The plan was to spend the entire day exploring the city. We thought it best to wait until after rush hour before heading downtown, anyway.
We made it into the city and found parking without a hitch, thanks to Annelies and her guidebooks. Then we went for a stroll.
I did enjoy the sites in the city. That bookworm shot, seen in the window of a bookstore, is one of my favorite captures from that day. It makes me smile.
One of the first oddities we encountered was a parking lot rimmed with food trucks aka food carts. I guess if I’d read-up on Portland before venturing into the city I would have known these were one of Portland’s calling cards, so to speak. According to a web site focused on the food carts, there are “500 food carts available at any given time.”
None of us were feeling particularly adventurous. When I think of food trucks/carts, I think of Baltimore hot dog vendors serving what Shannon always referred to as “dirty water dogs.”
Mobile trailers in a city can’t be very clean, can they? I have to say, there was an astonishing variety of foods available.
The second oddity we noticed was the sheer number of homeless folks. Wow. From young to old, sane to insane, dirty to clean. It was amazing. And depressing.
Since none of us really enjoyed the city, rather than give you a step-by-step description of what we did/saw, I figured I’d just share images of stuff that caught my eye. Some of it is a bit odd, I know, but that’s the stuff that catches my eye.
My favorite building in Portland was this nine-story structure at or near the Oregon Historical Society. The western face featured a trompe l’oeil mural depicting the Lewis and Clark expedition. To learn more about the mural, and see before and after images of the building, CLICK HERE.
I’m embarrassed to admit that we missed an entire mural on another side of the building!
While at the Oregon Historical Society, Yves, Mike, and I were sitting on a bench, resting. I noticed our reflection in a window. Behind the window was what appeared to be the museum’s gift shop.
Y’all know how much reflections intrigue me, right? Since I had nothing better to do, I started taking pictures. Just about the time Annelies sat down with us, I noticed an elderly woman inside the gift shop. She was looking at me, probably wondering why on Earth I was taking pictures of her shopping!
Of all the images I captured, that one is my favorite. I know it’s weird and maybe even creepy-looking, but I think it’s cool.
This next picture shows me in front of the Great Harvest Bread Co. store in Portland. Y’all also know I LOVE the Great Harvest Bread Co. store in Old Town Warrenton (my hometown), right? I distinctly remember walking down the street and SMELLING home. For real. When I looked up and saw the store window, I had to laugh. How weird to recognize a place by its smell. It wasn’t the first bakery we’d passed either. Apparently, Great Harvest has a distinct smell. Who knew?
After a truly delectable lunch at Mother’s Bistro & Bar (thank you, Yelp!), we decided to exit the city in favor of some more-natural sort of stuff.
I’ll save that for the next trip installment. For now, here’s a sunset shot captured from the back deck of that Portland Victorian.
Maybe once Shannon moves to Portland, we will re-visit the city…
TRIP Re-cap
Installment 1: In the Beginning (Friday, August 30 – Monday, Sept 2)
Installment 2: Portland Morning (Tuesday, Sept 3)