Day 30

Art and Zach had real world things to attend to (Art with his cubicle at the PA Lottery and Zach painting a barn in Massachusetts) so we woke up bright and early to get them off to the airport. Alex and I then went to diner and a coffee shop in Portland where we spent the better part of the afternoon blogging, surfing the web, recuperating, and waking up. My hearing had been nearly gone for 2 days now so I found an urgency care center that I could get checked out. The prescribed antibiotics have since fixed my hearing and helped my severe cold. We returned to our campsite to reorganize all our belongings after all our stuff we recklessly strewn about when four dudes were residing in our tent and car. We found one of our neighboring campers, Jared, alone, wet, hungry, and hung-over. All his friends left him (it had been raining nonstop for 3 days) and he had no car. We drove him to town to buy food and supplies and to dry all our soggy clothing. Jared was as good as new. We went to bed ready to board again after a day hiatus.

(sorry no pictures for today but check out Alex's Blog for many more (and better) photos than I have posted)

Day 26

Portland... the most scene hippie city in all the land. Fixed gear bikes, tight pants, and quaint coffee shops. The perfect place for us and a destination that I could see one day calling my temporary home. Alex lived in Portland last summer for an internship so he had tons of local knowledge to ensure an authentic experience of the town. We toured the city for a bit before finally meeting up with our dudes Art and Zach. It was a warm reunion. Art threw a cantaloupe in the air for me to catch before I even knew he was their (I went grocery shopping while Alex picked them up from the airport). Just the kind of zany stunt that Art and I get into when together. The four us us, reunited, visited Art's aunt and uncle for a backyard cookout with their neighbors. It was a gallant affair. Art's uncle (affectionately named Zucchi from his golden days playing baseball in Texas) was a colorful character and gracious host with vivid stories about his past and family. Art's aunt Julie, a school teacher, is as nice as they come and helped us with whatever we needed during our stay in Portland. Dan, Art's cousin and engineering student at Villanova helped drive us and all our stuff to Mt. Hood where we set up camp for the night. We set camp at The airstrip near Trillium at the base of Hood.

Dan and Zach

Art helping around the kitchen

The backyard patio, the site for dinner and conversation

Alex, stoked to be back in Portland after a year hiatus

Zach just stoked to be alive and a stone's throw away from some great summer boarding