This morning’s ride started out cloudy, cool, crisp, and invigorating, but the return trip was disappointing in that the rain-soaking moisture started an hour earlier than advertised, making us hunker down and less talkative on the ride back.

JoLa’s is a good destination for us, it’s in SW where we visit least – of the 140+ shops we’ve visited so far, only 10 have been in SW – and the 7 mile bikeride is lovely.   And JoLa’s contains  most of the amenities we’ve found helpful for being an inviting place in which to hang out: interesting art on the walls, great lighting, and various seating/table options, among others.  The shop this morning seemed a little drowsy till 9:30, when it turned into a bustling magnet for the local community.

Two of the three of us are recently back from vacations to Hawaii and Ecuador, so there was lots of good sharing.  M reported that he and Judy actually met members of the family that befriended him 40 years ago on the Galapagos Islands, commented on the pros/cons of the islands’ changes that he noticed, and was very pleased to have made connections elsewhere in the country with a couple of different representatives from rural mainland tribes.

Besides snorkeling outside of Kona, D raved about the numerous food forests that have developed south of Hilo using permaculture practices.

In other news we talked energetically about what is shaping up as a Hilary vs. Trump presidential race, and Portland’s ugly housing history when Lincoln Loan sold substandard houses to unsuspecting residents.  This shameful practice seems to be taking place in large swaths of the country back east.