Jan got up at about 7:00 AM and I was already dressed and packed. I went out to the lobby and played on the computer. C.E. walked down the hall from his room to me and asked me what kind of stuff was I putting on the blog about him. I told him that I only report the facts. C.E., Ken and I went into the breakfast room and sat and had breakfast. Jan soon joined us and Chuck and Bruce joined us a little later. Jan, C.E., Ken and I went out and loaded our Motors after we ate and Jan and C.E. cleaned their Motors. It was strange this morning. The regular morning ritual didn't occur! No one had to fix their Harley! We all loaded our Motors and checked out of the Motel. We left at 9:29 AM with C.E. in the lead.

C.E. led us northbound. After riding 46 miles we entered a small town named, Redmond, OR. We passed a Big 5 Sporting Goods store and Chuck, who was second in line, made a u-turn. We all followed and turned into the Big 5. A day or so prior, Bruce's boot broke at the side zipper and he wanted to buy a new pair. We stopped and Bruce entered and bought a new pair of boots. Jan entered and bought a new pair of sunglasses. The rest of us seized the moment and made a pit stop. We were done at 10:45 AM and left northbound again.

We rode north on US 97 and then on US 26. We had just entered the Mt. Hood National Forest when C.E. pulled over by the side of the road at 12:03 PM and after riding 77 miles. It was time for a break. It was a good thing that C.E. chose to pull over at this particular spot because the trees and the plants looked like they needed to be watered. We made a pit stop and helped the trees. We felt better. We left at 12:15 PM.

We were starting to get hungry and were looking for a Subway or something. We rode into a town named Rhododendron, OR. and C.E. stopped at a Dairy Queen at 12:47 PM after riding 23 miles. We had a tasty meal and Jan ordered some kind of a chicken wrap. He got his order and I think that a small egg roll was larger that what Jan had for lunch. We told him to order something else but, he was good and didn't. I got on my cell phone and called a good friend of ours, Louie Martinez. He lives in Dundee, OR. and had told me that he would love to meet up with us and ride his Motor with us for a while. We set up a meet at Gresham, OR. We left at 1:38 PM.

C.E. headed northbound and we were hoping to so to Mt. Hood. When we arrived at the fork in the road for US 26 and Hwy 36, C.E. chose Hwy 36. He rode for a short distance and stopped at the side of the road. He wanted to check and see if the Group wanted to go this route. We decided to turn around and follow US 26. We made a u-turn and followed US 26. We rode for a while and since we didn't go to Mt. Hood and didn't get any souvenirs, we started looking for a gift shop or something that might have a refrigerator magnet or something. We rode for 11 more miles and stopped at a Fred Myers store at 2:13 PM. Bruce, Chuck and I went inside the store and came out with refrigerator magnets! We were happy and it was time to leave. We left at 2:25 PM.

We continued westbound and arrived in Gresham, OR. at 2:37 PM after riding 23 miles. We stopped at a Union 76 for gas. Do you know that in Oregon, customers are not permitted to pump their own gas or run their credit/debit cards through the machines? People riding Motorcycles are permitted to pump their own gas, however, the attendant must be in the immediate area and will push the button for a receipt. We all gassed up our Motors and parked them out of the way to the rear of the gas station and waited for Louie. Louie arrived about 15 minutes later on his Harley. It was good to see him! We all greeted him and spoke with him for a little while and then it was time to leave. Louie was going to ride with us. He told us about a fantastic water fall called Multnomah Falls. Sure, it's easy for you to say! Bruce is still having problems trying to pronounce it. When we went on our 4 Corners Ride two years ago, he had a problem pronouncing Madawaska. ( A city in Maine and one of the 4 Corners). Any way...we left at 3:23 PM with Louie in our Group.

Chuck led us west on I-84, which paralleled the Columbia River. What a beautiful ride! We arrived at Multnomah Falls at 4:06 PM after riding 23 miles. We parked our Motors in the parking lot north of I-84 and walked to the Falls on the south side of I-84. No, we didn't cross the freeway and play "Frogger!" There was a pedestrian tunnel under the freeway and then under a railroad bridge. The Falls was beautiful! As we got closed to the Falls, the temperature became cooler. Some of the guys went for an immediate pit stop while others went into the Gift Shop. We then went to the Falls and took pictures, you know...the tourist thing. There was a path which led higher up and onto a bridge and closer to the Falls. All of us, except for C.E., walked up the steep path. We were close enough to get wet from the mist. Again, we did the tourist thing and took pictures. Wouldn't you? Yes you would! After a while, we came down from the bridge and sat around by the entrance. Chuck and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and we spoke with Louie and caught up a little. We then returned to the parking lot and the Motors. C.E. was sitting on his Motor talking on the cell phone. We decided that we had had enough of the coast area and continued eastbound. We said our good-byes to Louie and he left us. :( It was sooo sad...:(

Anyway, Chuck led us eastbound on I-84 and headed for Hood River, OR. We were en route to a Best Western there. After riding 35 miles, we arrived at 5:58 PM. The motel was very busy. I entered the lobby area with Jan and spoke with the clerk who told us that they were booked solid. We returned to the Group with the news and broke out the Best Western, Comfort Inn and Days Inn books. I found a Comfort Inn in The Dalles, OR. I called the motel and spoke with the clerk, who told me that they had rooms available. She gave me a good rate and I held three rooms with my credit card. We left Hood River, OR. at 6:20 PM.

Chuck led us eastbound rather quickly and we arrived in The Dalles, OR. Comfort Inn at 6:43 PM after riding 24 miles. We checked in and got our rooms. We got our stuff from our Motors and took them to the rooms. After doing this, we called our "Sweethearts" at home and reported that we were safe and sound at our motel. We left the motel at 7:28 PM and headed for Cousins Restaurant for dinner.

With directions from the motel clerk, we rode for 4 miles and arrived at the restaurant at 7:37 PM. There was a John Deere (Harley) tractor parked in the restaurant right behind our table. We enjoyed a good meal and a good waitress and left at 8:32 PM. We took the long way back to the motel through downtown. We arrived at the motel at 8:41 PM after going 5 miles.

We saw a lot of beautiful countryside today. We enjoyed each others company and the company of a good friend, who accompanied our Group for a couple of hours. We rode for 275 miles and hope to ride more miles tomorrow. We should get into the state of Washington tomorrow...maybe, unless if we change our minds...which can happen. So, until tomorrow...