7-18-2013 - Clinton area to see the movie bidder 70

It was another very nice evening in Portland.  We had a groupon for a highly rated Mexican restaurant called Que Pasa which is just off of Hawthorn street on the SE part of town.  The place was pretty busy and we had to rush to get out of there to see the movie.



Vegetable Sopas with potatoes Ole 4 stars our of 5

Chicken Mole - 4.5 stars out of 5

With a beer and a sangria and tip our total cost was 20 bucks for everything and we saved about 15 with the groupon.  I put up a better review on Yelp.

Then we scurried off for a 1 mile walk to the Clinton Theatre to watch a screening of bidder 70.  We once again walked through Ladd's rose garden that I posted about before and this time I took a picture of his plaque which says more about who he was.  If you click on the pic it will blow up and you can read it.



William Ladd developed 120 acres of land in a novel way.

 I really love how Portland does things like just ask for help.  People pitch in all the time and help tend public trees and donate to help the trees.  This street was canopied by HUGE elm trees.  In other place these elms have long died from dutch elm disease, but here there are a bunch of them.  People are encouraged to help protect the trees and 120 bucks seems cheap considering the beauty and the shade and all that the tree gives to the neighborhood.

 

 

Then we got to Clinton theatre.  It is an old theatre that shows all sorts of different movies, but not the big current blockbusters.   Bidder 70 is about a guy who bid for and won several federal drilling contracts on public land near the arches national monument in Utah.  The movie was not all that enlightening, but it was interesting none the less.

After that we continued walking down Division street and checked out what was going on.  We bookmarked several good restaurants using Yelp.  Then we noticed a large crowd with a sign for live music.  We had stumbled upon The Landmark Saloon on 49th and Division.  There was a really good bluegrass band and they had 24 ounce PBR's for 2 bucks.  Cara got an oatmeal stout for 3 bucks.  It was a divey place with a really nice outdoor patio.  I would recommend this place to anybody.

At about 10 we hopped the bus and headed home.  After 11 or so the bus starts running a lot less frequently and we needed to get up for a big day.

Public Art in Portland, Oregon - July 2013

In our explorations of Portland I have noticed lots of public art beautifying the city.  My sister (who lives here) told me that for every new construction project they must also install some sort of art work.  I love that concept!  As a result you see a wide variety of art pieces everywhere.  Here are a couple of my favorites so far...

This lovely piece is located in the North Park Blocks

Located on NE Broadway, this is "In The Tree Tops" by Margarita Leon



7-17-2013 Trip to Burnside and to get tickets

On Wed. 7-17-2013 we decided to hop the bus and head over to Burnside street to go to Doug Fir and pick up tickets to the Scott Pemberton Trio.  We had seen him at the Blues Festival and then I saw he was playing at Doug Fir.  I looked up the venue and it has well over 1000 google reviews which is the most I have seen.  My brother and his wife are coming to town to visit and we are all going to the show right after I pick him up from the Plane.

Scott Pemberton at the Blues Festival

We saved about 11 bucks by buying the tickets in person and we checked out the area at the same time.

We ended up going to Burnside Brewing Company and it was 3 dollar pint night so we had a beer and met a really interesting guy named Matt from San Diego.  He had a birthday and decided to just fly up to Portland to go to the International Brewers Festival this weekend.  He just hopped a plane and came up here and his wife will follow.  Interestingly he found Doug Fir online through good reviews and that was why he was there too.

I should have taken some pics, but I am just getting rolling with this travelers log and I forgot!

7-16-2013 Trip to Division Street and Ladd's Rose Garden

There is an interesting feature that really calls to you on a map.  It is called Ladd's Rose Garden.

It was laid out in this odd way because an ex mayor and businessman decided to buy up the property and develop it in this way.  (that is according to the plaque that I should have taken a picture of)

We hopped the bus and got off on Hawthorne and walked through the middle of the X.  It really is kind of cool.  There are big rose gardens and I can only imagine that today they would advocate for big community gardens.

Several Rose gardens are in the area

We made our way south to Division street and saw several interesting businesses and quite a bit going on.  We diverted down a side street and happened upon Dots Diner.  We rated it 4 stars out of 5.  We split a Falafal and Fries.  I reviewed it on Yelp

We hopped the bus and headed home at about 10.

7-15-2013 Trip down Mississippi Avenue on Monday

On Monday 7-15-2013, we decided to head over and check out Mississippi avenue after the streetfest.  From where we are staying Mississippi Avenue is about 1.2 miles away.  There were a bunch of ripe blackberries and raspberries growing over the sidewalk so we ate handfuls of those on the way.

There are several bars and restaurants there and some food carts.  We chilled out at a street cafe that they have just created by taking up some car parking on the street.

a street cafe.  This used to be parking for cars.  It is public space now.

They have a spot to take a photo at the street cafe

We walked up and down the whole street and ended up going to Mee-Sen Thai Eatery meesenpdx.com We reviewed it on Yelp.

street style pad thai with tofu 5 bucks happy hour 

Crying Tiger (6 bucks happy hour portion)

pad kee mao pak (vegan drunken noodles) 5 bucks Happy hour Portion

7-4 to 7-7, 2013 - Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon

Over 4th of July weekend we went to the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, OR.  That was 40 hours of blues on 4 stages over 4 days, and we were there for it all!  It only cost $60/person, so it was well worth it.  There were tons of people, but everybody was nice, and it was easy to find a spot close to the stage.  Plus, there was great weather and always a nice breeze from the river.



All the bands were good (or they wouldn't have been playing at the festival), but here are some highlights from the bands we saw (too bad we couldn't see them all)...

Day 1:



Lisa Mann and Her Really Good Band - They were part of the Journey to Memphis Competition

Ben Rice Band - They were also part of the Journey to Memphis Competition and ended up winning.  Good luck in Memphis!

The Muddy Sons - They were 2012 winners of the Journey to Memphis Competition, and we can see why. Unique stage presence, and big sound from just two guys!

Joe Louis Walker - He really rocked the blues!  Definitely one of our favorites from the festival!

Dusty 45s -  Kind of psychobilly blues rock.  They reminded me a little of Reverend Horton Heat, and the lead singer/musician ended playing a flaming trumpet!

Day 2:

My Own Holiday   

Sandi Thom - All the way from Scotland!  A girl, her guitar, and some heartfelt blues.

Boyd Small Band with Josh Fullero & Lydia Warren

Eldridge Gravy & the Court Supreme - Funky, funky, funky!  Lots of energy in this large band!  You just couldn't help but dance.  Needless to say, they were another of our favorites.

Hot 8 Brass Band - A nice reminder of our winters in New Orleans.  This is another band that just makes your body move.

Allen Stone - I had just recently seen one of his videos on MTV, but I did recognize another song he played. He's better in concert than in his video.

Eric Burdon - Still rockin!

Day 3:

Terry Robb with Calvin Walker

Roseland Hunters

Mitch Kashmar

Scott Pemberton - Very good. We grabbed his flyer about his show at Doug Fir on July 19th and hope to be able to go.

Duffy Bishop Band

North Mississippi Allstars - FABULOUS!  Another favorite.  The lead singer played some unique instruments I had never seen before, including something that appeared to be a cross between a tiny guitar and a bullhorn.  He played it like a guitar, but then also sang thru it and his voice came out distorted.  Oh, and did I mention one guy played an electric washboard?!

John Hiatt & the Combo - I'm sure they were happy nobody smashed a perfectly good guitar at this festival (at least, not that we saw).

Day 4:

Cooper 

Ty Curtis with Terry Robb 

Taj Mahal Trio - How can you not like these legendary guys?  They really rocked the house, and are another favorite of ours!

Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Another great performance!  We didn't know these guys before, but we really like them now.  They even got Taj Mahal to jam out a few songs with them!

Simon Tucker Band - We actually ended up listening to this band on the little Crossroads Stage instead of battling the crowds to watch Robert Plant.  Lots of passion, and good music!  We were very happy with our decision.





some portland trip planning resources

I wanted to take a second to look create some notes for myself and some resources to people who may also be interested in planning a trip to Portland Oregon.

I wanted to try to separate the sites into the following categories.

1. official government sites
1. http://www.oregonlive.com/ this is the official newspaper website and it is nearly useless for trip planning.  There is a calendar is not very utilized
2. sites created by locals and kept up with hard work and love
1. www.culturaloregon.com - unknown author - the site is mostly article driven - vs driven by easy trip planning
2. www.pdxpipeline.com - this is a very good calendar that also has an app associated with it.  This is a very good website for events that is curated and active. 
3. http://www.portlandfoodmap.com - a very good website
3. national sites that could be a franchise or a national site
1. www.Yelp.com - very useful and there are tons of reviews for Portland businesses here.  The calendar utilization is so so
4. sites to help you find things to do around town
1. www.meetup.com - meetup is very popular in Portland as it is everywhere
2. www.eventbrite.com - this is not used as much for tech from what I see in 2013.  Probably because caligator is so great.
3. www.caligator.org - this is the goto resource for finding tech events to go to.  The site is absolutely wonderful and it integrates nicely with my google calendar that I use.
4. www.yelp.com - has some events
5. www.pdxpipeline.com
6.