Portland, OR

Whit and I made the drive starting Monday afternoon. Stopped by my folks' place to get all sappy. By Thursday we were in Portland.

Nice place so far. Bikes everywhere. Lots of bike boxes. Lots of bike lanes. Not a good place if you spaz out over rail tracks though.

Unseasonably hot weather resembles the south east at the moment -- convective afternoon t-storms and all. People assure me that the highs should be back down to the mid-70's in a few days.

I was about to say that seeing all these cyclists and not being able to ride due to my second wrist surgery in as many years was a real bummer. But then I saw dude about my age with no legs roll by on a skateboard, pushing himself along with what I imagine to be a very calloused hand. *That* folks, is a bummer. Being homesick is kind of a bummer though.

Drop me a line if y'all end up in town. For the snowboarders on the board: my friend informs me that he made it out to Mt. Hood 18 days this past winter and 17 of them had around 2 ft of powder. So if y'all want to hit that up this winter, let me know. Crashing at my place should greatly reduce the cost of a typical ski trip and I think Hood has unusually reasonable lift prices.