Hello again from Eugene. I have not left this bucolic little town, since I have now found a place to crash for a little while. A student co-op living organization has graciously taken me in and given me my very own basement to live in. Whoo! So, I've been auditing some classes at UofO and having some fun with the local college students. University is so much more fun when you are not being graded! I should have thought of this years ago! So far I'm having a good time here so I think I'll stick around for a little bit before heading north. Incidentally, soon I will have been on the road for 5 months, if my calculations are correct. How the time flies :)
Saturday, January 18, 2003
Thursday, January 16, 2003
The sun will come out, tomorrow... bet your bottom dollar that tomorrrrrrow, they'll be sun....
I was singing that to myself after more consecutive rainy days than I had experienced along my entire trip. Lo and behold, the sun finally came out in oregon. I made a good distance that sunny day, despite a loose rear hub (for those of you who do not know bicycle lingo, that's the part that keeps the wheel from wobbling all over the damned place). Eventually, after a few days out in the bush, I arrived in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon, which I decided would be a fun place to visit for a couple of days. I have also repaired my hub and the bike is riding wonderfully for the first time in a while. I'm about two days south of Portland - the big town in this region. Also, I am about two days from Washington state, since portland is right at the top of the state. So I might be heading up there tomorrow... we'll see. I decided to treat myself to a hostel while in Eugene. The hostel here sucks, however, and there's only one. So if I can't find another place to live, I will say goodbye to Eugene in search of greener pastures. I am currently in the university library and am going to go find a couple of classes to audit.
I was singing that to myself after more consecutive rainy days than I had experienced along my entire trip. Lo and behold, the sun finally came out in oregon. I made a good distance that sunny day, despite a loose rear hub (for those of you who do not know bicycle lingo, that's the part that keeps the wheel from wobbling all over the damned place). Eventually, after a few days out in the bush, I arrived in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon, which I decided would be a fun place to visit for a couple of days. I have also repaired my hub and the bike is riding wonderfully for the first time in a while. I'm about two days south of Portland - the big town in this region. Also, I am about two days from Washington state, since portland is right at the top of the state. So I might be heading up there tomorrow... we'll see. I decided to treat myself to a hostel while in Eugene. The hostel here sucks, however, and there's only one. So if I can't find another place to live, I will say goodbye to Eugene in search of greener pastures. I am currently in the university library and am going to go find a couple of classes to audit.
Monday, January 13, 2003
Well, Sabrina's still reading my posts (she was the only one who responded to my query). So this one's for you, Sabrina.
Well I left Crescent city and hit the southern oregon coast. It has not stopped raining since I arrived. Tired and disheartened, I pulled into Gold Beach, Oregon. By this point I was so fed up that I decided that I would actually pay money for a campground. So down I went to a campground on the coast, and was informed that I would have to pay upwards of $25 american for a night's stay. I was willing to pay maybe $4, I told the person running the campground. Well, obviously this guy had experienced the hardships of the road before, because he decided to make me a deal. He put me up in what is called a yurt, which is a huge domelike structure that was used in the himalayas? or something. Anyways, it felt like having my own apartment. The only catch was that I had to be gone before the manager arrived the next morning. I had all the amenities and the comfort of a real bed. Well, at night I went out drinking at the nearby bar. On the way out I ran into a herd of about fifteen deer. It was incredible. I was five feet from them as they trotted across the street. I had a moderately good time at the bar, and came back and got a very good night's sleep. The next morning the fellow who had given me the incredible deal on the yurt made it even more incredible by making it free instead of charging me the four dollars we'd agreed on - he was feeling generous that morning, he said. So I got back on the road (still in the rain) and along the way saw my first Road Runner - Meep Meep! Anyways, I made it to a town called Port Orfard. Along the way, I kept passing monuments to sunken ships: Broken propellers, fragments of hulls, etc. Why so many sunken ships in the area? The WIND! The wind was blowing so hard that I could not stay on the road (no exagerration). I had to walk my bike, and could not stay on my feet - seriously. Exhausted, I slipped into a fancy looking seafood restaurant. I had decided that my suffering had entitled me to be bad; I was going to order a meal that I could not afford. So while I waited for my large fish and chips meal to arrive, I struck up a conversation with the nice lady seated at the next table. Eventually, she left and one of the people in the restaurant turned to me and said, "Do you know who you were talking to?". I replied no, so he went on, "She's the richest lady in the county!". Anyways, this fellow started gossiping with the staff about this nice lady, and my waitress finally came with my meal, along with the bill, which said on it, "Paid for by the lady @ the next table." That nice lady had paid for my meal on the way out! Well, during our conversation, she had also told me about her yacht in Coos Bay, telling me that when I made it up there, that Nick, who is living aboard ship, would show me some hospitality. I didn't make it very far outside of Port Orfard that night. I got another flat tire (I have been getting them on a nearly daily basis these days), and was thoroughly frustrated. I figure my tire had worn this and was letting just about every bit of debris through. So I tried my hand at hitchhiking. My attempt failed, so I set up camp behind the sign that says, "Welcome to Port Orfard.". In the morning, I put in another inner tube and lit out on the road. I was about two miles from Coos Bay when my tire popped again. Frustrated, I rode the rest of the way there on the rim. Well, when I arrived in Coos Bay, with the bicycle equivalent of a severe limp, I looked for the ship, the Discovery, where I'd been instructed to meet Nick. Well, it wasn't hard to find! It was the biggest damn thing in the harbor. I was invited aboard the most luxurious ship - heck, it was the most luxurious PLACE I'd ever been. I was dined and entertained and given the captain's quarters for the night. Everything was on Nick's bill, there was no argument. I spent a wonderful night aboard an incredible vessel. And in the morning, I was driven to get repairs done on my bike - on Nick, of course. And so with a new tire and an indestructible inner tube, I set back on the road, north. And yes, it's still raining.
Well I left Crescent city and hit the southern oregon coast. It has not stopped raining since I arrived. Tired and disheartened, I pulled into Gold Beach, Oregon. By this point I was so fed up that I decided that I would actually pay money for a campground. So down I went to a campground on the coast, and was informed that I would have to pay upwards of $25 american for a night's stay. I was willing to pay maybe $4, I told the person running the campground. Well, obviously this guy had experienced the hardships of the road before, because he decided to make me a deal. He put me up in what is called a yurt, which is a huge domelike structure that was used in the himalayas? or something. Anyways, it felt like having my own apartment. The only catch was that I had to be gone before the manager arrived the next morning. I had all the amenities and the comfort of a real bed. Well, at night I went out drinking at the nearby bar. On the way out I ran into a herd of about fifteen deer. It was incredible. I was five feet from them as they trotted across the street. I had a moderately good time at the bar, and came back and got a very good night's sleep. The next morning the fellow who had given me the incredible deal on the yurt made it even more incredible by making it free instead of charging me the four dollars we'd agreed on - he was feeling generous that morning, he said. So I got back on the road (still in the rain) and along the way saw my first Road Runner - Meep Meep! Anyways, I made it to a town called Port Orfard. Along the way, I kept passing monuments to sunken ships: Broken propellers, fragments of hulls, etc. Why so many sunken ships in the area? The WIND! The wind was blowing so hard that I could not stay on the road (no exagerration). I had to walk my bike, and could not stay on my feet - seriously. Exhausted, I slipped into a fancy looking seafood restaurant. I had decided that my suffering had entitled me to be bad; I was going to order a meal that I could not afford. So while I waited for my large fish and chips meal to arrive, I struck up a conversation with the nice lady seated at the next table. Eventually, she left and one of the people in the restaurant turned to me and said, "Do you know who you were talking to?". I replied no, so he went on, "She's the richest lady in the county!". Anyways, this fellow started gossiping with the staff about this nice lady, and my waitress finally came with my meal, along with the bill, which said on it, "Paid for by the lady @ the next table." That nice lady had paid for my meal on the way out! Well, during our conversation, she had also told me about her yacht in Coos Bay, telling me that when I made it up there, that Nick, who is living aboard ship, would show me some hospitality. I didn't make it very far outside of Port Orfard that night. I got another flat tire (I have been getting them on a nearly daily basis these days), and was thoroughly frustrated. I figure my tire had worn this and was letting just about every bit of debris through. So I tried my hand at hitchhiking. My attempt failed, so I set up camp behind the sign that says, "Welcome to Port Orfard.". In the morning, I put in another inner tube and lit out on the road. I was about two miles from Coos Bay when my tire popped again. Frustrated, I rode the rest of the way there on the rim. Well, when I arrived in Coos Bay, with the bicycle equivalent of a severe limp, I looked for the ship, the Discovery, where I'd been instructed to meet Nick. Well, it wasn't hard to find! It was the biggest damn thing in the harbor. I was invited aboard the most luxurious ship - heck, it was the most luxurious PLACE I'd ever been. I was dined and entertained and given the captain's quarters for the night. Everything was on Nick's bill, there was no argument. I spent a wonderful night aboard an incredible vessel. And in the morning, I was driven to get repairs done on my bike - on Nick, of course. And so with a new tire and an indestructible inner tube, I set back on the road, north. And yes, it's still raining.
