HOME. FINALLY...

Jump to...

After the incredible week of mountain biking in Châtel, I had to hit the ground running and never had the chance to stop and breathe before my path finally pointed me in the direction I've been longing for - Home. Before we get to the good 'ole USofA, I had a couple weeks of hecticness at work to make sure I focused and couldn't look too far ahead of what was to come.

Two Weeks to go...

Week 1

What did I walk into when I got back from France? Pure and utter chaos. All thanks to the terrible delivery from our supplier the day before I took off, and the fact that it seems like nothing happened the week I was gone, Monday through Friday of the first week was pure chaos. Whereas we normally receive software drops once every three months or so, we got six SW drops over four days that week. The icing on the cake, the SW we got on Friday was the right one, but they had to re-compile it for it to be official. So what's that mean? We got the actual final SW on Monday of the second week. JeebusHChrist.

All that meant long days each day of the week. Testing the new SW, finding the issues, reporting them back, and seeing if the supplier was going to do anything about it. That, all paired with trying to maintain a bit of a life outside of it, I was not home very much. When I was, it was either eating or sleeping, and for some reason for both weeks, I wasn't sleeping well at all. That just added to the stress.

The weekend between work weeks ended up being really nice. Friday night I tore apart my bikes in order to prep the forks, shocks, and droppers for delivery. I decided to send them off to a workshop while I'm gone to get them rebuilt and serviced. If I won't be riding my bikes, might as well use the time efficiently, right?!

Saturday morning was delightful, as Christoph came over for some scrambled eggs and english muffins. A delicious, relaxing, and wonderful breakfast to start the weekend, and then we chatted about my next project that he supplied the idea for. More on that to come once it gets underway!

Post breakfast, it was nap time. And holy shit I needed it. I passed out hard as soon as I hit the red chair. Conveniently enough, I was out for a good two hours and woke up with just enough time to get out the door. First stop was Tübingen to drop off my bike parts. Got that squared away, and next stop was over to the Hollowells!

This was a bit of a bittersweet stop, as they only had 20 days left in Germany before their move back to Detroit. So this was the last time I'd be able to come over and hang out and crash with them. But we made it more than fun! Steaks, grilled octopus, indoor racquetball, Catan, another wonderful weekend with my wonderful family. Sad to see they're moving back home, but happy to hear about the great opportunities they'll all be getting into once they're back!!!

A laid back morning again hanging out, chowing down, and relaxing with the gang was really nice to wake up to. After relaxing on the balcony for a bit, they squared me away with a ton of moving-away goodies, and I jumped from them to go see my good buddy Yann. Sad to realize that we hadn't seen each other since Slovakia the past year, but we met up and went for a nice little walk around his part of town.

Week 2

The second week ended up being more stressful. Work kinda teetered off a bit, but there was still a ton to do. Due to the delay in a functional software, what I was supposed to be doing over the past three weeks, I had to cram as much of it into the week before departure as I could. To add to that stress, emotions slowly built up throughout the week coming from a number of corners of my mind. All that coupled with the lack of sleep really just wore me down.

I don't know how, but Tuesday night I got my cry in. Or at least part of one. Wasn't sure how it came to be, but cruising reddit I just got heady, and started bawling. Thinking about a lot of things and it all just came to a T. I had been feeling it coming on for a good while, but despite the need, a few days later everything was kinda back to where it was - emotions high and refilling the dam of tears.

Friday eventually rolled around, and I was done. Donezo. Finished. Useless. COVID test in the morning followed by PT, then off to work. I don't know if I really got anything useful done, but I was there, and struggled through the day. Finally being able to leave and start trip prep, I was just drained. Made it home, haircut, laundry, and time to pack.

Finally Headed Home - The Journey Begins

Spark Notes - My Polarsteps Journey

It was one helluvan early Saturday morning, but my flight at 06:00 meant an early up and out. Thankfully, I had everything well enough squared away the night before to where I just needed to shower, grab my stuff, and hit the road.

For getting to and from the airport, I had a different setup for parking. All the lots at the airport were either full or godawfully expensive, so I signed up to drop my car off at the terminal, someone/company would take it to a parking lot, then when I return, I'd give them a call and they'd deliver Rupert back to me. At least that is/was the plan.

Well, it was a weird wait for the guy to come get my car once I got to the terminal, and it kinda got me worried. But after realising it was a misunderstanding on my end and Rupert was in (hopefully) good hands, I got calmed down and less worried about the setup. From there I walked into the terminal and DAYUM having priority status is nice. It was a super short line at the counter and I got my bags, tickets, and COVID paperwork all squared away. Soon enough I was through security and into the airport - the first time since moving over here.

On the one hand, the whole experience was super weird. The first time flying in over a year and a half, and first time in the pandemic and everything. Much stricter rules and a few more hoops to jump through.

But on the other hand, it all kinda felt both the same, and as if it hasn't been nearly a year and a half since the last time I flew. Tons of people, it's all chaotic, but despite it all people somehow make it to their flights without killing each other. Kinda weird to see so many damn people too, just nuts.

Thankfully, getting up and out of Stuttgart was quite the breeze. I didn't have to wait too long for our flight to take off, and getting into Amsterdam was gorgeous, with a beautiful sunrise at takeoff, and sun glinting off the harbor in Amsterdam as we came into town.

As soon as I got out of Germany though, a notable difference. Hearing English everywhere again threw me off immediately. So weird to be able to hear every conversation around and not be able to tune it out. That's one of the benefits of living in a foreign country where the local language is not your first language.

Through screening and into the lounge for some grub and some time to sit around. Overall I had an almost four hour layover, but once I got to a seat in the lounge and had some food, I only had about two hours to hang out before heading to the gate. Enough time to relax, do some writing, and take a breather.

DISCLAIMER: everything above this was written close to the the time it happened. Everything afterwards, however, was not, and is being written at least a month or two after the fact. I stupidly didn't take notes during the trip, so it's all a good bit doing my best to remember what I can.

After a bit of lounging around, I decided to head to the gate a little early for a little more walking before jumping into another aluminum tube. The excitement was slowly building, as I was one step closer to being back home. Boarding went well enough and we were up in the air in no time. I was pretty pumped for the start of the flight, but some cloud cover prevented me from doing some high-up scouting of my next trip. The map on the display-thing was kinda sweet though.

After a long-ish flight, I was back in the US. Not quite home, but at least on home-soil. Landing in Seattle, went through customs (which was a BREEZE. I still can't get enough of Global Entry), and it was weird to have SeaTac as my first entry point. But I was officially welcomed back into the US, and then was waiting for my puddle jumper to head back to PDX.

Landing in PDX was quite the relief and surprise. Relief, finally out of the airplanes and airports and could take my mask off. And who do I take my mask off to? Nearly the whole family waiting on the bridge for me. You know it - the waterworks couldn't hold back any longer. A nice big long hug with Mommy made me know I was finally back home. :-)

Mommy, Alicia and the kids, and Peewee, who drove down from Richland just to welcome me back, were all there to welcome me back home to the USofA for the first time in a year and a half. What a great way to start things!!! I had my bags, we loaded up, and headed back to the hotel near the airport to hang out together.

Some happy hour, some chips and salsa, and some relaxed time to see each other and catch up. I was pretty tired, but it was so great to see the family. Jerffrey and Harmony were full of energy, and it was great to see them, Alicia, Peewee, and Mommy again.

While I was in Amsterdam, I was stopped off at a gift shop and got a shirt each for Jeffrey and Harmony. So while we were hanging out, I ran down to the car to get them from my suitcases. First I gave Jeffrey his, and he was pretty excited. Then I showed Harmony hers, and I will never forget the unbridled excitement that she let rip after she saw the shirt. It was so funny and so pure! I asked her if she wanted me to put it on her, and the only thing she could say was "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah" with a gigantic smile. I'll never for get that!

Well after some hanging out, the kids were gearing for the pool, so Mommy and Alicia joined them, and Peewee and hung back while I ended up passing out on the couch for a while. I was out cold, and quick. But soon enough the gang was back and we had a little more time to hang out, watch some planes land at PDX, and just take it easy. Not long after that though, my eyes started drooping. That meant wishing my lovely, dear family a good night before I headed downtown to my hotel to get some sleep.

Once I got to my hotel though I got checked in and squared away, but somehow got a bit of a second wind with the transfer to downtown. So instead of just sitting there waiting to fall asleep, I meandered the few blocks down to the Willamette, got called a jackass probably three times in the six blocks there, and found a bench to take in my (former, but kinda current) city. A beautiful night to do so.

After a good while sitting on the bench, trying to sift through the many thoughts in my head and enjoy the beautiful night in town, it was off to the room, and off to a poor night's sleep. Thanks jet lag.

Getting Started

After the restless nights' sleep, I was up and moving to head back to the family for a little more time to hang out and catch up. On the way though, I got to start my reunion tour of some Portland staples. First stop - See-Sees Coffee for a little java. I rolled up right as they opened, and the guy opening was running a little late. So I grabbed a couple chairs to throw on the sidewalk. A little helping hand goes a long way towards a free cup of coffee! With my java, I jumped by Henry Higgin's Bagels for some sammiches, then was back at the hotel with the family.

Some great noms, some great people, some planes coming in to land, all makes a relaxed way to start the day with the family.

Around mid-morning though it was time to split. Peewee had a long drive back to Richland, Alicia, Mommy, and the kids were gonna go bike the Trillium Bridge, and I was off to go get some sweat out of me through the thing that's consumed my life (in a good way). We got in another picture, bid adieu, and we were off to re-meet in a couple weeks time.

From there, I was off to the House of Duvall to meet up with my best bud Andy! One of the biggest things that's missing in my life in Germany is my mountain biking buddies. So as you could imagine, it was such a great sight to see that bundle of energy. Got there, had some McDonald's ready for our/my pre-MTB breakfast, got the bikes loaded up, and we were off to go shreddy!

The cra ride was nothing but catching up and hearing how life's been treating him and Megan and getting back in the swing of being home. Soon enough, we'd made it to Rocky Point and a few other bear hugs for Colin, Clayton, and Lindsey were waiting! Bikes repacked and we were headed up the hill. Gah, finally having my freeeends back in my life - such a great relief!

Well, it was hot as shit out, but damn what a treat to be back home in the beautiful PNW. It was a clear day, and on our sweaty tour of Rocky Point we crossed a couple spots with wide-open views of the area, and I couldn't not stop, take a few deep breaths, and realize how much I miss the PNW nature. Mt. Hood, Portland, greenery, blue skies, all just absolutely breathtaking.

Another day in the PNW, another day with great friends, and another great day of riding in the books. It was hot, sweaty, but a damn good ball of fun with some great people on great bikes riding some great trails.

Me and Andy loaded back up and then headed back to his place, and I was invited to stay, hang out, and grub up with Andy, Megan, and Obi the pup! What a treat! It was the perfect way to catch up with Megan and Andy, and pet their new dog, enjoy some DEEEELICIOUS food (they'd been really honing their culinary skills through COVID - steaks, elotes, and amazing everything!), and just enjoy a wonderful evening with some absolutely great people.

Seriously, they know how to make some delicious food. So we chowed down hard, had some drinks, and I learned a new board game. But, unfortunately, tiredness eventually caught back up to me. It was an absolute delight to see and catch up with Andy and Megan. Such great people.

From there, it was back to the hotel to hope I could get some sleep. Surprise, surprise - jet lag.

Week 1 - Work

As I'm good at doing, there was no time to waste being back in town, and two days after I'd landed it was back to Swan Island and back to work. Not fun, but it's one of the reasons I was able to have such a long trip. So up and at 'em, back to Corp III I go!

Overall, work was fine. It's work, so what can I say. But being back in Portland and being able to jump back into my old team, which is the team I interact with the most from my role in Germany, was pretty nice. Great to see how they're working, what they're succeeding in, but difficult to see and verify the many differences between Germany and Portland, especially trying to figure out how to communicate those differences so the folks in Germany will realize/internalize them. Either way, work stuff went well.

Monday started things off pretty quick, with some good work and getting to see a bunch of former colleagues. Then, in one of the truest differences between US and German work culture, right after work I headed up to the local dive bar for some spontaneous post-work beers. God I miss that aspect of life! That, and the fact that there are SO MANY BEER TYPES on tap!!! As you'd imagine, I got the darkest one they had. Nomnomnomnom.

After some beers with the crew, I motored up north to another one of my old stomping grounds. I didn't have my cleats or my jersey with me, but I put my heckler's uniform on and hung by the fence as my old softball team the Lugnuts hit the field! This was a double-win too, cause they were playing Andy's team, so I got some REALLY good heckling on him to boot!

Tuesday - another day of work with a giant plate of Matt's BBQ at lunch. Portland is such a food utopia!!! But after work, I didn't have any plans. I wormed my way back to the hotel and was about ready to just kinda hang out and go to bed early, but I found some motivation and energy, and headed out for a walk.

With no real route or destination in mind, and being downtown where I didn't normally go, I just kinda set off. The sun was out, the skies were blue, and I was feeling a good bit aimless. Eventually I found myself on the Burnside Bridge, and headed across the river to SE Portland.

In SE, I meandered my way around and eventually found myself on Stark St. Kinda hungry, I started looking for some grub, and had an old sandwich shop in mind. Unfortunately, Meat Cheese Bread wasn't open for dinner hours, so I was bummed about that.

Turning around, I wandered back to Sandy and past my old dance studio, and as luck would have it, there was a class going on! I wanted to stop in and say hi, but not in the middle of class. So right next door was the old taqueria, who looked to have closed down, so I found a spot on the patio and hung out for a while.

This put me in a perfect storm situation - feeling aimless, not sure what to do, in the middle of a big decision I was still torn on, and not feeling too at ease about any of it. I sat on the patio and my mind just jumped around trying to process things. But my mind works very poorly on its own with topics like this, so this didn't help. Thoughts lingering on why do I feel alone so often (even on that night in my old city)? Where do I actually fit or belong in this world (as I'm still unsure where I do)? Am I actually confident and comfortable with myself? Those kinds of deep questions and more. It's dangerous when my mind is left to turn around and look on the inside. I need to, but I'm still not sure how to process these things on my own.

Eventually though, it was towards the end of class, so I wandered back over and got to see a few familiar faces, including Melissa and Colin, the teachers! Such great people and incredible teachers, it really made me miss being under their tutelage and dancing in general (last time I danced was in Portland before I moved). Good to see that they've got a limited basis of in-person activities going, and that things are moving along. Not as they normally would, and times are still tough, but it was so great to see them, albeit briefly, and catch up!

From there, I wasn't in the mood for a drink, so rather than stopping by Loyal Legion, I meandered around a bit and started pointing back towards the hotel. It was dark by now, but it was a nice, relaxing walk before finally jumping into bed.

Wednesday was another day of work, highlighted by the delicious, infamous, amazing, Gonzalez Taqueria. I learned that, once MS Teams was implemented as the new communication platform at DTNA, Corp-III, my old building, setup a burrito chat. As soon as someone was planning on going to get a burrito or tacos or whatever from Gonzalez that day, they'd throw it in that chat, and whoever wanted in on it would add their order. What a glorious use of modern communication!!! The place looks a little worse for wear, but the people there are fantastic and the burritos and food in general are incredible!

That night, I headed down to Milwaukie to go see the Simpsons! Drew and McKenna ended up moving from 82nd area down to Milwaukie with their little one and had a really nice place in a nice neighborhood. I got in and we had a good long while to sit around and chat about the last year+, how they've been, how their little one is growing so quick, how Kingsley (their corgi) is a little drama queen, and just how they both are doing. As always, so great to see and get back in touch with such great people!

Thursday put me back on the move. Due to some of the current stuff at work, we were off to Madras for some testing. Just as it was when I was back in the group, Madras, our not-so-local test track, has been growing in usage and usability over the last few years, and will be growing further in the coming year (corporate finance is a goddamn mystery box of chaos). Well, we packed up our test truck and hit the road. Thankfully enough, Mt. Hood was waiting there to say hi, and Mt. Jefferson was too. :-)

Madras was Madras, so nothing too fantastic to share from there. But we did head to Rio, and I finally got my margarita!!!

Backstory: During Work Week 2 back in Germany before the trip, we had a colleague from Portland, Claudiu, in Wörth as a part of an exchange. We were working late one of the nights updating cameras and things were hitting a snag. At some point Claudiu mentioned margaritas and my knees almost buckled in desire. It was hot out, we were working all day, and that was the only thing that clouded my mind. I wanted nothing else except a margarita.

The next morning I went over to Safeway to snag some breakfast, and along with the beautiful sunrise that greeted me on the walk over there, sitting there on the shelf was my boy Ryan's hard work!!!

Work back on the track went well. Another hot day, a little bit smoky, and we got a few more wrinkles ironed out so we were able to get a little work done. Soon enough though, it was Friday afternoon and it was time to GTFO back to Portland.

After wrapping up the testing, I jumped in a car and made the two-ish hour drive back to Portland. With that, it was time for a weekend I was ready for. My body wasn't going to like it, but it was time to shred!!!

Ready Shreddy - A MTB Weekend Galore

As soon as I knew I'd be coming back, I knew I had to get a ton of riding in with my crazy crew of riding buddies. After some planning, some doodles, a calendar to figure things out, it was right off the bat that worked out for the most people to spend the weekend riding, drinking, and eating up that PNW loam.

To start it off, I headed off to Andy's house to start things off. We spent the night hanging out and getting ready, and got to once again enjoy some incredible food. Handmade ravioli. Bwuh. Fucking deeeeelicious!!!

Sidenote: HUGE shoutout to my boy Andy. Such a great and incredible friend. He's made the big jump out of Daimler and I'm super pumped to hear how the next step goes! He and Megan are doing great things, are great people, and I'm stoked I got to spend a bunch of time with them during my trip!

The next morning, we were up and at 'em and ready to go! We loaded up the Tacoma, got the Vitamin R in the coolers, and we were off! First stop...

Thrillium and Cold Creek

The first pit-stop on this weekend world tour was up in SW Washington at Thrillium. This place is known as a trail built to destroy downhill bikes. So naturally, it's a bruiser. But our crew rolled up, did some last bits of fine-tuning, and we were loaded up to shuttle!

Well, as luck would have it, we (mostly me) had a good number of tire problems. First run, I got a puncture and I thought the bacon strips would hold the leak. But on Run #2, the puncture wasn't holding, so it was time for a tube! Needless to say, it was a bummer having tire problems right out the gate. But thankfully, I wasn't the only one, because Andy had a similar issue on Run #2 as well. But, after putting in a tube and pumping up the pressure, we continued the shreddage.

Thrillium is really a bone-beater. It's a hard trail, full of huge rocks and jumps, and everyone was feeling pretty beat. So after a few runs of Thrillium, we decided to get a little pedal in and rode up the hill to Cold Creek. Bwuh, it was HOT out, so sweat was pouring, but we made it up, and had an awesome ride down to finish out the great first stop along the weekend.

Post-ride, we took the scenic route out and on the way stopped at another institution of my world in Portland - time for some Banh Mi's!!! It's a total hole in the wall that Andy and I discovered on a whim, and has been pinned with a heart on the map ever since. So I called in the order, and we headed back to Andy's with the delicious treasure to pack up all our camping gear and of course. Chow. Down.

Spicy sandwich satiation completed, Tacoma re-packed with our gear for the night, and we were off and on the way! First pit-stop was Freddies to gear up on ice and some snacks, then we hit the highway out to a new trail that Andy had been helping to build out. First snag though, the highway was closed. Dun dun dun...

Fear and Loaming

Turns out, the highway was closed down due to a major accident down the road. But, the place we were going to was before the accident. So after talking to the guy manning the closure, we were given the all-clear to head out and hit the trail!

It was nice being on a highway with limited traffic, and soon enough we were at the trailhead ready to go! As luck would have it, Jack, another DTNA coworker, was there ready to shred. And I gotta say, we shredded things up in a good few ways.

This was an experience that I would never ever be able to experience in Germany. First off, shuttling is possible, but I have yet to see or ride anywhere where you can drive deep into the forest to get to the trail. That's not present in DE. Next, a big-ass Chevy 3500 long bed doesn't exist over here. That's a big beast. And lastly, and most definitely most prevalent, we were chugging some delicious Vitamin R's to get ready for the ride. THAT, would never, ever happen in Germany. I fucking love the PNW.

The road up to the trail was long, rocky, and quite the bruiser. So it was a damn good thing we had the big-ass truck to get us up there. And soon enough, we were at the top ready to shred!

Andy and his crew did one HELLUVA job on this trail. What an incredible ride. Tons of variation, some great features, and some great fun in the wonderful PNW dirt. And it's a damn good thing it's a shuttle trail, because the climb up would be brutal.

Well, I was not riding my bike, but rather a bike Andy was letting me ride (and partly destroy. Sorry 'bout that buddy...). I use this to preface the fact that I was struggling to get comfortable on the two wheels, but riding my little heart out as best I could. But, sometimes I forget I'm not as good of a rider as I think I am. Here's a perfect example.

That was unfortunately the second attempt on that jump, the first I also crashed. But the second was worse, and thankfully it got caught on video. I was a bit shaken up, but shortly thereafter was ready to keep riding. And that's just what we did!

We ended up getting a couple of laps in on this awesome new trail. Seriously Andy, great work on the digging! Thankfully, I survived, and double thankfully, there was a river right next to the lower parking lot. So after rolling in I stripped down and got to wash off most of the dirt and sweat and blood. That felt unbelievably great.

Wrapping up from there, we headed up to the third stop on our trip, and rolled in just as the sun was going down. With our little crew, and after John decided that plowing through a ditch was better than the actual roadway, we got our little caravan parked and ready for the night.

Beers, burgers, and good times abound as we enjoyed the day of riding with some cold brews and good food at the top of the hill. The stars were out that night to cap every thing off as we all hit the sack ready get some sleep and ready for another day of shredding.

Raven's Ridge

Wake up was incredible. A B-E-A-UTiful sunrise over the Cascade Range. And right after that, Andy went full on chef and we had a deeeeelicious plate of eggs, sausage, veggies, cheese, and hot sauce. Bwuh. What a GREAT way to start the day!!!

Raven's Ridge was another trail I'd never ridden before, so it was an exciting start to the day! This one was fun. Rooty, steep, good fun technical bits, and an all around blast. We got a few runs in, and I held out from one drop that I kinda wanted to do but didn't trust myself yet from the day before. Good times at the Ridge.

From there, we lost a couple of the guys in the group due to other committments, but John, Andy, and I were headed down to Burma Peak for the last stop on the world tour. Due to what I had planned directly afterwards, we popped back to Andy's so I could pick up my stuff and my ride in order to leave from Burma directly to what came after the Weekend of Shreddage.

What this meant though, is that one of the best eateries in the world (in my humble opinion) would be a pre-ride treat instead of the normal post-ride treat. But, I was finally headed home! Well, home being the best taco truck in existence. And HOT DAMN SHE WAS WAITING FOR ME!!!

Burma Peak

Holy Grub acquired, I rode out to Burma Peak. Soon enough, Andy rolled up and we feasted. Like Kings. In the hot sunlight. Damn tacos are so goddamn delicious!!!!!!

Bwuh. Seriously. Those tacos and everything that comes from that heavenly taco truck is absolutely unreal!!! But, from there, it was time to ride. The downside of Burma Peak is that it's a three mile ride in just to get to the start of the climb. But we cranked that out of the way and planned on waiting for John, who got there way before us, at the bottom of the hill.

Well, that was not how it was gonna play out. No service at hand, we couldn't get a hold of him, so after waiting around for a while we started pedaling up the hill. I'm not sure how or why (likely the heat, and the constant movement), but that uphill for me was an absolute bear. I was sweating like a pig completely out of energy pretty much the whole way. It was one helluva slog...

But partially up, we had cell coverage and connected with John! He was already at the top with Connor, so we kept pedaling with the plan to meet them there. It felt like it took forever, but we made it!

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I only had time for one run. But made it count! Burma is such a fun place to ride. The steep, technical mixed with the poppy jumps, it's an absolute blast. And with the nothing but dusty powder down, those steeps were even more insane!

We all made it down to the bottom with nothing but grins and shouts of "HOly SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME!!!". Truly an insane and incredible way to round out an insane and incredible weekend with insane and incredible people!

From there, we had the three mile ride back out to the cars. It was a bummer to say goodbye to Andy and John and Connor, but damn, seriously, what an incredible weekend! Still sweaty and dirty, I jumped in the car, pointed the car south, and was headed to Eugene.

Bend Coast to Coast

The next leg of my journey was to start, hold over, and end in Eugene. But the starting meant I got to meet up with my old friend Tyra! We met at Helen's house so I could drop off my car, and then we hit the road a little before sunset to head over the pass to Bend. Thankfully I stocked up at the taco truck, and had a tripa burrito waiting for me to devour after the long day of mountain biking!

The drive was gorgeous, but it was crazy to see how much damage had taken place due to the fires the previous summer. Lots of barren land and downed/burnt trees, but even with that, what a gorgeous place. Along with the nature, it was great to catch up with Tyra! Really awesome to hear all the big stuff going on in her life and the new chapter she has all lined up!

Soon enough, a little after sun down, we rolled into Bend and headed to the House of McVay. There awaiting us was a whole gaggle of crazy CBYXers!!!

Chilling in Bend

To start them off was my man Zack. The reason for this whole reunion is his, as he was on the tail end of the Trans-America Bike Route. Sometime in June he started in Washington, D.C. and had pedaled himself and his bike Beowulf the entire way across the USA. An absolutely incredible feat. And at that point in time, he was rounding up a couple days crashing with Ryan and Helen, and the redheaded wonder Colin who'd come down from Washington!

So Tyra and I rolled up, and the party just kept rolling. As is always the delight at Ryan and Helen's, there was some delicious tacos flowing and we got to grub up. Follwed by my Mommy's Neiman Marcus cookies and some amazing brews from Three Creeks (Ryan's craft as their pub's head brewer), we were sitting pretty with nothing but deliciousness and good people.

We didn't let time waste itself before really diving into all the delicious goodness and catching up. A really fun night with the whole gang just hanging out and drinking. But soon enough, it was off to bed for another day of drinking, food, fun, and great people.

The next day, it was a lazy start. Just what the doctor ordered. We kinda rolled around, slowly got out of bed, and then hung out on the balcony at Ryan and Helen's old place for a bit before heading back to Ryan and Helen's new place to start the day. Grub. Always a good way to go. And again, it's like living in a five-star restaruant at their house. No joke.

After a good bit of lounging around and chatting and such, we decided to go out into the world to do stuff. Right around that time, it started raining a bit, which was really needed in the midst of fire season. Made for some nice pictures too.

After running a few errands and getting some stuff done, it was time for some vittles. And beer, of course. So we headed down to Bend Brewing Co. downtown. First starting out on the lawn, we eventually got a table for lunch and had some good brews to go with it. Otto the puppy was along for the ride and we had a delicious time in the fresh PNW weather.

Bearded Boys

So, as we know, Zack was on a big adventure over the summer, biking from Washington, D.C. all the way to the West Coast. That's a helluva trip.

As it's one less thing to take care of during the trip, he decided he was going to trim his beard down before the trip and let it grow out throughout the journey. Well, as a sign of solidarity (and a bit of a competition), we trimmed our beards down at the same time before the trip! The thought was to take some pictures every couple of days for us to track our beard progress throughout his trip! So that's exactly what we did!!!

Two Beards in a Bushel. Isn't that something special :-)

...back to the show...

From there, Helen headed off, and the crew headed to The Cellar, a basement bar with nothing but cask ales. There was a friendly crew next to us, but we got some time to hang out, reminisce, and relax with some more good brews. Cool little bar too.

Unsure how long we hung out there or what we did afterwards, but eventually we made our way back to Ryan and Helen's. And, because I was in town, I took the opportunity to pop over to my aunt and uncle's place! Nothing like being able to just stop by family and say hi.

Thankfully, when I pulled up, they were there! It was a total surprise, but Al came to the door and we were able to spend some time chatting. Eventually my cousin Max showed up and holy damn he grew! Crazy seeing your little cousin as an adult! But we got to have some nice time to chat, catch up, and see how they're doing. The visit was way shorter than it should have been, but it was really nice to stop in and see how Al, Sharon, and Max and the rest of their house was doing!

From there it was back over to Ryan and Helen's to enjoy the night of festivities. They were all lounging around the pool when I rolled up, but soon after, we were back in to backyard barbecue mode. The beers were flowing, we set up some Beersby (aka Cricket), and Good Times were bound to be had.

The moment we were all waiting (and watching the clock) for was Laura's arrival. She was on the road headed straight from Wisconsin to Bend, and was bound to arrive sometime that afternoon/evening. After much anticipation, she arrived to the party! With the whole gang there, it was time to party.

The festivities continued with a little more beersby (cricket) and thanks to Ryan's incredible handiwork at Three Creeks, we had plenty of beer to keep us going. Liquids flowing, the games and fun kept rolling.

As we were playing away and letting the delicious elixir lead to some good times, Helen (and Ryan between his beersby appearances) were working hard away in the kitchen. And soon enough, their hard work was ready for us to enjoy! On the menu - Beef Wellington and Salmon Wellington. I gotta say, having friends that can cook, bake, and brew, all in the same household, hot damn it's awesome. As is always the case in the McVay household, it was DEEEEEEEEEEEEElicious.

What a wonderfully beautiful night:

• Great friends
• Great food
• Great drinks
• Great conversations

Just an incredible night with incredible people and incredible things. Really a great time. We drank, ate, and chatted all night and had a fantastic time of it. The beef and the salmon wellingtons were both fantastically delicious. With so much good food and enough booze in us though, as it usually does, eventually the night came to an end.

Bend to McKenzie

That next morning, it was time to hit the saddles and ride off into the sunset. Well, not quite sunset yet, but it was time to hit the road! Zack had been bumming around Bend for long enough, and me and Laura were saddled up and ready to pedal our way to the coast to help Zack finish off his epic journey!

We got up fairly early and got all our gear readied up and squared away. One thing that we had going for us from the get-go was the support of Colin along the way. Although he wasn't pedaling along with us, he was doing us one better. He agreed to be our pilot car for the trip! That meant we could stash our crap in his car, and he'd meet us at the end stop for the day to hang out, drink, and chow down after a long day of riding. Seriously Colin, thank you so much for doing this for us!

After another wholesome and delicious meal at the McVay's (we'd be seeing them in a bit!), we packed up our bags, got our two wheeled steeds ready to go, and were off to the races!

The cool, crisp, and sunny early morning was a great start to our ride. The start of the route got us through the outskirts of Bend to skip as much of town as we could. Soon enough, we were out of city limits and onto the rolling highways of the high desert. Things were off to a good start.

But soon enough we got our first flat. Unfortunately, first of a string of them. That had us pull to a stop for a while as we went to work patching the tube. It was a quick stop, and soon enough we were back up and running.

Soon enough the backroads met back up with the main highway and we were on our way towards Sisters. That's not exactly a great highway to ride a bike on, but it was really the only route that made sense. Thankfully, we didn't have any issues, had some good music and podcasts going, and had a good little chug going along. Not to make it all work no play, we pulled off at the viewpoint just outside of Sisters to take in the beautiful mountains on the beautiful day!

Cranking it out. Just a short way after that rest stop, the highway rolls into Sisters, OR. And, as we know, Sisters is the home of the one and only Three Creeks Brewing! Not ones to pass up times with friends, we rolled into the Brewery and said hi to Ryan and Helen.

After walking around the Brewery for a bit and hanging out with Ryan while he was brewing some new Three Creeks brews, we continued on to Sisters proper to run a couple errands. First, we needed some coffee. So Helen joined us as we headed to Sisters Coffee and snagged some java, and I got a bomb-ass cookie to go with it. That was delicious.

Then, while we had a little civilization around us, we headed over to a bike store so Laura could stock up on a chammois. Totally necessary to have one of those on a trip like this! So she got squared away, I got to ogle at some mountain bikes, and after that we were back on the trail!

Leaving Sisters, it was time to head up and over the McKenzie Pass. Unfortunately it wasn't the one weekend a year where the highway is closed for bikers and walkers, but thankfully the highway wasn't too busy and ended up being a beautiful ride up and out of the high desert.

Chugging along. From here, it was a lot of uphill to get up and over the pass. Thankfully, it was fairly gradual, so it wasn't a total bear. And despite it being a two-lane road, the traffic was light and the drivers were friendly. Just the combination of things you can enjoy!

Soon enough though, energy was waning and it was time for a snack break. Not gonna lie, I think I had the best snacks of all time. From the drive over to Bend, I wasn't able to finish the burrito. And thanks to the marvels of modern refrigeration, that was what was waiting for me to devour. HOLY GOD THOSE BURRITOS ARE SO GODDAMN GOOD.

All three of us had some time to re-energize and let the calories settle in before hitting the road to continue up the pass. The trees were bare (thanks to some forest fires of years past), and the skies were relatively clear considering it was the middle of fire season. But regardless of it all, it was gorgeous with Broken Top just hanging out behind the trees!

Up and up we continued. Soon though, the trees slowly faded out and were replaced by a giant lava field. And I mean giant. Luckily enough, there was a view point with some pretty informative signs waiting for us. So we pulled off, enjoyed the views, and Laura and Zack had a long and lovely conversation with a couple from Alaska on a tandem bike that were headed across to DC! Quite the long stretch ahead of them, but it was fun watching Zack have some camaraderie with total strangers over an epic journey like the TransAmerica!

From that view point, it was just one last push (with a few false summits) until the top. It was getting warmer, but we pushed on. Slowly, surely, we kept on keeping on.

And soon enough, we'd reached the top of the pass! It was a bit anti-climactic, but the top was clear enough which brought a damn nice feeling of accomplishment!

Reaching the top, as always, requires a little celebration (and in this case, some food and a long break). We stashed our bikes on the side of the parking lot, snagged our vittles, and headed to the top of the observatory to enjoy the view and fill up our bodies with some calories. Still a clear day, and what a view!

At our previous snack stop, I smartly only took a few nibbles, and thankfully still had almost half my burrito ready to devour!!! That paired with our summit beers, we all started snacking and drinking away, cooling down from the long pedal uphill, diving into some delicious food, and chatting all along the way.

We did a good job of relaxing and hanging out at the top. It was a clear day (at the moment), and it was nice to sit around with some great biking buddies. Once we'd had our food-fill, we wandered around the observatory. If I remember correctly, it was built entirely out of the lava rocks from the area, and was built during the many works projects from the Great Depression. One cool thing about it, on the inside, the window slits (tall and vertically built) all/mostly point directly towards nearby peaks! Jefferson had it's own viewing portal, Hood (a bit far away), the Sisters, all of them! Pretty cool design!

Unfortunately, as we were lounging around and then exploring the observatory, our luck with clear skies had kinda run out. The smoke from the nearby mega fires of the summer had made their way to our presence, and it made quite a noticeable difference. Despite that, we were lucky, because we had a nice, long downhill stretch ahead of us.

The approach from Bend to the top of the McKenzie Pass was smooth, gradual, and honestly quite doable. And hotdamn I'm glad we were going East to West, because the descent down from there was insane. Around 4000' vertical drop over 22 miles, once we started going from the top of the pass (and got over a few hills to start), it was a thing of beauty being able to coast all the way down the pass!

On the one hand, going so damn fast on a road bike on pavement had me sketched the hell out. There were tons of switchbacks and tight curves, and the grip of road tires on asphalt is worlds away from the grip of dirt tires on singletrail, which is what I'm used to. All that sketchiness aside, damn that was a fun descent. Fast wind blowing by your face; no/little energy needed to go forward, down, and fast at that.

I was really enjoying the ride. Taking the curves at speeds a little faster than I thought the tires could handle, but enjoying the hell out of the roller coaster ride that started in lava fields and eventually maneuvered down to the forest.

After what seemed like way too quick a time, eventually the road started to flatten out a bit and turn into a much more gradual descent. Bummer. But that means we were almost done for the day! The road eventually spit out to the highway, and it was a great sight to see Zack and Laura roll up with waving hands and smiling faces!

From the highway junction, it was just a little ways up the road to the campsite that we'd agreed with Colin in the morning that was our end target for the day. Unfortunately, we were in a cell phone dead zone, and were running on intuition rather than communcation to find our scouting party.

After a little hunting and searching, we were treated to an absolute goldmine. As I mentioned, Colin was doing us a helluva solid by being our scouting party. Well, he went above and beyond the call with finding us an incredible campsite, and getting us all set up and squared away! It was a delightful reunion as we rolled up to camp, and Colin gave us the grand tour at our evening's lovely little abode right on the river.

After our long day of riding, we started relaxing like champions. Snackage, beerage, and a general spot of cooling down. It was nice and relaxing. So much so, that after a good bit of snacks and beer, I whipped over to my cot and popped off for a nap. As always, any day is a good day when you can squeeze a nap in!

The nap was fairly short-lived. But as you can imagine, a wonderful experience. Once I woke up, it was time to think about dinner. And we didn't just think, but we went to town making some Chili Mac. Thankfully it was already underway as I was napping, but I was unfortunate to wake up to the fact that Zack let the first batch of noodles dump into the campfire while straining them. Oops...

No bother! We didn't let that dampen the dinner. Soon enough we had some cheesy chili and noodles to devour paired with some delicious beers supplied by Ryan. It was fucking delicious.

Not quite catatonic after the meal, we were ready for a little action. And thanks to Colin's incredible wheels, our action had us in the car and off to the races. The plan was to head to the local hot springs to soak and loosen up after the day's riding.

It was only a short drive away from camp, but unfortunately the results were disappointing at best. The hot springs were part of a hotel, and we'd arrived about a half hour when the closed down to non-guests. Whomp whomp whomp. :-( Needless to say, we were a little bummed. But a big old bear helped get our spirits back in line, and bring to mind a backup plan.

I'm pretty sure our backup plan is due to some research on Zack's part, but we all loaded back into Colin's Subaru and headed toward the Terwilliger Hot Springs. Thankfully we had a car, because this would not have been doable after a long day of biking.

The road up was pretty steep, and long, but it took us up a pretty cool valley past Cougar Falls and the Cougar dam and along the Cougar Reservoir. This was a fun road for Colin - tight turns and sharp curves, and we had some great views of the valley as we kept going further and further in, wondering if we were actually heading to something or going on a goose chase.

Well, the road eventually was closed off with some giant concrete blocks. Not to be too crazy, there were a couple cars parked in the area, so we parked and walked toward the closure, and were greeted by a sign for the hot springs and a trail. I popped to the bridge to see the lake and then caught up with the crew on the hike up to whatever was waiting for us at the end.

A bit of a washed out trail, dusty and up and around a couple hills and trees, but eventually we stumbled upon something quite awesome. At the top of the tiny canyon was a little hut, and leading down the stairs led us to four cascading hot springs. What an awesome find!!!

There was a group of folks already there, so we kept to the upper pools and were surprised by some really hot water. Not like a jacuzzi, this shit was burning. Although I'm not normally one for really hot water, I got in and got used to it with the gang.

After Day 1 of a long ride, damn that felt great. It took me a while to get acclimated to the super hot water, but once I did, it was extremely soothing. We chilled around for a good amount of time to let the body get into full relaxation mode.

At the side of the top pool was a little side pool. During one of my stretches of cooling off outside the hot pool I went up to check it out. As luck would have it, it was a little mini ice bath! Super cold water, right next to the super hot water. Lately, I'd been getting into jumping into a really cold water bath after a long bike ride or hike, so I took advantage of this ice pond to give my legs and knees a chance to cool down. It may be weird, but it felt really good.

After me, a couple of the other kidlets took a turn in the cold bath. Seriously, it feels good after the shock and aids good recovery after a long day. Not a bad way to go.

We did some good lounging and hanging and relaxing. Gotta say, that was a helluva little oasis tucked in the back of nowhere! Taking advantage of as much daylight as possible, we hung out until right as the sun was almost down. Once it started getting dark though, we packed up and headed back to the car.

The hike back to the car was pretty short, and soon enough we were back in the Subbie and taking the squirrely road back to the campsite. Before we got all the way out, we pulled over onto the dam as darkness really set in to enjoy the clear night and beautiful skies amidst the mountainy fresh air. :-)

From the beautiful overlook on the dam, we packed back into the car and had a short trip back to the campsite. Unfortunately, as it was the middle of the summer and fire season was in full force, a campfire was not in the cards. We hung out for a bit, drank some more delicious beers, shot the breeze, and then eventually all packed it in on a nice warm summer's night.

McKenzie to Eugene

Sleeping out in the open was nice and cozy, but waking up felt a little weird. As I got up and at 'em, I took a look at my mattress pad and was immediately saddened by the giant blister that had developed right at neck-level. Welp, there goes that stalwort piece of equipment, as there's no fixing that amount of delamination...

After not-quite getting over the sadness of the loss, I got up and at 'em and the morning began. Everyone else was already up, but now it was time to chill around, eat some grub, and pack up. We took no rush in doing any of those things, and made a nice morning of it all.

Soon enough though, it was time to wrap up and jet out! We finished packing everything up into the Subbie, said a first goodbye to Colin as he was off for his daily adventure, and then me, Zack, and Laura grabbed our two-wheeled steeds and we were off! Happy to get one quick picture of the four of us though on the way out!

The start of the ride was pretty smooth and straightforward. The trees were big and beautiful and green all around, and the crisp, cool morning air felt good breezing on by. Thanks to a calm morning, the traffic was low and we enjoyed the first good few miles to start the day!

After not-too long, a bit of civilization appeared on the left in the form of a down-home gas station/restuarant/local grocery store. Taking on to Zack's thousands of miles of bike touring wisdom, we popped in for a morning break and snack. There was quite the eclectic mix of things in there, but we all got some snacks, Laura had a bit of a battle to find a bathroom, but after all was said and done, we enjoyed a cup of coffee on a curb out front watching the world come and go.

That was a really relaxing stop. The fresh morning, warm coffee, and just sitting there chatting with friends. A great little extra, calm kick start to the day.

After the coffee, it was time to keep pedaling. The morning was still cool, but started to gradually heat up as we cruised along. Along with the increase in heat, we also transitioned to a much more open roadway, all thanks to entering the burn area from a year or two before. All the trees were toasted, toothpicks, and burnt to a crisp. It was a terrible sight to see at a slow speed and for so long. That fire really had one helluva devastating impact.

Despite the heat and burning sun, we kept pushing along. I was out ahead, and eventually pulled off into some shade to wait for a bit and let Zack and Laura catch up. What I thought was gonna be just a quick stop and go, turned into a longer wait than I anticipated. Not sure what was going on.

I waited a little longer, and then knew something had to be up. So back I pedaled. Just as I guessed, something was up. Unfortunately, Laura got another flat, and repairs were in process. Zack was doing some magic on the tube and soon enough, we had her bike back up and running and were back on the road!

Some more pedaling, some more motion, some more road, and the tour goes on. As the day progressed, more traffic kept zooming by, but it was pretty bearable. All of a sudden though, we came upon a giant traffic jam, as we got to ride slowly by dozens of cars and trucks just parked on the highway.

We made short time of getting to the front of the line, and as were were biking, we had a little more freedom to move around, which included being able to talk to the guy holding the stop sign. Turns out, there were some giant machines on the roadway working to clear some of the tons of trees and debris from the fire, so the highway was being throttled for the day. No matter, just means we had some time to hang out and chat as we waited for the green light.

That green light eventually came! But first, all the cars and trucks got to zoom on by before us bicyclists. Safer that way, but waiting is boring. Eventually though, the vehicles were done and we had complete freedom to cruise on down the highway! Sometimes waiting can bring something nice your way. ;-) Also, those were some giant cranes throwing those logs and dead trees around. Wouldn't mind being able to play with one of those for a day!

Once we got past the road blockage, it was more cruising and smooth sailing as we slowly knocked off the miles on the way towards Eugene. The next milestone was another random one. It was a little past midday, we were all pretty hot in the beating sun, and there happened to be a fruit stand sitting on the side of the road. Nothing like a good reason for a lunch break!

Next to the stand (I think on the neighbor's property) were a couple park benches, so we slowly rolled over thataway and dropped our bikes in a slight bit of exhaustion. After gathering ourselves, we headed over to the fruit stand to acquire some vittles for lunch.

They had quite the good selection, so we all assembled what turned out to be a pretty delicious lunch. While perusing, it came out that Zack had biked all the way from DC, and the high school gal manning the till was absolutely dumbfounded that A) he'd biked that whole way, and B) that someone would even think of it. She was totally shell-shocked.

But with food in hand, we wandered back over to the bikes and benches and had a nice time slowly getting some sustenance in the shade. Nothing like a nice, relaxing break with some great folks on a great adventure.

We were all a bit tired coming out of lunch, but the show must go on. We left our lovely shade and park bench and jumped back on the road. Unfortunately, at that point, we were pretty much right on the edge of Eugene, which means bigger roads, more traffic, and lots of cars. Not great for the middle of the day, but nothing we could do but pedal on!

Slowly but surely, we made our way through the street lights, wide roads, and highways to get closer and closer to town. This approach into town was a big one for the group. When Zack headed out from DC, he set Eugene as his official finish line for the cross-country voyage. As we were getting closer, he made it known that he had to find a big 'ole sign to signify the moment he crossed the finish line!

We were on the hunt as we slowly approached city limits. The trail took us along the river for a while, away from the crazy traffic, and then back toward the main drag, and as luck would have it, we'd officially arrived in Eugene!

No joke, it was great to be with Zack knowing he'd achieved such an incredibly immense goal! What he was able to do is absolutely no joke. Over 3000 miles in a matter of a couple months, just absolutely insane. Dude is a freak!

After a good bit of revelry and soaking in the accomplishment with Mr. Herhold, we headed towards town and had one goal in mind - celebration beers. Colin had already made it to the place in mind, so Laura, Zack, and I took a nice ride through Eugene to meet up with Colin.

We had a nice little pedal and then arrived at our goal, a place with an absolutely fitting name - The Bier Stein! Nothing but good beers and food, and a time and place for us to hang out and reminisce.

We got in and Colin already was there enjoying some brews, so we had to catch up. Well this place was pretty sweet, because they had not just a ton of craft brews on tap, but an entire wall of cans and bottles of craft beer from all over the world (GODDAMN I miss craft beer culture...). It took me a while to figure things out, but eventually went with something I'd never find in Germany - a sour beer. And I gotta say, it hit the spot! Drinks in hand, time to relax.

Drinks were flowing, food was delicious and well-deserved, and we were having a great time. And, OF COURSE, Zack had to go full snobby hipster on us. Classic.

At some point, we had enough beers to last us for a while, and were ready to head out. But before we did, we all loaded up on some more beers, some for that night, and some for the following night. When you're presented with a wall of some amazing beers from around the world, you have to take advantage of that. So we did! Needless to say, we came away with a good haul.

From The Bier Stein, we bikers still had a bit of a ride til we got to our campsite for the night. Thankfully, it was still mid-Afternoon, so we had plenty of daylight, and after the beer and food, plenty of energy to make it happen. So, off we went!

Once we got out of town, as it usually goes, things got a little more quiet. And with the quiet came a wonderful bike trail! Always nice to be off the roads. And this was a beautiful bike path with some calm things, but once we came to some railroad tracks, the lighting (and smoke...) were just right for a little bit of fun and some pictures.

The beautiful sights were a good midway point, and we used the the little break to push on towards camp. After some more country roads, wide shoulders, and getting the first sight of the reservoir, we eventually made it to the campsite!

As with the night before, Colin was in place and ready to go. We settled on a campsite, and let the relaxation slowly take over for the night. Some more than others...

Just like the night before, we got in, got snacks ready, cracked some beers, and took some time to take it easy. But after a while, we started getting hungry. With a lake nearby, rather than sitting around in the trees to cook and eat, we packed a few things up and decided to have dinner down by the lake. Also with the extra benefit of a nice little rinse-off.

Nearby the lake spot that we went to, luckily there were park benches, but not a swimming spot. So to save some time, as it was my duty to cook for the night, I got dinner up and running, while the other three wandered over to the swimming hole.

Unfortunately, the swimming hole was a quite long ways away, so by the time I had dinner finished and ready, there were just getting into the water. Not quite the greatest feeling, as I was pretty stranded over there, and still wanted to jump in to clean off. So to not waste any time, I ate my stuff, and just kinda sat and waited til they came back. Once they did, I was off to go jump in myself.

The water was not the best, to say the least. To save the 20min walk to the designated swimming area, I jumped off the dock nearby, and didn't stay in long. The water was pretty silty and not exactly the cleanest I'd ever encounterd. Regardless, it was sure nice to scrub off a bit of the sweat and grime from the last two days of riding. But I wasn't in too long before heading back to the group and jumping into some of our selected beers from the Bier Stein. My selection was delicious, but gave me a headache from all the sugar in the smoothie beer.

After some good food (can't remember what we had), some good beers, some good laughs, and a pretty sunset, we packed up and headed back to the campsite. Once we were there, we continued our chatting and drinking, but as with every day, eventually it was time to hit the sack.

Eugene to Florence

Waking up, a nice and relaxing morning. We took it easy getting some breakfast in us and slowly packing up. But before long, it was time for us to saddle up and hit the road.

From the campsite, we had a nice, relaxing rural road to take us into the Coastal Range. Although it's not the Cascade Range, the Coastal Range is still nothing to sneeze at. And as such, we had a bit of a climb ahead of us.

We took it bit by bit. The last stretch was a good few miles long of just uphill. Churning and burning. But, as with all of life's challenges, we kept pushing forward, keeping those pedals turning, and we all made it to the peak. And Zack had a terrible surprise for us after we made it...

After a long uphill, you know it's sooooooo nice to have a long downhill to follow right after. The coasting and speed coming down from the peak was a nice break from the grind as we weaved down a gradual descent in between the beautiful trees and fairly secluded scenery of the coastal range.

The descent wasn't all that super long, but eventually it kinda flattened out through some valleys and hills and such. Soon we came upon a couple of tiny little lakes, one of which had a nice little 'town' tucked along its shore. It was about mid-morning, so we decided to hop off and pop into the corner store for nice snack and a break. We rolled up a few minutes before they opened for the day, so instead of waiting, we walked over to the dock and got a nice view of the lake in the early day's light.

The folks inside were super friendly and slowly getting things up and out for the likely quiet day ahead of them. Once the machine was up and running, we all made sure we got a cup 'a joe, some snacks, and why the hell not - a breakfast beer! With the quaint little picnic bench out front, we posted up and had another relaxing morning break watching the world go by next to the quiet highway.

That little picnic bench provided a quiet, relaxing, delicious, and cozy break for all of us. No joke, in reflecting on the whole tour, that was one of the most memorable moments. Being out in the world on a bike, the ability to stop when and where we please, finding a cozy and tiny hole-in-the-wall town with a lake, and posting up for a while to enjoy the moment. Truly a beautiful way to adventure.

Once we finished our beers, coffee, and snacks, we jumped back on the bike and continued on. The road was a little up and down, but not too bad, and was still pretty rual with some pretty sights to see. At some point along this leg, we coaelsced with another group of riders. They weren't doing the TransAmerica, but it was a group of around 10 older guys that do a 5-6 day bike tour every summer, and we collided with their group!

I chatted with one of the dudes and he ended up being the owner (or co-owner, something like that) of Re-Rack up in Portland. Was nice to chat with him, and cool to be part of a big group for a part of the ride! At some point they pulled off with their chase vehicle, and we continued on for a little while longer until the pangs of hunger hit and we stumbled upon a total hole-in-the-wall bar/gas station/grocery/casino type place - the Deadwood Country Market & Tavern.

As you can imagine, it hit a ton of the buttons of your tiny town watering hole. Sweet as a button lady behind the counter, a bit of a weathered vibe to the place, a good few locals hanging out, and a good bit of drama (some idiot down the road had a fire going mid-burn season...) to keep everyone buzzing. So we got in, got our lunches figured out, beers ready to go, and popped out to the patio to get ready to dig in. I had to go to the loo at some point though, and found the most amazing poster ever.

By the time I'd gotten out, the big crew of riders had showed up to the parking lot for their lunch stop! Honestly, they had a pretty sweet setup. A van pulling a trailer was their chase car, with enough rack space to carry everyone's bikes, and when they pulled up, they setup their lunch tables with a little buffet and camp chairs for everyone to lounge about it. Not gonna lie, I was jealous of the setup and action they had going on. Quite the awesome way to go.

Soon thereafter though, our food was out! Time to dig in. Nothing like a grilled cheese or so and some fries to fill you up, and put you to sleep. Post-lunch was not an easy time because we were all pretty full and tired from the food and beer. So much so, naps were had (sadly not by me...)

Unfortunately, we didn't have all day to lay around, and eventually found some energy to get back on the bikes and back on the road. From Deadwood, it was a few miles to head to the last main junction, but a pretty few miles down the valley before joining up with Highway 126 - the last stretch to the Coast!

At the junction, we pulled off and took a little break before the last 14 miles. Nice to stretch the legs and give the butt a rest from the bike seat. But, being so close, we were all ready to push towards the end! Back on our bikes, we joined the main highway and headed out.

I got out front and around a corner I turned to make sure my compadres were close behind. Turns out they weren't. I waited for a while, hoping to see them poke around the corner, but after a few minutes I flipped a bitch and headed back to find a pretty big issue.

Turns out this issue had been brewing for a while. The two biggest chainrings on Laura's crankset were normally held on by 5 bolts. No sweat. Well, only one bolt was left. And with that single source of support and rigidity, one crank with some high torque caused the inner chainring to twist and bow to the point it no longer was rideable. As I said, this turned out to be a pretty big issue. Without those bolts, those chainrings weren't going to stay in place, which would make riding quite a bit difficult.

Not wanting to leave anyone stranded and faced with a problem at hand, I tried to figure out how to fix this. Long story short - there was a garbage bag laying around, so I ripped out the plastic draw-cord on it. It wasn't a very strong material, but doubled up a couple times, I used those like twisty-ties/ropes to take the place of the missing bolts. Took a while to get all squared away, but eventually I got it to what I hoped would be a usable state.

I had little faith that my fix was going to be anything of substantial worth, and therefore wasn't going to let Laura try and work with my polish-job of a fix. So she jumped on my bike and I jumped on hers, and here's to seeing if the fix worked! Although I started out very cautiously, slow pedals with as low torque as possible, at some point I zoned out and cranked harder than I should and the rope-ties popped off. Back to where we were. Not going to let that stop us, so I just kept on going towards the coast.

Slowly but surely, our motley crew kept on rolling and eventually made it all the way out to Florence, OR! We made it to the coast! Mr. TransAmerica had officially finished and successfully completed the TransAmerica Bike Tour!!! First step - a picture with the sign!

Second step - a picture with the coast! That one'll come, but first we had to meet up with Colin. Due to the bike troubles and the plans for the following morning, we headed over to the bus stop and found a spot to park Laura's bike for the night. From there, Colin met us to give Laura a ride and Zack and I pedaled over to the supreme campsite our Campmaster snagged for us!

That trip was delayed a bit, because Zack followed the shady side of Google Maps into a gated community. We rolled up to the gate, turned around to go a different way, then a truck opened the gate and Zack headed in. Seemed like an acceptable idea at the time, until we got to the other end and there was no automatic way to open the gate to get the hell out of there! How shady is that.

During our confusion on how to get outta there, a guy walking his dog walked by and gave us a bit of a condescending look, but pointed us to the gap in the fence along the ditch. No other way around it, we huffed our bikes down the ditch, through the fence, and back up to the road. Now we could head to the campsite.

Not that much further and we made it!!! What a beautiful sight - the Oregon Coast. How do you celebrate? With Victory Beers of course :-)

Florence

Quite the pleasure to know we'd arrived at our destination. Zack was on a whole other level, having ridden for around two months straight and riding across the whole damn country. But Laura and I had just put in 204 miles over three days and had a helluva time. Butts were hurting, knees were weary, but we were able to help round out Zack's incredible adventure and help him push through on an incredible achievement. Kudos to you Zack.

Incredible achievement or not though, we were dirty and smelly. Thankfully, this campsite was dope and had some good showers waiting for us. Wasting no time, we took advantage of them. And not only the chance to clean up, but after 2-ish months of biking in essentially the same clothes (allegedly with a few washes in between), Zack got to retire his garb from the trip in quintessential campsite fashion.

Cleaned up, feeling accomplished, and in a great place, we grabbed some beers and took the short stroll from our lovely site to head down to the beach and get a little closer to the Mighty Pacific. The tide was coming in and the grey skies were still hanging around, but there isn't really any bad weather to go check out the coast, so that's what we did.

Beers in hand, we wandered, over to the jetty to sit around for a bit and enjoy it. The fresh air was nice and cool and crisp, and it was a good chance to enjoy the breeze, get some good Senior Pics in, and relax a bit before heading off for dinner.

Dinner time. Being in Florence, and having a car, we headed into town. And, being on the coast, we were on the hunt for some killer seafood. I was really looking forward to digging in.

Unfortunately, the first three or four places we went to were either closed or booked out. This put quite the damper on a meal that had some pretty high expectations. But after a bit of hemming and hawing, we chose one of the bars on the main street and were able to snag a table outside. Not a bad way to go.

We got seated and got some beers to continue the celebration of a great adventure. It was a fun little time out on the street patio, and all four of us were getting some good laughs and jokes and having a grand old time. At some point we got into a brief chat with the folks sitting behind us, a family of three on a similar fun nightly outing. This will come in later. Something that helped our groups bond was some drunkard or vagabond wandering around town with his shirt off. Weird but crazy sight.

As our group is wont to do, we had a few "Odds Are" challenges getting thrown around. I have no idea what the impetus of this was but we got to the point where Zack threw out something like 1:5000 odds to Colin. The result wager? That Colin would mimic the drunkard from earlier. Shirt off, running around the street.

Welp. Sucks to suck. Zack hit Colin on a 1:5000. Something like 2756, or some crazy number like that. But 'ole mister ginger wasn't gonna do it. We started causing a fuss, calling Colin out for backing out of the deal. The table behind us got into the grilling too. Little jerk wasn't gonna do it.

We continued enjoying our beers and the nice weather, but with a little salt in our mouths. Colin got up to go get another beer. Then all of a sudden...

Huge shoutout to the gal at the table behind us for capturing this moment. And, Colin was sure to point this out on review of the tape, but it didn't capture the best part - the heel tap. Jolly Colin threw in his best tap upon returning to the table as we were all dying of laughter. Such a great time.

Well, Colin re-won our hearts after that, and it timed up pretty well with dinner too. We were all pretty hungry after the dinner search and, oh yeah, riding all day, so the food was a very welcome sight. Delicious for bar food, and it went well with the wonderful evening at hand.

Although the meal was great and needed, once we wrapped that up, we were ready for another drink. Florence isn't the biggest town in the world, and unfortunately that came with a lot of things being closed down already at 9-10pm. Bummer, to say the least. But we hunted around on google, and after a bit of driving around to see what was what, lo and behold we found a nice little hole in the wall in Jerry's Place.

There were only a couple locals hanging around the bar when we got in, and the folks were pretty laid back. So we grabbed some drinks and headed over to the pool table to loosen up and hang out. I sound like a broken record, but it was a helluva time just hanging out and shootin the shit with everyone. We had some good games of pool, a good mix of tracks busting out of the jukebox, and a ton of good laughs. Great to be able to hang out with some great friends in such a fun way.

Our time there lasted a good while. But eventually we'd finished off a few drinks, and were ready for bed. So we cashed out, had some banter with the bartender and a few folks at the bar, then jumped back in the Subbie to hit the sack. Helluva great way to cap off a little bike trip.

Florence to Eugene to Portland to Round Things Off

That next morning was pretty low-key, with the surf just outside our campsite. As usual on the coast, it started off pretty foggy and cool, but was a nice atmosphere to start the day off with. We started off with breakfast, and then slowly got everything packed up and ready to head out for the bus. Zack, Laura, and I were headed for the bus back to Eugene (leaves once or twice per day or something like that...), and Colin was going jet off in his little roadster up the coast before eventually heading back home to Woodinville.

Before heading to the bus through, Zack had to get a couple more pictures. So I rode down with him a little ways to a nearby jetty. Since he'd just gone coast to coast, he had to get a picture of him and Beowulf with the water and I was happy to help further commemorate the incredible achievement that Zachary Herhold just accomplished. What an adventure. :-)

From the coast, we rode back up the hill and headed towards the strip mall that is the bus stop. Unfortunately (but honestly good timing), Beowulf was having some troubles and had to get a little help to get all the way up the last hill.

At the strip mall, we had a bit of time to bum around and got some time to chill and chat at the parking lot before Laura and Colin rolled up to join us. And once they got there, we snagged Laura's bike, and had some more time to chill and chat as we waited for the bus.

We were really early for the bus, which turned out to be the right call. Through Zack's research in finding out about the bus, he found out there were only three bike spots on the bus, so that was one of the reasons we got there early. While we were hanging around, another bicyclist joined and said he was also looking to go. And then a couple more folks joined, and slowly we saw it was going to get interesting.

Turns out, the bus stopped around the corner from the parking lot, so it was a bit of a scramble once we got that figured out, and I slowly started to worry that there was even going to be space for any of us. Not ideal.

Fast forward to the end, all three of us got the three last seats on the bus and the three bike spots to boot. Hot diggity damn. Like that, we were in the bus headed to Eugene and we said bye to our awesome Camp Master and Companion in Colin as he started his cruise up the coast.

The bus drive was a bit cramped, but it went by quick enough, and eventually we rolled back into Eugene! We got all kinds of lucky, as Helen was waiting there to pick us up from the train station and take her back to her parents' house to pick up the car. Seriously, The McVay's are such a treasure.

Once we got there, we (Zack) had a few things to do. The biggest task was packing Beowulf for the trip back home. As an aside, he was initially planning on taking the train back home (his new favorite form of travel), but due to the fires the train tracks were closed for a good portion of it and there was no possibility of bike transport on the shuttles. So Beowulf had to get packed up and ready for the flight back to California.

While that was going on, we got to check out Helen's parent's sweet outdoor pizza oven. They have a cool setup, where when they know the oven's gonna be fired up over the weekend, they'll put a flag out on the driveway so all the neighbors know to come by with their ingredients to make some pizza. Now that's a cool tradition!

Laura also had a little surprise waiting for us, something so near and dear to the Great State of Wisconsin. During her mad-dash roadtrip out to Oregon before the bike trip, she'd made sure to stick a case of New Glarus in the car to share the glory of such a treasured beer with the West Coast. So while Zack was packing up his bike, we got to watch, help, and drink some of Wisconsin's liquid gold.

Before long, Beowulf was all broken down and packed nice and neatly into his carry case to shuttle him back home to San Jose. With that, it was time to head off to Portland. Big hugs were shared all around, and we had the car packed up and said bye to Laura, Helen, Otto the dog, and Helen's dad, and Zack and I were on our way to Portland. Bummer to go from saying adios to Colin, saying adios to Laura, and then saying adios to Helen, all in a matter of hours.

Once on the road, we made good time on the warm summers day. Now, anyone who knows me knows that it is not possible to just drive on I5 either South or North and go straight through Salem. No siree. There is one crucial, pivotal, heavenly stop that must be taken. You know what it is.

Ah yes. La Taquieria la Guadalupana. No joke, best taco truck I've ever been to (outside of Mexico), and maybe my favorite eatery in the whole State of Oregon. Such a goddamn treasure. This, just like any other time to the best place in Oregon, led to a most delicious feast.

From Salem, we continued on north, but jogged off the freeway at some point to head to a particular spot I'd surprisingly never been to, but Zack smartly put it on our map. It honestly doesn't really fit there, or is at the least a bit of a surprise being there, but over in McMninville is a giant aviation museum!

The backstory on the Evergreen Aviation Museum, as Zack and I dug into it, seems to be based in a shady 'logistics' company named Evergreen International Aviation that used to be a front for the CIA. Definitely lots of shady shit from the sounds of it, but at the end of the day they established a giant museum in the middle of the Willammette Valley to showcase some incredible beasts of flight. The most notable of which, and the one that made us go there, was the Spruce Goose!

Zack and I both being total plane geeks, this was really quite a treat. Obviously the Spruce Goose was the main attraction, and was extremely cool to see and learn about and more, but they had a helluva collection of some pretty sweet planes. We started in the first, main building and took a look at all the 'smaller' planes before diving into the Spruce Goose.

And when I say dive in, I kinda mean that literally. I checked out the posters and diorama of the Spruce Goose down on ground level, and was absolutely floored by what I learned about this insance boatplane and the sheer insane size of the damn thing.

The plane itself had a portion that was open, so we went up to walk inside and check it out. After my initial look, I sat down on the chair outside and started having a chat with the old park ranger guy that was hanging around. Super friendly gentleman and shared a good bit of the socio-political backdrop of the development and project related to the Goose, and was really interesting to hear how entwined the development and construction of the Spruce Goose was directly entwined with World War II.

Well, our conversation appeared to be an enjoyable one, as although the tours were booked out for the day, he ushered me and Zack into the plane for us to see it up close! Diving right in!

This excursion into the belly of the beast really tickled my engineer tummy. A GIGANTIC flying contraption, that floats, and is made out of wood. In.Sane. Tons of crazy facts and build techniques and joints and everything that our guide showed us in the cargo bay that was extremely astounding. I don't remember them all, because I'm writing this almost three months after the fact, but I'll tell you. I was floored. Take the last of the next group of pictures - that's a shot of the inside of the wing. Big enough for one to walk through...

I'm bummed I can't remember the name of the ranger/tour guide, because he was a total gem. From the cargo hold, he took us up the ladder so we could go to the cockpit/crew area. While we were up there, he started playing up the tour guide part pretty good with a couple unprovoked polaroid moments that were a little bit cheesy, kinda out of the blue, but altogether made for a fun time. Case in point, the standing next to the wing chute as he whirled the camera.

From the back of the cabin area (which had open access to the wing interiors, kinda crazy), we waltzed past the economy seats and right up to the captain's chairs! In we jumped into the footprints (and hat) of Howard Hughes in charge of this behemoth. Sitting at the controls, wow, really incredible to think that this thing was floating 70 years ago and lifted off from the water, on what was not supposed to be a flight test.

While in the chairs up front, we even got to get a view outside the plane. Above the captain's chairs were two portholes so we got to poke our heads out and see the plane from the top and get another vantage point of just how damn massive the thing is.

I was pumped we were able to go inside the Goose, because it's truly a marvel of engineering. And the fact that it only flew once, damn, what a story of 'what if'. But our tour guide gave us a nice show and tell of the thing, and we made our way back into the museum.

To our joy, there was still more to see! The Spruce Goose was in the main hall and took up damn near the whole thing. But across the parking lot was the Space Hall! SPACE!!! YES!!!

Our feet moved us over there and we took some time to explore around there. There was a big exhibition of dioramas dedicated to the Space Race during the Cold War, including tons of info on the Apollo missions. Along with info boards, they had some replicas of various rockets and satellites and extraplanetary vehicles, as well as an A-10 (FUCKING BEEEEEAAAAAST) and the SR-71!!! Wicked shit over there.

These two plane geeks sure got their fill. Quite an incredible museum kinda tucked in the middle of nowhere in the valley, but well worth a stop if you're ever passing by! At some point though, we'd gotten our fill and were on our way up to Portland.

Zack was able to fix his travel plans to fly out of PDX the next morning, so we had the night for a little shenanigans and debauchery. From my travels, I had some hotel points, so I booked us a room at the hotel I was gonna be staying at for work that week to make it easy on me. But first, I had to swing by Andy's place to get the rest of my stuff.

It's rare that my many various circles of friends come into contact, but it was awesome to have the chance to introduce Andy and Zack to each other! I consider both of these dudes two of my closest friends, and to be able to bring parts of my life together (albeit briefly) is a treat. We got to Andy's, bummed around a bit, and saw what he was up to with a nice chat in the garage before grabbing my bags and heading into town. As an extra bonus, Andy shared with me some good bandages for the next big crash I get with a giant rash down my side. What a thoughtful gentleman - he knows me too well :-)

Zack and I rolled into town and snagged an awesome room at the hotel. After a full day of traveling and driving, we took some time to chill at the hotel for a bit before getting underway. We'd picked up some beers at the gas station on the way over, and I had ordered some Westward Whiskey that I was toting around, so we made good use of what we had on hand for a nice time to sit and start the night's discussions off over some whiskey, beer, and a beautiful afternoon sky.

Honestly, that time to chat was a needed conversation for me. We both had some heavy stuff to share, and for me, it was nice to have his mindset behind my upcoming decision of what I wanted to do with life - i.e. extend or end my contract in Germany. I'd shared this with some people through my time already being home, and had some more thoughts that had developed on this topic. But having a nice few glasses of whiskey and beer to lubricate the discussion, it was nice to have his trusting ear and view on a situation that I was really struggling with. And what can I say, I'm an emotional guy, and things had been building up for a good long time leading up to this, so some tears on my part were shed.

These kinds of discussions are really how I process things. I am useless trying to weed through the many thoughts, decisions, and difficulties in my mind. And when I do, it just becomes a goose chase trying to find my thoughts as they wander around. But having someone with me, especially someone who knows me and challenges me as well as Zack, is an extremely huge help and reason why I am able to think through the many things in my life.

But fear not dear readers! We didn't spend the whole night wallowing in whiskey. We got a good portion of the way through the bottle with some extensive discussion before deciding it was time to clean up, scoot boot, and get the fuck out on the town! So that's what we did right as the sun was saying bye. First stop, food.

Still working through my list of eateries I was itching to see, we headed to Williams and jumped into the Life of Pie. Nothing like a damn good pizza on a nice summer's night with a great buddy. Luckily enough, there was still space outside so we threw in our order, grabbed some beers, and continued the conversations. Eventually our pizzas came out and gitdang those pizzas there are good.

From Life of Pie, we had our eyes on some more time out. From there, we wandered over to Mississippi for another food tour stop at one of my old favorites in Stormbreaker Brewing. Unfortunately, either my memory of the service was wrong or they were having a shitty night, but the server was a total dick. Despite that, Zack followed me in getting one of their beer and whiskey pairings (why don't more places do this? Seriously, it's awesome!) and found a spot outside.

Long story short, the servers were dicks all night. First we were told by the greeter to go order at the bar. We went to order at the bar and the bartender got mad we were there, so we went to our table and it took forever for someone to come by and forever to get our stuff, but eventually we got our whiskey beer pairing and focused on the nice night and whatever topic was on our minds.

The beer was yummy and the whiskey pairing was great. Again, why is this not more popular? The time there was nice, but because of the douchebaggery, when we were ready to leave, we made sure to take some souvenirs with us. We finished our drinks, made sure no one was looking, and took our little whiskey glasses as payment for poor service.

From there, it was back to bed. A long day of driving around, some great food, great drinks, and really great discussions, we were tired. Zack's flight the next morning was bright and early, so we headed back and called it a day.

The next morning it was an early rise to get Mr. Herhold and Beowulf off to PDX. Needless to say, it was a huge bummer to see my buddy fly off, but damn what a good time to spend with him while in town. Truly a great guy and an even better friend, it was awesome to see him achieve such a huge accomplishment in the TransAmerica.

A Weekend at Home in Portland

After dropping Zack off at the airport, I had a pretty open weekend ahead of me. I wasn't initially sure what to do at that point, but things slowly materialized into feeling like I was really just back at home.

First, I headed back to the house where my mom and I used to live (way back when I came back from Germany the very first time) to say hi to Jeanine and Gary! They were prepping for their week down at Black Butte, so I got some time to swing by and see how they were doing as they prepped for the trip. Glad to hear all was well there and share a bit of what was going on with me and the rest of the family.

Back to the hotel from there for a nap and a shower to officially start the day. Next up I was headed back to Andy's place for a little help around the house. Nothing like being able to help a buddy out and build some stuff in the process!

The task for the day - install a new garage door opener. The one side was good, but the other side had a super old door opener so we pulled that one out and slapped in a new one. A couple interesting work arounds needed due to the hand-built aspect of the garage, but we took our time and as two highly-trained engineers got the job done in top-quality fashion. As you'd expect :-) Not a bad way to spend a day, hanging out with a great friend and building stuff.

To top it all off though, they had me stay around once again for dinner too! Bwuh, they really know how to cook. So much so, they could open up a restaurant. That shit was delicious.

It was some good fun hanging around with Andy and Megan, as always, and was nice to have more time with them to talk about life and stuff. We ate, drank, chatted, played some board games, and had a really relaxing night.

That next day, I had no plans whatsoever. Therefore, it was time to indulge myself in some of the beauty of Portland and the USofA (and a few things I knew I can't get easily or at all in Germany). First stop, shower and ready and stuff. But real first stop on this wonderfully sunny day - breakfast time.

The City State Diner is a quintessential brunch spot and eatery in Portland, and was on my mind as soon as I knew I was coming back to town. The reason being their Breakfast Meatlof. This was a random discovery of mine sometime when my mom and I hit them up for breakfast wayyyy back, I think. But I was so floored by the fantastic insanity that is breakfast meatlof, and there was no way I could not revisit it.

As is me, I was up before the vast majority of town, which was just to my liking and served my benefit quite well. The place was already buzzing a good bit, but I snagged one of the last spots outside to enjoy the beautiful morning. Success! To start things off, there is no better way than a Bloody Mary and a cup a joe.

Can't remember if I was reading or writing to pass the time on the sidewalk as I waited (I think I was re-reading all my old journal entries), but it was a relaxing start to the morning with the city slowly coming to life. But fear ye not, the deliciousness I was waiting for soon arrived and hot diggity damn was it DELICIOUS!

Seriously, absolutely delicious. I need to figure out the recipe for that. I tried to take it slow and dive into every bite, and succeeded in doing so. The combo of the meatloaf with the gravy and the potatoes and all that jazz, just faaaaaaantastic.

Savored it all to the last drop. As I was wrapping up, there was a pretty clear gathering of people waiting to take my spot, so I got on my way to the next stop of the tour for the day.

Next up, taking part in something that is outlawed in Germany, I was off to do a little shopping. Since my air mattress shit the bed, time for a new one. And I was super glad I was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from good 'ole REI. Damn I miss that place! Got in and did a good bit of browsing from a quasi-list of things I needed and some I didn't need to get. They unfortunately didn't have the air mattress I wanted in stock (that and a bunch of other things, also suffering from the shipping delays around the world), but loaded up on some freeze dried camp foods (Mountain Home is way better than the stuff in Germany, and there are no breakfast meals here! Stocked up on those) and knew a few things I'd just have to get online.

Nap time was next. Doesn't matter where I am in the world, nothing like a good nap on the weekend. So I headed back to the hotel and knocked out for a while.

Once I came back to life, I knew I couldn't just lounge around the hotel the rest of the day, so I was back up and at 'em and headed over to Ex Novo. Again, patio seating in the summer is amazing. I got in and couldn't decide on a beer, but the waitress was super friendly and fun and helped me make up my mind. What really bummed me out was that the hush-puppies were no longer on the menu. Apparently they had some shuffling of the cooks, and that recipe left with the one chef who left. Damn.

Luckily enough, the beers were good, and to add to it, it worked out that my buddy Andrew was able to come down for a drink and to catch up! He rolled up and we got in some good time to chat and hear about what's going on in his life. Quite a lot, in fact, and it was great to hear from him, where his life is headed, what he's been contemplating, and how he's been the last while. Great dude, great to catch up.

After a couple beers together, he was off to some other stuff for the day, and I was off to my next stop. By that time, it was later in the day and hunger was hitting right at the right time. Took me a while to decide what I was itching for, but after a while, settled on another BBQ joint that ain't no slouch - Podnah's.

Yet again, I got lucky and snagged a spot out on the sidewalk patio and put in my order for some gluttony. It was a nice night, and the waiter was a friendly chatty lad, so the mood was nice and enjoyable. Once the food came out, my hunger quadrupled in force from sheer excitement, so I dove right into my brisket with all the delicious fixin's.

What a delicious day. Great way to end it with the BBQ. From there, I slowly made my way back to the hotel, wandered around a bit, but ended up in bed fairly early to get some rest with Hood, Helens, and Adams waving off a wonderful week of vacation with tons of great people before the start of another work week.

Week 3 - Work

Well, nothing new here, but work is work. Monday was in Portland, and it was a standard work day for the most part. Got to see a few more coworkers that I hadn't seen in a while, and get a few things done. But hey, it's work, and thankfully didn't last all day.

Right after work, just like a couple weeks before, I headed up to Farragut Park to watch my old team play some Softball. Nice to be back out there to cheer them on (almost thought they were in need of a sub, but no return to the diamond for me yet). Lively bunch, and good to watch them.

One of the guys, Cheeks, was looking at a big spreadsheet after the game and I was curious. Turns out it was Burger Week! The spreadsheet (he created it) had the full rundown of every restaurant participating with a description of their burger. Hardcore effort on his part, and he was ready for it, as he'd blocked out every lunch break and dinner during the week to take part!

For those not in-the-know, every year in Portland a bunch of restaurants participate in Burger Week, where they create their own special burger for that week in particular. Usually the burger is a pretty unique spin on the delicious classic, and most turn out to be absolutely fantastic.

After watching the Lugnuts, headed down for a walk around Peninsula Park. I was in the hunt for a spot to read my old journals on that lovely, sunny evening, but there were no benches around. Bummed but not deterred, I took a nice walk around the park, and eventually decided to head down to Saraveza's to grab some grub.

Saraveza's is on my map because it's the Portland Packer Bar! And true to form, they rep it quite well. A few good memories with 'ole Mommy dear repping the Green and Gold during a few games. I got in, popped into the bathroom real quick, and loved one of the walls they had with some memorabilia hanging. Nothing like seeing your team pasted on the walls of a bar.

Unfortunately, I was bummed to find out that their kitchen was closed. Despite the great beer selection, I was on the hunt for some food to go with a drink, so I bid adieu to Saraveza and continued on.

My journey led me then on to another old favorite of mine, The Old Gold. On my radar for its proficiency in whiskey, I was ready to take advantage of it. Got in, chatted with the friendly waitress as I was trying to decide, then put in my order and headed out to the patio to wait. Just as a sign of their proficency, just take a look at their whiskey wall. Yes, a full wall of all the whiskey's they've got available. Now that's what I call dope.

Whiskey, food, and a nice night to enjoy the heat in the shade. As always, a great way to go. After dinner there, I slowly made my way back to the hotel for an early bedtime in prep for an early wake up.

That next day, I beat the sun to be up and at em. Not the best, but it was all due to having to head out to Madras for the next couple of days. Early up to get out to the track in a reasonable time. At least it made for some nice views to start the day!

The drive out was pretty easy, and we worked a pretty long day. Unlike in Germany, where you're legally only able to work 10 hours in a shift, the US doesn't follow that train of thought, and when we're in Madras, it's the furthest thing from people's minds. Despite the long day, we had a helluva sunset to send off the day before we headed to dinner and then to bed.

For Wednesday, we had a nice over-the-road drive planned out to test out some of the stuff we'd gotten working over the previous couple of days, and a chance for me to see how the stuff I'd been working on in Germany translated to the different vehicle and road environment back in the US.

I didn't touch on this earlier, but in the week right before I flew over, one of the guys in the Portland team, Claudiu, was back in Germany. He's from Germany, and that was the first time he'd been able to come back to visit family since Corona started. Well, while he was in town, we got a ton of exchange in between the Portland and Germany teams. My boss was looking to utilize this in the form of advertisement (an American in Germany and a German in America, look at our global teamwork. Buzzword, buzzword, buzzword...) on the company's internal stupid social platform. If you know me, I was not up for this, but obliged to a picture with Claudiu in front of an Actros while we were in Wörth. Then, before we headed out for our trip, I grudgingly jumped in for the picture with a Western Star to complete the comparison. Anyways, here's that second picture.

The day was gorgeous, the truck was functional, and we hit the road mid-morning to get a good few hours of driving and testing in. Not gonna lie, having to drive a big ole truck for work is not so bad when you're in one of the most gorgeous areas of the country. The first stretch took us up towards Mt. Hood, where instead of veering left to head back to Portland, we jumped on Highway 35 towards Hood River. At the sno-park, we pulled off for a driver swap, and had the chance to enjoy the beautiful mountain in the beautiful daylight.

The stretch from Hood to Hood River was smooth and mostly downhill. Again, beautiful countryside with the thick forest and beautiful sights. Pulling into Hood River, it was lunch time. Although it's a bit harder to stop off at most places with a full semi truck, we found a spot down near the water front and wandered over to a packed house at Pfriem. Not bad when a work lunch includes a great brewery. ;-)

Post lunch, I got to swap into the co-pilot seat to get a better look at the scenery as we drove up the Columbia towards Biggs Junction before diving back south towards Madras. Once we turned south, it was incredible to be reminded just how vast the US is. This was only a small slice of Oregon, but as soon we turned off the interstate and got up out of the river valley, it just opened into this huge, expansive, empty landscape.

Few people and even less infrastructure, just open land on all horizons. Just such a beautiful, serene scene. For me, being able to see such vast openness was a treat, because you don't really find that in Europe. It was a stark visual reminder of just how big and expansive the US is in comparison, and was a treat to gaze on it all as we continued on.

In some tiny town we pulled off and I jumped into the driver's seat for the last leg of the trip. It's always fun to jump back into a truck and do some actual driving. I'm ALWAYs glad it's not a permanent job having to lug 80,000lbs. along the road for a living, but it's fun being able to do it as a matter of testing and for shorter periods. Although it's a helluva far cry away from my childhood dream of being a pilot, it's pretty damn impressive operating such a big piece of machinery.

After we got back from the road trip, and thanks to some good timing, I jumped in the car to head down to Terrabonne to meet up with another one of my Zack/h's, Zach Kaufman! I hadn't seen him in a good while, and while in Bend the previous week time was too tight, but thankfully we were able to work out a time while I was back in Madras to meet, grab a drink, and get caught up on life together.

Coming up from Bend and down from Madras, Terrabonne is right in the middle. As we'd passed through a good number of times for work during and after long drives, we headed to the Pump House to meet up. Unfortunately I was a tad late but was stoked to finally see Zach! We snagged a table and got things rolling.

It was extremely good to catch up with Zach, and I was really bummed that I only had a couple hours to share with him. Not an easy stretch for him, but he's really working on himself and I'm really glad I could and can be there for him. That's what friends are for, through thick and thin.

The time with Zach was nice to catch up over a few drinks. Unfortunately, as I said, it was only a couple hours with him on the patio on a nice summer's evening, but a great catch up for sure. From there, it was back to the hotel for another night in Madras.

That next day at the track I spent some time going through data and chatting with the team there, but when Alex came out from Portland I jumped out to the track to help with some of his testing. In doing so, it was interesting to be reminded of some of the contrasts between work and resources between our branches/departments/regions. Despite some sweet setups and equipment, the instability of the multi-hundred-thousand dollar equipment (seen in all regions) got to the point where I was the one pulling the dummy along with the truck.

Thankfully, due to plans back in Portland that night, I got to hit the road mid-afternoon to make it back to town before too late. Putting a bit of a damper on things, smoke started to really set in when I was heading out, and by the time I got back to Portland, it put a really hazy glow on everything. But I got back, got checked in, and shortly thereafter headed out for a walk (despite the smoke) to meet up with another old buddy of mine!

The smokiness added a bit of flair to the walk. The sun was slowly going down, and the burnt orange that covered the sky put some cool light on things. Well, I ended up getting to the pizza joint a half hour early (helps when you actual read things, right...), and kept wandering around over to Laurelhurst Park and stumbled upon a pop-up concert! What a cool setup! Just a bunch of people spread out on the hillside with a makeshift stage down low. Some of the bands were ok, but I loved the idea of just being able to pop up a concert and have the neighborhood join in!

I couldn't stay all that long until I had to get up and head back to Baby Doll's to meet up with DK for some pizza! Great to catch up with him and his gigantic smile. We snagged some pizza and beer and had some time to chat, catch up, and shoot the breeze outside of the smoke.

We had a jolly time hanging out, but after we'd both had our share of pizza and beer, DK kindly gave me a ride back to the hotel, where I had to get re-packed and then eventually hit the sack.

For Friday, I got an early start at work, as I was looking to get an early departure to head up to Tacoma to start the week with the family! For lunch, I had the chance to meet up with my friend Roland. We met up then went off site to have a chance to eat and chat.

Roland is such a positive, encouraging, wonderful person, so I was really happy we were able to find some time to meet. After we got to the Mississippi Food Carts, we got some lunch and had a great time to chat. I was still mulling over my decision of stay or go, and he was able to shed some good light and good opinions on that choice.

Great to talk with him and hear all the great things he's got going on in his life. He's doing a lot, and it's awesome to see how regardless of what goes on, he has nothing but positivity, an open mind, and a just mentality. Truly a great human being and wonderful person.

After I got back from lunch, I was ready to finish up and head out. Unfortunately, a few big things came in late in the day, so I didn't quite get the early exit I was hoping for. As soon as I was off work though I hit the road to head up north!

Family Week!

Thankfully I made it the couple hours up to Tacoma in good time and made it to Alicia and Aaron's just in time to see everyone and catch a glimpse of the sunset! As always, it was great to start some family time.

There was one bummer though. That Wednesday, we unfortunately got some bad news from Peewee that she'd come down with Covid, and because of that, was not able to make it over the mountains as initially planned to be with us all for the week. Needless to say, this was a huge bummer for all of us, as the chance to be together as a full family was something we were all looking forward to. Thankfully though, it wasn't an extreme case, and she made it through in good order.

To say the least, it was a bummer not to have Peewee there, especially to start things off. Once I arrived, we all hung out for a while and I got to play with the kiddos for a bit! As always, everyone was happy to see everyone, and the kids were all kinds of energized, so a little horsing around with them was definitely in order. And soon enough the the sun was going down, and the view from their balcony was fantastic.

A Night on the Town

After then Mommy played babysitter so me, Alica, and Aaron (and Peewee in spirit!) headed out to Tacoma for a little night on the town! Unfortunately, we siblings have never had much time to be adults together, to drink and hang out and shenanigan it up. But that night was time to change that!

We started the night headed to downtown Tacoma (where I've never really considered to be a place other than industry and smells), but right in the heart of downtown was a schnazzy brewery named Seven Seas, and that was our first stop!

A HUGE warehouse that was converted and just a gigantic open space, we got in and snagged some beers and got some time to hang out and chat. As fun as my niece and nephew are, it was great to have Aaron and Alicia on their own for some open chats and discussions and just a low-key vibe. We got creeped out to start by the couple mannequins weirdly posted up in the rafters, but that didn't stop us from having a couple delicious beers to start the night.

Unfortunately their kitchen was closed, so we ended up closing out there and heading to a pizza joint a little ways away in downtown, a spot they hit up regularly. As always, what's better than pizza and beer? Not much, so we kept the fun rolling with some food and drink.

Again, I love my niece and nephew to death, but it's fun to have the chaos of toddlers out of the picture for a while to enjoy some non-kid time. For me, it was great to see and talk with Aaron and Alicia in a different light, have some delicious beers, dive into some great pizza, and enjoy the night together. After the pizza though, we were food coma'd pretty hard, and headed back to get some sleep.

Anderson Island Excursion

That next day we had a good 'ole adventure planned out. Alicia and Aaron live in Steilacoom, which is right on the water and is in quite a gorgeous spot. Well, right across the water are a couple islands. McNeil is a prison, so that's kinda a no-go. Ketron is right there too, but it has all of five families that live on it.

However, Anderson Island is right behind Ketron and is apparently quite the little spot! Mommy did some recon the weeks leading up, and found a spot for us to go post up for the day! Nothing like a little beach time with the family to go relax.

In being with Alicia and Aaron, I've gained a ton of respect for parents. The morning (and every morning) started out with a fairly consistent routine that is full of energy, excitement, some frustration, maybe some crying, lots of playing, and trying to get the day started off. In saying that, this adventure (like most with the kids) started off with a little scheming as to when we'd be leaving, what we'd need, and what was going on. But we eventually got breakfast in everyone and packed the van up to head down to the line for the ferry!

With the chaos of the morning, we got out a little later than we intended. Unfortunately, that meant there was a little chaos (aka tons of cars) at the line for the ferry. Nothing we could do but pull up and wait to see what happens. It was still a little bit til the ferry started loading so we hung out in the car.

Eventually the ferry started to load. As we were sitting there, we started doing our best mental math to see if we'd make it on. As it came down to the wire, we were starting to get more and more worried we wouldn't make it and would have to wait the hour or so til the next one. It started getting really close, letting cars on one-by-one as space was getting tight. Eventually the gatekeeper guy came to us, radioed back and forth for a bit, and coolly handed us the token to head to the boat - we were the last ones on!

Ferry rides are so much fun. Riding on a boat over the water on your way to some other destination, just a blast. This time, getting to share it with Jeffery and Harmony (my nephew and niece), was a ton of fun wandering around, looking at the water, exploring the boat, racing to the front (and getting yelled at from Alicia), it was a blast. Not gonna lie, I love being the coolest Uncle in the world :-)

As ferries are wont to do, we eventually made it to our destination and had to get off. Bummer to leave the boat, but the adventure continues! My Mommy is world class at being a co-pilot and leading people on total goose chases, but this time she narrowed in her sights and steered us to a park at the lake on the island. A little cornucopia situation here, but it was a quaint sized lake with a great little park on it! She found it during her recon trip, and we were lucky for that because it ended up being a perfect place to spend the day!

We got in, got all our stuff in the little wagon, and headed down to the water to post up. Luckily enough there was a park bench we could colonize for our home base. Once all set up, it was time to hit the water!

That was a really fun and relaxing spot to be. The park had a couple beach access points, one that was pretty kid-friendly (shallow waters, and boardwalk-enclosed water area), and over at the other one were a couple docks with slides and platforms for jumps and such. Throughout the day we swam back and forth between both of them (the kids included!, minus having to drag Harmony along in her life jacket) and slowly got them more and more acclimated to the water.

The whole day turned out to be really relaxed and fun. I got in a good bit of swimming, some jumping and diving, we had a ton of good snacks along for the ride (HUGE shoutout to my Mommy's Nieman Marcus cookies. They're sugary crack), Jeffrey almost worked up the courage to jump into the water, Harmony was having fun getting pulled along from dock to dock, and it was a nice way to relax for the day. Great idea Mommy! :-)

After a good few long hours of swimming and hanging around, we were all a good bit tired when we packed everything back up and headed to the ferry. We got in line for the cars, and instead of hanging around in the car this time, I jumped out and walked down to the beach at the dock for some rock skipping and quiet time. That didn't last too long, as it wasn't long before the boat was there and we were back on the ferry back to the mainland.

The ferry docked and we headed back to Alicia's house for a bit. Good time to shower and clean up. Then, to round off a nice relaxing day we all packed up back in the car and headed down to Olympia to go to our first restaurant in Washington - El Sarape.

El Sarape was the first place we really established as our go-to place in Olympia when we moved out there way back in 1994. Delicious food and great service with super friendly folks, so we had to head back. Turns out, the gal that initially connected with us and made us feel welcome was still there!

Our raucous crew got in and got things ordered. Strawberry margaritas to go with some incredible, INCREDIBLE, fajitas. Everyone had some delicious vittles, and becuase El Sarape always goes big, we had tons of leftovers to take home. A great meal followed by a food-coma trip back to Aaron and Alicia's to wrap up the day.

Projects and Housework

That next day started as per usual, playing with the kiddos, eating some breakfast, and getting a simultaneously slow and chaotic start to our day. Shoutout to the killer breakfast, as Aaron went to town with our leftovers making some Chilaquiles and amazingness in the form of nutrition.

For the day, we didn't have any big plans laid out, but weren't going to just lounge around all day. Instead, somehow some projects came up and we got ready to dig into them. The biggest one was the wood pile. They had a ton of chopped and unchopped wood just laying around on the side of the house, and it needed to get organized.

Nothing like a little fun and woodworking! Well we first got all the wood cleared out of there and cleaned up the space. Then, seeing what framework we had to work with, I planned out what kinda structure we'd need to build and then off to Home Depot we went. Pallets were already on-hand, so all we needed were screws and 2x6s and such, and we were in business.

The project itself got pretty well underway as soon as we got back. One lean-to of 2x6s for the far wall against the house, and then a sturdy lattice structure for the middle and end parts, and we were in business.

Progress was going pretty well when all of a sudden an onslaught of water balloons whizzed by Aaron and I. What the heck!? WE WERE UNDER ATTACK!!! Turns out while we were slaaaaaaving away, Mommy, Alicia, and the kids were scheming behind us to ambush us with a water attack!!! Needless to say, it caught us completely off-guard and empty handed. Not a good way to be.

No way we were gonna go down without a fight. Despite stuck in the corner, Aaron and I found our way around the yard. He went for the hose, and I snagged the bucket of water balloons, and soon enough we went from full defense to full offense, they never stood a chance!!!

Work Party Water Fight

Not sure what was up with those water balloons, but they would just not pop. All of us were struggling with that, and poor little Jeffrey got hit pretty hard a couple of times. Thankfully he bounced back pretty quick as soon as we pulled out the super soakers and were refilling from the pool.

All-in-all, it was not a fair fight, but it was a lot of fun. Really a great way to cool off on a hot day, and get a little break from the throwing around some logs. We muddled around a bit, and eventually Aaron and I got back to work.

After getting everything all screwed together and screwed in, time to stack the wood. There we went into a chain gang and soon enough we were all set! Nothing like a cleanly stacked and organized pile of firewood!

Once the work was all done, it was time to relax and cool down a bit. They had a pool setup in the back yard, so the kids played around in there while we dipped our feet in and watched and played with the youngins. Soon enough it was shower time and then dinner time and then time to lay around and relax with, among other things, story time!

Once the kids went down for bed, Mommy headed back to her place, and Aaron, Alicia and I headed to their balcony for some whiskey and the sunset. What a beautiful night with the orange glow hitting the bay just right, a couple boats and ferries adding to the mystique, and even a little old puppy named Maize decide to enjoy the view (and search for squirrels) with us. Really a relaxing and beautiful way to send off a fun and successful day.

Riding Rails and Exploring the Sound

For Monday, Mommy had a random adventure planned up for us. She's really good at finding random things around the area to take part in, and that's what was in store for us that day! We had our standard morning rise, with a little bit of a push to get out the door, and we were on the road headed over to Shelton for a little fun.

On the way we picked up our lunch a little early, and as per usual with Mom's internal clock being about an hour early, we were about an hour early for our time slot with the Vance Creek Railriders! One of the old logging railroads near Shelton had been either closed down or decommissioned for a while, so someone swooped in with some pedal-powered railcars and made a thing out of it! We were in for a treat.

But first we had to kinda kill an hour or so. We did that by getting checked in and having some chats with the proprietors (some folks that live somewhere in Oregon for most of the year, but move up there for the rail riding thing for the summer), I put a pin on the map, and then we chowed down on our Jimmy Johns sammiches. The typical family activity of posting up and enjoying some grub. Nice and laid back, delicious food, and some time to joke around with each other and the kids as we waited for our time slot.

Soon enough the previous group had returned from their outing and we (and the rest of the folks in our group) were up! We headed over to the carts, got the run down, skirted the rules a few times (you know, that's just what we do), and got everything ready for a fun ride! Alicia and her little army fit perfectly into one car, and Mom and I jumped into the one behind them. Before we were off, I snagged the flask outta my backpack, and then we knew we were in for a fun time. ;-)

As we always do, we had some fun along the way. And the way was pretty sweet too. For one, the scenery was pretty. It was a mix of thick forest and semi-marshland, and full of greenery and fresh air. Really pretty.

Not only that, but the way out was mostly downhill, so we had some smooth cruising and some good speed to boot. Yes, the rule was no bumping other cars. But what are rules there for other than to disregard them!? Mom and I were in the car behind the others, so you know what that means. RAMMING SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDD!!!!!

As the brake master of our car, I made sure we didn't hit them too hard, but made sure they knew we were there. Not gonna lie, that was a blast. And hearing little Jeffrey and Harmony's screams of glee and surprise each time was quite an easy way to put a smile on.

Mom and I were enjoying the Westward Whiskey I'd brought along, as well as a few snacks. Always come prepared :-) While we were cruising along, she had the great idea of building up an adult lemonade stand somewhere along the route. Most of the folks on the 'tour' were adults, and this was a perfectly laid back atmosphere with some pedaling on a closed rail road in the woods. Why they hell not!?! We suggested the idea to the guys running the tour, so we'll see if it comes to be.

The route out was about 6 miles or something, and at the midway point they had a little booth, and a sweet little gizmo to flip the cars around so we can head straight back the other way. Well while we were waiting, we got to congregate, I got to eat my sweet sweet cookie, Mom got to see some folks she met at work who were along for a kid-less adventure (really nice folks!), and we had a fun 'ole time hanging out and enjoying being in the woods. Always love a good pic with Mommy and Sis :-)

The thing about an Out and Back is the Out happens, and then the Back. As I said the Out was mostly downhill, which was awesome. The Back, however, was not downhil. Unfortunately that's not how terrain works. So we geared up and got ready for a pedal. Well tweedle-dee over there was slacking on the pedals. Not cool Mom, not cool.

As much as most of my recreation involves pedaling bicycles, we were both starting to get a little pooped. Thankfully, the folks leading the tour had a little lawn-mower powered cart in the back meant to provide some pedal assist. We had a good gap between us and Alicia and them, but that started to fade as the motor train caught up to us and got us moving along right quick!

With the help of the whole train, we were clipping along uphill. In the back (at the start, front on the way back) there were some super overachievers, and they were way out of reach for the motor train. But as we were zooming along, we helped pick up a sweatshirt someone dropped, and got to chat with the little ones as they now had the chance to ram their cart into ours (Jeffery got a huge kick out of it every time!)

As the uphill slowly came to an end, that meant we were pretty much back at the station and the tour was over. Another fun little random adventure plucked out of thin air by the mama bear! We started the process of unloading ourselves, the kids, and the car seat, and said a huge thanks to the folks leading the trip. From there, it was back to the car and back on the road!

Not ones to just head straight home, it was time to continue the adventure up the Puget Sound to enjoy the proximity to the water and the overall beauty of the best corner of the country. From the Shelton area, we headed North and then West as we jumped on State Route 106 to head along an inlet as we made our way to one a wonderful little spot on the water for a beautiful view of the sound.

Alderbrook Resort is a swanky place that's way out of our price range, but luckily enough their patio and beach is open to the public! Although Mommy's taken advantage of that at time a time or two, I think that was my first time being there. Regardless, we planned on stopping in for a little relaxed time at the beach. Turned out to be a perfect stop.

What a beautiful spot. Definitely on the swanky end of things, so we strolled through the lobby to get to the back and took a slow stroll through the fountains and trees and such to what opened up to the Puget Sound. Commence chill.

I jumped down to the water to try and skip some rocks, Jeffrey came to help, and Harmony just started collecting random rocks, of which she made sure we took a few with us. The rest of the gang hung out, sat back, and relaxed up on the grass. The weather was calm, and it was a beautiful afternoon to sit around for a while and enjoy the view.

Snagging some coffee on the way out, we headed back to the car and continued our little adventure for the day. The next big thing was food - it was dinner time. So we motored our way up along the sound along some pretty roads with the water coming in and going out of view, before finding ourselves in Gig Harbor. There, it was a quick fuel-up at Costco, then heading to town for some grub!

Whomp whomp, first place in mind was closed for a private event. So a quick google got us on to a pizza place down the road, so we audibled and headed that direction. Turned out to be a nice little spot, and we had a good time with the two little ones keeping us entertained along with some good salads and pizzas. Dinner was yummy, it was another relaxing spot along our adventure, and from there we wrapped up and headed back to Alicia and Aaron's.

That night I decided to change things up and sleep at Mommy's place. So we got back, got the kids in the house and ready for bed, then Mom and I headed out back to her house. We got me set up for bed, but then headed back out to head down to the nearby park on the water.

It was just nearing sunset, and she had a spectacular hidden spot to show me. Across a grassy patch, above the walking path down to the bay, there was a spectacular bench hidden behind a hedge. I love me a good bench, and this one had a wonderful view and most people don't know about it. What a great find!

Well we rolled up and the bench was open for enjoyment. Good thing too, because it was gearing up to be a gorgeous sunset. We took a seat and had some nice, relaxed time to chat while the sun went down. Really a great setting for some good discussion. Eventually though it got a little too nippy for her tastes, so we headed back home, wound down from the day, and hit the sack.

Some Time with Mommy

Nothing like spending time with Mommy. :-) To start the next day, we had a lazy time of getting up and ready, but once all was set, our first stop was breakfast. And not just any breakfast, but we made it a cultural/family affair.

Backing up, I am officially one-fourth German, and my Mom is half German (my Grandpa was full German). This kinda has a little bit to do with why I'm living in Germany, but not much. Either way, all that to say my Mom was raised with a ton of influences and things I see over here in Germany. One of which (and a big one) is food.

Not sure how this fell into her lap, but she at some point found a German bakery and German market nearby her place! Looking to show me the German-side of life in Lakewood, we headed over. A bit of a weird setup, but there's a German market and German pastry shop, but they're two separate places (not organizationally connected).

Turns out, that place is pretty legit. We walked into the market to start, and although it was a limited selection, all the stuff on the shelves are stuff I can find here at Kaufland. Not a bad job I'd say on authenticity. Most importantly, of course, I can say the same for the beer selection with a wide variety of a good range of German beers at the ready.

We wandered around and I pointed out a few notable things to Mommy that might peak her interest. Then, in the search of one thing in particular, we chatted with the lady behind the deli and had a nice quick chat with her. She's German (ended up marrying a guy in the army) and moved over to WA at some point. Cool to chat with her a bit about the setup of the place and her journey, and then she gave us the 1-2 with what we were looking for. That with some mustard and a few other things, we wrapped up things at the market and headed over to Mom's treasure trove - the pastry shop.

Definitely felt like walking into a bakery over here. There were a bunch of old folks having quiet discussions at the tables, a bit of an older decor, and the baked goods behind the glass looked pretty damn mouth-watering. The longer we stayed, we knew the more dangerous things would get. So after some time ogling at all the sugar, we decided on a pastry each and headed back to eat!

The thing I was so set on finding at the market was something I enjoy a good bit over here. Mett (raw pork with spices) is a delicious breakfast, and they had some at the market for us to try! Turns out, it wasn't anything like the Mett that I know, and was much more like a paste or spread rather than anything to do with meat.

Despite the clear delta between the real stuff and what the market had, it turned out to be pretty ok. This one had a good little ting to it, as I think it was smoked for a little extra flavor. So we dove into some Mettbrötchen (I think Mom liked it) and our delicious pastries for a scrumptious little morning.

Having some good grub in our bellies had us ready for the day at hand. I can't quite remember what we did for the rest of the day til the afternoon, but I'm assuming there were a couple errands in there, followed by heading over to Aaron and Alicia's.

That night we got to head over with them to Fort Steilacoom Park for Jeffrey's first soccer practice! It wasn't really practice, but the first gathering of everyone playing, but either way, we packed in a picnic and headed over to eat, hang out, and watch the little guy get his first action on the field!

I wandered around the park a bit with Harmony to keep her active and busy, and then we hung out by the table to snack and watch the mass of kids all over the place, and watch the plethora of parents as they monitored their little munchkins. People watching, again, so fantastic.

Jeffrey made some new friends, and Harmony was weaving her way in and out of the gaggle of kids doing her best to get involved too. Quite the hubub of activity and little monsters running all over the place, but it was fun to watch.

From the soccer practice we packed everyone and everything back into the car and headed back to Alicia and Aaron's. We hung out for a bit, got the kids down for bed, and then Mom and I were off to round out the day.

That next day it was another day out and about with Mommy! After breakfast and getting some things done around the house, we jumped in the car and headed over towards Bonney Lake. First stop was to talk to some gal about donating her old car (the one I'd been driving around for my time in town). That old thing was still kicking, but had seen better days. As Mom had just got a new car, that one was ready to help someone else out, so she got in contact with some folks to help pass the car along to a family in need.

An emotion-less handover was not possible though, as that car had gotten us through a ton of life. It got us kids through high school, helped my mom throughout the last decade through so much, and was a trustworthy vehicle throughout it all. Also still had the remnants of my tweaking the steering alignment after I'd received my driver's license, but that's a story for another day...

While we were at the place to talk to the gal about the car, we got the chance to check out another of my Mom's favorite haunts in the area. Farm 12 is a bit of a bougie restaurant, but they've got a whole event center/wedding hall attached, and have a bit a connection to us as us kids used to go to school with the grandkids of the owners of the place. Very distant connection. But we walked around the property for a bit to see the construction and the nice setting in the plains before the foothills of Rainier.

As it was lunch time, we jumped in line to wait for a table. No joke, people watching is such a relaxing activity, and made even better with someone wonderful to chat with while doing so. It was a bit of a wait for a table, but we passed the time in the shade on a nice bench watching the world go by.

Eventually our name was called, and we headed in to a delicious lunch. The food was delicious there, and paired well with a Mac and Jacks. High quality lunch time. The desserts looked killer, but ended up skipping them. Amazing how randomly constraint can come into play.

From the valley we headed a little more towards the mountain to hit up Bonney Lake. Although she had a day off, Mom felt like heading out to work to show me around her new stomping grounds! That meant a trip to Costco, where I got to meet a few of her new coworkers. Pretty cool to see the new nice people she's got around her on a daily basis. Also, I was witness to yet even more evidence to how my Mom is the best in the world. No contest.

Seriously, she's a badass.

We wandered around Costco for a bit (FREE SAMPLES!!! WHADDUP!!!), and then headed back towards Steilacoom. But, there was one spur-of-the-moment thing to do. There's really nothing like a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Thick ice cream with whatever kinda fixin's you want. Luckily enough, there was a Dairy Queen just sitting next to the highway on the way back, so you're damn right we stopped in to feed our sweet tooth!

That was a successful day of errands and nice time to spend with Mommy. It's a huge bummer no longer being in the same town as her (let alone country), so being able to have some time to share with her was (and always is) really nice.

We had a nice car ride back towards town, and made our way back to Alicia and Aaron's in time to hang out for the evening. Turns out, Wednesday nights there's a bit of a street fair in Steilacoom, so we packed the kids up in the wagon, walked down the hill, and got our wander on through the street fair! It was a perfect night to stroll around, so we explored the booths, and eventually wandered down to the park overlooking the water to post up in the shade.

I wandered back up and snagged something to eat and then headed back to sit around and watch the kids run around and play with a bunch of the other kids from town. Along with the street market is a concert at the park towards the evening. We were off to the far side of the stage, but having the bit of background music added to the low-key vibe.

Eventually Aaron was able to get off work and joined us down at the park with some food in tow, and we just sat there, chatted, and enjoyed the evening. I walked down towards the stage at some point, and was a little weirded out by the dude poorly lip-syncing Elvis and Michael Jackson and a bunch of other stuff, but the views across the sound were nice.

After I returned from my little jaunt, the rest of the group was ready to pack up and head back. Before heading fully back we all wandered down to take a look at the interesting musical act. From there, it was back up to the house to put the kids down for the night, and me and Mom headed back to her place to get some sleep.

Adventures in the Dirt

For what turned out to be my last day in the Tacoma-area, we decided on a little day with some nature involved - just to my liking! After waking up and getting ready, Mom and I headed to Alicia's place to play around with the kids and help them get the morning started with breakfast and playtime.

Once everyone was at cruising speed, we all got on some walking shoes, got our backpacks ready, and headed outdoors! Alicia lives next to a park/nature reserve with some nice little walking trails, so we geared up for a little hike! As I would learn though, hiking with little kids is a whole different world of hiking I'd get my first glimpse into.

The trail was literally right at the end of the street, so we meandered down that direction and jumped right onto the trail. Turned out to be a really peaceful, quiet little swampy marshy area, with some nice trails circling around it.

As I said though, with kids along for the walk things were a little different than normal. Attention wasn't always there, nor was the interest in walking, so we slowly walked our way through. There were sure spurts of engagement and energy and excitement for being outside, and those periods were a blast, with Jeffrey pointing out all the cool things around us and Harmony getting a little more talkative in the backpack.

We wandered through the various trails, Jeffrey doing a pretty good job leading the way and knowing the trails from experience. After a lot of junctions and not a small number of times where the little kiddos wanted to stop and turn around, we made it to the standard snack spot and took a load off! Everyone got some snacks, Maize was sniffing around for squirrels, and we all got to enjoy the neature for a bit.

After what I felt like was a relatively short hike, we started our jaunt from the snack spot back home. Again, this was my first hike with little kids, so it's gonna be a huge adjustment for me once I have kids of my own and want to go for a hike! All that aside, we made it a fun little march out of the woods on the way out. Soon enough, we were out of the marsh and got a family picture (minus Peewee and Aaron, unfortunately) to commemorate!

Once we got back to Alicia and Aaron's place, we started some relaxed hanging out that would last the rest of the day. Since it was warm and nice out, we hung out primarily in the backyard and the kids started doing some water painting on the brick that turned into an all out mudpit extravaganza. Nothing like the simplicity of playing in the mud!

Dinner time forced everyone to get cleaned up (thank god for the hose...). After dinner, we re-focused our relaxing to inside and playing with the kids. Jeffrey and I built a big train track in the playroom and had a bit of a battle going between my train and his to see if he could catch up. The beauty there, 'my' train was the battery powered one that just kept cruising. :-)

At some point the play time morphed into a little bit of chaos. They have some kind of parabolic balance board, and eventually that got flipped over and was being used a bed. Well I came around and started spinning the kids as they sat in it and gave them a good round of vertigo after that. Fun to watch them get excited about that, and be good at sharing the time on it between them.

I love my family. Sucks that we're so far away, and our times are (as with any family) not without a little strife and frustration. But we're all in this together, and it's great to be there for them and have them there for me.

That night, after we put the kids down for bed, I had to give them all big hugs and say goodbye. Definitely a bummer to have to do that yet again, but being able to see them for a good while while I was in town really was refreshing. And hot damn those kids are growing fast! Being able to chat with them over facetime is one thing, but seeing how big, intelligent, and expressive they're getting in person was an extreme treat.

Before leaving, I gave Alicia and Aaron big hugs and thanks for the fun week. Again, bummer to say goodbye. Mom and I then jumped in the car and headed back to her place, and I got one last beautiful sunset over the gorgeous Puget Sound.

At Mom's place I did a quick re-pack of my stuff preparing for departure the next morning, then we jumped out on the porch to have some nice chats on a beautiful summer evening. As I said earlier, it sucks not being so close to family. Being able to just pop in real quick on a random night for a chat or to help fix something, that presence is very much missing. I hate not being close to be there for them.

Taking our time with some wine in hand, we had a nice, relaxed chat on the patio. Good to have such good discussions with my Mom. Just sucks we can't have them more in such an environment.

After the sun went down, it was time for bed. A little earlier than usual, because I had an early departure ahead of me.

Portland by way of Peewee

Despite her not being able to attend, we stayed in close contact with Peewee as she was at home. It was a huge bummer that she couldn't join our adventures and relaxation. But throughout the week, she seemed to be getting better and better, and with that, I knew that I had to find a way to say hi to her. Cue the early morning wake-up.

I was scheduled down in Portland for Friday evening, but that means I had all day Friday at my disposal. Solution? Road Trip!

I got up early before the sun and had a nice long hug with Mommy before hitting the road out east. It was again another bummer to say goodbye to my Mom, but it helped knowing I'd still get to see her in a couple of days. With that, I was on the road in the pre-traffic hours of the area. I got through Tacoma and Bellevue and what-have-you pretty quickly, and was headed up the pass around when the sun decided to join the day.

After I jumped over the pass, I had a target through a recommendation from Mommy in Roslyn, WA. I was pulling in right around breakfast time, and it ended up being perfect. Roslyn's a cute little town up in the mountains, and the beautiful morning sky added to the mystique. My Mom recommended to me a cute little coffee-/bookshop downtown, so I parked there and before they opened up had to walk across the street to stumble upon my future new bike. Drool...

By the time I'd walked back across the street, the little coffeeshop had opened up so I went in to get some breakfast. Quite the cute little shop! While waiting for my food, I wandered around and checked out the many doo-dads and knick-knacks, as well as the maps and outdoor guides and such. All in all, great recommendation Mommy! That and the coffee and bougie breakfast rounded out a perfect pit-stop for the morning.

That was a great little fill-up to keep the morning rolling. Then I jumped back in the car and made it down the pass. It'd been a while since I'd driven over the pass and into Eastern WA, and it was great to drive through the wonderful scenery. Amazing how vast our country is. Despite the smokiness, it was a beautiful drive down to Richland, where I eventually pulled up to Peewee's place!

Once I rolled up I got to see Peewee! After greetings, we walked around to the backyard and took a seat on the patio for a nice chat. The weather was nice, and the shade made it better, but it was a great time to sit and catch up.

Peewee's been getting adjusted to her new home back in Washington after moving back from the other Washington, getting active in Crossfit, adjusting to her new job (and the huge change in work environment that comes with it), and finding her groove back on the West Coast. Unfortuntately, it was a much shorter visit than I would've liked, but despite the limitations, I had a nice time chatting, catching up, and it was great to see how she was doing!

After a couple hours on the patio and catching up, I bid her adieu and headed back out on the road to Portland. On my way out of Richland I stopped to get some gas, and had to take advantage of another Dairy Queen saying hi across the street.

Getting back on the road and crossing the Columbia put me back on a fairly familiar and gorgeous stretch of roadway. Having driven that stretch a good number of times, it's always given me a feeling of returning home -- going from flat desert, dropping into the Columbia River Gorge, and then all of a sudden seeing big 'ole Mt. Hood coming up over the horizon to welcome you back.

All in all it was a relaxed, easy, and calm drive heading back into town. Soon enough I found myself at Costco, loading up on a few gifts and stuff to lug back to Germany. But from there, it was off to North Portland to see some absolutely amazing people.

A Weekend with the Nichelini's

Rolling up to town I headed straight for my 'ole buddy Sam's house. Time for a wild ride with the crazy man himself.

The last time I'd seen him and Morgan was when they'd just moved into their new house! Getting back there, it was incredible to see all that they'd done with the place! But more importantly, the big old bear hug to start things off was wonderful. Always good to see my fellow bearded brother.

We hung out and got caught up on a number of things in life to start. Soon enough though, our buddy Dan showed up, and it was time to get the night started! Burger Week was still rolling in Portland, so we knew what we had to (and got to) do. Time to chow.

First stop was Loyal Legion. A familiar stomping grounds in town, and a great place with a helluva selection. Unfortunately the tables outside were all taken, but we snagged a booth inside and got some deliciousness on order. With the great selection, I went with a stout and whiskey to whet my whistle.

Drinks in hand, we had some really nice chats. Not gonna lie, anytime being with Sam includes a ton of great stories and fun times, and this time fell right in line with all the others. Tons of fun things came up, as well as a couple really serious ones in the lively discussions. While we got lost in our conversations, the first burger (Hello-Peño) of Burger Week came in and we dove into the grub.

That was one helluva delicious burger, especially with a delicious beer and yummy whiskey. Once we polished all that yumminess off, we were off to stop number two. Unfortunately, our first option was not in the cards, but we eventually wandered our way over to Nick's Famous Coney Island.

I'd never been there before, but I immediately liked the vibe. A nice long bar with tons of random shit on the walls, it was a nice little discovery. Drinks in hand, we snagged another booth and got our burger orders in right before a big crowd of folks walked in - great timing on our part.

More great conversations, more fun times and laughs, and eventually more delicious burger (Fuggetaboutit). This was a delicious one, with a fig BBQ sauce and delicious accountrement. What a helluva combo.

From there, we were still hungry and thirsty, and not near ready to call it a night. No problem there, so we looked up the next closest Burger Week participant and made our way over to Mighty Moe's Tanker for their BBQ Burger Bliss. Ended up being a pretty standard burger, but was still delicious. We grabbed our beers and burger and headed outside to the stand up tables for some deliciousness. The tables were right next to the grill, so we had our share of smoke coming our way. Didn't dampen a thing though!

It'd been a while since I'd had a night out like that, and it was no suprise that it came with my man Sam. Burgers, Beers, chats, fun stories, and the full gamut. Such great times with great dudes.

After finishing off the goods at Moe's we were all pretty full and tired, so that led us back to Sam's place to call it a night. By the time we'd gotten back, Morgan was back from work so I got to see her and say hi! Such a great gal, fun to catch up with her for a hot sec before we all hit the sack.

To start the next day, we woke up and had some low-key coffee with the Costco muffins that I'd brought with the day before. Nothing like a relaxed way to wake up on the couch with some wonderful people.

Unfortunately, Morgan was on-call that day, so she wasn't able to join in on the fun. But after contemplating what to do, Sam and I decided on jumping onto some two-wheelers and exploring around town. Cleaned up, coffeed up, and ready to go, we jumped on our bikes and hit the road.

Figuring it was going to be a nice hot day, our first target was getting out of town and up to the river. We weaved our way through the residential areas and eventually got to the industrial complex along the Columbia. After a bit of meandering, we rolled into Kelley Point Park and made our way to the beach. I'd never been there, but this ended up being a great little spot just a stone's throw from town.

We moseyed through the trails and found an open beach spot, and then commenced to post up. A little bit of wading in the water, some playing in the sand, and some sitting and watching the world go by on a peaceful, calm day on the Columbia. Nothing like some laid back time outside with my good buddy. Tons of time to chat and have some great discussions as the world rolls on by.

We spent a lot of time just hanging out. Kinda bummed I'd never been there, as this was a perfect place to spend the day. But now I've got it on my map for when I get back. But tons of time just hanging out with Sam was a pleasure. But eventually we'd gotten tons of rest and relaxation in, and packed up to head south through town.

The bike ride through town is always a nice ride. Easy, enjoyable, and delightful as we scoot through North Portland, over the river to the downtown side, and then down through SW Portland. Weirdly enough there isn't a single bike trail that leaves from south downtown, but despite the poor signage and bits of confusion, we meandered our way through and stumbled upon some really nice parts of town. Between Sellwood and South Downtown are some really nice spots. As a point of contention, Sam guilt tripped me into taking this selfie.

Our ride wandered us down along the Willamette, and once we got to Sellwood we biked over the bridge in hunt for a place to stop for lunch. After googling for a bit, we stumbled upon Ancestry Brewing. Got in and snagged a table out on the sidewalk. Boom baby!

Turns out they had a good few beers to select from, and I couldn't decide. To solve that problem, I went for the flight, and that was the right choice. Along with some beers we snagged some sammiches and kept chatting about life and all that good stuff. Another wonderful place to stop and be with my buddy.

From Sellwood and after our lunch stop, we hopped back on the bikes and headed north back towards town. Another nice, relaxing ride along the Eastbank Esplanade got us going. Once we got more into town, we decided on taking another stop. Luckily enough, there's plenty of spaces along the way to do so, and with some beers in our backpacks, we headed down to the boat dock on the river, and sat next to the calm waters with downtown across the way.

Among our many topics of conversation, Sam shared with me a cool fact about the Steel Bridge (picture above). On the Steel Bridge, there are multiple decks on the bridge, as the lower level is used for heavier train traffic, and the upper deck for vehicle and tram traffic. Well, Sam pointed out that the two decks can be raised independently of one another! As in, the train deck can be raised without having to raise the car deck. I'd never known that, and it was a cool bit of engineering to discover.

Another great spot to sit and watch the world go by. But after polishing off a few good beers, we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to Sam's place. By that time it was time for some grub and another fun night. Unfortunately, as I'm reminiscing so long after the fact, I don't remember what we did. But I do remember that it was a fun night with both Sam and Morgan.

That next morning, I was off fairly early to go get one last ride with my buddies in, but not before another bit of chatting on the couch with Sam and Morgan before they started their day. Such great people, so much fun seeing and being with them, and tons of great things going on for the two of them. What's not to like about that!?! Bummer it was just a quick visit seeing them, but any time with the Nichelini's is a good time. :-)

Black Rock - My Happy Trails

From Sam and Morgan's place, I drove through the early Portland calm and got in my pre-ride ritual at McDonalds - two burritos and a cup of burnt coffee. With that, I was off to Andy's to head off for another great MTB ride!

We loaded up his bikes into his truck and were off to my favorite trails there in the Portland area. They used to be a well kept secret, but through the years Black Rock has grown to be quite the riding spot. Always has been, but now just more people know about it.

The drive down was another great time to chat and catch up, and before we knew it we were parked at the trailhead and waiting there for us was John, ready to ride. Geared up, ready to go, we jumped on our bikes (thanks again Andy!!!) and headed up.

We got up to the top, and that last little stretch is quite the killer. But after a quick breather we had a great first run. Nothing new there. Tons of good spots on the trails, damn I miss having this place so close to home.

After a full run and then toying around on some of the fun features, we were on the way back to the top and decided to stop and hit up Sunday Stroll. I've got some history with this trail, as this was where I'd had my worst crash ever a few years back. But, after that crash I'd had a few chances to complete all of the features in different attempts and knew this was something in my realm of capabilities.

Feeling semi-confident, I decided to give it a go. Andy and John rolled in, and I followed through. Well, long story short, I DID NOT do so well. After the first jump, drop and then gap, the gap off the bridge came up way too fast. I saw I did not have enough speed, and dumbly I decided to try and brake and still give it a try. Well, that only made it worse, as I went off the jump and ended up being forced to bear-hug the wooden landing. Ho-lee-sheet that hurt.

As soon as I hit, I'm pretty sure I got the wind knocked out of me. As this has so rarely happened to me, I was freaking out. Started to yell as best I could and was worried something pretty bad happened. Thankfully, Andy and John heard me and ran back to figure out what was wrong.

As they told me afterwards, they were worried too, because I was yelling pretty good, but they couldn't find me. As I was in the gap of the jump, they luckily only saw me as they ran by me. Thankfully they found me. Well, it just took me a while to get my breath and damn my body was sore. But after sitting around, and feeling pretty tender, we jumped back on the bikes and I rolled slowly on down.

Not ready to give up the day just yet, but unsure what I could handle, we pedaled back up to give my body a little more time. After another good run, things were still tender, but I wanted to keep going.

Once we got over to Dino's Runaround, I was feeling a little better, both mentally and physically. With that, I took the chance to practice some of the jumps on that trail, but came short of the step-up. I was feeling good about it, wish I would've tried it, but erred on the safe side of things.

From Dino's we bombed down the blast of a stretch to rip, ride, and roll on out of there. Despite the hellish crash, it was another great, awesome, and beautiful time at Black Rock. Andy, John, incredible people, friends, and riding buddies, and tons of fun to be with. We rolled back down to the trucks and slowly unwound after a great day. Bummer to say bye to John, but after hanging about and chugging a delicious little Vitamin R, John was off and me and Andy started the trek back to Portland.

As the famous Lee Corso would say though, "NOT SO FAST". There was one incredibly important, some might say the most important, stop yet to make. Back to the best taco truck in the world. We got in, were famished, and knew there was nothing but damn good food on the menu. So what did we do? Hell yeah we went crazy with it. Time to FEAST.

This was an incredible buffet, and hotfuggindamn it was good. Along with the tacos, we snagged some nachos and went to town. Seriously, we went to TOWN. If I could bottle that place up and take it with me everywhere, you know I would.

As the triptophan really kicked into gear, we loaded back in the truck and headed back to his place. Dispite the Wilsonville parking lot, we made it back in one piece. After hanging out for a while, getting the bikes unloaded, and some general shop talk, I was back to downtown.

Unfortunately, that meant saying adios to my man Andy. Such a great friend, incredible rider, and fun person to be around. Really sucks not being in the same town as him and Megan, but it was so great to have spent so much time with them while I was in town. Great people.

From Andy's place, I went and checked into my hotel. After another great day of riding, I went down for a short nap. But after that, I took some time to start to pack and get my shit in order for the pending trip home. Due to some tiredness and laziness - a deadly combo - I hit the sack pretty early.

Short Week and Off We Go

Due to my travel plans, I had a bit of a short week ahead of me. So Monday was back at the office getting some things done and just winding down. For lunch I had one more food thing to check off my list, so headed up to Fire on the Mountain and chowed down on some wings.

The rest of the day was pretty breezy, some work, some focus, yadda yadda yadda. Once the day was done though, I got to pack up all my work stuff and wrap up some time back with my old team. Once again, not sure what I did that night, but I was really looking forward to the 'work' that was coming up that next day.

Well, for that day of 'work' I was treated to something fun. My current role deals with my old team in my old department. In planning out my trip, I made sure to communicate with them what the plan was for when I was in town. Well they flipped that script and did the vice versa, and as luck would have it, they planned out a team building event for my last day in town! Hard to beat that.

For some team building, a little kayaking was in store. I got to work early and jumped in the van with the team as we headed up to Mt. Hood. Stopping in Sandy to pick up the kayaks, I also jumped down to the Shell for some breakfast burritos with Claudiu. Always a great call.

Next stop was Trillium Lake. Kayaks in the van, shittons of snacks ready to go, and a b-e-a-UUUUtiful day in the cards, we were ready to float. After unloading and getting all our kayaks pumped up, we distributed the snacks and got ready to head out onto the water.

Alex was already out on the water, as he'd camped out and got some incredible shots of Mt. Hood at sunrise. But we slowly got our kayaks into the water and commenced an entire day of just paddling around in the wonderful sunlight.

Needless to say, this was one helluva way to 'work' for my last day in town. Throughout the day, we just kinda floated around, got some good snackage on, explored the various parts of the lake, and had time to just relax in the sunlight. I branched off a couple of times. Once to paddle up to the upwind side of the lake, and then just knock off for a nap. Nothing like floating around and not having a thing to worry about.

Later on, with the rest of the team at the downwind side of the lake, I paddled a little further down into some alcoves to wander around and see what all was there. With the beautiful day, it was nice to explore and have some relaxed time to see a bit of neature on the mountain lake.

In all, we were able to just float around for a good few hours. Plenty of snacks shared around, some good discussions (work and not) out on the water, and it turned out to be a fantastic day out there. Once the afternoon was winding down, we slowly paddled back over to the boat launch and began the process of getting the boats deflated, packed up, and ready to head back home.

On the way back home, we stopped off in Government Camp to have a team dinner. Rolling into town we decided on the big bar in the middle of town and split up on some tables outside. Good food, good beer, fun colleagues, and a great way to cap off the day.

From dinner we rolled back into Portland, and I said adios to all my coworkers. It was fun to be back in town and get some time to work with them all again!

After getting back to the hotel, I did my best to finish up my packing. Thankfully though, I had a little more to do that night! Thanks to my Mom being so awesome and letting me borrow her old car for while I was in town, we had to figure out how to get the car back to her after I left. To solve that problem, she took the train down to Portland and snagged a room near the airport. So, instead of lulling around that night, I drove out to the hotel to hang out with her again!

She and one of her old coworkers were hanging outside, so I joined the conversation. It was yet again lovely to see and hang out with my Mommy. But after a long day in the sun (I got a good bit burnt), I was pretty tired. That, paired with a 6am flight out, I headed back to my hotel to at least get a little bit of sleep.

With an early wakeup, I was off to the airport. I picked up Mommy on the way, and we had another tearful goodbye at the airport. Always hard to say goodbye to my Mommy. Thankfully I was able to spend such a great amount of time with her and enjoy each moment. She's such an amazing person and as I said earlier, the best Mom in the world. A long hug, a few tears, and she was off back to Tacoma, and I was off back to Germany. I love you Mommy.

Getting into the airport was yet again a pretty straightforward process. Once through security, I got in my usual walk through PDX. Honestly, such a great airport. Before long, I was packed back into an flying steel tube, and up and off we went. Germany, here I come.

Good, Bad, Different

Continuing on with the wonderful tradition gained through the experience in my CBYX years, here is another installment of Good, Bad, Different! This is the part of the story where I categorize (comically, against all the teachings of my exchange program cultural training) all of the things I notice. With that, here goes!

Good

• Right on Red. Truly efficient. Seriously, how has this not been spread to the rest of the world?
• Everyone drives 10 over the speed limit
• People are generally default nice, or at least not default stone cold bitches
• Food and beer. Flavor. Variety. Fuck yes

Bad

• Vagrancy/homelessness, and lack of plan or movement to do anything constructive, just, or sensible about it
• Things feel, not less professional, but less practiced and prepared. For example:
• KLM Airlines - crisp, articulate, professional, practiced, clean feel
• Delta Airlines - a little disheveled, tired, haphazard, frantic feel
• The Delta Variant was starting to spread, but there was no mask mandate or requirement. Weird feeling
• Bathroom stalls. Why the fuck are they so open and exposed?

Different

• Despite having been abroad for over a year, my trip was a trip back home. To that end, I didn't necessarily have my cultural eye on a ton of things as I was home
• As another excuse, I had a lot going on and a lot on my mind during the trip. Therefore, unfortunately, no items for this list

Wrapping Up a Visit Home

After not having been home in over a year and a half, as you can imagine, it was a plethora of things to return.

• Emotional - a year and a half away from the things you know, the people you love, the places you explore, the life that you'd built up. That's a tough ask. So being able to be back, see my family, be with friends, enjoy the nature that I've missed so dearly, it was a huge benefit and way to re-fill my tank
• Refreshing - there are a lot of good things about living in Germany. But having grown up in the US, there are so many things about Germany that frustrate me, piss me off, or just make no fucking sense. So being home, back where there are still a lot of fucked up stuff, being back in the midst of all the things I know, was a nice breath of fresh air
• Delicious - the options for food and beer that I had been missing were on full display while I was home. Mexican food, craft beer, delicious breakfast foods, mexican foods, stouts, barbecue, wings, SOOOOOOOOO much good stuff to taste and so much variety and goddamn I miss having all of that at my finger tips

Next Up

Blog-Time

After jumping into the plane, I had a 20-hour journey back to Germany. And, once I got back, I had a quick turnaround to get back, rearranged, and on to my next adventure!

Real-Time

Well, writing this, it's been already two and a half months since I left the US. Recently, things have felt very overloaded. I've had a lot going on at work and things have been busy. To add on to that, I feel like I've got a lot of things I need to accomplish and projects to get done at home, so I feel like every second I have needs to be utilized efficiently and productively. Hence the really short summary and subjective write-up on this post. There's a ton more stuff I could/should add here, but I want to move on to a few other things I have on my plate.

Unfortunately, that's conversely led to a ton of wasted time feeling overloaded and really busy. It's a frustrating situation to be in, but I'm slowly taking care of that. I think.

But, winter is pretty much here, the holidays are coming, and I'm hoping to have some write-ups of the last coming months by December 23rd, before the next big adventure. We'll see how it goes, so stay tuned!

Dates Covered in Post: July 12th - August 26th, 2021
Original Publish Date: November 9th, 2021