Yes, "beer" is not a verb but if it were ever to become one then Portland will be the place where it first occurs.

My partner Keith and I spent a 3-day weekend recently in Portland. A year ago I wrote a post about Portland but this trip was different. It was an actual visit to Portland and not simply an overnight turnaround point on a larger trip.

The trip had been planned for a couple of months, but structure was added to it after we read the post of our friend Rich Milliron. In the summer of '08, Rich took a train trip to Oregon for the express purpose of discovering why it's called "Beervana". He found out that the title is well-earned. Find out for yourself by reading his post - you'll enjoy it. (If you don't start reading his post with a beer in hand, you probably will by the end of it.)

MENU OVER THE BAR AT ROGUE DISTILLERY & PUBLIC HOUSE

When you're traveling to a big city do you take into account hotel parking charges?

You should.

We'll take a look at San Francisco because it's the Big City that most people in northern California regularly visit. But the lesson here is the same if you live in the Northwest and your Big City is Seattle or Portland, the Midwest and Chicago, etc.

Two of my favorite things start with the letter "r" and if you're a regular reader of Planes, Trains & Automobiles then you know those are running and railroads.

The Bizz Johnson run over in Susanville manages to combine both.

The race consists of a full marathon, and two different versions of a half-marathon. One of the half-marathons is called the "express" because it is point-to-point. It took place this past Saturday (10 October). The full marathon, also point-to-point, and the other half-marathon, an out-and-back, took place yesterday (11 October), and that half is the event I ran.

At first I was going to title this "Hiking in America's Secret National Park" but then I thought that was baiting the hook too richly.

But those of you who've been to Lassen National Park know what I mean. I've never seen it crowded even in summer. Maybe it's because it's far from a major metropolitan area.

Or perhaps it's because it doesn't have one iconic physical landmark like Half Dome or the Grand Canyon. (Not that Lassen Peak is exactly a shrinking violet.)

Whatever the reason, Lassen seems like it's your own private park shared with only a few of your closest strangers.

On our recent weeklong trip to the Mill Creek Resort, my partner and I did four hikes. Here's a little about three of them.

Ever had a place you really liked but were reluctant to tell other people about for fear it would become popular and then you would ultimately suffer?

You know, reservations become hard to get, prices go up, and trendy-as-heck people starting calling your place home.

Readers, I'm trusting you with this secret so don't tell just anybody, OK?

My partner Keith and I don't precisely remember how we came across the Mill Creek Resort but it may have been after a snowshoeing lesson in Lassen Park in the winter of '01. After the lesson we might have stopped by on our way back to Chico for a bite to eat.

At any rate, the place made an impression on us as a very relaxing base of operations for future summer trips into Lassen National Park, the south entrance to which is only 11 miles from Mill Creek.

My first impulse was to title this post "Requiem for a Coffeehouse" but I concluded that was both too somber and, I hope, not really accurate.

Last autumn I mentioned the Crosstown Coffeehouse in the first of two posts about Alameda. Dropping in for at least an hour or two - often many more - had become a part of my daily routine when I was in the East Bay which was frequently. (My partner worked for an Oakland-based company and the job required his being in the office roughly every other week.)

FAITH AND JENNIFER BEHIND THE COUNTER
Sadly for me and especially for its employees and local customers, the first version of Crosstown will come to a close next Friday, 24 July. A dispute with the landlady who owns the building is irresolvable and the result is that the coffeehouse's lease will cease at the end of July. The last week of the month will be spent boxing up equipment and supplies for storage.

I've been in Reno many times over the past 45 years, for fun (as a child, young adult, and middle-aged adult), and for work when I was with Amtrak or AAA. Reno's downtown area has been on a largely downhill slide since the late 70s but there are signs of progress mixed with the stubborn presence of blight.

LOOKING WEST FROM THE CENTER STREET BRIDGE ON THE TRUCKEE RIVER

I'll begin with a brief childhood memory, followed by a look at the more promising parts of the present, and close out with an eulogy for a lost hotel.

Yesterday driving back from Eugene after the marathon I made a long-planned stopover in order to have lunch at the Palace Café in Ashland, Ore.

If you're a regular Planes, Trains & Automobiles reader than you may recall the post I wrote last month about Ashland's Railroad District, an area of the city close to the tourist epicenter but largely ignored by visitors.

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m watching the rain come down. And stop. And start again.

But the weather forecast for tomorrow only calls for “showers” (today it was “rain”) and I’m hoping they’re later rather than earlier. Please, Mother Nature, get (most) of it out of your system today.

I did a slow, half-hour run this morning just to stay limber and saw many other runners out and about. This is clearly a runner's town as it most certainly should be considering its storied history.

I drove the portion of the course (the first 9 miles) that is drivable. The remainder is mostly on trails and bikepaths along the Willamette River that ought to be pretty flat. What I learned is that there are a few hills along the way, including an incline right at the start along East 15th Avenue.

The race starts at Agate and East 15th on the University of Oregon campus, next to historic Hayward Field.

   RACE START - QUIET TODAY BUT NOT TOMORROW
Tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. this is where the marathon and half-marathon get underway. The finish line is in almost the same location.

I knew I was in Texas when on the drive from the Austin airport to the city I saw a car dealership named "Howdy Honda". Yee haw!

Keith and I spent 4 days in Austin visiting his childhood friend Rob and his wife Toula, and their oldest child Sarah and her family. In November 2002 Sarah married Garrett and now, 6 1/2 years and 3 sons later, they are very busy keeping after the likes of Spencer, Lucas, and baby Corbett. Yet they still played starring roles as tourguides (while still being parents and grandparents) affording us a good look at Austin and nearby environs. The city and the region definitely merit a return visit.