Into the Summer in Oregon

June 21, 2015 First Day of Summer

Satch and Bebop look out over the Columbia Gorge

After spending some time on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge in White Salmon, we headed across the Columbia into Oregon. One of the things we have to be super conscious of when driving the rig. Our rig is a lot wider than a car. And it's as tall as a double-decker bus. As we were leaving White Salmon, we found that the Hood River Bridge had narrow lanes and wouldn't accommodate us, and Highway 14 on the Columbia River has tunnels that are only 12 feet high. If we drove under those, we'd have the top part of the RV shaved off, so we had to double back to the Dalles and cross the river adding 50 miles to our trip to Portland. But, better to keep the vehicle safe.

Bebop says, "I'm ready to drive!"

Bebop really wanted to move up in the pack and was insisting that he was ready to drive the rig. I mean, he's been watching Cheri manage driving this house up and down the roads. We had to insist that this is a woman's job, and not one for a dog. Finally, he relented and decided it was more fun to snuggle with Satch and leave the driving to Cheri.

Dolly the Dophin is chillin' at the Avs

Arriving in Portland and following map directions to my cousin Tom Avgerakis' home, we encountered another low train overpass, but were able to quickly find a different route up to the top of Parrott Mountain and their home. Dolly the Dolphin felt right at home parked on their driveway. Surrounding the home are 100 acres of ponds, fields and all kinds of new discoveries awaiting all of us.

The amazing Tidbit Food Farm & Garden Food Truck Pod on SE Division

We ventured into Portland for Father's Day, and Cheri and Alana treated me to an amazing brunch at a cool, hipster joint called Detour. I had a very good breakfast potato skillet. We walked around SE Division Street and ran into one of the newest Portland Food Truck Pods, Tidbit Food Farm and Garden. Walking through the pod, I was delighted by the amazing variety of foods. If you're not familiar with the Food Truck Pod craze in Portland, it's like nothing you've seen before. imagine a huge parking lot covered with food trucks that are permanently parked and feature food from world class chefs. Everything from Japanese, Scandinavian, Waffle sandwiches, pizza, beer, home made natural sodas and an amazing vegan bakery. Specific food carts were selected to create a specific culture and I have to admit, if I lived here, I'd be there several times a week