Post #1

Finally up and running on the interwebs. The last week has been a bit of a scramble going from work to packing, to the road. I (Doug) spent the 4th of July holiday in Fresno with family and enjoyed a bit of a respite before having to push everything into storage and get out the door. Sunday and monday were spent packing and rearranging and generally hoping we've got everything covered. Tuesday was the great embarkment. 9 1/2 hours on the road later we pulled into Portland, a bit tired, but glad to stay with an old Santa Cruz friend. The accommodations were magnificent, as was the beer.

Along the way, we stopped to get pictures in front of two state houses, scared off a trucker who thought he was more secluded than he was, and had a friend Erwin join us for this short leg of the trip. For those interested, activities in Portland included Voodoo Doughnuts (they have a maple bacon bar), hiking to Multnomah Falls, the Oregon Zoo, trail running up to the Pittock Mansion, an oyster bar (EAT, an Oyster Bar - www.eatanoysterbar.com) owned by my friend's cousin, and general exploration. Portland is beautiful and feels very much like the east bay, lots of little shops and restaurants with districts very distinct from each other.

Today we head to Seattle, will stop to see the world's largest frying pan, and get another state house pic. More to come.