April’s Fool Tour: Day 2

Leaving Phoenix proved to be a little more challenging than the itinerary on my Southwest Airlines Ticket-less Travel Confirmation print out had claimed.  The pilot exited the cockpit and rocked the mic informing the passengers in esoteric terminology that there was a computer failure and we would be delayed 20 minutes while they repaired the navigation system.  This comforted me, oddly enough, due to the fact that at the last turn down the walkway – you know the one where you take that final step of faith into the aircraft and you can see the outside of the fuselage and hear the engines just outside the little accordion thingy, I saw something disconcerting. 

 

The pilots announcement comforted me because as I was taking that step-of-faith I spied a maintenance worker writing a work-order and I peeped over his shoulder and there were the pilots comments written on the sheet.  All I could make out before I stepped onto the plane was the word computer and FAIL! 

Trusting in the diligence of Southwest Airlines and all their crew was a wise decision I found my seat and settled in.  The pilot informed us promptly and we waited patiently.   Eventually we taxied down the tarmac to the end of the runway.  The plane made that fateful turn and where there is usually an un-earthly whoosh of the engines and a incredible amount of G-force there was solely a click and the pilot’s voice.

 

“As you may have noticed we made a wrong turn.  That was intentional.  Apparently, the problem is not fixed so we are heading back to the gate.  Thank you for your infinite patience.”

 

We ended up de-planing and walking a circle back through terminal 4 at Sky Harbor International Airport.  The pilot had informed us that we would board a spare plane.  I thought, “wow, a spare plane who knew there were just extra planes hanging around?”  We departed about an hour late and people were complaining and whining about their appointments.  Perhaps they would rather descend into the inevitable cloud cover of Portland, Oregon without a Navi?  Best we live fellow travellers… Best we live and be late.  

 

Portland Oregon is world renowned for it’s public transit.  They have a light-rail system they call The Max, which I mentioned in the previous post, takes travellers directly from the airport to city center in no-time.  When I exited the Portland International Airport (PDX) there were Tri-met employees in official garb directing travellers to shuttle buses that were running the Max Red-Line route to the city.  The Max was down for repairs.   I realized that this trip was to be an improvisation of transit and all things moving.  Just like the theme of this tour – it’s a shoot from the hip shot-in-the-dark good-timin’ kinda thing. 

 

Ya see-ya see, I stay in the Hawthorne Travellers Hostel in a district of Portland, Oregon called Hawthorne.  Named for the Boulevard that is the epicenter of this bohemian mecca.  The original resident of Hawthorne Boulevard was an insane asylum and wackiness still prevails in all things along this stretch of asphalt.  Over 300 local independent shops/restaurants/bars line the boulevard and some of the best reasons to visit Portland are on Hawthorne Boulevard.  If you hit this city and miss Hawthorne you missed the point, Journeymen.  The Hawthorne Hostel is an embodiment of a sensibility that is pervasive in the hearts and minds of Oregonians in general. The hostel has an ecoroof.  The rooftop is covered in plant-life to limit the structures impact on the environment.  Also, new this year is the hostel’s newly-installed water reclamation system.  Rainwater is collected from the roof of the hostel and conditioned and used as a non-potable water source.  The toilets flush with rainwater, wa-wa from the roof  for the pee-pee in the turlet.  A bit of ingenuity that utilizes the frequent rainfall in this part of the country.  Now, if we could just get Arizonans to use solar panels, perhaps we could make an impact similar to that of the Hawthorne Hostel. 

 

After checking in and stowing my belongings I grabbed the guitar case and jumped on the 14 Hawthorne bus to MLK transferred to the 6 and then to the 72 and it dropped me on the front door of the pub where I was to strike the first note in this unorthodox tour: The April’s Fool Tour.  How’d it go?  I was lucky enough to capture some video of one song, so here it is:

Post-show the rain was kind enough to only creep up from the street via my jeans to about mid-leg before I arrived home.  I went to bed at 1 am early for this town, but, the full day of travel followed by a rock show took it’s toll on my 30 year old frame and I climbed up on my bunk and was out in a jiff.  Interesting side note: when I was checking in yesterday, Hillary behind the desk said

 

“You will be in the St. Helen’s room which is downstairs and-”

 

“Don’t tell me it’s St. Helen’s 2?”, I replied.

 

“How could you guess that?”, she said. 

 

“That’s the same bunk I had last year!”

 

“Wow!  Here’s to serendipity, looks like it’ll be a great trip.”, she said as she handed me my linens and I headed downstairs.

 

Things like that tend to happen to me when I travel.  For instance, at the Fat Straw (an Internet coffee shop where I do my uploads and write blogs) I went to YouTube and signed in still was a moniker that I used to use to write fake reviews of my music years ago before I decided not to fake it and just be legit.  I won’t give you the name to protect the account holder.  I promptly logged out after I said, “Noooo way!”  But it blew my freaking mind. 

 

On this tour I am supplementing my text and photo based blogs with video.  I am currently staring at the screen waiting for the uploads to complete.  When YouTube does it’s trick I’ll post a little ‘walking tour’ of P-land for your work-averting pleasure.  

 

What’s next?  How’s about a little Stumptown Stroll?