Hi Gram!
It’s been a few days since my last letter, and I’ve been busy having fun and living life! Last Saturday, I went to the Space Needle with Tom and the kids. It was very informative, reading about the history while we were waiting for our turn on the elevator. A lot of celebrities and politicians got their name in the press with visits when it first opened, and I was impressed with how much steel and how many workers it took to build it. They’re remodeling the lower level with glass floors, and it made the kids a little nervous. I hammed it up a little, bouncing on the glass to show that it’s strong, and saying that I wish I had my parachute so I could jump off of it.
They didn’t like the idea of me jumping, but they both got comfortable walking on the glass after a couple minutes, then went outside to see if they could find their house from there. After a while, we found our way back down to Earth and walked around the surrounding area. While the kids ran around and tired themselves out a little in the park, it gave Tom and I a chance to catch up on what’s been going on in our lives. It felt good to have some one-on-one time with my brother while we watched the kids bounce around the jungle gym until they got bored or tired. We picked up a pizza and went back to the house to play games. It was a great way to end my visit with them!
I got up Sunday morning and hit the road south. It was a three or four hour drive down to Portland, and the weather and scenery didn’t fail to impress. As I got out of town, pillows of fog nestled into the hills and valleys off in the distance and the sun shone brightly through blue skies. I listened to an audio book and some music as I tried to keep my eyes on the road instead of the splendid scenery all around me. I don’t remember what reminded me of my folks, but something triggered me and I gave my dad a call. We talked for the better part of an hour about the building their church is working on, the new pastor, how much more energy he has after getting the stents in his chest, building codes in Chicago, the mayoral race back home, and countless other things. I always enjoy our conversations, and find myself wondering “how did we get on that topic?” or getting off the phone and realizing we never got around to the reason that I’d called. It’s always great, though. I got to Portland around noon, and headed to my friends’ house to play some games. I’ve known Kim for over fifteen years, and her husband Michael for probably ten or more. They’re great people to talk to and spend time with, and they really fit into the Portland vibe. They had some other friends come over, and the five of us played board games and dice games until the early evening while their friends’ daughter chased the cats and dog around and watched videos quietly. I love playing games with friends, and wish I did it more often. I have a number of games at home, and am always looking for new games to play, but I don’t think about suggesting it to friends when I’m at home. Maybe I’ll start a game night this spring when I get home.
After the games, I went and checked into a hotel nearby, got cleaned up, then headed back to Kim and Michael’s for dinner. There are so many eclectic and fun restaurants in Portland that we only had to walk a few blocks to a neighborhood tavern to find a great selection of micro-brews and dinner options. I’ve never gotten into drinking beer, but I enjoy a good cider every now and then. They had a huckleberry cider that sounded interesting, so I ordered that and a beet burger with grilled onions and bleu cheese. If you don’t know, a beet burger is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a patty made out of beets instead of beef, and it tasted amazing! There’s a large vegetarian population in Portland, and I’m guessing it’s to satisfy their needs, but I would easily eat a beet burger over a chicken sandwich or hamburger any day of the week. It was juicy in the middle with crunchy toasted edges, stayed firm and meaty, and the flavors just exploded in my mouth. The huckleberry cider went down too easy as well. A lot of ciders have a taste that is hard for me to describe, but makes them harder to drink. It feels like a yeasty flavor, or acidic, that makes we want to sip it. Some other ciders seem like they try to mask that with syrupy sweetness, which makes them taste more like kool-aid than a hard apple cider. This one, though, navigated those waters wonderfully. It was mostly dry, with the flavor of the berries, but the tartness of the apples. It went down smoothly, and seemed to accent the flavor of the burger and fries. Michael got a different beet burger, and Kim got the mac and cheese, and the conversation lulled for a bit while we all devoured our delectable meals. We walked through the neighborhood on the way back to their house and I marveled at the unique and interesting designs and landscaping of each house. Exhausted, I headed back to the hotel and passed out for the night
I slept in a little on Monday, recovering from the driving and walking that I’d been doing for the past few days. Looking to check out the eclectic and weirdness of Portland, I headed over to Alberta St, which is lined with one-off restaurants, shops, micro hotels, and houses. I was looking to walk through the heart of the shops, and parked at one end of where the maps said they started, down by 10th, and started walking. I kept seeing fewer and fewer shops and more houses, and thought “well this isn’t all that exciting…” I pulled out my phone to look at the map and realized I’d been walking the opposite direction of where I intended. About the same time, my good friend Sarah messaged me and asked if I wanted to meet for brunch. I turned around and started walking back to the car, then found out that her favorite restaurant is a few hundred feet from where I parked. I got there and walked past to check out some more shops before turning back and meeting her at the Radio Room. It was great to hug my friend that I haven’t seen in a long time, and we sat for an hour or two, sipping our cocktails, noshing on our food, and catching up on what’s been going on in life. She moved out here a few years ago, and is really enjoying Portland. She just went through a job change and is settling into the area, and really seems to be on the upswing. I’m crossing my fingers that she gets a position that she recently applied for with better benefits and more hours. She headed off to work, and I headed over to meet Michael and Kim for some afternoon shenanigans. On my way to their house, I learned that you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon. I felt so posh, having someone else pump my gas for me!
I met up with Kim and Michael, and we headed down to the riverfront to see downtown Portland. We learned a little about the bridges, talked about the Saturday market that they do every weekend, learned about how the city is trying to cope with the homeless problem, and saw a few boats. We headed inland from the water front to see a street musician and sample the world famous Voodoo Doughnuts. They make doughnuts that are unusual to say the least:
- Mango jelly stuffed with Tang dusted on top
- Chocolate cake with fudge icing and cocoa puff cereal on top
- Raised doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreos, and peanut butter
- Raised doughnut with chocolate frosting dipped in mocha powder and topped with peanuts and caramel and chocolate drizzle.
They probably have twenty more options, equally bizarre and delicious. We got a sampling of a few kinds, then sat out at a picnic table and watched some street musicians play with tourists and locals. I noticed that the tourists were excited to talk and dance and interact, but the locals didn’t seem to want any part of it. I noticed a strong body odor as we walked by, and we were probably five feet away, so I definitely didn’t want them hugging me or dancing with me like they did with the other tourists. We put the leftover doughnuts in the car, then headed to Powell’s City of Books. They’re a used and new bookstore that has grown to cover an entire city block! We spent probably two hours in there, wandering around looking at books, and I don’t think I covered half of the store. Since they’ve grown by expanding into adjacent buildings, it’s a maze going up and down stairs, crossing from room to room, following signs like maps to move from topic to topic. We had a great time, and I picked up a few books for my travels. I don’t know if you remember from when we were kids, but Tom and I used to just devour the books. I’ve slowed down a bit since childhood, but I always have a pile or list of books waiting for my current interest to be done. I probably could have bought a dozen more but I refrained, knowing that I had to carry anything I bought for many weeks and across many states. Eventually, we headed back to Michael and Kim’s place to play some more games. We thought about dinner, but we were still full from the doughnuts and delights along our adventures that day, so we just had a little snack while we played. Exhausted, I headed back to the hotel to rest my bones. On my way home, I thought of my friend Marietta, who I visited in Washington D.C. a number of years ago, and how I thought she’d fit right into the Portland scene. I sent her a message wishing her well, and told her I was in Portland on my road trip only to find out she moved there a few years ago! She was busy with family and work, but we agreed to meet for an early breakfast the next morning.
Tuesday, I woke up with my alarm and quickly packed my car then headed to Beaverton to see Marietta and catch up from our college days. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you how much I love driving through tunnels, but it’s probably my favorite thing to do in a car. It beats out winding roads, vistas in the distance, side of a mountain, tall bridges, and everything else I can think of. Well, I knew it was going to be an amazing day when I was halfway to Beaverton and came across a fun little tunnel! I was smiling ear to ear as I passed through, and was so happy when I got to the restaurant to meet Marietta.
She’s led such an interesting life, living in Germany, moving all over the country, traveling to Asia, working in theatre and costume design. We got a chance to catch up on the past few years, laugh a lot, and learn about each others lives. She headed off to work, and I started south on I-5 to meet up with my friend Orion, who lives about 3o minutes west of Eugene, up in the mountains away from civilization. I’ll tell you all about THAT adventure next time…