US running (and Amber riding) the big wind and rain, we arrived wet, chilly, and perfectly ready for the warmth and comfort of the Portland Marriott City Center hotel, for our two-day stop over.
Our stay was enabled by the Run for One Planet Personal Concierge Services provided by Adam Hill, in conjunction with Marriott General Manager, Lyla Rentschler and her hospitable staff. We slept like babies in beds bigger than the RV and rooms so large, we almost lost each other going from the bedroom to the TV room. Even the view was huge of the Portland skyline.
Adam must have told Lyla we were rock stars and not runners, as we smelled REALLY BAAAAAD, after some very wet, very windy run days over the past 3 from the Oregon coast.
I sit here in a parking lot in downtown Portland, waiting to pay the lot attendant to park for the day and run around this really cool Pacific Northwest city, in anticipation of our valued long time friend and Chiropractor “magic hands”, Don Grant to arrive and get us straightened out for our last push for home! Don is coming all the way from Vancouver (after arriving home from the Grand Canyon late the night before), to ensure we are strong for these last 700 miles. That’s just the type of guy he is, always helping people. And we are the lucky ones this morning! (more on Don in my next blog)
So we were treated to a 16th floor view of the famous Portland Bridge, fresh smelling clothes by way of the laundry service up stairs, a shower like no body’s business and the deepest slumber in a bed bigger than our condo’s back home. As you know, faithful R41P blog readers, we aren’t hurting for too many places to stay after some long run weeks, as we have a few members on our team that think it’s “just the right thing to do”, to get these folks out of the RV and into a room bigger than 7 feet across and 28 feet long. Sometimes it feels like the BnB tour, and not too proud to refuse either, just really grateful for an amazing team that care about our smell factor on the general public and our pint-sized eco warriors, the kid-lets.
Back in Independence Oregon, we met some more new friends by way of Vicky and Steve who had us in to sleep, and shower and feed at their home BnB called, “Hanson House”, after my mondo marathon’ing last week. They had moved from Bend Oregon where, for 25 years, owned and fed the residents of Bend with Steve’s famous “egg’s Bennie” and other Sunday favorites in their family restaurant and now, in their just opened family home BnB. Another R41P special compliments of our teammate, Allison!
Can you see the through-line here? Many, many friends (old and new), pitching in to make us better and at least fresher looking than our bodies feel each day, after being on the road running for the better part of a year. We even got a late Saturday email (by chance, as there had been no internet service or cell) and it was from my acting friend of 20 years, Garry Chalk!
In BOLD letters, it read, “GARRY IS DRIVING DOWN TO SEE YOU”! “I HOPE YOU’RE IN TILLIMOOK AS YOUR WEBSITE SAYS SO, BUT YOUR BLOG SAYS EURIKA”! Luckily I was able to respond and confidently say we were indeed in Tillamook and not in Eureka. Our blogs have to have time to catch up, as another of our amazing R41P teammates, Khadija, does a HUGE job posting all she receives.
Anyhow, Garry was on his way to Tillamook to join us for the day. And after a night sleeping under the “light of the Safeway moon”, we spent Easter Sunday (getting soaked and blown across the highway) with the laughter and new team support from Garry! It was a blast watching him speed ahead of us in his car, 4-ways flashing like we were a pro tour. And then, speeding ahead again, as we rounded a corner, with Garry signaling that he had our backs!
Thanks Garry, for your energy to get us ‘round those mountain corners. Thanks also, to our WHOLE R41P team! We are one step closer every day now. And after some Don Grant chiro magic today, we’ll be even taller (maybe), stronger and more energized to run the remaining miles back to the hometown!!!