Vacation

I was gone for a few days and ended up with 32 caches, and I've found one since I got back. Not bad considering I only had 4 finds for the year before that.

No grand adventure caches on this trip however, most were pretty ordinary. Here are the finds for the week

STOP! light
Foremost Outfitter
Ginger Love
Klickitat Prairie
Crystal Palisades
Paris
I-84 East Rest Area (west end)
I-84 East Rest Area (east end)
Minam Pit Stop
EJ's Cache
Oregon History: Nez Perce
WC Bank Robbery
Chief Joseph
Tracker
A Penny Saved...
This Ain't Trash!
Sled spring's
Don't Overlook Me!
WCRIP: A Floral Acknowledgement
Wenaha
Two States At The Same Time
Hanging Around the Summit
Just Hangin Around
AwgReunion 3
Birthday Bash Cache
R.I.P.
Potato Bridge
Beautiful View! 
Starkey Experimental Station
Snow Park Cache
Carter Park
Switchback
Work Commenced (Stealth Required)

Update

No geocaches

Blazers lead in the first round playoff series with Houston 3-2

I've ate at many food carts

A night of caching

Daveydude and Biggieet_al were in town today. I met them downtown. We tried an Egyptian food cart for dinner and then went and found a few geocaches and a munzee.

Here is Kelly waiting for his Gyro at the Gyro House. I enjoyed my food. Kelly found a piece of plastic in his... like from a produce bag. That was after they forgot his order so Dave and I were left waiting for him. It was a busy place since they were one of the only carts open at the time. I'd try it again.

After that we found

Grab a Cache, Grab Some Lunch, Part Deux
Grimm Season 2 5 The Good Shepherd
Top Score

The last one was a really old Virtual in a cool retro arcade/bar. Played a game of Frogger and called it a night.

6 Months... of food carts

Tonight marks 6 months since I moved to Portland. I haven't done much geocaching, but I have ate at a lot of food carts. Maybe I should just make this a food cart blog... here are a few of the most recent

Kargi Gogo is a Georgian food cart. That's Georgia as in a country between Russia and Turkey that was part of the former Soviet Union. I had the khinkali which are dumplings full of beef and pork. You can't really go wrong with that... and they were pretty good. I think I'd like to try the cheese bread as well.

This is Portland Masala which is an Indian food cart. SallyC actually introduced me to Indian food and I have been a fan ever since. This place sells packaged Indian food in super markets... then they decided to open a cart. I had the chicken curry and the lamb curry. It is a good amount of food for the money and it was pretty tasty as well.

I tried Island Grill Hawaiian Barbeque just today. This is a Hawaiian food cart. I had BBQ chicken with macaroni salad and rice. It was good, next time I'll probably try the teriyaki chicken as just the BBQ was kind of plain even for me... and I like stuff plain. I'm still looking for a Hawaiian place with Korean chicken as good at North Shore Hawaiian Plate in Klamath Falls.

A cache for 2014

I found my first cache of 2014

By The Content Of Their Character

Of course that was on Friday. Its nice to have a  little daylight after work. I tried to find this cache last year 3 or 4 times and it turns out it was missing.

fun with Ice

Had a little snow and freezing rain. I took a few picture of my car which was covered with a good quarter inch sheet of ice

Go Seahawks!

The Seahawks won the Super Bowl. They didn't just win, they clobbered Denver. It was actually kind of a sad game to watch in a way.

While not a super fan of the Seahawks like I am the trail blazers I am a fan for a few reasons.

• Paul Allen owns both the Blazers and Seahawks
• My brother is a big seahawk fan
• The Seahawks are the closest team to me
• I've attended two games in Seattle which were my only live NFL games.

Comic Con

Comic Con was in town today. I have never been to such a thing and never really thought about going to one. When I saw that it was happening though I thought it would be fun to check out all the people dressed up, see some of the celebrities even if at a distance, and see what was for sale.

As far as what was for sale. Comic books obviously, lots of toys and some expensive artwork. I didn't see much I couldn't live without.

The people dressed up were kind of fascinating. Some people seem to be there just to be seen in their costumes. I'm proud to say that I must not be much of a geek because I didn't know who half the costumed people were supposed to be.

And last the celebrities. I saw Adam West, and Burt Ward. Then there was Elvira. I never did see William Shatner. Peter Meyhew who played Chewbacca in Star Wars, and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) were there.

I've long been a Star Wars fan so when the line died down I went up, picked out and 8x10 photo and got an autograph from Billy Dee Williams. He seemed nice enough. I was going to get Peter Meyhew's autograph but he had left for a while and didn't come back before I decided to leave.

Another Celebrity was Sara Jean Underwood. She is a fellow Oregon State alumni, and was the 2007 Playmate of the Year. I couldn't resist meeting her.

Sara was super nice and even talked a little Trail Blazers.

After I left the convention I went downtown for lunch. I tried a grilled pizza at Pulehu Pizza.  I think I have found a new favorite cart. This is a must try in my book

And then the Blazers won tonight... overall it was a really good day.

Last Day of 2013

It has been a year I'll long remember that's for sure. I lost my job, moved to the city and have hardly been geocaching at all. The geocaches I did find however have been pretty memorable. Some of the Highlights for the year include

• Hid one new cache
• Completed Counting Counties in Oregon
• Visited the corner of Oregon, Idaho and Nevada.
• Celebrated my 10th year of geocaching
• Trail Blazer season tickets!

Some of my favorite caches for 2013 include:

• Batteries Not Included
• Spring Has Sprung   
• Sprung-A-Creek  
• Anderson Crossing   
• Iaorne  
• 3 Corners (SE Oregon Hatrick) 
• Counting Counties in Oregon.
• Rocky Ridge  
• DR. Who.   
• Urban Cache: Plagiarized  

Last Year it was my goal to find more quality caches, and for the most part I did. Of my 51 finds I put 10 on the favorite list. I think now that I live in a new caching area I should have a big list for next year.

Thank you to everyone who hid the caches found in 2013. I hope to see you all out on the trail in the new year.

Portland Geocaching

I decided to take some time today to find a few geocaches. I decided I wanted 6 so I could reach 2400. There are several within walking distance of my house so I just started walking. These were my first 5

Tribute to Mapking
Patch of Green
Sully's Gulch
Left Turn
ELNN Cousins Cache

The sixth cache that I decided to make #2400 was

Urban Cache: Plagiarized

While I won't give it away totally I don't think it is any secret where the cache is located... in the Library. It took asking the right questions and a little looking, but it was a fun find.

Afterword I walked a couple blocks north and picked out the #1 Bento Korean BBQ cart for lunch. Some pretty good stuff.

A Belated Merry Christmas

I was down in Grants Pass for the holiday and then right back up to see the Trail Blazers beat the LA Clippers last night.

I still think that buying season tickets is the best thing I've done in a long time. Of course the Blazers are on fire right now and that makes it seem all the better. They take on the Miami Heat tomorrow and I'll be there.

Back to Christmas... it was a good day. Had some turkey and stuffing then went to find the traditional Christmas Cache

Oh Rats

This is the 11th year in a row with a find on Christmas. It all started when I saw a new cache pop up Christmas Day 2003. I made a run after the FTF, but discovered my uncle had beat me to it. That cache has been archived for a while, the hider Rogue Rat sadly passed away, and Uncle Duck doesn't chase FTF's anymore... but the Christmas cache tradition lives on. Its actually so quiet on the holiday it makes for an enjoyable muggle free time.

3 months

I've now lived in Portland for 3 months. Time just flies by it seems.

I haven't done any geocaching, but I thought about it. Since it isn't so freezing cold anymore maybe I'll get a couple before the end of the year. For sure I'll grab one on Christmas day as that has been tradition for the last 10 years.

Tomorrow I'll be driving down to GP for the holiday. Guess I should go get packed.

Portland update

It has been cold...

The blazers have won 10 in a row...

I found 2 geocaches... that was a while back, but they were my first since moving.

DR. Who.
The Mother Ship

The Dr. Who cache is a very unique one. The owner doesn't want details written about it, but I will say it was very well done. If you ever get a chance I would recommend going after it.

Go Blazers!

I wasn't going to buy season tickets this year. My plan was to see game by game what kind of deal I could find. By game 2 I had come to the conclusion that I live far too close not to go every game. So I bought myself season tickets.

Keeping it Real in the City of Weird

 
I'm one month into my new job and one month of living in Portland. So far its been fun. I think I fit well into my new job, but I have a lot of projects to start and I've been waiting on vender quotes and to be able to discuss things with management. Honestly I'd like to be much further ahead. I want to get things purchased and get started.

As for the city I've had some opportunity to explore downtown a bit the last couple of weekends due to the nice weather. I went to the Saturday Market, and tried a couple of food carts. I'm a big fan of the Max light rail to get around. Part of that is because on nice days its not a bad walk, I doubt I ride it as much in the rain.

The first food cart I tried was Iraqi, Saaj Baghdad. I had a lamb shish kabob with Iraqi style bread. It was pretty good. Not sure its my usual thing, but was a good change.

 

Next I tried Romanian, Delicios - Taste of Transylvania. I had these sausage like things called mici and fries. It was great. I am going back here again. I'm a picky eater and I didn't see much on their menu that didn't look good. It is hard to eat mici with a plastic fork though.

We're one week from the start of the NBA season, and I do have tickets to the Blazers home opener. I hope to get a little more city exploring in... especially the food carts.

I have looked for just one geocache (3 times) I don't know why I can't find it. Maybe I'll get around to a few one of these days.

New geocaching territory

I got a new job, but it is in Portland. I'm looking at apartments online. Talked on the phone with a property management group for a couple of buildings I liked the look of.  After looking around a bit it turns out Portland's rental market moves pretty fast, which isn't good for someone as indecisive as me.  I'll probably have to take a trip up there to look around. As for my house as soon as I empty it I'll see if I can get a property management group to rent it for me.

Since I grew up in Grants Pass and all my family live here I didn't really want to move, but after 4 months of unemployment I didn't think I should turn down a good opportunity. It will be a new adventure and at least I'll be in state. Plus, I was going a bit crazy being unemployed.

As for geocaching I'll have a whole new playing field so to speak. Miles and miles caches in every direction. Of course with how little I've been caching I have a pretty good amount to find right here. I'm undecided about what to do with my caches. I'll probably keep a few of them, and maybe archive or adopt out the rest. I'll just need some time to pick up containers.

State of Jefferson

On Thursday I took off for Reno. I attended the National Token Collectors annual show, but more on that some other time. My focus for the drive was to get the final 3 counties I needed for the State of Jefferson Counties Challenge

These were the caches I found

OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER
Kick The Can
2 JBs

The first 2 were on the way, but the third I had to drive about 8 miles out to. With those counties I should have all 19 needed to complete the challenge. Now we'll see how long it takes me to find the final.

Reno was surprisingly quiet for just before a holiday weekend. I've said before that Reno has really gone downhill since I first visited. There are still a lot of nice things about the place. Several casinos, lots of interesting restaurant choices (especially if you drive) and entertainment beyond casinos (like golf and museums.) Still it seems that people just aren't going there.

Took a trip out to Virginia City while I was there. It was fun to see a town pretty much as it was 100 years ago. The only thing that has changed are the shops. Where there was once gambling, booze and prostitutes now there are just gambling, booze and trinket shops... maybe some candy. The place is pretty much a giant tourist trap, but a fun visit.

Didn't bother with any geocaching in Nevada, but did find a couple on the way back

Bogard Cache
Rocky Ridge

The first at a rest area and the second at Subway Cave. Both of these I made the stop and decided to see if a cache was nearby. The cave was very interesting. I saw the sign for it driving down and stopped on the way back. If I had been seeking just caches this is the kind I'd like, but there were 700+ caches on my route pocket query making it almost imposable to pick out the ones that lead to interesting places.

Some geocaches

I'll start with a job hunt update. No job yet. You'd think I'd be an expert on interviewing by now, but obviously I am not. I have another interview this coming Tuesday in Medford. I took a trip to Portland for an interview earlier in the month and a phone interview with the same place. There could be a real possibility of me moving to Portland, but I won't get too far ahead of myself... have to be offered the job first.

As for geocaching I found a handful this month including a couple of FTFs

As the smoke cleared a bit I took the opportunity to go for a walk around the neighborhood and found

Concrete Memorial south
Kesterson

Both caches are in small parks here in Grants Pass, and both parks that I have once had geocaches of my own. These two should last for a little while.

Last weekend I went to Waldo Lake and found a few around there

GET MY POINT
WALDO BIKE 14
WALDO BIKE 13

The last two I was FTF on. Pretty fun to be first so many miles from home. I could have gotten more but they were on the path around the lake and unless I wanted to hike a couple of days I wasn't going to find them all. Its a popular mountain bike destination and on bike it could be done in a day.

This coming Thursday I am going to Reno for the National Token Collectors Association annual token show.  I've belonged to the club for a number of years and this is the closest the show has been to me so I'll take advantage. I plan to use the trip to complete the State of Jefferson Counties Challenge. I've been working on it for a few years. After I complete it it should only take me a few more years to go get the final.

Job search & geocaches

Earlier this week I had interviews in Corvallis and Newport for different jobs. Tomorrow I am going to make an all day trip to Portland for another interview.

Corvallis is a posability

Newport I've never had a worse interview.

It was nice to get out of the smoke though, and I found two caches while I waited in Corvallis

Not Hidden
Old Mill

Both were pretty easy and it wasn't too hot there to go grab them. I thought about looking for a few on the coast but I came right home after my interview. I did stop at the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. I've wanted to see that since I was in grade school. Honestly I probably would have enjoyed it more at that age too.

July update

You'd think with all this spare time on my hands that I'd update this blog once in a while. My job search is still ongoing. I think I am running out of options in Southern Oregon. There is a good possibility that I need to move. I've already ruled out Washington. Unless something big comes up I think any move will be in state.

Last weekend I spent in Portland. I walked around downtown and checked out the food carts. I've wanted to check this out for a long time. There are so many carts. Every kind of food you can imagine you will find. I had Indian food for lunch and chicken & waffles for dinner. You could eat at a different cart breakfast lunch and dinner for a year and never repeat.