It was a good day

This past Saturday was the annual Adult Soap Box Derby on Mt. Tabor. Mt. Tabor is a 630 ft. extinct volcano in our neighborhood. It is the only volcano, extinct or not, in a major metropolitan city. A paved road winds its way up to the top. And once a year a few brave souls build boxes and cruise down the winding road at blistering speeds. To be honest, they might actually be more drunk than brave. But we will get there in just a moment.

The event was held from 10am - 4pm. We had heard tell of this when we first moved out here. A few of our neighbors even had cars. We checked them out at various points. The idea is that a group or 'team' of adults combine their efforts to make a car to get them down the mountain in one of two categories. There is the 'speed' competition and the 'show' competition. Teams are not supposed to spend more than $300 on their respective vehicles. This is all run on the honor system. Of course.

The point of the speed competition is to get down that mountain quick as you can. The show competitions is for... well show.

We got there at about 1230. We had slept in. We had a long week. We had a big breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, deep fried corn tortillas with a side of salsa and sour cream and Morningstar breakfast sausages (one of the few remnants of processed food I do no care to drop). We headed up decided to bring no more than a water bottle. We were full, tired and relaxed. Note my last 'blog' on the temperature. It hit 103 that day. We had read that the city designated within 10 feet of the race track an official 'beer garden'. But, to be honest, we did not think much about it. We thought about it plenty when we got up there. It was a party. Everyone had some beers. And we were jealous.

It was decided that I would run (literally) back to the house and fill up my nice new bicycling bag with some beers. I got back to the house in about 7 minutes. But I was not real happy with the beer selection. We had only a few heavy beers. So I hopped in the truck and headed to the nearby gas station. I picked up a 6 pack of the 16 ounce PBR cans and headed back to the house. I parked the truck and headed back up the mountain. I was back with Lauren by 1:00.

Now, it deserves noting here that we were not in the minority in our drinking of Pabst Blue Ribbon. I remember while Leo was living in San Francisco that he had told me that PBR is the most popular beer on the west coast. I thought that he was just being Leo. But it is actually true. People go nuts for the stuff out here. There are huge and hip billboards, the beer is the 'hit' of happy hour, everyone drinks it. But that is for another posting. Suffice it to say the Pabst Blue Ribbon was the most popular beer at the Mt. Tabor Adult Soap Box Derby.

I got back to Lauren and we post up on a bend of the race track. We were surrounded by hundreds of others in our area. At the top of the Mountain hundreds of others congregated to pass through and observe the various vehicles and teams. There were more people down at the bottom. In all, there were several thousand people. People would walk, dance, ride their bikes, frolic, walk their dogs or do what ever else their hearts desired on the track until the strategically placed volunteers informed them that the next race would be starting in under a minute. Everyone quickly scattered to the side to watch. There was what I have now come to understand as a very typical Portland crowd. There were couples young and old. Plenty of small children inhabited the place. You could not look 5 feet in any direction without seeing both a dog and a small child. There were the strange hippie/hipster hybrids that seem to infest the city. Those without tattoos may very well have been in the minority. People had their tall and flashy show bikes. People dressed up. People drank beer, and wine. The overall vibe was very positive. Lauren and I sat in the same spot for over 3 hours just people and car watching. Plenty of interesting characters stopped by our corner when the megaphones announced that a race would be starting soon and people had better clear the roads.

The cars were really out of this world. The cars that were built for speed definitely accomplished their goal. It is amazing that no innocent bystanders were injured by an out of control car considering the speeds at which they were traveling. Several times cars passed by my feet far too close for comfort. But the real treat, at least for me, was the cars built for show. Some of these soap box cars were real productions. One care was in the shape of a woman bending over. The rear was a big old ass. It was not lude or offensive. It was done in good fun. Several cars were built like different military vehicles. The passengers had super soakers and would 'shoot' the crowd as they passed by. With the temperatures as they were people were practically begging to get 'shot'. Another car featured a woman dressed up as a polar bear eating a seal. Perhaps my favorite Soap Box Car was a replica of an 80's rock band stage. Erect on top of the car was scaffolding and 4 'band members' complete with real instruments, 80's rock band hair and clothes. As they cruised down the mountain pumped Guns n' Roses out of their sound system. I have absolutely no idea who was steering this monstrosity around the dangerous corners. But they did not seem to care so I decided not to either.

To top things off somewhere in the middle of all this a marching band stampeded through the race track. It was the loudest marching band I had ever heard. Given the surroundings, it was also the most I had ever enjoyed a marching band.

Shorty after 4PM the heat and the beers started getting to us and we decided to head back to the house for some food. I had made a really delicious rice and bean dish in the slow cooker the previous day. Christians and Moors it is called. I fried up a plantain and we had the leftovers.

Both the Bears and Red Sox game were on and I passed out on the couch flipping between channels. Lauren took a nap in our bedroom. But we did not sleep for too long. It was hot and only getting hotter. We got up and did some packing. I will blog all about moving on another day. Do not fear trusted reader.

About 7pm we decided to head out to our neighborhood Wine Bar. I had received a gift certificate for my birthday and it seemed like the perfect timing. It was only a 5 minute walk. It was our first time in a wine bar. I think we were both impressed. We got a delicious cheese and cracker plate and shared several glasses of delicious wine. I finished the night off with a port. I have always wanted to try a port. I finally got my chance.

On the way home we passed the movie theater. Gonzo, the Hunter S. Thompson documentary, was starting in 5 minutes (930pm). We seriously considered it. I really want to see the movie. And we knew the theater would be air conditioned. Not to mention the fact that movies are only $3.00 a piece. But we are lazy folk. We had more than our fair share of excitement for the day.

We headed home to call it a night.

It was a good day.