Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 156

Architecturally, this is the oldest and most intereresting part of Portland. Too many of the old buildings were pulled down in the 1940s and 50s to make way for such things as parking lots and overpasses, but a lot of the old cast-iron and brick buildings remain. This area used to be sketchy, especially at night, but most of the drug dealers and other ne'er do wells have moved to other parts of town. Now there are some nice little bars and art galleries. The Ash Street Saloon and Berbati's Pan are two of the better venues for live music. The Portland Saturday Market is held here on weekends. It's a little touristy but worth at least one visit if you're in town. Check out www.saturdaymarket.org for more info.... read more

This afternoon I ate a hamburger and some fries at McDonald's. I hadn't eaten there in months and it tasted really good. Then I rode to northwest Portland, first going through the Pearl District before heading to 23rd avenue. ... read more

This is my first of what I hope will be many posts. I live in Portland and I see the city from a pedestrian and cyclist's eye view. There aren't many photos of Portland on this site so I thought I'd create a weblog to show some of the photos I take when I wander around the city. I'd like to focus on out of the way places, the sites the guidebooks and tourist maps overlook. Check out the gallery section to see a series of pictures I took on a recent bike ride to Sellwood. ... read more

Greetings from Florence! I certainly can't complain about some of the perks of my job. I'm spending four days this week on the central Oregon Coast in the small town of Florence. When I'm not conducting training, I get to explore. So this morning, I drove south to the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area and spent some time walking the dunes and gazing at the ocean. I brought my recently acquired digital camera with me to test it out before the trip to Italy. I can't believe the unusally mild weather we've enjoyed all winter here in Oregon. I stopped for brunch on my way back into town, but alas, no green eggs for me today! From my motel room, I have a terrific view of the Siuslaw River Bridge designed by Conde McCullough. It was constructed ... read more

During August we enjoyed another month of living on the coast and giving tours at Heceta Head lighthouse. However, we discovered the summer months on the Oregon coast consist mostly of black kelp flies (millions of them) and frequent fog. At times we were so covered in flies it seemed we were in a dirty stable with low visibility. So, if you plan on going, stick to the spring and fall. On 1 September we hitched up the beast once again and headed toward our next volunteer assignment. The coast was a great place to live for 2 months but we started craving some warmth and sunshine. The campground we stayed at was beautiful but the trees were so thick we started feeling like a mushroom and our trailer never really warmed up. Our new location ... read more