Portland, Oregon

We arrived in Portland on August, 31st for a 7-day stay. We parked at the Columbia River RV Park, a very nice facility with level RV pads, extra space for the toad, and good wi-fi. We met our nice neighbors, who are from the area, and had been coming there for many years. They gave us some tips on things to see on the Oregon Coast as we head to California.

• Day 1: Off to the International Rose Test Garden on a hill overlooking the city. Although past their peak for the season, their were still lots of nice blooms and the clear, sunny weather made for a very nice day. We also stopped at a local music shop named Artichoke Music, where Ellyn got a hard case for her dulcimer and Geoff bought some finger picks. They have a room for concerts but it was "dark" in August.
• Day 2: We met up with Pam, a good friend of Ellyn's sister, Laura, and had lunch. Another great weather day and we sat outside on the Raleigh Hills Pub patio. Then we went downtown and visited the "Duck Store" where they have just about every piece of University of Oregon Ducks goods you could imagine. Then we went to the Powell Bookstore, a 6 story building of new and used books. If you cannot find it there, it probably is not published yet. Geoff bought some copies of Disc World books he has not read yet (he has gone through all of the ones his brother, Wes, gave him) and Ellyn stocked up as well.
• Day 3: It was Saturday so we headed downtown again to the Portland Saturday Market. Lot of vendors, food, and music. Another nice weather day with hot weather and smoke from some nearby wildfires starting to move in . Some great musicians and odd characters on each corner made for an interesting time. A hot spot seemed to be Voodoo Doughnuts, which had a line most of the day and some interesting looking donuts.
• Day 4: One of our first, in a long time, days of hanging out in the RV with the A/C running. In the afternoon, we went to visit another one of Geoff's cousins, Bruce Bottomley and his wife Anne in their home here in Portland. Geoff and Bruce did not meet each other before (as far as they can remember) but Geoff's Mom used to baby sit Bruce and his brother Buster when they were kids and she has many stories that Geoff has heard over the years. We had a great time catching up on happenings, met their daughter, Sara, and went out for a nice dinner.
• Day 5: The heat is starting to break a bit. Out to lunch at Sushi Ville, where the plates of food come by on a conveyor and you pay by the plate. Then we went to see the movie "Super 8" at the Mission Theater and Pub, where we had comfortable seats in the balcony and a table for our sodas and popcorn.
• Day 6: We ventured out to Camping World to spend the generous gift certificate we had gotten from the CEO of Good Sam and Camping World at "The Rally" in Redmond Oregon in July. We picked up a lot of goodies and only had to pony up $40 of our own money. Nice! On the way, we had spotted a Costco so we stopped by there on the way back to pick up some supplies.
• Day 7: Back on the road and back to the Oregon Coast. Our destination: Nehalem Bay State Park, where we will start our trip down US101.