Here I am in Portland Oregon again. It's a semi cloudy day and the temperature is a cool 73 degrees. The trees are lush and full and the flowers are blooming everywhere. Yet it is not the weather that keeps drawing me back to this place. Portland is my muse, my guiding spirit. During my first visit here last November I discovered that my inner hippie had been let loose. I melded right into the free form style of this city. Portland is not a trend setter type of place which is why in part I like it so well. If this city could be defined by setting trends I suppose it would be for protecting the environment and in it's care for the homeless. There is a soul to this city that is part of a highly concentrated area of Atheists. Lesson? We don't need to be religious to have a heart and soul.
When I told people that I was heading out here for my third trip within a year, several of them asked why we didn't just move here. Simple answer. I love Denver. Like Portland, Denver is a young, liberal, affordable city. It has a vibrant downtown and beautiful mountains a scant hour away. The weather is a perfect four season climate with virtually low humidity and tons of sunny days and it is an easy place to travel out of. I feel people are missing the point when I wax romantic about my love for Portland. The point being that this is why we should travel when we can. Travel not only enriches your life by exposing you to different ways of living, it also serves as a means to appreciate where you live. It's not necessary to move from place to place in order to get the full experience of a place. People try to move away from towns in order to get a fresh start. They feel that by leaving a place, they will leave behind all of the challenges that have beset them in a particular place, without realizing that they will be taking all of those problems with them on the road to seeking nirvana. I remember from my own past history when over 30 years ago we moved up to Portland from California when the Navy ship my husband was serving on was transferred to dry dock for repairs. At that time I was suffering from a psychological condition known as agoraphobia, which is a fear of going out. I remember driving up the coast of California and Oregon and thinking how this was going to be a new start for me. I was feeling good. I was going to leave all of that mess in California and move forward. It didn't happen. Once the glow of living in a new place wore off, I was back struggling with my ailment. Once we moved back to California, six months later, I resumed my therapy and eventually moved past the agoraphobia. It wasn't the move that solved my problem, it was me who solved it. We can run from relationships, friendships, cities and even our country, but, the baggage you are running from will still follow you. Good friends, that romantic relationship, the perfect place to live, can be found wherever you live and if it's not materializing then you need to go within to find out why it's not.
 When we were younger we lived in some of the most expensive areas of the country. Though both San Diego and New York had some wonderful aspects, they also fell short in affordability. It was tiring to live in places where everything cost a fortune. The advantage that San Diego has was that the weather is perfect and the beach is free!
Through travel, whether is be within our home state, our country or overseas, we can get a better sense of what syncs up with our true selves. We can come home with new ideas, new favorite things , and list of what we want to do when we return to the road.