DAY 122- Little Rock…Clinton Library & Heifer International

The night before I had arrived just as the sun was starting to set, I got checked into my cute little bed and breakfast which was located in North Little Rock.  It was just barely across the river from the heart of the downtown River District of Little Rock.  The manager of the bed and breakfast gave me a complimentary trolley ticket pass and suggested I just ride the trolley for the sightseeing factor alone.  He said that the trolley gave a running commentary along the route and that I would be able to ride it on that pass until 10PM that night.  I changed quickly and was on the next trolley which had a stop ½ block away.


Photo- The Little Rock Skyline as I crossed the bridge on a trolley car.

Off I went through part of the North Little Rock downtown area and then across the bridge to the River District of Little Rock.  It was a beautiful view with the city lights as we crossed the bridge.  There were a ton of restaurants and shops along the River area; among other things that the trolley operator announced as he went along.  I ended up having dinner at a place called Big Whiskeys which was a nice wooden sports bar that had a wonderful grilled salmon.  Next, I headed back across the river and ended up going to an Improv Show.  It was a wonderful fun hanging out and watching the show.  There was quite a bit of local humor that was intermixed throughout the show.  After the show a lot of the people went over to a wine bar called Crush across the way.  I enjoyed some wonderful wine and met some local people.  I ended up closing down the place with the owner, the bartender, and a new friend called Cheddy.

Photo- A night of FUN Improv in downtown North Little Rock, Arkansas.

The wind had picked up overnight and the temperature that had been in the mid-60’s the day before was going to be 20 degrees colder.  I drove across the river to the Clinton Presidential Library.   The Clinton Library building is a long skinny building that almost appears to be reaching out toward the Arkansas River; the inside of it almost feels like a bridge with large angled metal bracing along a large open long area.  I started my tour of the Library with a 12 minute orientation film that focused on Clinton’s life and political career.  Then, I went upstairs and into a cabinet room which is a full scale replica of the White House Cabinet Room.  It was an interesting place to start a tour but I took away from it that the Clinton Presidency’s success was only as successful as those that are involved in the decision process. 

Photo- A large timeline down the middle of the Clinton Presidential Library.

 

From there, I went into a long open area where there was a HUGE oversized timeline of the Clinton Presidency down the middle of a long open area.  Off to the sides were smaller partial room areas where it covered different aspects of his presidency.  It was a very interesting way of setting up a presidential library.   I went up the stairs where there was a wonderful view of the Arkansas River.  On the second floor there was a section about Clinton’s early years of life and also another area about life during his presidency.  There also was a replica of the White House Oval Office which a very nice security guard offered to take a photo of me in front of it.

Photo- In the replicated Oval Office in the Clinton Presidential Library. 

Next, it was outside in the windy and colder weather where I walked around the Clinton Library and down the road a bit to the Heifer International building.  I was very familiar with Heifer International which is a wonderful charity that I have donated some of my art project proceeds to in the past.  Heifer is based more on a philosophy of sustainable agriculture through training participants using livestock to fulfill their needs and becoming self-reliant.  Also key to this their success is the importance of passing on the gift.  The charity is also very concerned in about being green and protecting the earth for future generations. 

Photo- Heifer International Building a VERY green building.

 

The company headquarters based in Little Rock is a platinum level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification which is the highest honor a green building can receive.  I HAD to see this building which they do a free tour of it.  The tour of the building started at the front door area where my tour guide explained the strict requirements of a LEED building.  I guess that the Clinton Library started out as a Gold LEED buidling and has recently been upgraded to be a platinum, which fascinated me that two platinum buildings were within a few hundred yards of each other in one city.  I think that said quite a bit about the City of Little Rock, Arkansas.  I thought it was rather impressive. 

Photo- Elevated floors to allow room for the heating and cooling.

My tour guide went through and explained that 90% of the building materials came from within 500 miles of the site of the building.  That sounds like a lot but not really when you start looking at the building materials used in most buildings.  Part of the reason they tried to use local materials was to cut down on the transportation costs and the fossil fuel use.  There’s Arkansas limestone, Mississippi Delta pine, old bricks from the previous building that were recycled, locally grown cotton, soybeans and even cornhusks are used in the building.  There’s recycled material used in the carpeting and the counter tops.  Also, recycled steel is used throughout the structure too.

Photo- Inside the Heifer building which is only 60ft. wide so sunlight can supply a good amount of the light needed.

On top of all of the recycled and local building materials, the actual design of the building was very well thought through.  The building is curved and situated in an east-west direction to optimize natural daylight.  The floor plans area open light and most of the building is no more than 60 feet across to also optimize daylight.  Generally, daylight will travel 30 feet into a building’s interior that way this building is fully taking the opportunity of the daylight.  There’s raised flooring on each level which improves the ventilation and makes the heating and cooling more efficient, saving both energy and money.  The roof of the building is designed to collect and save rain water which is used in the heating and cooling system; as well as, for the toilets to flush.  I was amazed at all the different little things that were done in the building that all added up to help make it SO energy efficient.  It was wonderful to see so much thought and reflection put into a building; and what was more amazing is that it was a charity that was doing this.  If you get the chance please check out this very worthy charity.

Next I was on down the road towards Fayetteville, Arkansas.  I was planning on stopping in nearby Betonville, Arkansas which is the home of Walmart.  There's a museum there and the original Walton 5 And Dime.  There's also an art museum called Crystal Bridges that is funded by Mrs. Walton (the wife of Sam Walton who is the founder of Walmart).  I have heard that this museum was something to see and that it rivaled some of the best museums in the country.  Unfortunately, it was getting late by the time I drove to the area and had already closed for the night.  I decided to stay in a nearby hotel.

DAY 109- New Orleans to Biloxi...

I woke up early to wonder around the French Quarter.  The only people I saw out were on their way to work, out doing their early morning runs, walking their dogs, or on their way home after a very long night.  The latter group threw me a quizzical look when I cheerfully wished them a good morning.  I think the hangovers were starting to set in.  The streets were wet and later as a street cleaner drove by on another street I saw why.  I think they wash the streets every morning here.  I imagine that otherwise there could be quite the “build-up” on these streets.  Shop owners were also hosing down the sidewalk areas too.

Photos- Cute little houses in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Photo- The front of the St. Pierre Hotel where I stayed in the French Quarter.

I walked over to the river area and walked along it for a while.  I then decided to be fair and compare Café de Monde’s beignet to the Café Beignet’s beignet.  So I sat at a table and ordered coffee and beignet from a paper hatted woman.  Well, truth be told, I think I like the Café Beignet’s beignet. (Try saying THAT five times fast. Ha!)  But I will say that the view from the Café de Monde is better.

Photo- A foggy misty morning along the Mississippi River near the French Quarter.

 

Photos- Beignets and coffee and below the view from Cafe de Monde of street artists that sale their wares.

 

After a coffee and beignet, I wandered around the French Quarter some more.  I was mostly window shopping; most of the places don’t open until 10AM and I was early by about 2 hours.  I went over to the French Market which is an outdoor open air market.  Some of those vendors were just barely starting to uncover or put out their goods.  I was amazed at how many little restaurants there were where you could get breakfast.   I just wandered around and window shopped.  I also admired some of the houses in the French Quarter.  I had heard the day before that the average home in the French Quarter went for $400 per square foot; very pricey and parking would be a REAL pain. 

Photo- The French Market within the French Quarter where you can pick up all sorts of things.

Photo- The Cornfield Fence Hotel where the original owner had
the fence put in to make his Iowan wife feel more at home in New Orleans.

I eventually wandered into a souvenir shop and got some postcards but couldn’t find a bumper sticker that I liked.  I was hoping to find a bumper sticker that said something unique like…”New Orleans We Put the FUN in Funerals!”  But I didn’t see anything like that but there were tons of Fleur de Lis in either the Saints football team colors or the Mardi Gras colors.  I was disappointed.  There were a lot of good things said on t-shirts but not much for bumper stickers. 

With my big purchase of two postcards, I wandered back to my hotel with about 25 minutes to spare before check out time.  I loaded up the car and then went to the front desk to see about getting my car out of the parking lot.  A hotel employee needed to move his car and then he offered to back my car out for me.  I took him up on that because frankly I suck at backing up.  I gave him and the other guy that did hand signals for him a little tip and I was off.

I drove over to the Garden District of New Orleans.  I just drove through the big houses with the tree lined streets.  It was a wonderful area but I was unsure as to where to park so I just took my time and drove through the area.  It made for a nice late morning drive.

Next, I found I-10 and started heading east towards Biloxi which would be the next stop on my BIG adventure.  I passed the state line announcing that I was now in Mississippi.  Wow!  It’s the first time I had been in this state!  Shortly after that there was a rest stop with a Mississippi Welcome Center.  I decided I would stop and see if I could get a brochure or information about different areas of the state. 

I walked into the center and was immediately welcomed.  There were people taking pictures, singing, dancing, and handing out treats with coffee.  There was a huge hanging sign announcing that Mississippi was showing its southern hospitality.  I walked through all this to a bank of brochures along a wall.  As I was looking at them a gal in a wheel chair asked if she could help me find something in particular.  I talked with her for a bit and she was very helpful.  She even suggested a back way to my hotel that would be more scenic; giving me a map in the process.  I left with brochures and the map; rather looking forward to checking out the area and possibly visiting more of the state.  It was a positive experience which surprised me.

Photo- The beach front about 10 miles south of Biloxi, MS.

Another 15 miles down the road and I found myself driving along a white sandy beach.  I stopped for a bit and just sat on a bench to admire the beach.  It was rather windy and a bit on the chilly side but it was a wonderful view to admire.  I eventually got to my hotel and got checked in.  I went out after a bit and just drove along in the city areas of Gulfport and Biloxi.  There were a few casinos along the shore and it looked like there was an Air force Base nearby.

DAY 34- Covered Bridges & Live Musical FUN

I stayed last night in a Quality Inn and I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and well-maintained it was. I also loved that they had a refrigerator in the room with a microwave. I booked the room on www.hotels.com website and got a pretty good deal but I always try to read the reviews of the hotel before I book. I don't want to end up with another Econolodge type of incident. So as I was reading some of these reviews I was questioning what I had actually reserved for the night. It all really seems to be a crap shoot; roll the dice and see what you get or at least it seems with hotels.  I’m thinking I may have to check out more of the Bed & Breakfasts; those seem to be better and more consistent.

Photo- The wonderful scenery on way to the first covered bridge.

Well, I enjoyed a waffle for breakfast and I was off.  I wanted to get a couple more covered bridges and possibly a couple of wineries before I started driving to the coastline.  I started out driving east out of Roseburg to hit my first covered bridge.  I followed the directions in a brochure that I got at the visitor’s center.  I drove a wonderful scenic 16 miles and then took a right turn and drove along a Little River (it’s actual name and it fit) for another seven miles.  There was the covered bridge.  I drove slowly across it and then flipped a Utah “U”turn.  I took a few pictures and while standing there a dog from a nearby house was barking at me.  I didn’t stay long because I didn’t want to wake up the whole neighborhood.  But I did read in the brochure that they made this bridge a little taller and designed the peaked opening to accommodate logging trucks in the area.

Photo- The first covered bridge- Cravitt Creek.

 
The next covered bridge was further north and near a couple of wineries that I wanted to visit.  So I jumped on Interstate 5 and got off after a couple of exits.  I was in the small town of Sutherlin.  I headed east about 1.5 miles and took a right.  Here was the second covered bridge.  I stopped quickly and took a picture but there weren’t any historical markers on this one like there was the last one.  I, instead, referred to the brochure.  This bridge featured a Howe truss span.  Okay, I’m unsure what that means and may have to Google it someday.  But it was a nice well maintained white covered bridge with side windows with curved tops.

Photo- The second covered bridge.

Next, I did a bit of back tracking and headed towards the wineries.  I was a bit disappointed the one that I really wanted to see was closed on Sundays.  It was the Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyard and I guess that there was a marvelous wine cave area.  But I guess with a name like that I should’ve figured that it would be closed on Sundays.

Photos- Live music and FUN at the Henry Estates Winery.

 

But I pushed on to another winery that the lady at the visitor’s center had recommended; the Henry Estates Winery.  I drove past the signs for two other wineries figure if I had time I would swing back.  I drove out to the Henry Estates and there was a live Bluegrass Country group playing music.  I did a bit of wine tasting and decided to buy a glass of wine.  I went out to the shady area where there were picnic tables and enjoyed the music.  It was a beautiful day; why not I figured.  There were also a couple of tents and boxes of fresh vegetables you could help yourself to.  I guess it was supposed to be a loose version of a Farmer’s Market.

Photo- Booths out at the Henry Estates Winery.

 It wasn’t long before most of the tables were filling up and someone part of group introduced themselves and asked if they could sit with me.  Sure, I said. I got to talking with a retired woman that lived just east in a small town nearby.  They were out for a weekly thing and then she asked me where I was from.  I had to laugh because the first thing she said to me when I told where I’m from was—Well; you sure are off the beaten track.  I thought to myself, lady you hit the nail on the head on that one.  She said that it was mainly locals that knew about this event.  I said that was wonderful because then I could get a feel for what the locals were like.  They were a fun bunch and I very slowly drank my glass of wine and enjoyed.


Needless to say, I didn’t get to try any other wineries but that was okay.  Next, I decided since I was already kind of north I would just catch a highway nearby Hwy 138 and head towards the coast.  I back tracked again and went to a gas station just off of the Interstate 5.  Then, off to the west I went.  The road curved around and I was kind of heading in a northwestern direction.  It ended up going along Umpqua River which the further west I went the larger the river got.  There were more and more creeks and waterways pouring into it.  It was just beautiful.

Photo- The scenic Umpqua River that Hwy 138 runs along. 

Then, I got to Reedsport and turned south on Hwy 101 and got my first glimpse on the ocean at an overlook.  I went by a lighthouse that I had visited years ago on a vacation but it was getting to be late afternoon and I had hoped to set up a dune buggy ride in the sand dunes just north of Coos Bay.  So I pressed on.  I saw the sign about 15 miles before Coos Bay for the Sand Dune Rental Company and turned off to set it up for tomorrow.
 

Then off to the Red Lion hotel where I would spend to the night.  After checking in, I went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant that my cousin Kimmie had suggested.  It was a wonderful fun meal.  In all the time I’ve been in the restaurant business, I’ve never seen a service team work so well together.  They were all communicating and working together; from the hostess to the waitress to the busboy.  They all worked as a team and not one of them was below performing anything that the customer needed and it was all done with a smile; plus a wonderful attitude too.  I would highly recommend Benintos!

DAY 21-- Portlandia

The house where I am renting an upstairs room is located in the Sellwood part of Portland.  It’s a neighborhood that has a small shopping haven which has a predominance of antique shops but there are a few wonderful restaurants in there too; as I discovered.  My gracious host, Jim, helped me with suggestions to local places and also directions to a biking/rec path that leads to a whole network of biking throughout the Portland area. 

Photos- The Sellwood area of Portland.

Portland is a Gold Medal city when it comes to being bike friendly and I have to say it is VERY friendly to bikes.  I took the path early in the morning and within 10 minutes and 5 miles I was in the heart of downtown Portland.  I saw several other cyclists, most of them, commuting on their way to work.  Most of the other cyclists had panniers on their bikes or loaded up backpacks; some even had various decorations on the top of their helmets. (So sorry I wasn’t faster with the camera.) 

Photo- Bike path being used by commuting cyclists with Portland skyline in background.

The main parts of the bicycle paths go right along the shoreline of the river that runs through the heart of downtown Portland.  It provides some wonderful scenery with the river, small boats, small marinas, bridges, and the city’s buildings all intermixed to give Portland its unique flavor. 

Photo- The sun above at one of the river path areas near downtown Portland.

Once I got to the downtown area, I went off the bike path and took various other bike friendly roads; most of them had a bike lane or a green lane.  I even traversed a couple of the bridges going on both sides of town.  I was amazed at how the cars were very accepting of bikes and I even had a few times I was in the wrong lane but the drivers were very patient with me.  Not at all like in SLC, where I would’ve been yelled at to get off the road along with a few choice profanities and possibly flipped off too. 

Photo- Green lanes in downtown Portland.

Bike traffic seems to have priority in this city. The bike paths were signed and told you where each off shoot went and they told you the distances to the next stop or destination.  There were even signal lights where it was just for cyclist to cross an intersection diagonally.  You would push a button on the sidewalk and they had the bike path painted through the intersection.  Just wait for the bike signal to turn green and you had right away for the whole intersection.  There were also areas where only bikes and buses were allowed in the downtown area. It was all rather mind blowing!


Photo- Signage along the bike paths.

Later I drove downtown to catch a free walking tour.  I would’ve been better off biking down to it than driving to it.  Warning- Portland is not friendly to car drivers and it can be frustrating to figure out how to get from point A to point B.  There are a combo of factors that make this so—bus and bike only road areas, one way streets, and light rail running down the center of road areas. 

Parking a car in downtown Portland can also be a real pain.  There’s not much street parking and of it much are designed for loading zones and car share vehicles.  Portland doesn’t seem to want you to bring your car to the downtown area at all.  Also, they have recently done away with the MAX’s (Portland’s Light rail & Bus system) free fare zone about 2 months ago.  I ended up finding a parking garage to park my car in for the deal of $9.95 for the whole day.

The Free Walking Tour in Portland; the Secrets of Portlandia (http://secretsofportlandia.com/ ) was a wonderful funny experience and I highly recommend it to anyone that comes to visit the city.  It starts everyday rain or shine from the front of the Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse.  The guide wears a bright green t-shirt and holds a Free Tour sign up.  He’s not hard to miss.  For about an hour and a half he takes you along the city telling you showing you landmarks and talking about all that makes Portland the very unique place that it is.  All along he tries out various bad jokes and puns.  Also, repeatedly using the one-liner of “…on a clear day you can see Mt. Hood…” among all of his other commentary.  Some of the jokes flop but some have you cracking up pretty good.  It’s a little like taking a city tour with a stand-up comedian and hecklers are welcome.  It’s an interactive fun. 

Photos- Free Walking Tour...

At the end of the tour, he stands off to the side and takes tips if you feel like it was worth the tour.  Most of the other city tour walks charge $20 and I’m betting they are not nearly as much fun.  What was even more fun about the whole thing was that at the end of the tour there were more people than what we started with.  People just joined up as we went along.  It’s well worth the $20 that I gave him, he also very willing to give tips on other things to do and where to eat in the city.

Next, I went to a “food court” in the downtown area.  It’s an open area parking lot that has been edged by these food carts that sell every kind of food imaginable.  It's like a little city of food carts that cover a block area. They are actually watched more closely by the food inspectors in Portland than the restaurants.  So thus they are safer to eat at and quite often are a better deal too.  I ordered some Thai food which there seems to be a lot of in Portland.  I had a wonderful pumpkin curry with rice. 

As I waited for my late lunch, I got to talking with another guy that was waiting for his food.  I ended up walking with him over two blocks where there was a city park we could sit down in to eat our lunches.  We visited while we ate and he gave me some suggestions for on my way to Mt. Hood.  While we were eating, I watched a homeless person start digging around in a trash can.  I made a comment and Tom, my lunch companion, said that’s Portland.  He said there was a Cop Shop over on the corner so the homeless would probably not act up or give us any problem. 

But the homeless in the area is a major problem.  They are on a lot of the corners in the downtown area by the river.  Quite often, they sleep between the river and the bike paths.  You’ll see them loaded down with their gear on bikes into the city in the mornings.  It’s sad.  Portland has the second highest unemployment rate in the country.  If you consider moving to the Portland area you should make sure you have a job first.

I walked around the city and took more pictures as I went.  I had hoped to go to the Portland Art Museum but they are closed on Mondays.  It seems like a great deal of places are closed on Mondays.  It’s like the equaling of Sundays in Utah.  Later on, when I was back in Sellwood I tried to go to a restaurant my host Jim had mentioned to me that was a 4 block walk.  But I found that it was closed on Sunday.  Instead I ended up going to a little Italian café about 5 blocks away called a Cena.  OMG!  The dessert I had at the end of a wonderful meal was to die for—Semifreddo; a frozen chocolate mousse with a warm with warm cherries!  SO Good! SO GOOD!  But I will definitely need to bike in the morning to make up for that one!