Portland Vacation May 2022
Friday night we flew into Portland. Layover in SLC. Long one due to delays. SLC looked lovely flying in. I need to spend some time there. Watched Cagney’s Public Enemy on the plane. Landed to a big rain. Not Portland sprinkles. Exhausted paid for a Lyft from the airport. The driver hated Portland. All his friends want to do is cocaine. He's against the decriminalization of drugs. He got busted with weed in Montreal once and paid a $50 fine to get a pardon. Stayed at the Residence Inn in Pearl again. I like that place. That night we walked to Tanner Springs Park. Still raining though. But Portland rain. Then back to the hotel. Suzanne decided she needed food even though it was 11pm CDT. Ordered from MOD. Food arrived but she was too tired to eat it. Put it in the fridge.
Saturday was downtown day. Breakfast in the hotel. Didn’t have the tofu scramble they did last time I was here. Walked through Chinatown and Old Town where the city is still largely boarded up. Still homeless camps on every street. Stop one was Voodoo Donuts. Just one for me. Suzanne got an apple fritter than she decided not to eat (yet) and so into my bag it went. Then along the esplanade where there was some Humane Society event going on. So many dogs. A stop at the dispensary (one every few blocks all over the city). Then down to Powell when it opened. An hour later I left with only one book - "Baby, you're Gonna Be Mind" by Kevin Wilson. Suzanne picked up a couple of Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books. Vintage printings. Peered at cute Mary Jane Docs at the Doc Marten store. Suz liked the sandals. I puked in my mouth. After some R&R at the hotel we walked to the SKC match down 21st. Stopped at Lightning Will for a lemonade on a shaded bump-out. Unplanned but so delicious stop at Vtopia for a mushroom mac & cheese. Then to Kell’s where we met the travelling SKC folks to walk to the match. Not many folks. Horrible showing by SKC. 7-2. Picked up onion rings, a shake, and some fries from Next Level for the walk home. Eat your feelings. Much better than I remember them being.
Sunday. Walked over the Broadway bridge but then caught the bus to meet up with Kat and Holly for an early brunch at Victoria. I had a silly ginger beer-based mocktail that cost too much. Regret. And chicken and waffles that were too good. Suzanne got a breakfast burrito (of course) and took half of it home in her purse (of course). Walked Mississippi and there were a few cute shops. A lot of brunch places. And I might have gotten another doughnut at Blue Star. Still a pretty solid rain so we took the bus and train back home. After regrouping we went to every damn Goodwill in the city including the odd Goodwill Boutique downtown. Public transit is awfully good in Portland. Stopped at Veggie Grill for wings. I always do. No outdoor dining though. Luckily place was empty. Maybe a stop at Spartacus for a toy. But then it was back to Tanner Springs where we read until it was dark. Benches were wet.
Monday. Hotel breakfast. Took a bus to lunch with Andrea at Harlow. Gluten-free mushroom stroganoff. Was surprisingly good. Tables out front. Hit 1000 vintage shops. I didn’t find my jacket. Suz found a thing or two. Bought a couple of cheap rando 7”s from Jackpot and Exile (Grayson Lane and The Devil is Electric). Suz bought pins and patches of Bela Lugosi and The Cramps from Another State of Mind. Fishnets and more from Metro Boutique. Stopped for a lemonade and an apple cider at Baghdad Theater. Possibly to use their bathroom. Then it was a bus back to the hotel. Boxcar pizza delivered. I remembered that Bianca as the best pizza I ever had. After a second sampling my opinion stands.
Tuesday. Hotel breakfast. Wanted to go to the Japanese Garden. Walked all the way there down 23rd street. Rose Garden nice but, you know, flowerless. Japanese Garden closed on Tuesdays. Made the ill-advised call to walk to the Pittock Mansion. That is a hell of an uphill hike. Mansion was nice and mostly accessible. Grounds nice and free if you find your way there. Took a walk through the woods to get back down to Burnside, then the bus back for a big lunch at Los Gorditos. Did Suz get a burrito? Duh. Cooled my feet in Jamison Square. Then a quick nap back at the hotel. But it wasn’t quick and we woke in a panic getting dressed and out to the show. Missed some of opener Soriah. Throat singer. Good. Crazy. Bauhaus was good. Not crazy. Only played an hour. Good people watching but we were ready for sleep at the hotel.
Wednesday. Nabbed some breakfast from the hotel and brought it up to the room. Lazy morning. Lunch at vegan Jewish deli Ben & Esters. Egg salad was great. Tuna salad good. Donuts at Angels Donuts very good. Alberta is a little quiet now-a-days. Walked down 33rd to visit Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden in Grant Park. Then decided to bus down to Sellwood and Moreland areas for antique shopping. Walked Milwaukee and 13th hitting a ton of shops but found no bargains. A stop at the Hurry Back Ice Cream truck on the way to Sellwood Riverfront Park. Nice river views. Through the Oak Amusement Park which was closed. Then walked the lonely (in a good way) Springwater trail for umm miles until we escaped back to civilization hungry for Thai. Decided to uber to Sweet Basil Thai. Dinner indoors. With a water and real napkins. So good. Uber home too because we walked so damn much. Then a dip in the indoor hotel pool.
Thursday. Fly home. Train out to the airport. PDX Burgerville had a delightful breakfast sammich. Suz ate candy. Long layover in Seattle because our flight was cancelled (a month ago or more but still). Great lunch at veggie airport place Floret. Watched Last Night in Soho on the plane. Not so good. Landed late and got an Uber home. Back in KC.