Blogs from Portland, Oregon, United States, North America - page 42

The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before. - G.K. Chesterton I saw this quote on BootsnAll and it was so appropriate, just switch out the train for plane.... I missed my flight to Singapore! I was even at the airport 3 hours ahead of time, having lunch. Lunching a little too long with the ladies I'd say. Must have been that tequila oyster shooter....Oh well, back tomorrow, I have time..... lots of it :)) It was a bit odd and comical to be stranded at the PDX airport, my home town with no phone, no phone numbers, no home to go to - Kathryn left for Denver today, no keys to get into the house, no car.....Is this a movie???? Luckily I have dear friends who picked ... read more

Wow, I can’t believe the day is almost here. All these months of planning, wrapping up work…. I cannot contain my excitement. In 4 days I will escape everything familiar to me, my surroundings, my language, my friends, family, comforts of home, even the daily logging into my computer. I’m stepping out, out of the day to day, out of this continent, out of my safe zone. I don’t think the magnitude of this trip will hit me until I’m sitting on that beach in Bali, with my feet in the sand….. Several of my friends think I won’t come back, who knows….I’m just going to explore, fulfill a dream. My only expectation of this trip is that my eyes be opened wider to the humanity and natural beauty of this earth. I think if you ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 8. March 28th - April 7th 2006 Farewell fair California. The Golden State Sequoia Sempervivens, the California Coastal Redwoods, are the tallest living things on earth. They can grow to over 350ft, weighing in at a massive 45 tons. They get that way through a rich diet of alluvial soil, foggy insulation, and around 100 inches of rain each year….we know all about that. Northern California has enjoyed nearly double its average annual rainfall for this time of the year and most of it has landed on us. Some of the most spectacular redwoods line the Avenue of the Giants, a winding 33mile stretch of road leading us north through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The forest walk at Founders Grove offered an ant’s eye view of the dark underworld beneath these ... read more

February26 - March 3rd 2006 Our second day in Oregon started out perfectly; a big delicious breakfast from the Original Pancake House, our #1 spot (#2 was yesterday!). We went with my parents, Judith and our friends Steve and Jessica. This place is so popular on the weekends we always go early, as in 7am, but it's sooooooo worth it. Dutch babies and apple pancakes! We included the photos of the menu for the sake of Phil's coworkers. A western breakfast is all but nonexistent in Malaysia, let alone a two page menu! My parents left after breakfast and we did some shopping and prep for our Mardi Gras blowout on Tuesday. That night our friends Jessica and Steve had us and some other friends over to their new condo for enchiladas. Yum! Mexican meal #3 ... read more

The train pulled into Portland station only 3 hours behind schedule. This isn't out of the ordinary for Amtrak, but always annoying when you have plans. I had kept in touch with a friend from Texas and was eager to see her digs across town. Kari has a great apartment across the Willamette River on the south east side of Portland, with one of the most attractive features I have seen in my world tour of apartments. An independent coffee shop with a wireless internet connection, sits opposite her front door. Life is good. Although we had met only a couple of weeks earlier, it seemed as though an entire lifetime had passed and we clearly needed to catch up. We talked about boys in Texas, boys in California, and boys in Oregon and Washington. We ... read more