As I look back over my journey, especially the past few weeks in Oregon, I am deeply touched by the amount of kindness I received from so many people, some I hadn’t seen in over 50 years and some were total strangers who welcomed me and treated me as a friend.

One friend even opened her home for me to stay while I explored Oregon. I did not ask for this. It was all freely given to me. We were friends in high school but did not keep in touch. We just met last year at our 50th high school reunion. When I emailed her a few months ago about my plans to explore the possibility of moving back to Oregon, she immediately said I could stay at her place, a large home with a lovely view!

Soon after I arrived at her home, she connected me with her friends, who kindly offered to show me around town when my friend had to be out of town a few days. They were a lovely couple who took me to a museum tour of historic buildings downtown.

The last town I visited, a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in probably 60 years gave me an extensive tour of her town. An old friend of mine had kept in touch with her and suggested I contact her. After 60 years, we hardly knew each other, even so she went out of her way to drive me around town all afternoon & even provided me with a local map of the town & sites to see.

This last tour, really helped me make my decision about where to live in Oregon.

As I unpack and settle back into my home here in LA, I am touched by all the kind messages I am receiving from friends who are eager to know what town I chose in Oregon. They are all supportive of my decision, which further amazes me.

The longer I live, the more I realize how many good people there are in the world. This trip confirmed it many times.