Multnomah Falls

Chess, downtown Portland

Classic Mercedes

Christine, Portland Streetcar

What a fantastic day. The first indicator that yesterday was great is that I am blogging today instead of last night. Anything that I would have written, like just about everything I said after midnight would have been jibberish. Alcohol played a big part in this and I love it for the effort.

We started the day yesterday by hitting some non-starbucks coffee shop that was great. It was a converted mechanic’s garage that had a good atmosphere and great java. It was a doubly good idea considering the chilly climate in Portland at this time of year. I wanted to go back out to the scenery along highway thirty just outside of portland and Christine was game. We went to Multnomah falls and it was fantastic. The scale was immense. There were two waterfalls, the biggest drops 620 feet from Larch mountain to a collecting pond before going under a scenic bridge and over a second falls. The bridge and second falls is pictured.

Next was downtown Portland. P-town has the largest number of microbreweries per capita in the nation. The huge selection of beers was well showcased in the Winter Ale Fest that was going on in the heart of downtown. For twenty dollars I sampled ten different beers along with some specialty cheeses. My favorite beer was Stone Brewing company’s Arrogant Bastard Ale. It was a rich dark beer with complex flavors. We hit Powell’s bookstore downtown as well. It is three huge stories of books books books. Every weird person in Portland was there!

Christine just moved into her new place and she had no groceries. I brought the pans and recipe to make stuffed pizza with me on this trip so we collected the ingredients and made stuffed pie. After a great meal of spinach ‘za we hit some bars here in Lake Oswego. There is quite a collection of eclectic watering holes here and they were all serving up the Jameson. Irish whiskey was calling my name (chanting it really) all night and I rose to the occasion. I slept well and now find myself here….

The pictures are Multnomah falls, two kids playing one side of a chess game in downtown P-town, a classic mercedes, and Christine chilling on the streetcar.