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Despite the previous bitching about the speed and un-fun of the trip, I am SO, SO glad to be in Eugene! The trip began to be perfect and worthwhile once we left the city of Bend behind and headed into and over the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

This morning, albeit initially with some trepidation and fear regarding getting lost, I ventured from my friend's hideaway in the woods outside of town to run some errands. First stop was a laundromat, then on to a State Farm office to be sure I was going to remain covered with the car over the interim few months before I move back here to stay. My current coverage expired in late August, so having my new coverage material returned to sender would probably not be a good thing. I found my old agency here in Eugene and they took care of the transfer, using my friend's address temporarily. So, not only am I covered, but my rate was cut almost in half! I was hoping it would go down, because it certainly went up when I got to Georgia, but wasn't expecting that much of a break. No complaints here.

All those initial fears about getting lost have been (so far) without merit. As I suspected, once I got into town everything looked familiar and I was able to find my way around without too much trouble. People are smiling and friendly, and finally my Oregon sweatshirt and rear window decals fit right in.

With an hour to kill before my next appointment (the new landlady!) I found a nice cafe with free wireless and here I sit, writing this. Drinking a mango/banana/Nancy's yogurt smoothie and eating a vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I wasn't quite ready for a 'normal' lunch, but since I needed to buy something in order to hang around, this fit the bill, and is really good, and mostly healthy.

Talked to the potential landlady twice last evening, and she suggested that since the cottage is clean and waiting for the next tenant (a 2-month rental starting in a couple of weeks), I was welcome to use it as a motel room for a couple of days before heading south. That way, I can get a good feel for how it would be to live there, see how I do with the chickens (not a problem!) and the two of us can get to know one another. So if upon inspection it seems like a place I could live, that's exactly what I'm going to do. How kind of her to offer!  My friend's place is really small, and there's not much for me to do there, no wireless access, so I think this is a perfect solution.

I'm still looking forward to the summer in California, but Eugene feels like home, and that's a good thing.