CSI Champion

Last night Alyce picked us up from the airport. We are positive that she will be happy for us to finally take all of our crap and go. We have come and gone from her home 3 times and really, really appreciate her hospitality and patience.


Today we slept in and repacked the bags and the car. Our attire was changing from cruise clothes to warmer weather, casual clothes. We left Alyce's around 11:00 am and headed to The Dalles, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. I believe we mentioned before that we were Couchsurfing on this trip. Carole & Brud on Shaw Island in the San Juan Islands, were our first couchsurfing experience and we were quite taken by the whole adventure.

On our way through Oregon, we attempted to Couchsurf in the Columbia River Gorge area, but could not make a good connection. We found, and began to email with, Larry and we really wanted to stay with him because he sounded like fun. Larry was unavailable on our trip north, so we arranged to stay with him as we headed south on our trek back to San Francisco.

P- Larry sounds like a hoot!

G- Yes, I'm looking forward to meeting him. He's a retired Post Master.

P- Do we have to worry about him going postal on us?

G- I doubt it. He shouldn't be pissed off anymore. He's retired.

We drove into the western and more lush side of the Gorge, on the Oregon side (it runs along the border of Oregon & Washington). We stopped at Wahkeena Falls and took a short hike. Then we went to Multnomah Falls and stopped at several vista points along the way. The area is beautiful and lush, as we had expected.

Larry would not be home until 8:30 pm, so we had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant.

P- What do really know about Larry? He could be some crazy ax murderer.

G- Well, his bio sounded good; of course, it could all be horse shit, but he did have several references from people who had previously stayed with him. They all had nothing but good things to say.

P- Well I feel pretty comfortable doing this with you, but I doubt I'd couchsurf if I were traveling alone.

G- I'm sure he's not going to chop us up and eat us or anything. If he did that, he wouldn't have anyone to write good reviews about him and someone would have found out by now. But he could be some freaky old pervert who has cameras set up in the bedroom and films you for his later, perverse enjoyment.

P- You are a sick bitch! How do you think of this shit?

G- I read to many things and watch too much TV. Remember that attorney in New Orleans who was filming women and when the police caught him he had hundreds of tapes?

P- No, I don't remember that. Who the hell was that?

G- Don't remember his name but I knew of him. Never would have suspected him. Can't be too careful. I'll check the room when we get there.

P- Ok CSI Champion. You make sure the place is secure.

G- Go ahead, make fun. I'm just keeping us off of YouTube. Naked or something.

After dinner we drove to Larry's house and found a note instructing us to wait for him on his back patio.

G- What a beautifully manicured yard. And the patio is precious too.

P- Are those flamingos? Is that a disco ball?

G- Yes, I believe that they are. Ok, any worries I had about Larry just sashayed out the door.

Just then Larry arrived. He was a big teddy bear and we loved him immediately.