Edging toward the exit

July 29, 2025 to July 30, 2025

Tuesday

With only five more nights in Portland before we close out this chapter and head north, we're really down to last minute activities. Rachael is still struggling with her stubborn, slow-to-heal toe injury and is mostly staying off her feet for the next few days, but I've got a mixed agenda that starts with a trip over to Clinton Street for a last visit with Bruce. Clinton Street doesn't open until 7 and I'm awake already before six so it makes sense to stop by Ovation for my first cup before heading east.

An hour later I follow the waterfront south to the Hawthorne Bridge, cross it, and make my way efficiently through the Ladd Addition to Clinton Street, taking satisfaction in my progress since my earlier attempts at this traverse. I really am doing strikingly better at 30 mpd than 35, and am excited to see what life will be like at 25 when I taper down again this Friday.

The view south from the Hawthorne Bridge.

Monitoring the morning cross-river swim.

I've got about an hour before Bruce is due to arrive when I settle in at the coffee shop- time enough for me to savor my bagel with peanut butter and take stock of This Month's Featured Artist and the gallery of works that attracts me at first glance but surprises me when I take a closer look.

From this, it looks like the artist was inspired by Georgia O'Keefe.

I don't remember O'Keefe painting anything quite like this though.

Bruce arrives precisely at 9 and the usual fine visit ensues, filled today with discussions of our upcoming travel plans. We'll get a chance to see each other in September when we pass through on our way south from Bellingham. By midmorning though it's time to move on as I have another can't miss commitment - my appointment with my PCP for the steroid shots in my knees that I'm hopeful will give me enough relief that we can push off knee surgery for another year or three.

The river has that midday look when I cross the Broadway Bridge.

This is interesting though. I don't remember getting such a clear view of the mountain from here, but it's only through a brief window. I'll have to remember this spot.

The steroid shots are interesting, and more sharply painful than I remembered - particularly the left one, where the deterioration is the most advanced and the joint is essentially bone-on-bone. If it helps significantly though it will be well worth a little pain every three or four months. There are two additional things to say about the experience. First, it's not the cortisone injection I've been describing it as. It's actually a synthetic corticosteroid, triamcinalone acetonide, an over-the-counter medication used for such skin issues as poison ivy relief.

The other surprise is that I'm advised to take it easy and limit my physical activity for the next few days. It's fine when I bike the two miles home, which is essentially downhill except for the slight rise crossing the Broadway Bridge.

That changes our plans for the evening though, which include a trip over to Justa Pasta for a last meal there before leaving town. We'd thought Rachael would walk over and I'd bike there to meet her, but doctor's orders together with the searing 91F heat make it an easy call to drive over instead. We enjoy our usual fine meal - Rachael has a salad with grilled chicken and I have a bowl of gazpacho and the risotto special. And after we're done Erika convinces us that we should really give the New York style cheesecake a try. Rachael's not interested for herself because she's watching calories until she can get more exercise again, but when two forks show up she agrees to take a courtesy bite - and just keeps going.

Wednesday

With us both under activity restrictions it's a pretty laid back day - but a consequential one, as is every day between now and our imminent departure. The main event, such as it is, is for me to drive downtown after breakfast at Lovejoy Bakery and turn in the car. Beyond that, the day is given over for both of us to get serious about packing for departure. We're taking the train of course, so everything going with us has to fit into our rear panniers plus anything I decide to carry on my back in my rucksack. We're glad to see that there should be no problem fitting everything in, and by the end of the day the bags are filled with everything but last minute additions, and the hallway to the door is lined with baggage to be taken back to storage.

In the middle of the afternoon Rachael walks over to LA Fitness to get some exercise on the bike, an activity that works well wearing her open-toed sandals. Later, I make one last trip over to Lucky Lab, noticing as I bike that my knees both seem to be feeling better already. It might just be my imagination, but it's encouraging.

Another advantage of being home in midsummer - I've never noticed this tree growing in the outside seating patio. It's a Chaste Tree (virex), a Mediterranean tree known since ancient times, named for its supposed properties as an aphrodisiac and abortifactant.

The day ends as they all have for the last ten with us snuggled up in bed watching another old film. We're both really enjoying this, seeing old favorites we'd forgotten about or in some cases never saw before. We've started keeping a ledger of them to help us keep track of what we've seen and build a list of candidates for the future. The record so far:

Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 356 miles (573 km)

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