May 23 – On the road again….

Today was D-Day so off I went at 8:00am sharp, riding north along US 101 all the way to Cannon Beach where I stopped for lunch with my long-time bud TR Huntington. The town was busting at the seams due to it being a holiday weekend plus a cruise ship had deposited its human cargo at Astoria just a few miles north. Evidently they had been turned back from visiting Mexican ports because of the current outbreak of swine flu and elected to visit Astoria instead. We met at Bill’s Pub for eats and lies, and then I hit the road for Beaverton just west of Portland. The ride along the coast was not as nice as it could have been due to the blustery cross-winds which made me think I was blowing tires.

Once I headed east and got away from that it turned into a warm sunny ride all the way to George’s Olson’s house where I’ll be staying until Wednesday. George and I have been friends for many years and he has just recently moved to the Portland area from his San Francisco home. It was time for him to slow down a bit and be with his Portland friends, a long overdue move. I arrived late afternoon and after I’d settled in we went out for dinner at McCormick’s Fish House where we consumed way too much alcohol with our raw oysters. Dinner and desert followed ensuring we’ll both need to shop for larger clothing in the near future.

Life on the road is supposed to be enjoyable, right? Motel 6 will come later.