I really would’ve liked to report a bit about the drive from Bend to Portland, but in fact, the street over the Santiam Pass was so smoky, even my car smelled like the one of a smoker after I drove there. The wildfires in southern Oregon happened to be even worse than most of those in British Columbia. I really drove on very fast and hoped, that it would be better at the coast. Luckily, that was the case. In Portland, I drove directly to Davids Sister Melissa, who lived in North-Portland with her husband Howard and their children Morgan and Trevor. As an answer to the question on how to explore Portland the best the borrowed me a bike and said that this would be the easiest way. So I made my way into town and immediately felt like a real Portlander.
The bike network is very good and it was quite fun to be on a bike after such a long time. I cycled along the waterfront, over some of the bridges and through the traditional Pearl District before I made my way back to Howard’s and Melissa’s place.
They even invited me for dinner. Chinese food, yummy! I haven’t had this in a time. Trevor, who was really skilled in wood handcrafting even carved some personalized chopsticks for me. Now I would always have some on my road trip! The night I spent inside my van in their garden and was very happy about the nice hospitality. The next morning it was the time of farewell again. To top it all I even could take some fresh vegetables from their garden with me. Thanks very much for that!
Having beans, tomatoes, a cucumber, and a fresh onion added to my supplies I went on. Next, I would discover the coast of Oregon.
