7/26/08

Although The Dalles had more to offer, we packed up and headed toward Portland with a stop at Cascade Locks for a cruise on a sternwheeler up and down the Columbia River. This excursion was set up by Mary P and proved to be a relaxing way to spend the day. The whole affair started off with a champagne brunch with everything from shrimp, to cesar salad, to locks and more served in an elegant dining room. The brunch was served immediately after we boarded and the boat stayed docked until most of the passengers had eaten. Once underway the captain gave us a history and geography lesson. When Lewis and Clark traversed this waterway, there were rapids and falls on it so they had to portage around those on their way to Oregon City. Now there are a series of dams, which can be bypassed by locks making it a navigable waterway. We didn't get to go through a lock because our cruise was too short, but we did get to see a sailboat race, although lacking a program we had no idea who was winning. Because of some favorable geographical features the area around the Cascade Locks is perfect for water activities such as kite boarding and sailboarding. Moving on we made a beeline to Portland and the Saturday Market, which didn't much interest the male contingent of the Toads group. We managed to park ourselves at a Starbucks until the ladies exhausted their shopping proclivities or ran out of cash, neither of which could be determined by the males. Exiting the city was a challenge, but Bear and his GPS got us out, although we lost the ladies in the process. Not to worry though as they showed up shortly after we arrived at the hotel in St Helens, OR, another Best Western of course. We should be getting credits from these guys by now. After checking in and resting for 20 minutes (a long time for this group), we were off to a family style restaurant for halibut. Great dinner and to top off the evening we went to Wal Mart, Uncle Eddie's favorite store. Bear and I got to listen to him grouse about Wal Mart not selling guns in the East anymore, while Mary P went shopping for sunglasses to replace the ones she had broken/lost. It all started when the screw fell out of the temple piece, escalated to a crisis when she lost the temple piece, and became a calamity when she lost the rest of the glasses. Even though we expected Uncle Eddie to linger in the sporting goods section awhile, he surprised us with his decisiveness, purchasing a fleece sleeping bag in record time.
Not knowing what to expect when we planned this expedition almost a year and a half ago, we have found that we are discovering destinations for future vacations. We are constantly on the move, rarely staying anywhere more than two nights. This approach has allowed us to gather enough information about places we have visited to decide whether it would make sense to revisit those areas at a future time and explore them more thoroughly. In the process we have made some unusual discoveries, like Detroit. Who would ever think of going there for a vacation? And Mackinac Island is certainly a place that the wives would love to visit of a week. Covering great distances on motorcycles has been easier and more enjoyable than those same distances in a car. By its very nature riding a motorcycle forces one to pay attention reducing the boredom factor. Inattention will almost certainly get one injured or worse, and there is the element factor with gusting winds, temperature changes, and road surface changes. Oregon for some reason uses the most abrasive surface on their roads that I have seen anywhere outside of Arkansas. There is a lot of aggregate (rock) mixed into the black top creating a lot of road noise and making the bike feel unstable. In other places the road is just torn up and one is riding on dirt for miles. Bear has discovered a utility for the helmet one wouldn't normally think about, deflecting rocks. Already 4500 miles have passed under our tires including about 1000 with the ladies. While a 250 mile sight-seeing trip is nothing to the Toads anymore, the ladies are tired of riding and want a day off. There is talk of visiting Mt St Helens tomorrow, but that is a 250 mile trip including the route to our next accommodation, lodges right on the beach in Washington just north of Astoria, OR. Stay tuned to find out whether to Toads wimp out.