"Portland, Oregon and a sloe gin fizz, if that ain't love than tell me what is.." -Loretta Lynn and Jack White on "Portland, Oregon" from Van Lear Rose
Just returned from a library conference at Reed College in beautiful Portland. What a fabulous town! Not only does Reed have a gorgeous campus, every bit as nice at its sister school, Sarah Lawrence -but the campus is in a real city (well, at least what I consider a real city!).
Portland has the most spectacular gardens, and the hydrangea were all in glorious bloom in the city yards. The Bluebird Guest House where I stayed was a restored Arts and Crafts-style home with a hostel feel (and prices). It is located in the SE where I got to explore the Belmont District and walk along Division Street. I bought a pound of coffee at Stumptown Coffee and had a lovely spontaneous meal at Pok Pok located just down the street.
What I loved about Portland was the mixture of classy , smart (Powell's independent bookstore), and stylish culture (papaya salad discovered randomly on a walk) mixed with down to earth, laid back, outdoors-y people (they have a Nau location). Just enough hipster ingredients to balance the hippie elements.
Somehow, I think that the gods may want me to end up in the Northwest. I feel it would be some kind of crazy irony to move from the desert to the rainiest place in the U.S. From what I've seen, maybe this is where I was always meant to be. Good things about the Pacific NW: good food, beer, and coffee; bookstores, the Cascades, good people, digital library programs, dog-friendly and progressive. Bad things: expensive, weather, might be too late to buy a house. But I am seriously starting to develop the theory that living in places with bad weather keeps the bad people out. Snowbirds you can have the sun belt!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
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2 comments:
I went to Reed for a couple years, then dropped out. I don't miss it, but I do miss the town!
One thing I loved about the Reed campus was the dog program. Back in the early eighties anyway, you could register your dog by having its snapshot taken, get a tag, and then your dog could play freely with its canine friends on campus. I lived a few blocks away from the back of the campus, and our two dogs would head down to campus on their own every morning and come back in the evening. No leashes, just freedom. Doggie heaven!
I've never been to Oregon but I have been to Sarah Lawrence to speak at an antiwar panel. The campus looked like a wooded upscale suburban development. Anyway, that's me not you. Your travel writing is top notch!
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