Deflated Pumpkins

  

This has been an interesting journey that is almost complete.  I have had the opportunity to meet some great prospective students, talk with faculty from several community colleges and meet other recruiters from other colleges and universities.  Best of all I have had the opportunity to reconnect with friends.  Last week at the Student Success and Retention Conference I reconnected with one of my first mentors from Western Oregon State College.

I also stopped to visit a good friend from Lewis & Clark and Portland State.  If was fun to see Gary and Merci and to meet their kids.  When I came out of their house I noticed pumpkins sitting outside their door.  Most times pumpkins are rotted when left out but these were deflated.

I guess this is what happens when pumpkins freeze for weeks and don't have an opportunity rot.  Here are a few other pics from the trip.

The Columbia -- smooth as glass

I - 84

Just a little snow on the Blue Mt. Pass

It's Thursday, I must be in Portland

Sunset Beach

Well I'm more than half way through the winter tour and so far so good.  I have stayed in 5 hotels in the last three weeks between hotels and friends houses I will be staying in 6 more places before I see my home again.  I have been to Bend and Prineville, prior post.  Last week I was in Roseburg, Eugene, Albany, and Salem.  This week I have visited Coos Bay, Newport, Tillamook and now I'm in Portland.  Next week I'm headed to the east with stops in Baker City, Ontario, back to Pendleton, The Dalles and Gresham before returning home.
I have met some great people along the way and had some fun adventures.  Last week I rode Johnny 5 (my Kawasaki Concours that is in the process of becoming a naked street fighter bike) to Lane Community College. I strapped my catalog travel case to the back and down the road I went. This week I rode again to Coos Bay via the Smith River Road.  I then returned home, spent the night and packed up Tedward the Trooper for the trip.

My Escorts to Coos Bay

Taking a break at Smith River Falls

Smith River Falls

Smith River Falls

Room View at The Mill Casino Lodge

 On Tuesday morning, I headed out for the trip to Newport.  First stop was to take a picture of the light house at Yaquina Head.  An perfect winter day at the coast.  Made for a great stop and recruiting at Oregon Coast Community College and a leisurely drive up the coast to Tillamook.

Newport 

 Not much to look at in Tillamook... except the Cheese Factory of course.  Several representatives from other university and I decided to start with appetisers and dessert at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Anyone up for Sqeeky Cheese?

Black Cherry Tillamook Ice Cream

 It is said that there are more cows than people in Tillamook County.  From the smell,  I would have to agree!

Room View from the Ashley Inn in Tillamook

 I spent Wednesday at Tillamook Bay Community College and then drove into Portland.

Aloft Hotel at Cascade Station PDX

 On the way into Portland, I heard the news that St. John's Honda was going out of business.  I made a stop to see if I could assist.  I left a little bit poorer but with some new gear for winter riding!

Can you see me now???

Gone Around the Bend

Weather, road closures and detours were the norm for the first trip of the year for Rick the Recruiter.  Thanks to a Facebook message from Trobairitz letting me know that Hwy 20 was closed at Cascadia due to a land slide I ventured south to Eugene and up Hwy 126.  I was amazed at the level of the river on the way over the Cascades.  Many of the boat landings and rest areas were either under water or close to being under water.  The trip over the mountains were uneventful and I made relatively good time.  It's always nice to escape to the east side of the Cascades where the sun shines 300 days out of the year.

Tedward the Trooper taking a break outside of Sisters

I met up for dinner with friends at the Deschutes Brewery.  Had a very good Ruben Sandwich and tasty half pint of Oregonian Beer.  10.5% alcohol and fruity (hint of Strawberry and 10 different Oregon Hops).

Monday was spent recruiting at Central Oregon Community College, a trip to Prineville to talk high school administrators and community members about Ecampus opportunities and requirements of being an online learner.   The weather started turning bad so I headed out.  The webcams looked really bad on the Santiam Pass so I headed south to Willamette Pass where the roads were clear.  I left Prineville at 6pm and arrived home at 11pm.  A long drive around.

Butterbeer in Hogsmead and a Ride on an ST1300 in Florida

Discovered a lost Blog Post from back in November.

So my final trip of the fall for conferences was to Orlando Florida for the SLOAN - C Annual conference and to Tampa for a workshop on appreciative advising.  Both conferences were great and I came back with several new ideas for work.  While in Florida I took a few opportunities to explore. This year I opted not to visit Disney World.  Last year, I went scuba diving at Epcot's Dive Quest.  This is a great experience where you get to go behind the scenes at EPCOT and scuba dive in the aquarium.

This year a couple colleagues and I went to Universal Orlando to experience the world of Harry Potter, Hogsmead and Hogwarts.

While in Hogsmeade we tried Butterbeer.  If you have not read the books this is a drink that many in the wizarding world drink.  This concoction tastes like butterscotch cream soda with a light marshmellow cream head.

We also went on the three rides in Hogwartz.  The Dragons Challenge is a very fast feet dangling roller coaster race.  The Flight of the Hippogriff is a kids roller coster.  The big ride is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey  provides a tour of Hogwarts Castle and a ride on a combo motion simulator movie with live action plots mixed in between.  The ride was well worth the trip.  Also included in Hogsmeade is the Three Broomsticks, Zonko's Joke Shop, Honneydukes Candy Shop, as well as both Dervish and Banges clothing store and Olivanders Wand shop.


In between conferences in Florida I rented an ST1300 for a day and went for a ride.  Not planning too far in advance I rented from Eagle Rider and was fortunate to not rent a Harley.  I had 26 hours on a 24 hour contract. (The advantage of renting on the weekend changing from day light savings time to standard time)  I got an extra hour which of course I used.  My first plan was to ride to both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts but didn't quite make it.  I did however make it out to the Kennedy Space Center.

I made it to the Atlantic Ocean and rode up the coast to Daytona Beach.  Of course being from Oregon and it being November, I thought for sure it would be warm.  Temps were in the upper 60's when I left but by the time I got to Daytona Beach the temps dropped down into the 40's.  My jeans, polar fleece vest and leather jacket were no match for the cold.  I stopped in a tee shirt shop, picked up a hoody and two more tee shirts and with several layers rode back to Orlando.  I also stopped at a mega store for hand warmers for my pockets.  Of course, it's Florida, they don't need any stinking hand warmers.  But since the Florida population is made up of senior citizens, they had plenty of Thermacare Heat Wraps.  Oh, the wonders of the heat wrap. If you have not used one while riding.  I highly recommend it. The last 8 hours of riding the temps started out in the upper 30's and warmed up into the 60's by the time I turned in the motorcycle.  26 hours... 650 miles.  Not too bad!

Gearing Up for Travel Season (The Winter Edition)

Every year my job takes me on a tour of the states community colleges to encourage students to consider going to Oregon's Land Grant institution.  Now I could sit here and tell you about the wonders of the Morrill Act and how this guy named John Morrill came up with this idea about giving each state land to create universities for the people.  But you knew that, right.  One of the goals of a land grant institutions is to serve the people of the state. So in that light, I take to the road every winter to "serve the people of the state".  This year I will visit twelve community colleges in four weeks.  From Bend to Roseburg, Coos Bay to Ontario, I will put about 2000 miles on Tedward the Trooper this year.  Along the way I will get to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.  I will be exploring the finer hotels of the state and indulging in the adventures the state has to offer.

Week 1 will be to Bend and Central Oregon Community College, OSU's Cascade Campus and to Prineville and OSU's new Open Campus.


Week one planned route

Traveling Fool

I cannot believe how quickly this fall has gone.  I have been on the travel circuit since September.  I been to Atlanta twice, Portland, Seattle, Portland again, Coos Bay and now I'm off to Orlando and Tampa Florida.  Some flying, some driving a couple train rides and  motorcycle riding.  It's been a whirlwind trip. Here are a few shots from Seattle

Puget Sound-- Ferry to Bainbridge Island

 Safeco Field-- Mariners Baseball Game

 The other side of Pike Street Market

My room with a view! 

 The small red sign at the bottom is Pike Street Market

This will be my third trip in three years to Orlando and my first trip to Tampa.  Fortunately, I will have a weekend in between two conferences that will afford me the opportunity to explore Florida.  Do I go back to Disney World, go to Universal, rent a motorcycle or go scuba diving???

I'm hoping for some weather delays for the Space Shuttle launch.  It is scheduled to be launched Monday afternoon but a should they have a delay there is a good chance we will be able to see it from our hotel in Orlando.

If you have any thought of adventures in Florida... please let me know.

On the Road again

This year seems to be the year to travel for work.  Some years I'm lucky if I get out of the office but this year I will be lucky to see my desk.  I usually do a trip to several community colleges around the state to recruit students for OSU Extended Campus and OSU degree partnership programs.  These trips occur in January and February.  This year over the course of 5 weeks I visited 13 CC's.  This fall seems to be the time to get out of state.  So far this fall I have been to Atlanta twice during the month of September.

The first trip was for the National College Testing Association annual conference.  You might be thinking "Wow... people actually get together to talk about testing?" YUP... that is right.  It was a great conference where I had the opportunity to learn more about how to run a testing center.  I am in the process of setting up one for OSU.  The second trip was an opportunity to attend a workshop on Retaining Online Students.  Three days of intensive learning with colleagues from OSU.  During both trips I had some opportunities to explore downtown Atlanta.

Centennial Olympic Park

Back in about 1995, I received a certificate saying that I had a brick with my name on it placed at Centennial Olympic Park.  A couple of years ago a friend went looking for it but could not see it because a stage was on that section.  I had the opportunity to find it on the first trip to Atlanta 

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Atlanta has a number of great sights around the downtown area including the World of Coca Cola (where you  can sample coke products from around the world) as well as see how it is made and bottled.  Of course like any other great amusement park it would not be complete without dumping you into the Coca Cola gift store!  

The Georga Aquarium and CNN Global headquarters are all located around Centennial Olympic Park.  The Georga Aquarium is the worlds largest and including several types of sharks.  

Also found a restaurant that we went back to several times during both visits to Atlanta.  If you make to the south, this place should be on your list of spots to hit.  Max Lager's Brewery and Pub is fantastic.  http://maxlagers.com/  Be sure to try at least one of the beers and the Cheesy Grits!!! 

Atlanta is a great place to visit... I highly recommend later fall.  Much cooler and very fun.