The only hang-up was work. That is what we used the car for the most. I didn’t feel safe riding it to work at the university and no one would argue that riding down Harbor, over the 91, past Disneyland to the hotel was a safe commuting option for Emily. And as often as I fantasized about a light-rail/street car line — making a circuit from CSUF down Chapman, turning South on Harbor traveling past Disneyland to the Block@Orange, the Orange circle then North along the 55 corridor back to CSUF — it wasn’t going to happen this decade.

The spring after the car accident, we did look into bikes. We had already decided that we were not buying a car to replace the Civic. Who needs more loans when you already have university debt to carry around. We read a lot online, gleaned advice from CleverChimp (now CleverCycles) and got suggestions from The Bicycle Lane. We were so close to buying but we opted to save our money and finally move North like we had been talking about for years.

Finally last summer, after moving to Beaverton, we bought ponies. We managed several weekend fun rides, and I got in the habit of riding to the pharmacist and library. And light-rail was covering Emily’s commute into downtown Portland. Still, most errands and trips were in the Volvo which was quickly showing its age.

Our recent move into central Beaverton has made a huge difference however. We are now in a much better location for relying on our ponies for errands. The new apartment is a very brief walk form the MAX for Emily. Our ride to the grocer, bank, bookstore, gym, dry cleaner and movie theater is five to ten minutes. Pleasant, level rides with bike lanes and traffic signal sensors just for bikes too. I am officially addicted to errands by bike, even the last minute, “Wouldn’t wine with dinner be great.” or “We’re out of garlic!”.

Along with this we have been enjoying the car-lite results. We are averaging 25-miles a week on the Volvo, or about 100-miles a month. It makes gas prices way less bothersome. My new challenge for the year is to put less than 2,000-miles on the car between April 1st and December 31st. The average American will drive about 9,375-miles in the same stretch of time. It will be fun to see how we do. Wish us luck and safe riding.

I had never heard of mushy peas before but I love them. They came along side my bangers & mash at Old Irish Times and I couldn’t pass up trying the edamame version on offer at Red Fish Blue Fish. Stuffed into a tortilla with bean sprouts, lemon-pickled onions and chili adobo, mushy edamame is basically cooked edamame, mashed with butter, cream, salt and pepper. I’m sure Red Fish Blue Fish had there own variation, but they are so yummy.

The architectural notion of the little restaurant also fascinated me. I have seen plenty of articles in the architecture press describing residential uses for standardized shipping crates, those things you see stacked two high on trains. But this was a first in person encounter for me. It is a must see (and eat!) in Victoria.

We are emailing everyone updates if we have your email address. Otherwise, give our old mobile phone a ring and the voicemail message will fill you in (for the next month at least). Hope to hear from you.

We set a deadline in December — by Em’s birthday we would move into our own place. We have often selected deadlines like this, arbitrarily, knowing that we don’t really mean to hold them too rigorously. But as the search for our next home progressed to a plan and then a lease, we found ourselves officially unpacking on that very day.

I spent three days ferrying boxes from storage, belongings we had not seen for over a year. My father and new nephew helped move the furniture that had sat wrapped in plastic that whole time. Then Saturday came and we packed our clothes into suitcases, scrubbed and vacuumed, and made the short drive to our new apartment. So there we were, washing dust dishes and linens, breaking down boxes and bubble wrap when we realized it was Em’s birthday. Even she had forgotten.

The process of unpacking is a pain but it affords that transition in our minds of moving the notion of great significance called home. I have done it a few times now, and the move back to Oregon was the toughest. We both came knowing that we would be in transition, temporarily setting up camp but planning to move in a matter of weeks or months. It took seventeen. Let’s all exhale together now.

Our connection to The Cloud finally got setup today and I moved the office. I had been commuting back to our temporary home for the past two-weeks to get things done. But now I am sitting in the second bedroom, henceforth known as The Office. The move is finally done.