No Shelf Life For Dreams!

I have caught up!! We are in Portland, Oregon and ... the blog is in Portland, Oregon!

A lot has happened over the last several weeks. We have the motorhome on the market - sad but true. Today we hired a carpet cleaner; there is very little carpet - under the dining table and up front under the drivers and passenger seats - and 2 rugs. Still, it has come up nicely. Trevor has cleaned the leather seats. There are more of them; they too look great. She looks so good; we are sparkling!

We have only 5 weeks left of our 15 month journey before we get on a plane to Perth on 20 October.
As far as travel goes, we are gradually making our way south to San Francisco. We plan to remain in and around Oregon until early October, then into northern California. Of course these plans may well change earlier or later - if we sell the motorhome earlier then we will likely be looking for hotels and rental cars!

Its a bit like flying by the seat of your pants or having all of your balls in the air ... at the same time! I hope that last phrase is well known - it sounds a bit odd to me???

Throw into that mix ...  a Harley Davidson trike!! I guess that is the 'dream'  I refer to in the title. If we have learned anything on this journey it is that we are not done with life yet!

Last Sunday - 8 September - we called into a Harley Davidson dealership south of Portland, to 'have a look'. Paradise Harley Davidson in Tigard. We have called in to several Harley stores recently; there are very few trikes available; we have seen only 2 others as we have travelled west from South Dakota.

Now we have found a third - a 2011 Tri Glide Ultra Classic and we are bringing it home! ( We can't buy a new bike due to franchise issues).  And no, Trevor has not indoctrinated me over the last 14 months to agree to this. I like it!

It is actually quite good looking and (fairly) quiet - in the Harley scheme of things.
 So we are now in the throes of sorting out what we have to do to ship it home and get it compliant to Australian Standards.

No... we haven't ridden it yet!! That will come in the next few days. Trevor has his name down for a 'Learn To Ride' class run by Paradise Harley Davidson - a great idea as he is so familiar with driving on the right side of the road - he can get familiar with the bike before returning home to driving on the 'wrong' side .

Frequently heard!!

We have enjoyed a range of weather since arriving in Portland - from warm to hot weather; it was 95F a week ago - to showery, rainy and milder at present. Fall officially starts on Sunday - 9/22 - but everyone says it is about a week early.

We are well situated at the Jantzen Beach RV Park except it is very noisy! Major train lines and highways are close by; a lifting bridge over the Columbia River is also close by and we are very close to Portland International Airport!!
We will 'ride on' on Wednesday to an area south of the city and much, much quieter.

 Jantzen Beach RV Park is on Hayden Island which is in the middle of the Columbia River as it flows west to the ocean. We take a drive east on I-84 along the Columbia River on a sparkling sunny day, stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. The 620 ft falls in the Columbia River Gorge fall in 2 cascades. It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon.



A 45 ft bridge spans the lower cascade - Benson Footbridge. In September 1995 a 400 ton boulder loosened by erosion fell 225 feet from the face of the waterfall into the upper cascade pool above Benson Footbridge. It resulted in a 70 ft splash of water and gravel to wash over the footbridge, injuring 20 members of a wedding party who were on the bridge posing for photos!!

With such a beautiful day, lots of people are out enjoying the breathtaking sights of the Falls.
Craft and art stalls together with a few food stalls are set out on a plaza at the bottom of the Falls. Trevor succumbs to an ice cream - I am very good!

We drive on to Hood River, the wind surfing capital of the world on the Columbia River.



From Hood River we head south  around the east side of Mt Hood.

Mt Hood is spectacular. It has to be the ideal shape - of a cone - and is covered in snow. It is the tallest of Oregon's Cascade peaks at 11,250ft. It has year round skiing.

Oregon is larger than Washington State but with half the population. The States share similar characteristics including rain soaked coasts, spectacular spinal mountain ranges and dry, inner plateaus.

Portland is known for innovation and ideas - consider food carts, microbreweries, bike culture and a traffic calmed downtown - although I-5 gets pretty jammed from early afternoon.

Portland is also famous for its parks and bridges - there are 11 bridges across the Willamette River notably the Steel Bridge, the only double-deck bridge with independent vertical lifts in the world.
It is the city that invented tree-sitting as a form of environmental protest!

The State beverage is milk!





We have wandered around downtown Portland over the last 2 weekends. We found the Saturday Markets, the largest Open Air Art and Craft Markets in the nation. What an array of different crafts!!

Yesterday we visited the International Rose Test Gardens in Washington Park- over 7,000 rose plants of approximately 550 varieties. Portland's nick name is the City of Roses.

We continue on to the Japanese Gardens - the best I have seen.

We are also lucky enough to see a display of Japanese drums and dancing - Takohachi - amazing!!

The line at Salt & Straw.

We come back to earth in Nob Hill, a trendy neighbourhood full of clothing boutiques, home decor shops and cafes. We stroll and window shop, then stand in a line for three quarters of an hour for an ice cream!! Salt & Straw - known for its handmade ice cream using local, organic ingredients and imported flavours from farms around the world!

I have a Honey Lavender flavour; Trevor has Strawberry Honey Balsamic Vinegar with Cracked Black Pepper - yep, ice cream!

And we pop in to have another look at the new member of the family!