.

My final visit in the Portland area was a last minute addition... I had left a message at the counseling office but we weren't able to connect until last Friday. I was worried that, given the fact that we hadn't sent any materials to advertise my appointment, we wouldn't see anybody there. Well, to say the least, I was completely wrong and much more than pleasantly surprised.



Eighteen students showed up to learn about us!!! What a fantastic meeting, and such a wonderful welcome from a terrifically engaged counseling staff. A perfect way to bring my time in Portland to a close. I look forward to working with these students over the coming months.

I made a quick stop at Powell's Books and then grabbed a last meal in Oregon at Pambiche for their late afternoon specials...couldn't resist! My GPS helped me discover a slick back way to the Portland Airport which saved me some time and I set up camp in the airport for an hour and change.

So tonight I'm in Berkeley. I have five visits on this side of the bay before moving to Marin tomorrow night. I'm setting up interviews (thanks, Terri!) for my time here, and the spots are going fast.

I was hoping to snap a dramatic picture on my way in this evening but had no luck. So, I give you a shot I'm calling 'traveler's life'... my sushi dinner from Trader Joe's on my laptop.

That's one of my secrets on the road... look for good grocery stores that have prepared foods. They're frequently much more affordable and can be considerably healthier than eating out. Though for the record I CAN'T WAIT to hit my favorite Puerto Rican restaurant in San Rafael tomorrow night... also an incredibly deal.

My picture of the day is from the Airtran at San Francisco International Airport. A pretty lousy self-portrait but the best I could do at the end of a long day!


The Bay Bridge is open, thank goodness. I'm sure you heard it was closed for repairs a few weeks back. As I was crossing it tonight, 8:30 on a Tuesday, and there were five solid lanes of traffic headed in both directions, I just couldn't wrap my head around not having it for commuters. Yikes!

From the Bay Area, all the best.
-Noble