Looking west from the Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
I should have finished this damn story by now, but here goes anyway (Parts 1, 2 & 3 of this Epic Tale can be found here and here and also here).
Did I mention we went to Oregon?
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Chauncy & Rudy outside the greatest bookstore I have ever seen! Powell's, baby. Powell's.
After three days of adventure, terror and spectacular scenery my wife and I (and our plucky canines C & R) finally got down to the business of scouting Portland (which we loved) and Eugene (which we liked). We are thinking of moving to the north for a variety of reasons, one of which is we wish to open a business that is more suited to Oregon than to our beloved Los Angeles. Also, the years are tick-tick-ticking by and a sort of "why-not-try-something-different" feeling has begun to creep into our bones. We wanted an environment that was progressive, had plenty of fresh water and sustainable farming practices, with a little edge to it--and also was beautiful to look at and sloppy to kiss. Portland is all those things.
Probably the favorite sign of our entire trip
There is way too much to see in Portland for us to do it justice in the few days we had. But we scoped out potential neighborhoods...
This building in Multnomah Village appeared to be some sort of shrine to the White & Friendly Gas Station Attendant, spoken of in myth and legend...
A variety of organizations visit Portland--this signage appears to be welcoming an unfortunate group
After hooking up with friends (who are also contemplating a move to Oregon) we watched the final game of the College World Series at Henry's 12th Street Tavern--we got to yell and root and generally whoop it up like lunatics for the Oregon State Beavers, who won the NCAA event for the second year in a row! Woo-woo!
Portland is most definitely a Dog Friendly City, and this water bowl in the Pearl is always full of water!
I have this thing for old statues--this sculpture overlooking the Willamette River in Oregon City was missing its plaque so I made up a story about this man who grew stone flowers for Pygmalion...eh, nevermind.
We have a friend in our 'hood in L.A. named Sandy...snicker-snicker...hee-hee...
We also drove around Beaverton, Tualatin, Damascus, Boring, Lake Oswego (upscale with lots of tucked in shirts...yuk)--towns outside of Portland proper, green and clean and all suffering just a bit from growing pains. Though overall much of Oregon has taken measures to avoid the negative fallout of massive developments that have gridlocked much of Southern California, there are economic pressures that produce new housing at a fairly rapid clip there. A saving grace perhaps is the shorter season for outdoor work in general--if one can call Seasonal Affective Disorer (SAD) a grace of some kind.
I am trying to finish the series, but will have to do it in Part 5--we'll take a look at Eugene & Grant's Pass before heading down to the San Joaquin Valley and an attempted doggie rescue on the 99 as trucks and whatnot raced by in the summer heat...
Y'all come back, 'ya hear!
Window cleaning in Ashland, Oregon...Out, out, damn spot!
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I had that feeling once
that the years are tick-tick-ticking by and a sort of “why-not-try-something-different” feeling has begun to creep into our bones.
It landed me in Tennessee. Such feelings are not to be trusted and must always be looked at with deep, very deep suspicion.
Although Oregon sounds quite fabulous, and Cali is a good place to be getting out of. There should never have been so many people there anyway...didn't I read that the first three expeditions to try to settle the area died of starvation?
Your statue, btw, is of John McLoughlin, who must have been an Important Dude. Very nice site devoted to his house which is preserved as a historic thingy. I am betting the plaque was made of bronze; the rate of theft on those things is getting horrendous everywhere:
On Tuesday, the governor of Guam ordered the cessation of shipment of outgoing scrap-metal containers from the island until the 27 remaining brass panels that were stolen from the park last week are accounted for. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Customs have also joined the Guam Police Department in their ongoing investigation. "What these people have done is an insult to the people of Guam and to the memories of those who suffered and died during the war," said Governor Felix Camacho. "The incident is even more difficult considering that our island is preparing for our Liberation Day ceremonies." A total of 34 brass panels containing the names of thousands of Chamorros and U.S. servicemen who were tortured or killed during the Japanese occupation of Guam and its liberation were stolen last week from the park’s Asan Bay Overlook.
(from the NPS Morning Report; hit the upper right corner date box for July 11).
Xan: thanks for the link
The view of the Willamette River, looking from the pov of John McLoughlin's bust, was strange to me. That part of the river has locks, as well as having been the site of lumber mills and other industry, so it has what looks like a sunken city in the middle of it.
Some more shots of The Carver of Stone Roses (okay, I made that part up...) can be seen here and here. A couple more looks at the river can be found here and here.
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p.s. Donna and I have insisted upon including a limited application clause to the "tick-tick-ticking" feeling, wherein any action taken by us, in response to said ticking, will not be construed as sufficient cause to relocate anywhere but our intended destination, which is the Greater Metropolitan Portland area. If we should land in Tennessee you have my permission to point at us and laugh.
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This is a wonderful series, MJS
Happy Bastille Day!
No authoritarians were tortured in the writing of this post.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Thank You
for liking Powell's, and for disliking Lake Oswego. You guys will pass. . . I won't tell anyone that you're from California.
Hey mjs...5 days ago I had never heard of this McLoughlin guy
and damn if his name doesn't pop up doing this week's review of Civil War blogs.
Strange vibes in the air. GMTA. Maybe it's Mercury coming out of retrograde, all the pent up failures of communication are being overcome at once. :)