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My idea was to leave tomorrow and spend 3 or so days being a tourist on the way to Yakima. But it looks like rain for the next few days, so I'll sit here and wait it out. It's no fun moving in the rain.

California started the legal marijuana thing in 1996 with the first medical marijuana law in the land. Unfortunately the state did not define the regulations for the industry. Yesterday the legislature did, 19 years later. If signed by the governor, the new laws take effect in 2018. The leaders of CA know that an initiative to completely legalize cannabis in 2016 will pass, so they thought they should have some basic stuff in place beforehand....

Usually I'm not here for this event, I'm in Nevada, so I was looking forward to sticking around to see the Wooden Boat Festival. I was impressed. It is far bigger than what you'd expect in Port Townsend (a small place), and of very high quality. Admission fee is $15 a day, but consider it's the only revenue source for the organization. The food carts were excellent and varied, but pricey. Parking, as you can imagine if you know the town, was...

When I came to in the hospital I reached for the TV remote to find some news. CNN was reporting on the first of the theatrics from Donald Trump this election season. Hence, I have a permanent association with my heart surgery and Trump. So I am enjoying his show, one of the best ideas for a reality show I've seen: "Twist Your Politician's Balls". Now, who doesn't like that idea? So I'm watching him carefully. And I'm also watching the 15 other...

My friends Dave and Kathy will be on the road this weekend, and I have to mention what they've done for me this summer. We spent a week at Point Hudson, which is always nice except smoke kept the visibility low. And, we hung out for a while at the SKP park. I had a rather large number of dinners with them, Kathy being an excellent cook and Dave good on the grill. So thanks for the dinners, guys. Then there were the rides I needed to get my heart...

In Oregon, marijuana is perfectly legal to have, consume, store, give away, and grow. It is not legal to buy or sell cannabis in Oregon. Therefore a Burning Man economy has erupted for pot: give everything away for free, it will all work out in the end. So right now, all pot in Oregon is free. But on October 1 existing medical shops can sell pot at retail to anyone. But there are no taxes of any kind on pot until January 1, which is quite...

The hospital wanted to bill me retail for my triple bypass, $110,000. The insurance company negotiated a wholesale rate, $26,000. Just to keep me in the loop, I need to put up $1600. Why this makes sense is beyond me.....

$66 million in retail sales were reported in August, up from $59 million in July. This increase is likely due to more retail stores, more medical patients switching over to retail as medical phases out, and increased summer tourism. Some of the busiest places are Clark and Spokane counties, serving Portland in the case of Clark, and Idaho from Spokane. In about a month Oregon begins retail sales, tax-free, so there should be a noticeable drop in...

I've gotten most of my strength back, and all obligations to doctors satisfied so I'm planning on getting moving again. If I stick around for the Wooden Boat Show, I can pull out on the 15th or 16th. Then I'll go to Yakima for a few days, then through Oregon to Winnemucca. I am very happy to be bypassing Reno for a change. Long-term, I'm aiming for the Gulf Coast somewhere, maybe Galveston. A lot of routes and places will depend on the fire...

Last year the licenses for retail stores were issued before there was any product available from the licensed growers. This led to the situation of a supply deficit, which ran up the prices. The Liquor Board responded by issuing grower licenses twice as fast, which wouldn't do a thing for that year. Of course adding retail stores would be nonsense with no supply. Soon, though, the growers had product ready and ever since December the supply had...

It would be most silly for those in Washington to complain about the rain on the way; heck, anywhere in the west any moisture is welcome. Even if we on the west side of the Cascades get some rain, there's a chance the storm will be just wind in Eastern Washington. That would not be good at all. So things will be wet here for a while, maybe a week. I'll stick with my current game plan, sitting on the couch reading while I recover.

I'm officially sprung from any follow-ups or check-ups, at least until Spring. Everything is healing up well, and I get my strength back everyday. The doctor removed a few drugs from my regimen, leaving just three essentials. That's a lot of side effects I don't have to put with. While I'm approved to hit the road now, I'm waiting for another three weeks, at least. Getting my chest muscles back in shape will be necessary for general chores...