Our Last Week in Portland

 Portland, OR

Slowing Down in Portland

It always happens this way, we go go go when we get to a new place and then we start to slow down as the month goes on.  Recently we haven't been doing any big days, just a few things here and there and then watching cool movies in the evenings.  I have been playing in Pinball Tournaments but haven't had any really good runs so there isn't much to talk about there.  We have one more week here to wrap things up until we move on to the next place.

What Have We Been Up To Since Last Week?

We have been doing things, just no big days to write about so here are some photos from this past week.

The Cherry Blossoms are going off along the river and bringing people out in droves

We went to Bluto's for lunch the other day.  It's one of the top 40 restaurants listed in the local paper.

Francis and I like to watch TV.  He looks for dogs during the commercials.

Since we have been here we have seen Go By Train, Go By Taxi, and Go By Streetcar neon signs.

I played in a tournament at C-Bar.  I did terrible but I had a good dinner and beer beforehand and the entry was free so it was worth the trip out there.

I also got to play a Whirlwind mod.  Whirlwind Tropical Chaos is a 3rd party upgrade kit for the original Whirlwind.  It adds a nice LCD Display, Cool Speaker Covers, and nice speakers, other new visual features, and new code that include new modes.  It was fun.

After taking Three Strikes in Three Rounds at C-Bar I went over to Slingshot Lounge to see what machines they had.  There was a tournament the following day that I didn't end up playing in.

Donna and I went to a knitting store.  She bought new needles and some yarn to finish a project.

What excitement is held betwixed this binding?

In case I forgot I was in Portland...

Yesterday we went to another Top 40 restaurant.  This is a Vietnamese Soup Place that only had 3 soups on the menu each day.  If you don't like what they are serving that day, come back another day.  Also, when they are out of soup, they are out of soup.  If you missed out, come back another day.  We got there at 10:50am and there was only 1 kind of soup left.  It was delicious.

This tree is on our walk to transit that has taken us to most of our destinations.  It's going off right now too and looks beautiful.  The scent of the flowers also covers up other scents going on in that location.

I played at Ground Kontrol again last night.  I had a much better tournament.  I almost made the finals but my last game on Mandalorian didn't go nearly as well as it could have and I finished in 12th out of 31 players.  Top 8 made the finals,

I came in first on 2 games which is always good.  If I had done a bit better in any of the other rounds I would have made the finals.  I also set high personal scores on Pabst Can Crusher, Star Wars, and Ghostbusters.  It was a fun night and I enjoyed talking to players that I have met during the past few weeks.

What's Next?

So, I did say this is our last week here.  Next week we pack up and shove off.  We have 2 days to get to Victoria BC via the Black Ball Ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC.  We will stop in Gig Harbor to have dinner with a good friend and then camp in Belfair State Park.  The next day we do a short drive to Port Angeles and arrive for our Ferry trip an hour before the 2pm departure to get through customs.  From their website, "The 90-minute, 22.59 nautical mile (42 km) trip is a scenic journey through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. During the crossing, enjoy the ship’s many amenities including the coffee shop, gift shop, duty free store, comfortable interior lounges, solarium and pet-friendly areas."

While in Victoria, we will celebrate the arrival of spring and our 2 year "on the road" anniversary.  There will be a few pinball tournaments, a few museums, a few road trips, a few breweries, a new Tiki Bar, and maybe some camping if we run out of things to do.  

That's it for today.  If you missed, Taking My Game to Next Level, check it out.  We visited a HUGE pinball museum and arcade totally worth a visit if you are in the area.