Amanda O. Latz, Ed.D.

Last night was super relaxed–and strange. After settling in at my Portland rental, I decided to walk around the neighborhood in search of needed things (cream for the coffee). I ventured out to Division Street, found a pizza place, had a slice, and then hit up the local grocery story on the way back (to buy the needed things).

I love grocery stores, so I wandered around quite a bit before actually placing any items in my basket. Peering down one of the aisles, I see a familiar face. I travel all the way to Portland and randomly bump into one of my former athletes from Appalachian State where I coached field hockey from 2001 to 2005. What are the odds? It was unbelievable and awesome and serendipitous and, well, weird. (We both agreed and were a little shocked.) Hadn’t see her in nearly 10 years.

After a night of journaling, post card writing, and internet surfing (yay wifi!), I hit the hay. Was up early this morning to get ready for my trip to the University of Portland to visit with one of our SAAHE alums and see the campus. A beautiful place! We walked all over the grounds, chatted and caught up, had a lovely lunch (the dining hall was inspiring; yes, inspiring) with one of his co-workers, and took a trip to the campus bookstore.

With a new hoodie and stack of post cards in hand, we ventured back to my car. It was an awesome two-hour visit, and I really enjoyed seeing Jody and hearing all about his plans to make the cross-country drive home (to NC) in just a few weeks! Love it.

Next stop: downtown Portland for books and donuts. Naturally.