Mystery Solved

We have been wondering about the field behind us. We thought maybe it was some kind of vineyard but we'd never seen one like it. While in Independence over the weekend, we discovered its purpose. It's a hops field! Evidently, Independence is the hops capital of the world.

Well it's been over a week since we crossed the Willamette River via the pedestrian bridge from West Salem to Salem. It was a beautiful day and there were many people out. Once in Salem, we walked to Riverside Park. Nice walk...good workout.

Nothing much else going on. We seem to spend a lot of time in Independence...where we hope to find a house sometime soon. We take the dogs to the dog park there, then walk them to Independence's Riverside Park. It's a good walk for them and us! Both the dogs like walking down the boat launch and wading in the water. Hazelnut more than Nutella, but both are happy to have a cool drink after a good walk. We've also been walking them up to Main Street from there to socialize them with the traffic -- not a lot in Independence, but more than they're used to. 

We visited the Independence Heritage Museum yesterday and had a nice long talk with Peggy, one of the curators. She's been in Independence for over 20 years and shared a lot of town history with us. She's also been involved with city government and various boards and commissions. 

Later in the afternoon, we ventured into Monmouth, just up the road from Independence, for some ice cream. There's a little 'mom and pop' ice cream shop on Monmouth Avenue across from a small park. We ate ice cream and sat in the sun for a while. 

Derron has a second interview with the Salem-Keizer School District on Wednesday. We're hoping he gets it of course...but it would be nice to know sooner than later...he wants to go back to Bush and pack up the house before he has to worry about trying to do that while starting a new job. Most of the house is already packed up...but I need to arrange for PODS to be delivered and for some manual labor to help him. I am sure he's not looking forward to the work, but it will be nice to know our stuff is close by instead of so far away.

We found a house we both like in Independence...but we haven't looked at anything yet. I am trying to find a realtor so we can start compiling a list of places we want to consider. Main Street, or any street within a 3-4 block radius of Main Street, would be perfect since it would allow us to walk to everything -- the park/dog park, coffee shops/bakeries (there are two on Main Street), Thai food, 2 bars/pubs, Italian food (2 places), a used bookstore, the Civic Center, the library, and a cinema. Sounds ideal!