After a busy month of traveling in May we are planning to stay pretty close to home for the next month or so. The more we get out and about in The Pearl the more we like it. We discovered that we have easy access to the north end of the Willamette River Greenway Trail which is a well developed walk way along the west edge of the river.

With the Portland Rose Festival in full swing, the annual gathering of military vessels is underway. For many years, it was already well established when I was a kid, US Navy and Canadian ships tie-up at the waterfront in downtown Portland. I remember many times my dad would take me there to tour the ships, good memories.

Wednesday morning, I discovered that the CG Eagle, the US Coast Guard barkentine, was due to arrive that afternoon. I geared up the ship-tracking app so we could follow the CG Eagle, and a Canadian warship ship, coming down from Astoria at the same time. We waited by the old Alber’s Feed Mill, which is now offices for the wheat industry. We chatted with a few other locals as we waited for the ships. The Canadian ship came first, sadly the CG Eagle was taking a much more leisurely journey so we gave up, though we do plan to go down next week to watch the ships as they head back out to sea.

I remember, when I lived in Portland, before moving to Seattle in 1987, that long waits were c’est normal when the bridges opened to let the ships through. If you were aware, you took the Ross Island bridge, then later the Marquam, or Freemont, to avoid the waits – Portland has a lot of bridges.

This is the first time in our lives that we have not had a cat or a dog. Followers of this blog and Tricia’s blog, know how much our last pet, Neville, meant to us. It was just two years ago this week that he went to that great mouse-hunting ground in the sky. We still miss his company.

After traveling a lot in May and eating out as well, it is good to be back to cooking and baking at home. Tricia made cookies and I baked bread this week, both of which are better than “store-bought.” On Wednesday I baked Alaskan cod with Dijon and herbs from our garden, accompanied by sautéed asparagus, which will soon be done for the year as we only get it when it is local. Modesty aside, it was as good or better than most of what we get at a restaurant.

Today is the 81st anniversary of D-Day. It will be a big event in Normandie, where we lived for most of our time in France. We lived about 131km (82 miles) south of Utah beach so we were not in the heart of the festivities each year, though the farms and fields surrounding our home were crisscrossed by tanks and fighting just a few days after. Aside from the global impact of D-Day both Tricia and I have close connections to it. My uncle, Rusty, drove a landing craft, and her uncle, Willard, landed on the beach – thankfully they both survived when so many died tragic deaths, we are grateful for all who took part in keeping us free.

We are both exercising at 24Hour Fitness, Tricia swims, I have started doing about 30 minutes, 5000m, on the rowing machine since I want to build a bit of muscle mass.

Yesterday was 1st Thursday here in The Pearl, ostensibly a time for visiting art galleries, in reality a time to visit craft booths and eat. Our friend Tim joined us at Irving Street Tapas, one of our favorite places.

Watch for my Tuesday Tip next week, a bit different tip since my plan is to post one of the best eggplant recipes I know of, complete with photos. In fact when I hit post for this I have to start cooking, what a great way to spend the day.

Enjoy your travels, close to home or far away, eat good food, stay in touch with friends, and of course do a sketch.