September 30, 2024 – I'm on the Last Leg

    I'm at the finish line of the Lewis and Clark bicycle trail of 2024. In just 62 miles, I will be in Astoria, OR. The expedition will come to it's epic conclusion. Tomorrow is October 1^st, and it will be exactly three months since I started the journey on July 1^st. It's been an epic adventure, to say the least. But for now, I digress. I will write an entry about what I gleaned and learned from the trip after its completion. I will write this when I return home to Pensacola, FL.

    From the Holgate Library in Southeast Portland, I went to Jaime's house off 49^th Avenue. She wasn't home yet, so I waited on the front porch of the 120 year old home. I was thinking the house may be 60 years old, but she says it is 120 years old. In about five minutes, she pulled up, and we greeted one another with warm, friendly smiles. She let me tour the house, and we put my bicycle in the basement. She showed me to my room, told me of a Vietnamese joint a couple blocks from her house called Pho' Hung, and I told her of my adventure from Yankton, SD to Portland, OR. Jaime is a very interesting character...strong, opinionated, beautiful, classy, and ready for adventure. She has been to 28 countries, she has done a bicycle tour through New Zealand, she has hiked parts of the AT, PCT, and the CDT, and she plans to go to Egypt this November. Also, she just bought a home in Portland. She has a mortgage on it now and is looking for a traveling nurse as a roommate. This will help her with the mortgage payments. Jaime collects honey, water, and salt from all around the world. Also, she likes Chinese tea and hot cacao beverages. She stays away from sugar. She doesn't pertain to any particular religion, even though she was raised as a Catholic. She is a certified scuba diver, she has skydived, and she is down for any type of adventure and travels. If she were to follow any particular religion, I believe she is closest to Buddhism with a twist of Jesus Christ Christianity. Jaime is a traveling nurse that works for Providence Hospital out of Portland, OR. She is dispatched by the main hospital to go check on and provide care for patients all around the metropolitan area of Portland. She conducts her vital career to the best of her God-given ability Her knowledge of the medical field, including neurology, anatomy and physiology, and cardiology is abundant. She is very intelligent and loves her job because she loves helping people. 

    After talking for a while, she went to a get together at a friend's house. I took a shower, then I walked to Pho Hung for dinner. I ate the tasty, usual Pho Ga with salad spring rolls. Also, they served hot green tea, and I had a can of Coke and a glass of water. I was going to go watch a movie, but instead I went back to Jaime's house and called it a night early.

    In the morning, Jaime and I woke up around 7:30-8:00am. She fixed breakfast of scrambled eggs, cauliflower with spinach, and some type of crunchy bean sprout. Also, she served multi-grain toast with butter and honey from her hometown of Yankton. It was so delicious. I've never had cauliflower for breakfast, but it complemented the scrambled eggs quite nicely. After breakfast, we drove through downtown to Washington Park. The park is up on a hill just west of the downtown. We went to the Japanese Gardens. We walked with zen-like concentration through the gardens and admired the architecture, the trees, the bushes, the flowers, the ponds and creeks, the coy fish, the wildlife, and the art of man and nature. We went to Jaime's favorite spot in the garden and had a brief Cacao ceremony. She prepared hot cacao with cacao beans from three different places around the world. It was very rich, chocolatey, creamy and delicious. Jaime told me that we are connected to the earth by our heart. This is an inseparable connection; heart and earth have the same letters. Then after her sagacious lesson, Jaime had to boot, scoot, and boogie. She had to get back to her job as a nurse for the rest of the day. She left, but I stayed in the gardens for another hour.

    I then left the Japanese Gardens, and I toured a portion of Washington Park. I went to the Rose Gardens, I got to see the Sacagawea and baby Pomp statue, I went to the Lewis and Clark state seal statue, and then I found my way to the 4T Trail. I hiked for about four miles on the 4T Trail to the top of Council Crest. I got a nice view of Mount Hood in the distance. Then, I talked with some locals about the best way to get to the OSHU Tram. So, I went hiking down the hill and made my way to the tram. I took the tram down to the Willamette River front, and I had a spectacular view of downtown Portland and beyond. I walked the river front and shot a bunch of pictures with my 35mm camera. From there, I called an Uber driver to take me to a Cacao ceremony at the Village Ballroom off Northeast Dekum Street in Northeast Portland. A hispanic couple named Heldar and Luna were playing classical Mexican folk music. We were all given hot cacao while meditating to the tunes of this extremely talented Mexican couple. I greatly enjoyed the soothing smooth songs and Spanish lyrics. I met various folks there and I greatly enjoyed the evening. I didn't realize at the time, but Jaime showed up for the performance after taking a break from her work for the night. I left the ceremony at about 8:00pm, and I walked up to Taco bell just down the road from the ballroom. At the drive thru of the Taco Bell there was an older woman named Jenny begging for money. The Lord led me to ask her if she wanted to eat dinner with me. She gratefully obliged and we walked into the Taco Bell together. We both ate a hearty Mexican dinner, and she briefly shared her story. Please, keep Ms. Jenny in prayer. Halfway through eating , she got up abruptly and left. I think her significant other was mad because she left her post and wasn't begging anymore.

    After that, I found my way back to Jaime's house, and retired for the evening. In the morning I woke up around 7:30am, and I decided to start my day with Burger king. Then, I got a ride down to the downtown district of Portland. I got a couple donuts and a coffee from Voodoo Donuts, and then I walked around the city simply waiting for the Oregon Historical Society Museum to open around noon. I shot various pictures and relaxed on Park Avenue until 12pm. I went into the museum as soon as they unlocked the doors, and I immersed myself in history for the next five hours. The museum has four floors. The top floor is a research library. The 3^rd floor is all about Oregon state history. The 2^nd floor has an exhibit on Portland, Oregon residents that have been through extremely traumatic situations and tragedies. Each of these individuals have turned their circumstances into profound success through love and forgiveness. The 1^st floor has an exhibit on transgender issues, Portland history, and a photography hallway. The exhibit on the 2^nd floor brought me to tears. There were three short documentary films in the exhibit and about six portraits with stories underneath the portraits. One was about a Holocaust survivor. Another was about a Khmer Rouge survivor from Cambodia. Another was about a survivor from war in Bosnia and Serbia. Another was about a guerrilla warfare survivor of genocide in Africa. The exhibit really revealed the resilience of the human spirit and the strength and fortitude of these individuals. Every single one of them gave glory and honor to God despite the tragedies they went through. Also, on the 2^nd floor was an exhibit about various Oregon artists of the 20^th Century. The exhibit had various selections of their art; a historical art gallery.

    I left the museum as they were closing and meandered around the downtown city streets, shooting pictures as the night settled in. I went underneath a city road into Al's Den tavern. I had a couple beers before heading to the Regal Cinema to watch the new Alien: Romulus movie. The movie was very well done, but it is very similar to the other Alien movies, in my opinion. After the movie, I caught an Uber ride back to Jaime's. Jaime and I talked for a while; I thanked her for the warm welcome, hospitality, and love she showed me. We moved a mattress around in the backyard that she had just cleaned. Houdini, Jaime's cat, peed on the mattress. So, Jaime is letting it dry out. At the end of the night, I said good night and fare the well to my gracious, loving, friendly host.

    I went to sleep, and I woke up in the blink of an eye around 7:45am. I got all my stuff packed up and left by 8:30am. Jaime was still fast asleep, getting much needed rest from her second shift the night before. Today, I rode through Portland and followed the road westward through the metropolitan area. I went through town after town. All of the towns rolled into one: Corbett, Raleigh Hills, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Banks, and on up to Vernonia. All the way from Portland to Banks was a nice and wide bicycle lane. From Banks to Vernonia is a 21 mile bicycle trail that was a welcome relief. On the trail were great views of the mountains and the Douglas fir forests. I rode close to 60 miles today, and now I am camping at the town park in Vernonia. I am looking forward to getting some sleep, and I am very excited to cross the finish line and see the Pacific Ocean tomorrow. This is the last leg of the journey...