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August 7, 2004
Riding Around America: Wandering Around Portland
My one day in Portland is nearly over and here's a brief recap. Brief because I still need to get something to eat before everything closes around here.
After writing this afternoon I went across the street to go to the bathroom at Nordstrom's. Too much detail? Sorry. No need to mention that I suppose. Anyway, I walked over to Powell's Books and sold some of the books that I had finished. They gave me a grand total of $5.00, but that's better than nothing I suppose. So I bought a couple of new books and a magazine which ought to keep me occupied for the rest of my trip. Powell's deserves the reputation it has because it really is huge. It literally takes up an entire city block and they provide free maps of the store for a reason. After I had wandered around and gotten lost a few times I went across the street and had a slice of deep dish pizza at a place called Rocco's.
Too walk off the massive amount of cheese and dough in my stomach I went to the Saturday Market, which was jam packed with stalls selling everything from magnets to artwork. I bought two small pieces of the latter from an artist who's last name is Work. This makes him very hard to find on the internet especially because I can't remember his first name, and that's why I haven't provided a link to his website. I think the two pieces are the first artwork I've ever purchased.
I walked across the Burnside Bridge next and walked the esplanade along the Willamette River. It provided a great view of the city and I could also see at least half a dozen bridges from that vantage point.
It was actually getting relatively late by this point and I had wandered around quite a bit so I went back to the hotel to rest up for an hour or so, dropped off the paintings, and then headed back out. I went to the same spot across the river and got what I hope are some good photos of the sun setting behind the bridges and the buildings.
I'm not putting up any photos yet because I still have to sort through and resize a lot of them. I'll probably do that on the train tomorrow and then post them tomorrow night if all goes well. I'll also try and write in more detail about my impressions of Portland. I'm writing this in a bit of a rush right now because I want to get to bed at a decent time. My train to Seattle leaves tomorrow morning at 8:45 so I'm going to have to get up a bit early. Apologies for the lackluster post tonight. I'll make it up with the next entry.
Posted on August 7, 2004 at 10:20 PM