Wednesday Travels

I continue to rise late and after 8. My weight fell to 232, surprising as I had some beers and snacks. I am keeping active and walking. I also broke through the 5,000-step limit on Wednesday and two days before. I am keeping away from restaurants because I think the portion size and salt are not working.

My plans went a bit sideways on Wednesday morning. I wrote the blog while enjoying a scone from the bakery in Hillsboro, a banana, and locally ground and roasted coffee also from Hillsboro. I had trouble remembering everything the day before and found I had finished the blog before 10:30.

(these are all the trees in front of the Volvo Cave)

I then tried on my XL swim trunks, but they would not stay on, so my plan to try out the Aloha Aquatic Center faltered. There are so many jokes about exposure available. Yesterday (I forgot to put this in yesterday’s blog), I stopped by the center and talked to one of the staff. He explained that I lived outside of their supported area and would have to pay extra. They do have monthly passes and annual passes. I have a schedule for activities and was trying to make an open swim session to see how it all works. They don’t have towels or lockers in the changing rooms. Bring a gym bag and a towel.

I headed to Forest Grove again. I was hoping that the construction and delays would be minimal. Nope. I spent thirty minutes in a mess, and there was some impressively aggressive driving as folks would not queue up in the one lane. I got a dose of road rage when a muscle car dangerously slipped between construction barrels and cut me off; the Charger made all sorts of engine noise and made me brake. I was sure I was better insured and thought I might prove it, but I calmed down.

I reached Forest Grove without any more incidents or chances to prove my insurance quality. I parked beyond the usual parking as there were signs about no parking in the late afternoon. Like Hillsboro yesterday, Forest Grove had a street party in the late afternoon. I walked to Pacific University and walked around its lovely campus. The trees are huge and block the hot sun. There are plenty of well-maintained paths and some folks around (the regular sessions start in a few weeks). The bookstore is tiny, and there were only a few items I was interested in (mostly higher math) last time, so I skipped it this time.

I did a large loop and then walked back into Forest Grove Old Town. I visited the antique stores I missed last time and a locally-owned sports goods store. I found a pair of large swim trunks there. I stopped by the local gaming store, Gongaii, and the manager, Ray, chatted with me for quite some time. I will try to stop by on Thursday afternoon with Bloodrage and Scythe, and we will see if we can teach and play. I will be delayed a bit as I have lunch with Scott on Thursday, but I am sure that will be OK.

I headed back to the house in Air Volvo with no traffic snarls, but I witnessed more aggressive driving west of Beaverton. Safe, I opened the frig and got out the pre-cooked chicken from Safeway, and stripped the meat from the bone. I then took about 1/3 of that and added chopped onion and celery. Next, I mixed in some spices and mayo to make chicken salad. I put that between two pieces of bread and had that as an early light lunch.

It is Wednesday, which means Praise Band practice and gaming. Andrew was coming to add to Z and me. Z and I set up the older board game Istanbul, and soon Andrew appeared. I did a short teach of the game for Andrew; Istanbul turns are easy to understand and the game has a logical order. Z was distracted and soon was visibly upset; something about a friend and was texting. Z played the game anyway; a trooper.

The game is a race, and every turn is important. You collect plastic rubies and put them on your cart. Your cart is your own playing board and records goods you collect and then sell or trade for money, special powers, and rubies. You have a criminal uncle that can do a shady deal for you, but then is loose until another player arrests him. We played the Coffee add-on, giving players multiple ways to be efficient in the race. Z was using the Guild and the Coffee House (all additions in the Coffee version) to get many powers and gems. Andrew and I used the mosque-like locations to gain powers and gems and the wainwright and other base games options. It was a close game at the end. I held last place for the first 1/3 of the play!

The practice ended before the game, so we agreed to finish with just two more gems. It was a rushed game, and three turns each before I shocked Andrew and Z by jumping ahead and grabbing two more gems and winning. Andrew managed to match me and tie. Z was one coffee from matching us at the Coffee House.

Istanbul is an older game originally published on cheaper card stock. One side was in German (the other in English), and the cards used only iconography to avoid publishing an all-English version. Only the rule book was in both languages. Now, it is published in separate languages. The Big Box version is recommended as it includes Coffee, my favorite add-on. While recommended, it is a unique game and takes a while to get used to. It is also a bit aggressive.

We said good night, and soon, Air Volvo had me home before sunset. Even with the smoke, I walked to the bench and back to get over 5,000 steps for the day. Next, I returned to folding and gluing little bits of brass for SMS Derfflinger 1916. I managed to spend an hour doing two pieces. The gluing and folding were tough, as these are railings on curved surfaces. I also managed to fold and attack two wheels no more than three millimeters in size. This is a no sneeze, no drop, and no bump process. At 10, I was relieved to have finished two. I was disheartened when I saw that some of the next parts have brass extensions that are as thin as a hair! Not sure how to even store that!

I took a shower, dressed for bed, and read more brain cookies: Star Trek. I soon nodded off. As I said, I woke multiple times and had to use some anti-itch stuff on my legs. Ugh. Sleep was hard to reach Wednesday through Thursday night.

Thanks for reading.