Portland, OR

Recently, I attended a work conference in Portland, OR. Having seen the show Portlandia, I was fairly excited to see how reality stacked up against the TV version. It was actually surprisingly similar. Portlandia is a caricature of Portland. There were indeed many tattoos, midriff tops, druggies, hipsters, homeless, craft breweries, specialty chocolate shops, farmers' markets and quirky restaurants, bars, and cafes. It was in Portland I finally found a coffee place that comes close to Yellow Bernard Quality. It was called Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and it was almost too portland for Portland.

 I ordered a latte. It passed the test, so I ordered their cold brew. It was also excellent. My only complaint was the vinyl records were playing too loud. The soap in the bathrooms was in a sauce bottle. The hot water cylinder was covered in 'art'.

I also sampled Voodoo Donuts, which was way over-hyped. They were donuts. Good donuts. But not worth lining up outside to get them!

I decided to spend some time in Washington Park. In the Forestry Center, they were having an exhibit of the art of Dr Seuss. It was really interesting to see how his career progressed and learn of his involvement in projects other than children's books.

From Washington Park I followed the 4T trail back to the city and catch the aerial tram down the hillside. It was beautiful, but really poorly signed. It was meant to be four miles. But I think I walked about 10.
I still rode the aerial tram though.

I really like Portland. I could live there.