Today I got my long-anticipated train ride into Portland. The train station was just seven minutes from Heather’s place – she was the one who let me stay in her tiny house.

The station was not, as I suspected, in an urban area, but in a more rural area. It was peaceful, quiet. A West highland terrier, owned (I think) by the clerk, was walking around. He reminded me of the dog in Maurice Sendak’s Higglety Pigglety Pop because, like the latter dog, he was very officious.

The ride was as much fun as I expected it to be, except for the fact that it was too short a trip. At one point we were delayed by a train traffic jam. I was in no hurry, I finished up reading The Little Prince. I

El in her kitchen

want to read more by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He supposedly edited the work of Beryl Markham, the author of West with the Night. The writing style of both books is similar, so I think so. Read long enough and you get to knock books off your reading bucket list. I left the book on the train, for someone else to read. I included an explanatory note about the Bright Lights Book Project.

I just wanted to keep going once the train arrived in Portland, head farther south. However, this was not to be. Maybe another time. El had been waiting for me for some time, in front of the train station. It WAS 11 a.m. We started talking and did not stop until 11 p.m., bedtime.

Today I took off my horse hat and put on my book proprietor hat. El has shown a great deal of interest in the Bright Lights Book Project and wanted all the details. I gave her two books, Humans of New York City and 200 years of Gardening and Architecture in Rochester, New York. It always feels good to get books into appreciative hands, and this time was no exception.

We dropped my duffle bag at her place and then went for a walk. I purchased a new toothbrush. Ate dinner, then watched a Robin Williams video. The day after tomorrow we’ll do a two-day trip – we are going to check out Astoria and points beyond. I’m also looking forward to this.

El asked me if I was homesick. I wasn’t sure what to say then, and I’m not sure what to say now. I know what it feels like to be homesick – it’s an emotional downer. But it means that I’m not in present.

I left Pete with so much to do. I don’t feel good about this. He told me tonight that, yes, it’s still snowing. Here, today, it was overcast, but the temps were in the 30s and yes, the grass is as green here as it was in Olympia.

Now thinking ahead, about summer and better weather. It’s almost March, which is the flip side of winter. I am not sure if I’ll be doing my mountains to the sea trek – if I decide to do this, I’m going to need to start getting in shape right when I get back.

Next: 56. 2/26/20: The Keep Elenore Moving Program