I had dinner late last night at a Thai restaurant that I tripped over on my walk back to the hotel. It was good, but don’t ask what I had – I don’t remember. The girls couldn’t join me – they were still dancing when I left. Not that they would have wanted to.

Morning comes early, but the cool of the morning is a good time for riding, so I saddle up and do a little sight-seeing into the trendy part of downtown. There are lots of little shops and cafés and restaurants to while away the hours in, to be sure. I find a bakery and have breakfast. The bakery reminds me of one in Djibouti, many years ago, but here everyone speaks English and the ambiance is very different.

I head out on back roads to see the mountains and the lakes and the trees that I miss so much in the high desert. It’s a completely different environment here. In the desert there’s nothing to filter out the dust. Here, with all the trees, you can’t see past the edge of the road, although there are lakes that are plain enough for all. I find it very relaxing to pull off onto a side road and park beside a small lake. The clear blue sky, the gentle breeze, the soft-sounding waves are all here to enjoy.

I make a loop west around Mt. Bachelor, then south and back east and north to the city where I’ll spend another night at the peeler bar. Well, I won’t spend the entire night there.

I’m just going for the conversation, you know?