I don't want to move there. It rains nine months out of the year. It has the highest suicide rate in the country. There are a million reasons why I did not think I would like the Pacific Northwest. But, the truth is I have come to love it here. It took a while, maybe a week or so, to come to that conclusion. We have gotten use to the "liquid sunshine" that seems to envelop the area on and off for several months but we have also come to love the blue skies and white clouds that appear all those other times.

Every day as we drive toward our home we can see the amazing profile of Mt. Hood. We have watched it covered in snow, adding snow, losing snow and now almost void of snow. But it isn't just Mt. Hood. There is Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and for those who like their legends there is even Mt. Multnomah. The mountains are spectacular and on clear days define the region. But they also create beautiful hiking trails and waterfalls.

I have seen my share of waterfalls over the years and I have to say I do have a favorite. I love Yosemite Falls and even more Vernal Falls and the mist trail. But I have never lived anywhere where there were more waterfalls so close to home. On our recent visit with our son and daughter-in-law we visited several of the falls along the Columbia Gorge. The hikes were beautiful, the falls wonderful and the scenery magnificent. Each was better than the last. Where else can one live and within a few hours hike up to three or four waterfalls.

These waterfalls don't just spring into existence. They are all fed by streams and rivers as they make their way to the Columbia. Which brings me to another reason for loving this area...the Columbia river. Oh I have lived along the concrete banks of the Santa Ana River and seen the bus drivers school in the Los Angeles River bed and we have seen the Brazos river jump its banks and create havoc in towns all over eastern Texas. For many years we drove along the Potomac river every day on our way to work. All I'm trying to say is that rivers have been a part of our life for years but the Columbia is a special entity. It is huge, it is strong, it is beautiful. We live just less than a mile off the river and we can feel the winds that come down through the gorge. We often take a drive up highway 14 running parallel to the river and cross the river on the Bridge of the Gods just to enjoy the views.

Speaking of drives...we try to find time every few weeks to take US Highway 26 out to the Pacific coast. We love the little town of Cannon Beach and the beach there is spectacular with its haystack rocks and constant breezes. Even on those days with liquid sunshine the we find the community a lovely place just to walk around and visit galleries and restaurants and some of the best coffee I've found in a a region known for its love of coffee. But, Cannon Beach isn't the only place. We have been to Seaside, Tillamook and Astoria as well and loved each for different reasons. Astoria was the first American settlement on the west coast, name after John Jacob Astor as a hub for the fur trade. We are just a short, relatively speaking, drive to Seattle and all the beautiful scenery to be had there.

Perhaps one of my favorite places to see is the beautiful Japanese Garden in Washington Park. It is amazingly peaceful, and serene. One can almost feel the calm come over them as they walk the quiet narrow walkways and look over the Koi pond or waterfalls. I plan to go back there many times.

Then there are the Farmer's Markets. I know I love the farmers' markets in Paris and have commented on their quintessential "Frenchness" but these are different. There is a mix of craftsmen and gastronomists in addition to the farmers. There is an abundance of "organic" produce and even local coffee roasters. One can buy not only food or home goods but also plants to grow on your own for herbs and vegetables. They are a different breed, much larger than the farmers markets in Virginia, much broader than the ones in Paris that I visited.

But perhaps the best part of life in the Pacific Northwest centers around two little boys. There is nothing more heart warming than having a cheering section when you arrive somewhere. Reed shouting across the yard "I love you Didi, I"m painting my tree house come and see" or Everett yelling "Didi, Didi Didi" when he sees you in the parking lot for a visit to the museum. The times when Reed sits on my lat to listen to a book or helps me build a very curious looking bird house. there were the sleep overs where the boys loved their new room upstairs and then loved running down to jump on Didi in bed in the morning. These two little wonder boys are taking years off this old man.

All in all there are a million reasons that I love living here in the Pacific Northwest, the river, the falls, the beaches, the coffee (you have to try Dutch Brother's for a wonderful Barista experience) but none are more wonderful than the time with two little boys who make me smile from ear to ear and give me hours of joy-filled happiness.