This morning, Trish and the kids went off to do laundry, and I went out for a ride:

The highlight of the route was summiting Chehalem Mountain:

After finishing up the ride, I took M and two of his Portland friends to a laser tag facility. The four of us played a game, and then the three kids played against three other patrons. Fun was had by all:

We plan to leave first thing tomorrow and head North into Washington.

This morning we said goodbye to Jason and Carrie and their kids and returned to Portland for Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah.   We’ve all had such a wonderful time being neighbors off and on over the last month.  It has been really great to reconnect, and our kids really enjoy each other’s company.  Trish and I were inspired by their rural homeschooling lifestyle.  Jason and Carrie also introduced us to some great family games.  The adults would play Dominion almost every night we were in Banks.  Hopefully we will meet up again on our travels!

Trish baked the challas she made yesterday:

The only downside to our great parking spot here at the synagogue in Portland is our proximity to the outdoor seating area at the bar next door.  Thankfully, the drunks usually go home by 3am.  Sleeping with earplugs makes in bearable:

Good Yom Tov from Portland, Oregon!  Our next post will be on Sunday, 10/19.

Trish worked with Carrie and her daughter to finish painting the barn:

We said goodbye to Jason and Carrie’s kids before we left:

Once in Portland, we picked up our four species, which included a citron for me and for M:

Trish made a vase with Mod Podged leaves as well as plenty of dishes for the upcoming holiday:

B made some decorations.  This is her cluster of grapes and a pomegranate:

We will be celebrating the first two days of Sukkos on Thursday and Friday, followed by Shabbos, so our next post will be on Sunday.  Happy Sukkos from Portland, Oregon!

After a pleasant morning, we said goodbye to Jason and Carrie and their kids and drove back to Portland for Yom Kippur. We were asked to find another place to park for the holiday, and thankfully Chabad of Oregon is able to accommodate us at their school campus. We parked nearby waiting for the lot to clear:

It was a tight fit, but we got it in here:

Good Shabbos and Yom Kippur from Portland, Oregon!

We had a wonderful Rosh Hashanah and Shabbos with the Portland community. It was great to see all of our friends from the “old neighborhood” again!

Today we’re hanging out at the synagogue for the Fast of Gedaliah. We are planning to head out tomorrow morning, but we’ll be returning for Yom Kippur through Simchas Torah.