The drive from San Francisco to Portland was a tiring one. Not only was it about 12 hours on the road, but it was also hard to leave a place where I had such a great time and met so many interesting people. Nonetheless we made our way north of San Francisco where the bay turned into rolling hills of golden grass which in turn transformed into the foothills of great mountains when we finally entered Oregon.
Oregon was actually a fun state to drive through because it had this feeling of untamed wilderness that was very striking. Sparse settlements occasionally dotted the undulating landscape-- just enough that we were reminded that people did actually live in this place so close to the pristine wild. Even when we did pass through major population centers they were hidden by a thick screen of trees and sharp hills.
At last, when it was nearly dark, we reached Portland. The sky was stained a glowing orange that wonderfully illuminated the distinctive evergreens, so different from the ubiquitous palm trees found in California. We reached our destination just as darkness fell at the house of Bob and Christy.
We were immediately greeted by Goose, the lovable black lab of the household, and welcomed inside by Christy just as Bob arrived. We had an excellent dinner and discussed some of the next day's possible activities, getting some great suggestions from our hosts. Also before going to bed, Bob, who has an extensive knowledge of bicycles, helped fix some nagging issues with my bike that in just a short amount of time dramatically improved its performance.
Good luck guys keep it on
ReplyDeletefrom: your cousin and your uncle (my dad)