A Dash to Portland

A glitch with Lisa's work study program, Paul writes an incorrect address on her rent check, a new car just itching for a road trip, and it's off to Portland to set things straight. I was going to take my son and his girlfriend along but those plans fell through at the last minute. Luckily for me Paul ended up taking the day off to keep me company. Neither one of us relished my taking the trip alone.

We arrived in Portland around 11:00 a.m., dropped off Lisa's rent check, and decided to grab some lunch at Por Que No?, a cute little restaurant in what used to be a garage for one of the many houses on busy Mississippi. Anne says it's her favorite place to eat.

Such a cute place.

Waiting for our lunch.

It's no myth. People in Portland love their bikes!

And the City provides them plenty of places to park them!

It was worth the wait!

The Mississippi area is a great place to explore. It's filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and public art. It's a little "grittier" than it's neighboring district to the north, NE Alberta, but like Alberta it's jammed full of business offices, residential housing, shops, restaurants, and drinking establishments.
There's a recycling store that's the same as any other you've seen, except for their front door. It was a community art project, and it's just amazing!
We didn't stay too long. We wanted to make sure we missed the rush hour traffic, and it was 96 degrees by 1:00 p.m. Who wants to walk around in that heat?