Saturday morning Donna and I rode to Spyder to the Hollywood District of Portland and found the farmers’ market there. We parked on Hancock Street right by the entrance to the market. The first thing we saw was a young girl on the street corner playing a violin on the lawn in front of a dental office. She must have been about five or six years old. We listened for a minute and Donna put a tip in her violin case.

The farmers’ market was relatively small. I think the number one offering was berries – there were several stands with an assortment of fresh picked berries. Donna found a few things she needed and we left after an hour or so.

Back at the RV park we saw a new neighbor with an unusual RV. It was a tiny house on wheels – obviously home-made.

We saw something similar to this in San Diego last year.

Donna wanted to go out for a bike ride. On my last ride, the shifter cable for my front derailleur on my road bike broke. I bought a new cable but I haven’t gotten around to replacing it yet, so my road bike is out of commission. Donna rode hard on Friday and said she just wanted to cruise west along the Columbia River to Smith Lake at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Area. So, I went along on my mountain bike.

We cruised along hitting 15 mph at times – for me this is fast on my mountain bike. On my road bike I have no problem cruising at 18-20 mph. Smith Lake turned out to be a marshy wetland, not a pristine lake. There were a lot of herons and egrets there, but otherwise it’s not much to see.

Donna wanted to log a few more miles toward her Great Cycle Challenge, so she continued on past the RV park to look for a nearby lavender farm where you can pick bunches of lavender. She chatted for a short while with the owner’s grandson who was raised on the property that backs up to the Columbia Slough.

On the way back, she stopped at a sheep ranch on 13th Avenue to check out prices on the grass-fed lamb advertised for sale there. When she asked where the sheep are pastured, the sheperdhess told her that they own 23 acres. Donna didn’t have any money on her so she rode home and then back to the ranch to pick up some loin chops.

Meanwhile, I relaxed and read a book. Then I watched the qualifying for the Moto GP race in Assen, Netherlands. The track was wet with light rain falling. It made it an interesting session and I’m looking forward to watching the race today, which I recorded.

At 6:30pm, our friends Ray and Kathy picked us up and we drove to a place called Cartlandia. It’s billed as Portland’s best food cart pod. There are 32 food carts in an open area and also a small beer garden.

We walked through and looked at what the different vendors had to offer. We made our choices at different carts and met up in the Blue Room Bar on site. That’s what a lot of people do – carry their food into the Blue Room Bar where they can claim a table and order a drink to go with the food. Of course I had to try the Springwater IPA brewed onsite.

It’s nice to have friends that are familiar with the area and know what’s happening. A band started playing in the Blue Room Bar a little past 8pm. They started out playing at a reasonably low volume. Then the bass player’s amp died in the middle of a Rolling Stones song. When he changed out the amp head, everyone suddenly got louder. After a few more songs, it was too loud for comfortable conversation, so we moved to an outside patio to talk.

Before we left, Donna wanted to visit the Voodoo Donuts cart. Voodoo donuts are a Portland icon. They’re known for unusual donuts – like maple-bacon bars and also their pink boxes.

It was after 9pm by then and Voodoo had sold out of many offerings. Donna bought a blueberry cake donut. Then Ray drove us home and we called it a day.

Today I think I’ll kick back and watch the Moto GP race. Donna signed up for a bike ride that includes a guided tour of backyard apiaries – a bee hive tour. She should get about 30 miles in. It’ll be a warm ride – the expected high temperature today is 89 degrees.