Time on my hands ...

I had a few errands to run this morning and waking up bright and early helped me get them out of the way to make time for some urban exploration. Most of my time these past several weeks has been absorbed trying to adjust and wrap my mind around work and what's left is consumed trying to make a house a home. I settled on a cup of sumatra from stumptown and flipped through a magazine while my coffee cooled intent on doing some exploring today. And there it was -- The Waterfront Blues Festival . I have been doing some riding since I've been out here but --- do I venture the trip across the hawthorne bridge ? Exploring a city on bike is a unique experience. I did it in the Netherlands, and at Stanford and every time -- I find myself in unique places that I just would not have otherwise reached by car or on foot. The bridge spans the Williamette river (divides East and West Portland) and it is quite the experience. Portland is a very bike friendly place and this afternoon I took advantage of it. There was a slight breeze and the sun was out during the festival. The views from the bridge were pretty impressive. I think I have an idea why this place is called stumptown too.

Having easy access to a bike friendly city is helping me balance out wellness and my natural curiousity about this place. I crossed the bridge and I could hear and see the festival below as I approached the westbound side of the Willamette. It was a great vantage point and several thousand people were there. Admission was 2 cans of food as donation to the Oregon food bank and that is a good cause. I explored the waterfront and it reminded me a bit of Battery Park in NYC. My neighbor Todd mentioned that there were off road trails that lead into downtown as well. I'll put that on my todo list ... I had lunch in Hawthorne on my way back and was pretty impressed with the neighborhood. I even found a South Asian spice store amoung the shops. It was a good day and if Thoreau is correct in saying "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in ..." -- today I caught a fish on the banks of the Willamette River.