I’m at the library in Florence Oregon on the Oregon coast. I’m playing blog catch up.
I left July 15, exactly the day I wanted to leave. I bummed a ride to the start of the Banks-Vernonia bike trail. This tour I’m trying include many of the places I visited over the 42 years I lived in Oregon and one’s I haven’t.
I was a bike tour guide and use to bring people on this trail. Starting the tour with no cars was great. As I was biking past a large field, there were some Indians (from India) playing cricket, that’s a hard game to learn. The owner of the Blue House Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant, he use to help me shuttle the van, back in the touring days. They would always open the history museum too when I brought a tour through town.
Continue reading “BIKING THE OREGON COAST: Vernonia, Astoria, Manzanita, Cape Lookout, Newport.”
Month: July 2017
PORTLAND REVISITED, WHAT HAPPENED?
I left Portland in July 2015 and moved to Slovenia, permanently I thought. My tenant left town and I rented my house from him for 3 weeks. I’m back in Portland now and A LOT has changed. Housing prices & rent have sky rocketed, marijuana is for sale all over town, the food carts are still the place to eat, and so much more. My house with my pride and joy edible garden yard were way out of control. I trimmed for 3 days and hired a crew to clean-up the mess I made. I went to a Blondie/Garbage concert, camped at Oxbow Park, attended the Master Gardener show (I’m a master gardener too!).
OXBOW WITH THE VALHAUERS
HIKING TRAIL TO CAMPSITE
OXBOW CAMPING
PARTY RAFT AT SANDY RIVER-OXBOW
SHE WANTED ME TO PHOTO THE BREAST FLOAT- WHICH ONES?
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
MASTER GARDENER BIKE ART
DEBBIE HARRY OF BLONDIE
GARBAGE LEAD SINGER SHIRLEY MANSON
CONCERT T-SHIRTS
LOX AND BAGELS-AWESOME
EGG BREAKFAST WITH ASPARAGUS
THAT’S ME, CARRYING THE WORLD
I BOUGHT MY FIRST JOINT HERE
MANUAL TRIMMING IS OVER
THERE’S A BEER FEST OR 2 EVERY WEEKEND IT SEEMED.
THE LINE IS 3 TIMES AS LONG AS I REMEMBER.
FOOD CART WORKER
I got to hang with many of my long time friends. I enjoyed several nights of comedy, eating & drinking out almost every night. I went to the Water Front Blues Festival and saw Chris Issak-awesome. I rode the famous Sunday Parkways, my favorite bike event in Portland. I made the Blazers draft night party, free food and beer and it’s showing.
BEFORE THE COMEDY SHOW WITH MARY
HANGING WITH THE FUNNY GUYS
STEVE ENJOY STEAK AT THE A-CROP
SUNDAY PARKWAYS
ONLY IN PORTLAND, SOUP DELIVERED BY BIKE TO YOUR HOME
RED MY FAVORITE COLOR
BIKE ART
BLAZERS MC OF THE MODA CENTER
HAD TO HAVE THIS PHOTO
CHRIS ISSAKS GUITARIST IN THE CROWD
LOVE BOMB GO GO
PORTLAND’S FINEST
HANGING WITH (ON) MATT
JIM & HANMI ON OUR WAY WALKING TO DINNER
MY GOOD FRIEND ANDY
NO MORE VEGETABLES IN THE GARDEN
PORTLAND’S FAMOUS PAINTED INTERSECTIONS
SWIMMING WITH DRY ICE AFTER SUNDAY PARKWAYS
I did bike tours around Portland 2012-13, everyone commented about all the homeless camps. That was nothing, it’s become homeless heaven, they’re everywhere, I was a little shocked. I heard that the homeless websites, tell readers, “move to Portland”, that’s not helping the situation., They say 100 people a day are moving to Portland, only making securing a home even harder.
Most people I meet in Europe, if tell me they’ve been to America it’s usually Florida or New York. People, the west coast is the only place to visit in America. The best vacation you can have of America from somewhere else is? Fly to Seattle, buy a vehicle and drive to San Diego stopping at Mt. Rainier, Portland, Oregon Coast, Crater Lake (my favorite), San Francisco, Yosemite, the beaches & so much more. Sell the vehicle in San Diego and fly home. Give yourself 6 weeks at the minimum and 2 months if you can pull it off. That’s the best way to see the best America has to offer, when you have limited time.
Portland is still the Berlin (hipster city) of America. It’s a bummer what’s happen to housing prices, but they’re just catching up to the other west coast cities, SF, LA, Seattle.
I’m currently in Newport Or. riding my bike to San Diego. This blog is my attempt to get caught up to today.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
THE AMERICAN FLAG IN ALL IT’S FORMS
I bought flags in every country and put them on my bike. I got lots of honks and waves where I was. But my Albanian Flag stirred the most reaction, The Albanians LOVE their flag, I never remember America being so obsessed with the American Flag.
I’m here over the July 4th Independence Day Celebrations, so there may have been a few more flags than normal. They were so interesting that and kinda surprising considering how poorly Trump is representing America on the world stage. But then again American’s seem more concerned about America than the rest of the world. Anyway here’s the flag images that caught my eye of my new I-phone 7.
Continue reading “THE AMERICAN FLAG IN ALL IT’S FORMS”
EATING, DRINKING AND BIKING, my last month in SKOFJA LOKA
There’s maybe 5 restaurants around Skofja Loka, and I plan to eat a last supper at all of them. Earlier I explained to Natasa that I liked to go out to eat. She said she’s willing to go out once a month. That’s 12 times a year, there’s over 1,000 meals a year. I explained the main reason I wanted to go out was to just be together and talk. Not jump up and check the pasta or do the dishes, just hang out together. After explaining it to her 5 or 6 times, I gave up, she just didn’t get it. Now I can go out anytime I want and that’s what I plan to do.
Continue reading “EATING, DRINKING AND BIKING, my last month in SKOFJA LOKA”
3 WEEK FAREWELL SLOVENIA CAR/BIKE TOUR
Sorry to my peeps, I’ve been busy moving from my apartment in Skofja Loka, Slovenia. I’ve been in America about a month. This is the first day of my 4-5 month bike tour of the Oregon & /California coasts. I have some free days to play blog catch up.
