On the Oregon Trail
Amtrak
O Amtrak, how comically inefficient and outmoded art thou? Let me count the ways....
This train is for lovers?
When your tray table makes pronouncements that unfortunately don't seem to reflect reality. Guess you should never trust someone who dots their Is with Xs…
Autumn in the Pacific Northwest VIII
If anyone else was curious: "The colour of a fire hydrant indicates its water-flow capacity, helping firefighters quickly assess a situation and decide which hydrants to use. Orange indicates a water-flow capacity of 500 to 999 GPM."
Beaverspotting
Beavers with bling. When you're the state animal in Oregon, every day is Mardi Gras. Apparently....
Saturday morning stroll along the Willamette River
These shots were all taken on a leisurely Saturday morning stroll along the Willamette River, from Oregon Public Broadcasting to the newly built district for the top-ranked Oregon Health & Science University campus in South Portland. The foggy weather perfectly fit the main topics of discussion, ie the recent elections, US imperialism and what the future holds.
The most surprising sight along the way was an old paint can and picnic bench doubling as a receptacle for neatly tied bags of dog feces, along what was an otherwise very well-kept riverside pathway.
Teriyaki Nostalgia
What more apropos lunch could one have when catching up with an old friend from middle school days than a giant portion of overly sweet Pacific Northwest style teriyaki?
Follow the White Rabbit: Oregon City, Oregon Edition
This is along Main Street in Oregon City, the core of which takes approximately 10 minutes to cover from end to end and back, which was coincidentally exactly the amount of time needed to be killed while waiting for a to go order from a newly opened Indian restaurant.
Some bonus white rabbits from travels past:
Reflections of nature
Whoever decided to place this bench in this particular spot along the Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park trail in Oregon City clearly has a sense of humour and/or an artistic eye.
There was some discussion about effort it would take to clamber up to the high rise seating for a photo op, but in the end it seemed a bit too tall of a task....
Corner 14
This open air food court (or 'food cart pod' in the local vernacular) in Oregon City has some great dining options and looks incredibly atmospheric, but Americans could still learn a thing or two from Europeans when it comes to heat lamps that actually keep you warm....
Autumn in the Pacific Northwest IX
Free
When you've got an overactive imagination, the possibilities are truly limitless for what could have been given away on this random street corner in a residential neighbourhood of Oregon City.
Of course, the most literal possibility is just these dead leaves that are still there - perhaps it's another avant-garde art installation or a sociology experiment into the power of the word 'free'. Or maybe even something super cool but just invisible.
Limitless possibilities indeed....
Mossy Roads
Lots of moss and some unexpected discoveries on a Sunday morning (sub)urban walkabout in Oregon City - which ended with an unplanned 10am burger, fries and milkshake at a local burger joint (not pictured)....
Lucky Numbers
When the complimentary dessert at a Chinese dive restaurant induces you to donate $1 to the Oregon state general fund....
For what it's worth the lunch special at the Chinese dive restaurant was everything you'd expect from a lunch special at a Chinese dive restaurant (and then some). And the fortune was as accurate as the numbers on the back of it. At least as far as I know….
