A sunset stroll along Highline Park, an aerial Greenway rail to trail park that runs about a mile and a half above the streets of the Chelsea neighborhood.
The park was very popular with many locals and tourists walking along the path. We did not run into any panhandlers so I guess the sign works.
Lots of art and sculptures all along the way
We were impressed with all of the different types of buildings and unique architecture
Early 3:45 a.m. Monday morning wake up and a quick ride to the airport for our 6:45 a.m. flight. We were able to use our priority passes to gain access into the Alaska boardroom lounge for some light breakfast items, and then it was onto our gate for our 6 a.m. boarding call. We touched down into New York’s JFK Airport just before 3 p.m. and after collecting our bags we rode the Air train and subway into Penn Station. It was a bit of a harrowing speed walk to our hotel because we were surprised to come into a downpour of rain, but we were able to check in by 5 p.m. a little wet and a little hot from our walk. Here are some highlights of our evening in the Big Apple…
Our tiny, but comfortable and modern room
Dinner!
Lisa went with the New Yorker burger
Empire State Building
Oops… no bicycle is secure
A calendar featuring Portland
Inside the Chelsea Market
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Last Sunday I was able to enjoy the McMenamins Cosmic tripster party and as a reward for completing the McMenamins passport program. Unfortunately Lisa was not able to attend because she was on the East Coast, so I had to represent for the both of us. The event was scheduled from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m., and I arrived around 3 p.m. to huge lines to get in. It took me just under 20 minutes from getting in the line to checking in. Event organizers informed us that there were about 1600 people at the party, which was held at the Edgefield because the space is large enough to accommodate this many people. It was still very hot, and a lot of the Shaded spots were taken, so I spent the first couple of hours just finding different places to cool down that had some semblance of a breeze. The party offered up free drinks like wine, beer, cider, and Cocktails. Each guest also received two vouchers for one entree each. There was live music on stage, plenty of lawn games to play, and opportunities to explore the grounds with special passport stamps available. All in all I was impressed with the party and the organization despite the hot weather and the number of people. I am just bummed that Lisa was not able to enjoy this experience with me. So I guess that means that we will just have to complete another passport! As a matter of fact, this is the 6th annual Cosmic tripster party and there were some people who have been to all six of them, meaning they had completed 6 passports!
Check-in area, you would give your name and they would Mark you off, give you the two food vouchers and then a admission bracelet
As soon as you entered, there were servers offering up various beverages to beat the Heat
Map of the event locations and happenings
I was impressed with the coastline musical group, who played a variety of current and recent hits
Not a huge fan of beer, but I did sample the Ruby and it was tolerable enough that I could take more than just a few sips
A Curry bowl and burgers were just some of the food options you could choose for your main entree
I went with the pulled pork and this concoction that was pretty good
It was the top drink that I enjoyed the most
Yummy free ice cream Scoops in a waffle cone, of course the lines were long but it was well worth it. I ended up having two cones on this day
Roving band
Main stage area with games such as cornhole, badminton, Jenga, and more
More free drinks. Sat with some wasted dude for a little while who definitely got his fill of the free-flowing alcohol. But he was a jovial fellow and seemed to be really enjoying himself
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Last Sunday I braved the almost 100° temperatures to ride in the North Portland Sunday Parkways event, a nine-mile car free road course for walkers, cyclists, rollerbladers, and more. The city of Portland puts these on about once a month during the summer all over the city and it is a great opportunity to enjoy Portland with lots of other people having some fun and exercise.
Peninsula Park
Along the course there were some open houses, so of course I had to check it out. This house was a smaller home built in the 1920’s on sale for around $400,000
Pedestrian bridge over Interstate 5
Open house number two
A garage sale with miscellaneous junk that was a bit overpriced
There were four parks to visit, and each park had booths and vendors, some offering up some freebies like these strawberries and blueberries from Whole Foods Market
Open house number three, this one was amazing inside and I did not even look at the price.
The home’s interior main floor
I finished my bike ride and under two and a half hours, then I stopped by the Good in the Hood Festival
I cannot imagine how hot it would be to be barbecuing this meat while it is 100 degrees outside
Last Friday I was able to finally meet Markus, a Couchsurfing host that Megan and Timothy stayed with during their European trip a few years ago. They introduced Marcus to the world of Airbnb, and one thing led to another, whereby this past April Curt and Becky made their way to Germany and stayed with Markus and his family for a few nights. It was now Markus’ turn to visit the states, and last Friday we all got together for a barbecue and to hang out and swap stories of traveling, parenting and whatever else! I was also able to meet baby Conner for the first time.
