First thing we do when we arrive in a new port is to explore our surroundings, find the shops, discover where to walk Princess, and generally get familiar with our new home.
Hayden Island, off Portland, Oregon, is our new temporary place. We had the advantage of having spent a few days here before our forced trip to France so knew the area a little. Our marina is a quiet little place, off the river with no current. We have condominiums on the side and fields in front of us, with private access to a beach in the same complex. Lots of room for Princess to run around, chase rabbits, and hunt birds. Of course I never let her catch anything, but you have to admire her unwavering enthusiasm each time I mention the magic word "rabbit" to her. It's almost as interesting as "squirrel"!
So each morning and another 3 or 4 times during the day, Di, Princess and I go for a walk around the property, down to the beach where we get Princess to swim, run and generally be herself. It's great for our morale and our health as we have to run in the sand to keep up with her all while laughing like kids. It's definitely helping me regain my strength and my breathing.
Nearby we have the classic variety of stores you find in every industrial complex around the country. Home Depot, Target, Michaels, West Marine and more as well as a a ship chandler across the street and an engine parts supplier. In short everything we need for an extended stay here.
Additionally we got a post box so our rare snail mail can be forwarded to us and receive Amazon packages and other deliveries.
With Covid, we're going to hunker down here and self isolate. I continue to be at higher risk than most. A study even found that my risk is about 16 times higher than other adults my age. So we're not taking any risks.
We get our groceries delivered, and have such a long list of upgrades, maintenance and detailing to do on the boat that our days are very busy.
We have a small dog park nearby as well, so Princess gets a chance to socialize with other dogs too, and we get to meet people, albeit at a socially acceptable Covid distance.
Overall this is a good place to stay put until things blow over. We have an airport nearby so I should be able to fly back to France in October for my medical checkup, Covid allowing of course.
In the meantime we can explore the river a bit. At the height of the summer now, it's a little too busy to our liking, but considering the gorgeous views we're certainly going to explore things upriver at some point.
We will take the boat upriver at some point.
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