A lot of rollin, and some rockin.

I've been out adventuring. It's a nice way to take advantage of some extra free time. Heading to Washington for a bike ride with Niles on a route we've never done. Going to the burbs to skate some new spots. A coastal day trip to skate a nearly perfect DIY spot that was destroyed only several days later. A bike ride across town dodging thunderstorms for a backyard show that luckily only saw a sprinkle of rain. Plus a lot of yard work. I didn't photograph that even though 2 trash cans full of Douglas Fir cones is impressive. Plus the weeds are relentless right now. Here are some photos from doing those other things.

This ride was super fun. Almost the entire route was along water. From this great little river, all the way down to the Columbia River. It took us through several great bird watching areas that will probably be worth a revisit on foot.

A bunch of grown dudes in a parking lot looking for spots. An older lady stopped to chat with us. She was surprised we weren't kids. Then she told us her son, who is around my age, skates too. Skate moms know what's up.

I think we were all hungry by this point.

There is a term I like to use. A measure of distance called "Portland Far". I'm guilty of it like so many other people here. Things, like skate spots, that are actually pretty close start to feel far away because of proximity bias. There's a curb that's closer, a restaurant or bar that's closer, a skatepark that's closer. Ugh, it's 20 minutes away! There will be traffic! Boo hoo. Andrew and I drove less than 20 minutes from my house to meet up with Templeton in the suburbs. I've been to his zone before for some skating and had a blast. This was the same. So much interesting terrain that is closer to me than most of Portland proper. Andrew was very hyped on the photo Templeton shared of this rock wedge. And when we got there he did about 20 of these melon grabs so I could dial in my photo and Templeton could film. It looked very fun and satisfying. I keep saying I need to make more skate photos and Andrew's trick with Templeton's spot was just the spark I needed.

Nice evening light on a perfectly warm spring evening had me poking around the yard with my camera. The fisheye lens was already on there, and I wanted to see what that would do for some nice floral blooms. Those results were OK. But the chance for more photographs of the dogs quickly pulled my attention to them. Shnoot boops all around.

A recent weekend led us westward to the coast for the anniversary of Preston's birth. How could I say no to a sweet day trip like this? Especially with the infectious positivity and skate stoke that Preston puts out. The destination was the DIY park in Astoria that I had been wanting to visit for months. The covered park in Clatskanie is a perfectly timed pit stop for stretching legs and some basic, fun skatepark obstacles.

Kevin back lips from the flat and took it into the transition to fakie.

Preston slid these looooong frontside bluntslides.

After more driving and picking up some snacks, we made it to the DIY in Astoria. It did not disappoint. There's a nice quarterpipe with pool coping; a fat, square flat bar with an end that angles to the ground: a lovely ledge: a tall double sided curb; and this very awesome transitioned ledge thing butted up to a manny pad. We skated all around and tried our tricks. I put down my board for a few so I could snap these photos and then got back to enjoying skating in the sun with friends. After a bit, a few us headed back to Portland in my truck, and some of the crew accompanied Preston for coastal camping and surfing the next morning. Definitely fun all around. Then, just a few days after our skate session, Cypress Skate Shop posted photos of all these fun obstacles smashed to bits. That's the sad reality of most DIY spots- being at the mercy of someone with a sledge hammer. I'm sure the crew in Astoria will cook up some more well built obstacles for skaters to enjoy.

I hadn't been to a house show in a long time. A backyard show on an 80 degree spring day sounded perfect. Especially when it's Dorian and the Nug guys playing and friends from South Carolina rounding out the line up. The SC crew had to play under a secret name so not to disturb their show at a real venue the following night. I rode my bike across town while thunder rumbled as I neared the house, and I was pelted with giant rain drops just as I locked my bike. A tarp was quickly placed over the outdoor stage. Then it promptly stopped raining for the rest of the night in that part of town. One of the opening bands included Jordan who lives at the house. Then the cheerleading losers aka coma cinema played some songs. This includes Dorian's old friends Chris Cryer and Chris Gardner who have been to Portland on several different skate trips. And Nug finished out the night. It was a fun night enjoying some music with friends. As I rode my bike home I watched lightning illuminate the whole sky in the direction I was going. And the rain held off, so I arrived home nice and dry.