Although I’m now home, here are my experiences and thoughts from visiting Portland, Oregon:
I started the trip by flying from Washington Dulles to Dallas to Portland where after leaving the airport, I saw signs for The Dalles.
Unless someone was having a joke at the expense of some tourists, people in Portland pronounce Couch Street, Cooch Street.
People in the Pacific Northwest love their bookstores. I really enjoyed The Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle last year, but Powell’s Books laughs at EBBC. Powell’s may be the greatest bookstore ever as it is also the largest bookstore in the world. I made two separate trips there and could easily have gone back a few more times. I restrained myself by only buying two books, and I plan on visiting the Fairfax County Public Library soon to check out at least six more. 
We decided not to eat at restaurant that had Chicken Butt Kabob on the menu.
Did you know that Portland is Soccer City USA? I heard it on a commercial, so it must be true!
This could be something for TMI Thursday, but I feel like it is part of my Portland experience. I stayed at a fancy hotel with turn-down service and a personal wake-up call where they would ask if I wanted room service and/or a weather report. Very classy. So what do I do? Clog the toilet. Not so classy.
We stumbled into some type of bike race through the streets of Portland on Friday evening. While talking among ourselves about what we were witnessing, a guy replied that it was a bike race. Really, Lance Armstrong?
Portland seemed to have a lot of homeless people who look like they are in their 20s and appear to be waiting for a Nirvana concert. It seemed to be a lifestyle for many of them. I’ve never seen this in any other city.
The big story when I first arrived in Portland was that a star was in town. Who knew that I was so big in Oregon? Oh, someone named Eva Longoria-Parker was also there. 
If you’ve visited or lived in Portland, was there anything that I missed? Is the street name reference above really called Cooch?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Notes From Portland
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3 comments:
The things I remember best about Portland are no sales tax and light-rail cars hitting people.
Mmmm, chicken butt.
P.S. AGAIN? You clogged another one? Awkward.
Messiah - The no sales tax was nice. The light-rail cars hitting people; not so nice.
Lacochran - The hotel had some "green" toilets which means that they don't flush as well as needed. After I "used" the toilet, the flush wasn't 100% for the next day. Finally, I asked for a plunger, and the problem was solved.
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