THIS, THAT, AND THE… PORTLAND
THIS, THAT, AND THE… PORTLAND
By The Fillerbuster
Greetings and salutations, people. Thanks for coming aboard (the boat).
SIDE NOTE: If you still like my one liners on every subject in sports news, it still exists. Just go on the site and click on the This And That dropdown. One sentence, numbered, old school style with comments on just about everything in sports and not in sports…still in play.
What I am doing in 2018 is more focused blogs. But, when in between a Portland combo work-PTO trip and a Cabo San Lucas trip with only three days in between, I need to maximize my time. I had a planned airplane cast but then the exit rows were taken, so no flight write (hey, that is catchy) and what you get is a little of the new school, some of the old school, and just basically a general update before I head to Cabo on Thursday.
TRIGGER 1: Went to Portland for two days of work, and tacked on 4 days of PTO in PORTLAND. My thoughts on the city as I experienced it.
TRIGGER 2: Semi-organized laundry list of sports items that crossed my desk. I separated the ones that are repeatable (more long term) reading and ones that are just enjoyable until a new update comes along.
TRIGGER 3: Combo style, as I mentioned I didn’t have any room on the plane. And not one focused theme, as it has been a short week for me with lots of work.
LONGER (in time and length of appreciation):
- CAVS: The Cavs traded Wade, Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, Rose, and Channing Frye. All of them. They got younger. They got athletes. They got PG help. AND they kept their prize draft pick spot. They did what I will say in sports is almost impossible. They might have gotten BETTER. They are in the lesser conference. They need less. They need athletes to even have a chance at competing with the Warriors. And what the heck? Why not have younger athletes who are too young and BOLD to be frightful of the Warriors?
- Sure, we are during their honeymoon phase, but going to Boston and WHIPPING the Celtics was a heck of a start.
- Is there a new Batman movie coming out soon, because George Hill sure as heck set up the ads already with his Batman and Robins talk.
- LeBron is too smart to take these trades and just deciding he needs to score 50 a game, even though he COULD.
- Unbelievable that they are still in the mix after totally blowing up their team.
- Hood has a ceiling we are still waiting to see, Jordan Clarkson shows signs from time to time he wishes to be a star, Larry Nance is just fun and fearless, and George Hill can sort of put them all together.
- Then, they go TO OKC and win???
- #1 COLLEGE HOOPS: I am not being a UVA homer. It is what it is. They are now #1 and just won at Miami. The #1 slot is SO full of uncertainty. Some random thoughts that crossed my desk:
- Lots of contenders: there are literally about 20 teams that could make a serious run
- There are NO teams out there that someone couldn’t make a LEGITIMATE argument of about 5 reason why that team will NOT win it
- Xavier has quietly gotten back to what they were PRESEASON ranked
- WVU and OU falling totally off the radar suddenly
- KU quietly STILL in hunt of Big 12 even after all the flack we gave them early in conference play
- MSU showing signs of deserving to win it all
- Michael Porter might return-Jimmy Chitwood-esque? I know the NBA scouts want to see him ball. I know Gene Hackman is somewhere wanting to see him ball. It is really a shame that outside of the basketball Hunger Games dome, he is unknown. He got hurt minutes into the season a la Gordon Heyward. But, know this. He is LEGIT. And with Missouri a respectable 18-8 (and they just beat A&M), who knows? Make a mental note for your bracket if they make it in.
- THINK ABOUT THIS. SOME PERENNIAL BIG NAME TEAMS TO WATCH THAT WILL BE LOWER SEED COME TOURNEY TIME THAT PERHAPS YOU SHOULD STILL PICK TO GO FAR:
- Gonzaga
- Florida
- Notre Dame
- Arizona
- Miami
- Kentucky
- Syracuse
- North Carolina
- (that was off the top of my head-I might be missing someone-this is a NON-research involved, off the top of my head blog)
- (I basically just mention this list because it is AMAZING this year who is slumping and who is good, and these are some BIG names above that will be 3-12 seeds in their bracket)
- MICHIGAN STATE: I don’t really CARE HOW this went down. I just can’t believe a school could even let this get CLOSE to this level after the whole Penn State thing. If the stories are true AND if you are involved, why not get ahead of it? Why not have everyone and their mother talking to the media transparently? How do you not know that the penalties will even be WORSE and the magnifying lens will be more after the whole Penn State thing? I am bothered enough to think Izzo knew anything, but get ahead of this, MSU. If you weren’t involved, then the truth will prove it that way. But, you are looking a little guilty right now. Just saying.
- COLIN KAEPERNICK: I am mad at this every day. Every single team with a QB situation or problem or issue or lack of depth or whatever. HIRE this guy. I don’t want to hear about your problems and you are NOT getting to the bottom of the barrel. He threw the ball fastest ever when he went through the combine. He is well rested. He started a movement. He is using money NOT in any salary to donate a mil to his cause. He is not full of it. Sure, RPO has gone out of style in the NFL, but the guy has an arm, and his gun of an arm overcomes any political issues he might have raised. Celebrate him. And hire him.
- NBA MIDSEASON REPORT:
- East:
- The Raptors are kind of for real, people. I think that Kyrie gets the Celts a playoff round, but I think them relying on his for offense will be a problem in a long series. The Cavs are back and younger and fearless, and also have the best player in the land. The Bucks are my sleeper. Should the Freak be healthy, they are my sleeper. If seeds hold, I see that they could take out the Raptors and meet the Cavs in the East Finals. The Sixers and Wizards are dangerous without a doubt and I wouldn’t want to see them in a long series. I see no one outside of the top 8 that is scary.
- West:
- The West is a mess. After the Rockets and Warriors at 13 losses, you have chaos. Jeff Goldblum would be proud. Utah is in the tenth spot only at 28 losses. Most of these teams all wish they were in the East right now, but to be honest, if you look at seeds 3-8, there are no overwhelming teams. How can you NOT pick the Rockets or the Warriors coming out of this side? I like the Nuggets to mess up things slightly, or at least scare the crap out of one of the big teams. That being said, I think the Nuggets need to get into that 6 spot to do that. They don’t need the Warriors or Rockets in the first round. The Thunder? Too much talent although no bench, but I am not giving up on them. I like the Warriors, but if I had to pick another team outside of the Rockets to do it in the Conference Finals, I am going with OKC.
- Where I Am At: I like the Warriors over the Cavs. Although, I would not be surprised and LOVE to see the Bucks play them so the rest of the nation can enjoy the Greak Freak.
- THINK ABOUT THIS. SOME PERENNIAL BIG NAME TEAMS TO WATCH THAT WILL BE LOWER SEED COME TOURNEY TIME THAT PERHAPS YOU SHOULD STILL PICK TO GO FAR:
SHORTER (in time and length (one sentence per, and basically just skipping one segment of This and That and putting it HERE):
- These are NOT edited, so sorry for any grammatical errors.
- Just replacing what I post on the This And That page with some random thoughts. #oldschool
- Robert Parish was a stud among studs, but we are not talking about what is above the shoulders, and I say that because saying Paul Pierce was better offensively than Larry Bird is just…plain silly.
- It is very weird how I am religious about Twitter tweets when I am in my routine, but don’t really care about it when traveling.
- I knew conference play would be a back to earth experience for the Sooners basketball team, but I didn’t expect the bottom to TOTALLY fall out.
- I like The Crossover that ESPN does, but not really sure why they planned it ON the most useless holiday of the year catered to women.
- Let it stop, because if Chris Paul, Melo, LeBron, and Wade can’t figure out a way to be on the same team, then how are underachieving, kicked out of school kids under a monster father going to pull it off…ugghhh https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/12/lavar-ball-lonzo-liangelo-lamelo-same-team
- Anyone else SO excited about volatile, speak your mind Isaiah Thomas and LaVar Ball (and his dad) being on the same team?
- We all loved the season that Kareem Hunt had, and let’s all hope the woman who says he pushed her in a hotel hallway is LYING.
- I am shallow in some parts of life, so maybe I am in the minority for finding the story VERY funny that a Chicago TV station made the mistake of putting up PF Chang’s with Olympic rings accidentally.
- Hey, I wanted UVA to STROLL into the #1 ranking like any alum, but when most of the top ten ALSO loses at home, who can really complain???
- If it is a tradition involving volatile Goose Gossage, I am NOT NOT inviting him to spring training…just saying.
- The Texas-Baylor hoops game I simply had on as background noise last night SEEMED to be a useless game, but some genius figured out the loser would swing 30% the WRONG way for tourney hopes…the game went to double OT with Baylor winning.
- How’s that rebuilding going, Shaka-miss the state of Virginia???
- I hope if I am a Wizards fan the phone is ringing OFF the hook, as Derrick Rose is past his prime and an injury waiting to happen, but having him BACK UP John Wall sounds lovely.
- You know the sports wire is hurting when I actually KNOW that the top German Shepherd and contender is OUT of that dog show going on right now.
- The Boston PD DOES know a deleted tweet is still a tweet, right?
- Esteban Loaiza made $43.7 million during his MLB pitching career, and evidently did NOT invest, since he was just busted with drugs with the words “kilos” and “distribution” next to his name.
- Hey, Johnny Football, we already sort of KNEW you were bipolar, but if announcing it to the media clears your conscience, then all the power to you.
- When I come back from a trip and not sure what is new and what is an old article, the ones about Reuben Foster getting arrested again REALLY throw me for a loop.
- I am watching UVA-Miami while writing some of this blog, and just HOPING for no letdown in a dangerous game in Miami.
- So, for the record, Serena Williams is now 0-1 when traveling with her baby.
- You really should make time on your schedule to watch the 30 for 30 with the two Bill’s…GREAT info and great presentation of two people with limited personalities and football genius galore.
- I really like the George Washington commercial with him crossing the Delaware Turnpike, because that guy does road rage PERFECTLY.
- It reminds me of a commercial version of Drunk History in a way.
- Bedtimes suck because we are forced to watch all of these Olympics, never knowing when something important is going to happen, and I went to bed RIGHT before Shaun White busted out a SICK 98.50 on a run.
- Maybe it is because it is the only song I walked off a karaoke stage while performing, but some dude was singing More Than A Feeling by Boston in the airport this weekend and I wanted to shoot him…figuratively.
- Remember when Jim McElwain was the hottest coaching prospect on the market, and now he MIGHT be picked up as a WR coach at Michigan?
- When thinking about how GOOD Sidney Crosby is, crazy to think he just got to 400 and Mario ended at 690!
- After reading about how Lane Johnson was calling the Pats “robots,” I just wonder how ANYONE would want to piss off Tom Brady in the offseason and I personally would just be PRAYING he suddenly retired.
- Red Gerard, a CO boy who won the first Olympic gold medal, was born in the year 2000, and that may or may not depress me in a way.
- Did Tara Lipinski have a LOT of plastic surgery or were those lights just shining on her face oddly?
- Rory McIlroy misses a cut and Wozniacki wins the Aussie, and my comparisons with the ex-couple’s ups and downs STILL remind me of the careers of Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields.
- Is it my Seinfeld fandom or his many characters over the years, or does everyone else just LAUGH as soon as they hear Patrick Warburton’s voice?
- Jay Bilas, while announcing a game, mentioned Len Bias as one of his 3-4 players that totally changed the game, and proud that my parents sent me to a small basketball camp as a kid where I got a shoe signed by him…and sitting about 15 feet from where I presently sit.
- In that same game (I remember-it was the UVA-Va Tech game), he also was proud to “hold” Ralph Sampson to 36 and 14 back in the day.
- Impractical Jokers IS a funny show, but I just don’t buy A) they get the venues they get consistently or B) the police aren’t called ever.
- I was asked, being a Jersey guy, about the Jersey Shore anniversary thing coming up, and I replied “I live the Jersey Shore experience, and am happy to not have it anymore.”
- The Cubs got Yu Darvish, so they will obviously be on one of the top lines of preseason baseball, and did you know that he averages ELEVEN K’s per 9 innings, the highest…like ever.
- The Rockets right now are like the midseason Pats, picking up bits and pieces of a bunch of players who MIGHT have a flash left in them.
- Ex-NHL enforcer was charged with sexual assault, and this saddens me (besides that it is a crime) because I have always said somehow NHL players stay OUT of trouble for the most part.
- I am noticing that packing for Cabo San Lucas anytime is easier than packing for Portland in above freezing rainy weather.
- Lindsey had I Bought A Zoo on the TV when we were in the hotel room, and MAN has Matt Damon does some RANDOM subpar movies considering how big of star he is.
- I won’t even watch that Wall one.
- Kirk Cousins, if you think about it, is the first totally healthy close to top tier QB on the market in YEARS (Peyton and Drew were coming off injuries).
- Of course, UNC beat Duke in a year where we thought we had it all figured out.
- I won’t even comment on Pastner and his sexual assault thing because, honestly, I am tired of hearing about harassment and sexual assault cases in sports and with celebrities.
- Jameer Nelson is now on the Pistons and is going to be one HELL of an NBA trivia question 15 years from now.
- I feel like I was getting constant Eustachy updates and his situation at CSU and then I hear nothing.
- So, Revis Island is officially once again…an island…sorry.
- Dammit, I just found out that Widespread Panic is playing at Lock’n in Virginia again this year, and since I drove by them last year, I might…consider.
- Jimmy Garoppolo got signed to a monster contract after his five games at QB, and I just might call this Matt Cassel II.
- I got back from my last trip and was just glad the city of Philly still stood.
- A colleague of mine got off the phone today and said “I just ACTUALLY talked with a jolly, nice guy from ATLANTIC CITY,” and then I reminded him that the Eagles just won the Super Bowl, so this is that odd, hardly occurring time with large Italians being friendly to everyone.
- I know Draymond Green needs to be hip and cool, but does he realize that when he cusses like a sailor and then pays a $50k fine, some of us really wish mattress money had a couple more zero’s on them?
- And just like Sebastian Janikowski’s career with the Raiders, I am done this mini-rant.
I had some time on the plane to read the USA Sports Weekly Olympic Review. Here are my highlights to help you out during the next two weeks. Consider it my cheat sheet for you while I am in Cabo.
OLYMPIC CHEAT SHEET:
- Sports: curling, skiing, ski jumping, figure skating, snowboarding, cross country skiing, biathlon, hockey, luge, skeleton, speed skating, bobsledding, and probably some more I am forgetting to list
- Vonn and Griffin are the Magic and Bird of women’s skiing
- The North Korea and South Korea are the adorable bonding item of this Olympics, unless the North decides this is a great chance to lash out
- OAR means Olympic Athletes from Russia
- There are no NHL players in hockey
- Hannah and Marissa Brandt are actually sisters (one adopted), and one plays for the USA and the other for Korea
- Yes, the guy shirtless at the opening ceremonies was the same guy as before, but amazingly he is representing his small country in a totally DIFFERENT sport.
- Kikkan Randall is the old school USA athlete with ANY hope at cross country skiing, but the USA WILL get smoked like we always do at it
- Mike Tirico is your new host after Costas did the Olympics since the 1800’s
- Joey Mantia is your pretty boy, crazy, party guy (think Bode Miller II) who will also do well in speed skating (and already is a model for high end clothing ads so he will be fine regardless)
- Mirai Nagasu is the heavy hitter women’s figure skater, as she is one of three women ever to bust out the triple axel in competition. Or one of three American women. Or basically in some small percentile of females who do spins in the air
- Nathan Chen does QUADRUPLES and might make a push for the Wheaties Box (if they still do that (I switched permanently to Cheerios))
- Shani Davis was already only the third speed skater to go to four Olympic Games, and this is now his fifth
- Shaun White is STILL cool no matter how you slice it, and will probably do some magical stuff-frustrating for competition when you are older, cooler, and still better
- Aaron Pike is a really cool story you should check out in the Paralympics
- Amazingly and oddly, the women’s hockey team, although we feel like they are dominant, hasn’t won the gold since 1998
- The mixed doubles USA team is actually brother/ sister (Matt and Becca Hamilton)
- Mac Bohannon has a trick called the Hurricane
- Ashley Caldwell has a self-named boys style freestyle trick called The Daddy
- Tucker West had a luge track IN his backyard, so HE at least settles my mind on how these athletes PICK their odd events AND get good
- The women’s Jamaican bobsledding team is as cool of item as you think it is
- No one seemingly can beat Marcel Hirscher in skiing
- There are NINE ex-Wisconsin players on the USA and Canada women’s hockey teams
- John Daly is in the Olympics, but it isn’t the guy who drinks and smokes on the PGA Tour
LINKS I HAVE SORTED FOR YOU (less good ones this time as I was traveling):
(these were all compiled before my flight back on Sunday, so know I didn’t add any new ones in my short time before leaving again on a trip)
PORTLAND:
- These are NOT edited, so sorry for any grammatical errors.
- Always within levels these days anyway, but very nice when a work trip turned PTO starts with a nice run of blackjack cards…paid for the dinners at least.
- I worked for about 5 hours while waiting for Lindsey the first night, but CAN say that I had what might have been my favorite sandwich in YEARS at Lardo’s, where the catch phrase is Pig Out.
- I would definitely recommend the Mark Spencer Hotel, which we got for a deal on Orbitz, as it was close to everything cool, and you would just have to walk 6 very short city blocks to get into the more sketchy, probably exciting area.
- Mark Spencer had a restroom in the community area with a heated seat and opened on its own, and that is worth it alone.
- The “free” breakfast had prosciutto, some other meat, hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, and REGULAR Cheerios, and therefore The Fillerbuster breakfast in a way.
- Well, the room had a walk in shower and a fridge, meaning everything else was just butter.
- Cannon Beach is like the Grand Canyon in the way that pics don’t do it justice, and it was MUCH larger than what we expected.
- The rock is from The Goonies movie.
- I need to rewatch The Goonies…soon.
- By the way, if you want to see some pics, just email me and I can give you viewing access (mfiller11@gmail.com).
- We drove to Tillamook, and although some of the pull off picturesque spots were totally fogged over, the mac and cheese was worth the three hour tour alone.
- When you get anywhere CLOSE to the water, you hit trees COVERED in moss.
- Unlike my first Seattle trip years ago, we had typical cloudy, rainy, cold weather…go in the summer.
- We were told that it was a good day to see Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach because it was a “clear day” and it literally rained during our WHOLE ride and beach time.
- I rented a Ford Edge, and although the car looks compact, I felt like the whole time that my hood was about to hit something, which is not fun in a rental car where you are literally steering FAR away from everything in sight.
- We hit a winery for Lindsey on the way back from the beach, and you sort of forget that in between Portland and anything else is WINE country.
- We skipped Hood River for a variety of reasons (time), and figured A) odds are we wouldn’t catch a “clear” day to really see it in its glory and B) we kind of have LOTS of those mountains in Colorado.
- The 101 was a pretty Oregon, foresty, GREEN road.
- The Blazers game was fun, The Moda Center was fine (just the Rose Garden rebranded anyway), and the bonus was going into OT, making my non-basketball wife kind of enjoy it.
- They had a couple dumb contests, where one contestant didn’t know the rules of tic-tac-toe, and another where someone got the GRAND prize for making three free throws in 45 seconds with unlimited attempts.
- Here is hoping every basketball player walking the earth can make 3 for 4 in about 10 seconds.
- She asked who to watch, and I told her Lillard, McCollum, Nurkic, and Walker (they played Charlotte), and although we missed one of the two 50 pts in 29 minutes performances from the Blazers guards, it was interesting that Walker single handedly brought Charlotte back and ended up with 40.
- I thought it was VERY classy that the Portland crowd CHEERED Batum (ex-Blazer) during introductions, I would never hear that in Philly, and just another example of the class and niceness of the city’s residents.
- The Brew is a radio station in Portland, and it might as well be The Fillerbuster Radio Station, as it wasn’t afraid to play Slipknot or Metallica, yet didn’t worry about appearing wussy in playing 80’s glam rock galore…Ratt, then ACDC, then Poison, then Metallica.
- Having no tax added to anything is kind of weird and fun.
- I had to navigate myself once or twice, and there is a reason why the passenger ALWAYS takes over when I am driving, as I like to drive “by feel.”
- We ate dinner at the legendary Jake’s seafood place, it was a place where you should go during happy hour to save some dough, and I recommend the mac and cheese, the salmon crab cakes, the peel and eat shrimp, and the crab bisque.
- Near Cannon Beach between it and Tillamook, I never knew we had such a large “Tsunami Hazard Zone” in the U.S., but we do and it was there.
- Walked a lot in the city looking for that damn sign, and finally found it on the way out, when we stopped for a Voodoo Donut (they are the headquarters city)…Keep Portland Weird Sign.
- We were there on a weekday on Friday, and grabbed brunch at Cheryl’s, and it had GREAT service, a great croque madame dish and some fried rice dish ranked in the top 5 in the city, and we were glad we went on a weekday since the line was ridiculous over the weekend when we walked by.
- They had some Secret Aardvark hot sauce that was INCREDIBLE.
- After you go west to Cannon Beach, you have to go east on the Columbia Scenic Highway, and it was WELL worth the drive, with waterfalls every couple of miles that you could just walk up to.
- Well, except for ONE waterfall and the biggest, which was closed this season apparently.
- We never made it to Bend, but I assume you should go there too.
- Both times we got gas, I was surprised by the person by my window when I pulled up, as I thought that New Jersey was the only state that still got your gas FOR you.
- Powell’s Book Store is pretty cool, and like an ultra-Barnes & Noble store from the 90’s, and I still ended up coming out of there with socks, not books.
- Our hotel was right by the food trucks, and with a big selection, you would think I would have problems, but I just went with the FIRST food truck in existance allegedly, Altengratz, and I will go on record saying it was the best brat EVER for me and a pretty damn good German potato salad.
- They had a bunch of gyros, but I have a hard time eating gyros when not in Greece these days…they all suck over here in comparison.
- We went to Washington Park, the Japanese Gardens, the Rose Test Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, and Forest Park, and this is where I save you time by saying do NOT go to those places during the winter…no flowers.
- We ate dinner at highly ranked Mucca Osteria, and although seeing the Italian guy direct the people behind the food line was cool and eating the phenomenal scallops, I will admit to expecting more from the actual pasta.
- Everyone pokes fun at me for carrying around plastic bags everywhere in case it rains, but my system was MADE for Portland and the northwest in general.
- You are told to go the Whiskey Library and we tried, but I would recommend going there first and then going to dinner (THREE hour wait), but the Green Room down the stairs in the “waiting” area was still cool.
- I snuck in the Whiskey Library for some pics, and it IS as advertised I will say…bottles like books on the wall.
- I noticed a good amount of nicely dressed homeless people in Portland.
- The city is spread out enough that you don’t feel a PACK of people anywhere central, so even a Friday night just felt like a night on the town.
- We went to Blue Star Donuts, a Voodoo competitor, and I got the Maple Bacon Donut, and it was incredible.
- Pacific time sucks, as you wake up later than everyone even when you get up early, and sports start before your work day is done.
- See The Grotto on the way in or the way out, as it is right by the airport, and it is pretty cool and very Oregon-y looking as far as trees.
- Known for having the highest amount of strip clubs per capita in the nation, they aren’t downtown, but I did notice a LOT of them all in a row on the way to The Grotto/Airport.
- If you ever get frustrated at cities that have streets named a direction that don’t actually go totally THAT direction, then just know that Portland IS very exact and like every street downtown or near the city is SE this or NW that.
- We went to the Pittock Mansion, and you might want to go there for a hike as there is one right by the parking lot, but we didn’t pay the $11 to see THE VIEW as it was a cloudy day, but know that IS where the postcard pictures must come from of the city with Mt. Hood in the background.
- DO go to Tasty N Alder for brunch, as it had a radish salad thing with egg and bacon, potatoes, and steak and eggs dish that were AWESOME.
- I did not have time to go to Ilani Casino, as I go to casinos for work enough that I try to sometimes NOT go to casinos.
- Go to Ruby’s to experience some genius idea of making a ice cream cookie sandwich a staple AND trademark.
- I think we ate too many doughnuts from Blue Star and Voodoo and ice cream sandwiches from Ruby’s to experience Salt N Straw, but it was on our list.
- Deschutes Brewery is RIGHT in town, so no excuse to go and do a taster.
- They had a Scotch Ale (Spiritual Awakening) that I LOVED, even after my usual IPA tasters.
- The Shanghai Tunnels were closed when we were close, and therefore I will go with the review I saw online that it is just a big basement and can be passed on.
- I noticed a bunch of pizza and mac and cheese places, and therefore my happiness level was high.
- I was unsuccessful in talking Lindsey in going to the Peculiarium.
- Don’t get excited for the Saturday Market in the wintertime, as it is closed…but we drove by it and it looked pretty cool.
- After a couple days of rain and cold, I definitely think every hotel should MAKE a hot tub spot in their hotel.
- I only watched her eat, but Lindsey liked Boxer Ramen, very central to everything.
- I saw a bar at the beginning of the trip and wanted to go there, we did, it was worth it, and Al’s Den was a small place on a corner by Zeus Café, and a perfect hole in the wall with no space.
- Once again, I took 297 photos so just let me know if you want to see any of my pics.
- We went to the legendary Mother’s for our final brunch, and although it was very good, I would say I consider it a little overrated in comparison to the reviews I read online.
- All of the tiny cool bridges were nice.
- The airport was cool, and I noticed that literally EVERY place near our hotel had a shop on the main drag before the gates.
- They have guitarists playing at the airport with CD’s and everything.
- They have a short film theater at the airport.
- We went to a hole in the wall, The Rusty Nail, with Lindsey’s long time friend and his friends, and the weird part of the trip was that her friend’s girlfriend’s brother was bartending, and he died in a motorcycle accident two days later before we left…weird meeting someone and then knowing they are immediately gone…sad. He was an awesome dude. Thoughts and prayers to Tricia, and the rest of Chris’s family.
- All in all? I DEFINITELY would visit again…in the summer. I love the people. I loved the town. I might even throw it on my possible move list. Great city, Portland, and you held up and surpassed my expectations. Keep your city weird.
That’s it for today, folks. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Will I blog again? That is a CLOWN question, bro. Talk to you after I go visit the place Sammy Hagar told me to go visit. Cabo San Lucas until Monday afternoon. Peace.
Don’t look for a blog until after Presidents Day. I have that day off, and will still be organizing my Cabo experience. In the meantime, I will go see some DIFFERENT rocks on the beach.
