We were up early at the Lakelawn motel to enjoy breakfast before the sports car group showed up and get to our ferry on time. That worked well and the breakfast was large and tasty. Our shuttle driver wished he was in Palm Springs or San Diego while delivering us the short distance to the ferry with enough time to get our post cards mailed.
We had our bags checked by security staff and then checked suitcases for the day long ferry trip. Boarding was easy and we soon found ourselves at the front of the ferry in the piano bar. Great views but as we learned the player piano would go all day with jazz hits like "Moon River" and "Layla" over and over all day long. I was able to tune that out better than Laurie but unfortunately some loud people sat nearby and talked over the music all trip as they complained about various subjects without providing solutions or taking action and provided too many details from their pasts. We should have moved but by the time we figured that out our options were limited and we stayed put. I put up with it better than Laurie and got a few things done during the day. We tried out the buffet lunch too.
It was drizzling when we reached Portland about 8:30PM and we took a slow cab the 1.5 miles to our West End apartment. We were hungry despite the late hour and tried a highly rated local Italian resturant. We had a perfect feast and headed back to relax and enjoy the quiet. I stayed up late to enjoy the Giants extra inning victory knowing we gained an hour back up and planned a slow start in the morning. It feels good to be here starting the second half of our grand tour.
I put together the following travel thoughts while on the ferry today:
This trip has been one long set aside by other priorities and places seen to be as more important or exotic. Somewhere so close to home can't be expected to hold a candle to the thrill of the unknown or places racing against time. Or can it? This trip is our 35th anniversary present to ourselves, a very important reason of its own.
At the midpoint of such a set aside journey I can say that it has exceeded my expectations. A combination of surprises, friendly people, and discoveries have provided memories and experiences that will stay with me for a long time. I'm gathering questions and tips for further investigations and hopefully we'll return for more in depth study.
There were other reasons, perhaps more urgent, to take this trip now. A sense of time and health not lasting forever like previously. For one thing it feels like it takes more work now to keep moving and solving the types of travel challenges and problems that come up on a daily basis. It also has been hard to let go of things back home and stay relaxed. Maybe we are less tolerant or the tourist interactions that come with trips using public/mass transit?
We've talked about a trip where we pick a place with quiet remote features and stay put to relax. That isn't normal for us and would be a test. It would still need to be a long enough stay to leave our routines and personal baggage behind. There's the question of whether we do the trip by ourselves or with some family or friends? Sharing space would be different too. Perhaps some of both could work. It would likely be closer to home for others sake. Something to think about and we have plenty of fun still to come on this trip.
We're also talking about a trip to the gulf next spring. That seems like a trip to explore since we haven't really been there yet. It's likely that trip would involve using a rental car to get off the main roads and backwater areas. We have some time to think about that or look for other options.
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