All good things, have endings ...

That was a line from a song by The Get Up Kids, if I remember correctly. I use it to reflect on the past fortnight I've spent in Portland. A picturesque city full of good people. So what have I been doing in P-Town since getting here? Well, I've been catching up with some of those good people I was talking about and I've also enjoyed following the Baby Blazers. I even saw them beat Atlanta from the comfort of a corporate suite with Rivjuando and several local and imported beers earlier this month. I would like to show you the photos, but Rivjuando has them on his computer, which decided to self-destruct over the weekend.

Anyway, thanks for the continued support from the Blog Army, both here and abroad, in recent days. Steel from back in G-Town (code for Geelong) wrote: "I checked your website other day, looks like some serious fun you been havin' ... all's well in Geelong, not much changed anyway."

Big time basketball and blog fan, The Real K-Lenko - who also hails from Sleepy Hollow - lamented the lack of "personal contact". Don't worry, this likeable lad is straighter than a cricket bat and has the ladies on a stick with his charm and good looks. To paraphrase the legendary ESPN icon Dan Patrick, the ladies can't stop him, they can only hope to contain him.

He (not Dan Patrick, but KL) said: "I've been checking the blog religiously ... After reading your Contiki tour highlights it felt like I was there again mate. Everything that you noted is exactly what I did!! But it sounds as though you had a great trip and I think it's a pretty good way of seeing the main sights in Europe easily and relatively cheaply." Another ambassador for Contiki, although I stress the blog is not a promotional vehicle (Captain Morgan Spiced Rum excluded).

Geezer, he with the swizzy coat last seen in London, wanted to check out JB HQ but needed assistance. "Squire! What's your blog address again? I've mislaid the address and wanted to look up the latest adventures of JB." Needless to say, I pointed him in the right direction.

I told The Real K-Lenko that I've been kicking it here in P-Town, but alas, it's time to go soon and on Saturday I'll be catching up with Cousin Slugg in San Francisco for a little over a week before jetting home and calling an end to this crazy excursion that's been going on (and on) for five months.

I touch down at Tulla on November 30 - I pushed the date out by around a week - but catching up with the self-proclaimed Slugger in San Fran will be the perfect conclusion. He was meant to travel around parts of Europe with me, but I found the Contiki tour and he was swamped with work. Like most good ideas, the thought of literally chillin' in Killer Cali was conceived at the local. As Slugg said today in an e-mail: "Honestly mate, (I'm) pretty relaxed about it all, just want to get out of London!" Who wouldn't at this time of year?

Last Friday, I caught up with Single Forever, who unfortunately gentlemen, is not single anymore. She's hooked up with a lovely bloke by the name of JT (although his initials are actually JS) and he went to the University of North Carolina so we talked a lot about college basketball on Friday as we watched the Blazer game at the pub before going back to Scooter's to catch up with some more old friends. Here's me with Brian from Alaska from last Friday night. You may remember him and Scooter's from an earlier post.

After a relaxing Saturday, Rivjuando took me to Multnomah Falls. It was good to see them during the day this time, even though the weather wasn't as good as it was in the summer. The photos are on Rivjuando's camera and, come to think of it, so are the ones from the Blazer game, so everything is A-OK.

Tomorrow, Rivjuando and Soule Sista, will be joining (Not So) Single Forever and yours truly for the Death Cab For Cutie concert at the Crystal Ballroom. It should be a blast, if their new and past work is anything to go by. It was a good idea by JB to purchase tickets on my first trip as the band has since sold-out not one, but two, shows. Scalpers are commanding $US50 - more than two times their value - for a spot to see and hear the finest sounds the Pacific Northwest has to offer.