Tour de Portland

Many friends have told me of the majestic wonders of Portland. So I decide to stop there on my way to grad school and one of my schoolmate's was generous enough to let me sojourn with her. It's been an interesting trip. Every area reminds of some other city whether it's Downtown Montreal, The Annex in Toronto, some streets in San Jose, or buildings in Chicago. It's certainly not lacking in art or friendliness. Get this, people actually slow down for pedestrians crossing the street. Crazy, huh?
I thought I'd share a bit of what I've seen. The first treat I encountered were the signs on the bus asking me to "Respect the Ride." We made up stories to follow the cartoon scenarios. Next was Powell's Bookstore. The place is huge, an entire building huge. While walking around I window shopped for more than just books. Not bad. They do have selection. I set about picking my favorite book titles. It was a tie between Gay Wicca and God's Middle Finger. I have GOT to film something here.
From there we wandered to different neighborhoods like NW 21st and 23rd Street. We stopped at a trendy thrift store where I had my first encounter with a purse that had a wedgy. From there we walked around and ate at Muu Muu's which was cool but had a strange semi-nautical-eclectic-but not over done theme to it. We also passed a person in what I'll assume was a cartoon like bear outfit, playing the guitar. Ahhhh, I love this town. FYI - they're now screening The Room (look it up).
On the way back we dropped into one of my favorite stores, Trader Joe's. I mention this because a friend of mine makes fun of me for how often I go there. While inside I notice a guy working the tasty samples booth. Man did he look familiar, like I've seen him at one of the stores back home. I'm too embarrassed to ask so we continue shopping. We come back to the booth as he's closing and I finally ask. Turns out he worked not at the store in Hillcrest like I thought but at the one in Escondido that I went to while he worked there. Hmm, maybe I do go to Trader Joe's too much.
Today was dedicated to getting with old friends. I had breakfast with a buddy from high school at Bertie Lou's Cafe which served the 'best mediocre breakfast' in Portland. It was nice to catch up and hearing of her adventures. Later I was back in downtown with my schoolmate picking up a journal at the art store. We ran into another person from school in pleasant wonderment. Later I met with friends from undergrad. We realized how old we're getting as we reminisced about the fun days. Sigh.
Though a short trip, it's been charming and full of delightful surprises. I will be back Portland.