I'm not gonna let vacation slow me down, y'all.

I'm posting this photo today in honor of my departure from Portland's international airport, known as PDX. I'm off to England and Scotland for a Trafalgar tour, a dream trip with my friend Juliet who moved to Portland from Minneapolis. She found me through this blog! So cool!

Don't be fooled, though. This is not the air traffic control tower seen from the airplane. I took this photo on October 5, 2013, from a TriMet bus window as we crossed the Morrison Bridge. The bridge operator works in there and raises the bridge as necessitated by Willamette River traffic. I've actually been on a tour of that bridge and got to go down into the support, which I call the leg, of the bridge through the door on the tower. After we walked down the stairs, the bridge operator raised the bridge and we got to hear and see all of the works move--Spielberg woulda loved that sound!--as well as a huge concrete section which eventually opened enough that we could see the sky!

Pink super hero gives me the eye when I take his photo at the Race for the Cure

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Today's photo, one more with a lot of pink from the Race for the Cure. You know that this super-hero-in-some-sort-of-pink-pants caught my eye. He must've felt me taking the photo because he aimed his razor sharp eyes right at me. I could see 'em through the lens!

Starting Sunday, October 5, I will be out of town, off to England and Scotland for a Trafalgar tour. So, I'm doing my best to complete posts for the days I will be out of town. I plan to search my photo archives for at least one photo that I took on that particular date at some point in the past. I hope you'll enjoy them!

UPDATE, 6:18 a.m. 10/4/2014: Evidently I did not take at least one photo on each day in past Octobers, to I've posted photos taken during October in past years. Enjoy!

Seen at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, No. 21, July 3, 2014 - a funky good time at the end of my first day!

Three members of the Goodfoot Allstars, on stage from 9:45 to 11 p.m. I know that's Farnell Newton on trumpet, but I don't know the names of the other two. Farnell, can you help me, please? Thanks! And with the other guys in the other photos, too?

Found on the blues festival Web site: The Goodfoot Allstars are now in their 8th year of this high-caliber tribute to the Godfather of soul: James Brown! This band was formed from a large cast of Portland musicians that have played the Goodfoot the last several years, including such past members as Scott Pemberton, Scott Law, and Jans Ingber. You can expect to be funked to the core with an incredible collection of musicians delivering a big sound, phenomenal dance cuts, and the kind of music that just makes you wanna shake your booty into the wee hours! The Goodfoot Allstars are: Carlton Jackson, Asher Fulero, Tye North, Devin Phillips, Darvey Santner, Farnell Newton, Doug Lewis, and Bruce Withycombe.



Quite a crowd enjoyed every note of these beloved James Brown tunes!



Keyboards.



Guitars and bass.

By 10:45 p.m. I realized I had better head for the bus stop or I would miss the last bus of the night--I didn't want to have to wait for or pay for a cab. It all worked out and I was home in no time, ready to rest up for Day Two. However, it was not to be.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. suffering from what turned out to be a mild case of food poisoning. I know it was mild because I've suffered for real through two other full-blown food poisoning episodes! Anyway, I never got to use the other three days on my ticket, I missed the fireworks on July 4. I could go on and on, but, to tell you the truth, I was just happy to get well enough to return to work on July 8, just in time to work three days before I realized that a painful urinary tract infection seemed to have taken up residence in my body. Turned out it was a kidney infection--I was sick as a dog for days.

By the time July came to an end weeks later, I had fully recovered from both of these episodes of ill health, my allergies had quit bothering me, and I slowly but surely worked at becoming stronger because I knew that on October 5, I'd be flying off to England and Scotland for a great tour, returning home late the night of October 16.