Ride report: Museums & Collections Tour I

Museums & Collections Tour I

10 enthusastic people for a mid-day Friday bike tour that came after Breakfast on the Bridges and Before the Bike Kiss-In.

Highlight: Running into Elvis

Details:
We met at Old Town Pizza, a few came early to eat lunch. Everyone was made to wear a sticker saying “I collect _____”. One person collected Ugly Sweaters, another PeeWee Herman, and another antidotes, and we even had another local online museum director who collects BMX Bikes (200 or so) and has created an online BMX Bike Museum.

From there we walked to our first three locations: Oregon Jewish Museum, Nikkei (Japanese-American) Center, and Hobo’s where tours for the Shangai Tunnels start on weeken eves. Then we biked to the Jeff Morris Fire Museum & Oregon Maritime Museum near the waterfront.

We continued the tour to SW Oak & 9th to visit the studio of my Bathtub Art Museum. Our 10 people +1 other guy squeezed into the elevator up to the fourth floor. In studio 405 I gushed enthusastically about my collection and museum surrounded by bathtub artifacts.

Then we stopped by Powell’s Books to admire a collection of WEIRD BOOKS – “Baby Bear Squish You Flat: is still my favorite.

We continued the tour by stopping at the location of the first of the ONCE WERE museums: 24 Hour Church of Elvis. And here an amazing thing happened. Who happens to be walking past the former museum spot but ELVIS himself! Elvis the Saturday Market Impersonator that is, who also used to work at the museum!!! Half the group knew him so we asked him questions and learned about his current wrestling nights.

Then we checked out Powells Tech Book Computer Museum before stopping by the once was Old Town History Project (perhaps it just moved??) and once was American Adverstising Museum and learned the lesson that Small museums can come and go – so don’t delay in visiting one.

The tour ended at Ground Kontrol, which I consider a “working museum” of wonderful 80s arcade games, Q-Bert being my favorite. Sadly I was late to get ready for the next event, so I left my tour there, but luckily later that night, Pez’s Pub crawl went to Ground Kontrol too, so I got my Q-Bert fix after all (Supreme Noser of course).

• Thanks to Jonathan for taking pics
• Thanks to Timo & Santa Cruz Jeff for doing some last minute pre-checking for me and bringing their Church of Elvis souvenirs
• Thanks to Jeff for talking about his experiences at two once were museums
• Thanks to Elvis for happening to walk by exactly when we needed him.
• And thanks to a great group. Your enthusiasm and interest made the tour a success. The weather was nice too.