I am lying on the bed of Elizabeth Brunner. Beside me is the lovely Ms. B herself, struggling through a book in Spanish that she found in Rachel's room. In twenty minutes or so, I'll be on my way to SPROG, carpooling with someone named Anastasia. I just thought I'd let you know I'm alive.

Portland is lovely. Seriously. What a neat city. No wonder so many people love it. I've eaten nothing but delicious food for the past few days. (Awesome Lebanese food at Nicholas's, yummy vegan fare with excellent service at Proper Eats, constantly tasty things at Elizabeth's house, etc.) I've biked a lot. I've laughed a whole bunch. I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with a few key people, and have met a handful of Elizabeth's friends from high school. This morning, I went with Elizabeth and her parents on the Bridge Pedal, a city-wide event that shuts down several of the bridges to car traffic so that mobs of people on bikes can zip across them. Well, not everyone zips. Lots of people meander, stop to take pictures, snack, and let their kids catch their breath. There are some great views from the crests of the bridges. Why is water so pretty?

Well. I should pack. I don't know how internet will work out at SPROG. If you don't hear from me within the week, I'm going to use that as my excuse.