June 25 2023 Day Twenty Three

 June 25 – Portland OR – Day 23

 

Yep, my second day in Portland and today is my relaxation day. No need to get on the bike today that I’ll just enjoy the Portland vibe for the day. I did have to finish my ride summary from yesterdays’ ride so I can capture my averages for the day, and it was the right time to be messing with my bike because the neighbor Tom asked me if I wanted a bike cover. The same as a year ago when I was here and he loaned me the bike cover he has that doesn’t have a bike to cover anymore, that is until today. He did talk about selling it with the rest of his biking gear since he doesn’t ride anymore, but as long as he can find a use for it, why get rid of it.

 

Ok, like I said I get to relax and enjoy the vibe of Portland, so the first good thing is I was able to sleep in cuz nothing pressing that has to be done today and without Stephanie and Danny here, I get to entertain myself for the day.  I did remember that there was a donut shop that I saw just down the street that I figured today would be a good time to try their donuts. Not the kind I had expected cuz I was thinking the Krispy Kream kind, but oh well I will try a couple of flavors that might be ok, and I probably should of checked when they said gluten free and dairy free that it wasn’t going to be anything like the bad kind of donut s I like. They were ok, but I could’ve really used something a little better to start my morning, 

 

I did hear from my hostess that they were going to be home earlier than they first thought and if I was still there, we’d be able to visit for a little bit. I figured this trip I can do the same with all my stops with one day on the bike and the next day to relax that I let her know that I’ d be there and get some beers for us to enjoy later. I also find out that I was on my own for dinner that I have just the place to eat later. In the meantime, without the donuts doing what they were supposed to I decided to go the fish market just down the street and have some clam chowder that I missed the other day in San Francisco since that nights Italian restaurant that we went to had it on special and ran out before I could get an order that this place should be as good. It was great clam chowder and today they also had the oyster truck open that I thought an oyster shot might hit the spot which it did just that. It’s great that everything is within walking distance because I was able to pick up some beer the same way.

 

It was also a good day for me to get caught up on a few blogs that I had to write, because it’s not always the best to write about the day at the end of the day because if it is a late night, I still need my sleep to. I was able to piece together a couple of stories so I’m at least caught up and will have to see when I can write today’s story which happens to be tomorrow. Yep, it’s already the 26^th and I’m writing about the 25^th.

 

Ok, it’s about that time that I should really get ready for dinner that it was time to shower and put on my best for a really nice dinner. Tonight, it’ll be at the same butcher shop I was at a year ago that I remember how good the beef was. It was still a bit early after getting cleaned up that a stop at the beer truck would be a good place to visit again for a couple more sour beers before I go and dine on my own. I wasn’t surprised to see 3 of the same guys I saw the other night sitting in their same spots drinking away and thanked them for their suggestion of pizza the night before, but I don’t think they were interested in inviting me into the conversation that it’s ok with me, I can spend my time talking with the bartender about my travels and maybe some suggestions on a ride tomorrow. Apparently, he bikes, even though it includes some off roading so did have some suggestions. 

 

I did make it to the butcher shop and after hee hawing whether I should have a wedge salad with dinner or not, I did order the ribeye like I had last year and found out that was filling enough that I didn’t need the salad after all. It was once again a great steak and well worth the cost. Actually, cheaper than a few places back home that I’ve been to that have ok ribeye compared to what I had tonight. It also turned out to be a good time to plan my bike trip for tomorrow since it is only about a 2-hour drive from Portland to Seattle that I should include a little site seeing and with the bartenders help, East around Mount Rainer sounds just like the trip to take. I did reach out to Steve; my Seattle connection and he was a big IMO for the Rainer trip.

 

Time to get back to the house and the timing was pretty good because Stephanie and Danny were just getting home so I got to help unpack. They described the foraging weekend that they had, and it sounded pretty interesting all of the different plants they now know they can eat. Not that they need to right now, but if ever comes the time they will be ready. Soon after they unpacked, we headed to a local German pub to visit and have a few brews before returning to the house where me and Danny had a late night of visiting. Always great to see them both and I really enjoyed having some time to visit. Maybe next time I can plan a longer stay because there is so much to do in their local Portland neighborhood.