What's a Nomad to Do For Fun These Days?

Greetings from Portland. Our rental in Scottsdale ended and we had to move on so we took a 1300 mile road trip from Scottsdale to Portland. Our timing was good- it was right before restaurants and shops opened in Arizona and the numbers of virus cases soared after we left. I hear there are forest fires now too so our timing was fortuitous. 

Some of my earliest posts on this blog from 2012 onwards were about the beauty and pleasure of driving through California up to Oregon.  Well, not this time. We moved as fast as we could and made as few stops as possible. No sightseeing, no parks, no wineries, lunch was a picnic in the car packed before we left.  Attractions were all closed. I consider a California road trip one of the world's great journeys but this one was not fun. People may be eager to hit the road after months indoors, but the world is not ready for people. 

This photo of Franklin was from an unmanned salmon viewing area in southern Oregon. 

Like everything else, it was closed. 

The hotels are ready- they have protocols in place but restaurants are inconsistent. And guests- they do whatever they want- some with masks, some without. Our first restaurant dinner in months was in a Japanese restaurant in northern LA. The staff wore both a mask and a shield. The menus were laminated and sprayed down with cleanser after each use. Another night in Northern California we spent an hour driving around town looking for a restaurant where we would feel safe and comfortable but finally settled for microwave popcorn back in the hotel instead. 

                                            The outdoor restaurants in Ashland, Oregon are open. 

                              The tables are spaced out, the menus disposable. No theater this summer though.

That hotel, by the way, was rigorous about safety. They allowed one family into the swimming pool per hour and cleaned all surfaces afterward. Most other hotels just closed gyms and pool areas. Another hotel has a popular hot spring. The pool was filled with mineral water and filled with people. Fortunately, we had booked a room with a large bath and enjoyed the mineral water and local wine in the quiet and safety of our room. They usually offer an elaborate afternoon tea but this time the menu was limited and, like breakfast, it was to go. By the way, as far as hotels in California and Oregon are concerned, a housemade Egg McMuffin seemed to be standard breakfast fare. Served in a paper bag to eat in your room.

Here in Portland, we are back on the houseboat that we've rented sporadically for the past few years. It is located in a secluded part of the city, with nearby walking trails as well as an assortment of wildlife.  You may have seen photos in previous years or you could see them now.  There are several posts from last May with lots of photos. 

There are roughly 30 houseboats here so I can see occasional traffic down the ramp and/or past my office window. I like to think that I am people-watching in one of the few open cafes in the world. In addition, there are kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and sailboats passing by (one just came by as I was writing this). Also parading by are Canada geese with their new goslings, and duck families.  Lots of wildlife photos on last year's spring and fall blogs. so I won't repost many here.

 

This guy totally ignores me as he walks across our houseboat every night to take a nap next door. 

                                        Our view on the riverside after some rain last week. 

                        Not our houseboat but we all share the same geese, ducks, and raccoons. 

            There are other animals here, like beavers, salmon, seals, and otters but I rarely see them. 

                                                        This is more or less my bayside view. 

The houseboat community used to be open to the public but has closed their gates since last time we were here, so we are now in a gated community. You walk on a boardwalk through a woods for a minute or two, then down a ramp to the houseboats. In the spring the ramp is fine but in the fall the river gets lower and the ramp can be steep. There are houseboats facing both the land-side and the river-side. Ours faces both sides, as well as facing a very photogenic bridge. 

 

This is an awkward time to have a nomadic lifestyle. We finally canceled our summer reservations in Canada since the border is still closed. Now we plan to stay in Oregon into the autumn. We have two other rentals lined up, both quite secluded.  It seems like a good time to explore rural living.