Back in the USA!

After leaving Vancouver Island, we drove south to Seattle, and stayed with friends over night. It was nice to be back on US soil, and now our money could go farther! The next morning we drove into the city and went to the famous “Pike’s Fish Market” we also got coffee at the original Starbucks. The city was crowded, and we were anxious to get to our next destination, Portland, Oregon.

We drove for about half of the day and made it into the city just in time to meet friends at the Oregon Brewer’s Festival. It was fun to be with friends and try out new brews. The next day we went into the city for the Saturday market, and went shopping. The market is full of local artists, food vendors, and craftsman, a fun way to see the city of Portland.

Our next stop was up the hill from downtown to the Rose Garden, from this high up you have a beautiful view of the city of Portland. On a clear day, you can also see Mount Hood beyond the city skyline. It looks like a satellite or moon hovering over the city. That night we treated our hosts to a Thai dinner at one of the best Thai restaurants in town, “Pok Pok”. The next morning we packed up and headed to Bend Oregon.

Bend is on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range and has a much drier climate than Portland. We stayed with friend’s of Andy’s here and got a taste of parenthood. Our hosts were great and helped us with planning out a mountain bike ride for the next day. We rode from their house west of town and got on Phil and Steve’s loops and rode smooth dry single track for almost 3 hours. There was a downhill section with gap jumps, burmed turns and rollers that broke up the rest of the ride which was completely smooth save for a couple of tree roots. We agreed that it was a fun ride, and it was nice to be able to ride for that long without getting beaten up by bumps and rocks.

The next morning we picked up breakfast at a local bakery and hit the road. Our plan was to make it as far as possible east, towards Boulder. We were anxious to finally get back home.