The city itself and surrounding area was surprisingly difficult to get around. There's only two major highways both of which don't really service much of the city. The signage is also incomplete and sporadic which necessitated us having to loop back a couple times. Kind of frustrating when on vacation. The people, although mostly warm, had a very unshakable attitude of Portland-superiority. Not in an aggressive way but there was a kind of low-level snobbery that was off putting. And unfortunately it was relatively straightforward not over-the-top like in Portlandia which would have been a bit more fun. Civic pride is one thing, this was something a little different.
Although not nearly as demanding as our trip last year to the Badlands it was still action packed. I find it hard balancing things on vacation. The impulse to see as much as possible, to soak it all in, while taking advantage of the time away from work to actually relax and recharge. Especially when I'm traveling I always feel the need to be out doing or seeing something. Nicole and I had a great time and we saw and did a lot of cool stuff but we didn't have a lot of time to just be together because there was always some place to go. It was hard to strike the right balance between doing stuff and just being there.
This is the third trip we've taken together and we've become relatively adept at traveling with each other. Things are typically smooth, we have fun, we communicate and stay connected, and compromise on the stuff we do. This trip wasn't as adventurous as our motorcycle trip last year or as fresh and new as our first trip together to Virginia the year before but it was fun if not exactly ideal. Could have used maybe one full day on a porch by the beach reading and drinking coffee. I love traveling with Nicole, it puts us in new sometimes amazing sometimes challenging situations and really allows us to flex our partnership and grow. I'm very grateful I have such an amazing person to share things with.
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