Thanks to Lindsay (posing) for inviting me over, and Patrick (her friend in LA) for remotely buying me a delicious burrito lunch.
Meet Roger (left) and Buddy, the guys who designed and built, respectively, my extraordinary Runabout stroller. I've pushed that poor thing 3000+ miles across some extremely rough terrain, never once oiling it or performing any other maintenance, and it's still rolling like a champ. Absolutely amazing.
I also spent the night at Roger's house. He took me and his grandson, Bailey, out to dinner at Huber's, the oldest restaurant in Portland. At Roger's recommendation, I had a turkey dinner (their specialty) and a Spanish Coffee (the preparation of which involves, among other things, the tableside ignition of booze). And not to be outdone by some restaurant, Roger cooked up an enormous feast for breakfast this morning before I left.
Roger and his wife, Jan (who was unfortunately sick during my visit), used to run the well-remembered Ice Cream Saloon in Beaverton for many years (in fact, our host at Huber's remembered going there as a kid).
A man of many ideas, Roger built a vertical (to drain the grease without mess), infrared (to cook the meat evenly) hamburger broiler for the Saloon. Among other works-in-progress are a kitty litter scoop and a truck-mounted sawbuck. And in addition to the Runabouts, Roger and Jan are also currently making BMX seats (they used to run a BMX track next to the Saloon) and fruit syrups. Quite a diverse line of products!
Roger, Bailey, and I took a little stroll after dinner and checked out the view from the roof of The Nines, a downtown hotel. I believe all those people were gathered to watch an outdoor movie.
There was quite a party going on when I arrived! Tony and Conny (and their two daughters) invited me over for the night. Conny's parents were visiting from Switzerland. Another good friend and her niece (who was visiting from DC) came over for dinner. And then, after we finished eating, the neighbors showed up (with homemade beer). A festive end to my time in Greater Portland!
From here, it's just three short days over the mountains (where one last cell dead zone likely awaits) to Tillamook, and then the final march north to Rockaway!
By the way, Tony builds pumpkin cannons for the annual pumpkin patch events at his parents' farm in northwestern Washington. So if you live nearby and want to blast a pumpkin 2000 feet (!), you should go visit around Halloween.
Clockwise from left: Tony, Pam, Terra, Willy, Conny, Doris, Alyx, Kerrigan
Even in context, it was totally unclear what this sign was talking about.
once lay the community of Idiotville. I'm not sure what Brian has to do with this.
A very nice woman named Betsy stopped to give me some food today, including this watermelon. Given the tools at hand (pocketknife, spoon, ground), I decided this would be the tidiest way to eat it. The hole grew in size, but the first cut made for the best picture.
And one last wonderful family to share it with. Dennis whipped up a terrific dinner, and then we sat around the fire talking and drinking various hot beverages (coffee and tea for the "adults", hot chocolate for the rest of us). Madelyn sat at my feet most of the night snorting in (what I'm sure was) admiration. And then we ended on a sweet note: Tillamook ice cream!
Fun fact: 30 years ago, Dennis proposed to Jan underneath the World's Largest Buffalo, which you may remember from back in Jamestown, ND!
From left to right: Harrison, Leah, Jan, Dennis, Madelyn
