Sailing Last Mango

Our trip to Eugene Oregon to visit with Sam and Nicole was the first time Karen and I have visited Oregon. Each time Karen and I take a trip we always ask ourselves is this a place we can settle down and see ourselves living out our golden years. After Sam moved out here and told me the many wonderful features not just of Eugene but Oregon and the West coast in general I was kinda getting sold on the idea. I have to say it’s a beautiful state and Eugene is an interesting area with loads of things that interest me but I leave feeling somewhat let down.  First let me say that I’m only speaking for myself and not Karen however I think she feels the same way. With that being said I can tell you that I have bicycled the entire town of Eugene and much of the outskirts. It’s a great town to cycle with its many bike trails and most roads having bike lanes that the drivers respect. I think I can move around the town faster via bike than by car, I love it. The only problem is that once...

October 9 we left Eugene in the morning headed for Bend Oregon. Sam has told Karen and I so many great things about the area and town that we were chomping at the bit to arrive and get started doing everything.  Let me start by saying that the scenery during the trip was quite spectacular especially closer to Bend. The area is on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountain Range and is known as the high desert, its elevation of about 3700 feet. Visit to Clear Lake. You can see how it got its name. Beautiful area on a beautiful day. After arriving we checked into our hotel and took a walk downtown with Nicole and Sam. Sam and I did a quick check of the downtown area and decided it was time to go do some mountain biking while Karen and Nicole explored more of the downtown scene. Sam decided to drive to “Phil’s Trail Complex” rather than riding to save a little time. Before we knew it we were biking, doing the climb to the trailhead to start our dece...

Now that Karen and I have started to feel a little better we’re getting to really know how to get around Eugene by bike or walking. We’re typically walking between 5 and 7 miles a day and bicycling quite a bit more. Much like Marathon Florida we were stopped by a person in a car asking directions, guess what, we were able to give him the what he needed.  Go Ducks! when in Rome. Willamette River from bicycle bridge looking East Willamette River from bicycle bridge looking West The other day after work Sam took me on a road ride where we rode about 30 miles through the foothills around Eugene. It was a great ride, I forgot how fast road bikes are after not riding one for so long. I was riding Sam’s Trek Madone while he was on his single speed road bike. He told me there wasn’t too many hills but I question this statement since the name of the main route was Hill Road.  ...

9/21 Today Karen and I left on our grand train trip to Eugene Oregon with much trepidation. We’ve heard a couple stories that sounded like Amtrak would be up our alley. We’ve heard many more horror stories about long distance train trips. The trip started with a good friend Gary taking us to the Metra station, there we hopped on a local train and made our way to Union Station in Chicago to board Amtrak’s “Empire Builder” line to Portland and Seattle. The check in was seamless and a breeze compared to airports and flying. We were given a brief finger tour of the Amtrak lounge which has free soft drinks and snacks. The lounge was very crowded but soon started emptying as trains and passengers were departing for Texas and California. Karen and I settled back on a two person couch and started surfing the net via complimentary wifi access. We met several of our lounge neighbors through conversation which is always interesting and makes the time pass more quickly. Shortly thereafter a pag...