University of Portland

While at Collegium, we stayed at the University of Portland. It is a small university situated on the river with great views of the area. It is a cozy little campus, beautiful to walk around with a mix of new and older buildings. We were well fed during the stay. I especially enjoyed someone having food ready everyday and just getting what you want. It was good food for a college type situation. The university is building a new soccer stadium even though the old one looks fine. Apparently, considering the success of their women's soccer team, the old one isn't big enough. The townhouse we stayed in are certainly far superior to anything on the UDM campus (although I was glad to see the process of dorm window replacement starting at UDM today). I was impressed with Portland light rail system that transports folks from the airport to the downtown area. It was clean, efficient and informative. It would be great to see more places with something like that.

Trip to the Pacific

On the day of retreats, some of our group in the meditation retreat advanced to the shores of the Pacific at the end of the day. Led by our leader Dennis who rented a van, this motley crew headed for the beach. Fortunately, I brought my camera along to record this auspicious event. We walked around the beach for a while, taking pictures and taking in the sights. We then made our way to a Thai restaurant nearby and then back to the beach for a final look-see. It was a great side trip, as we chatted about the big and the small. Although the water was cold, it wasn't intolerable to walk in (though no swinwuits for this crowd). It was wonderful to look out onto the great expanse of the ocean for while, a more tangible way to ponder infinity and to fill the senses.