Weekend-in-Review:
(The Portland Report)
Friday:
I deliberately got to work "early" (that is, 8:00AM, when I believe most "normal" people get to work "normally") for the sole reason that Zach could pick me up from work 3:30/4:00ish to get on the road. 3:20PM - (While I'm in the midst of wrapping up an experiment) "James, do you have time to talk about the [blah blah blah] protocol you're doing next week?" Dah! I love my labmates, but they have sh*tty timing.
Bethatasitmay, Jamesbrain went into overdrive, and I got outta the lab in time to be on I-5 with Zach (I was driving) well before Seattle weekend rush hour traffic. But I can't say the same for Tacoma/Olympia. JamesRoadRage: "I hate you all! [Cursing and insults about mothers.] Get off the F*CKING road, fat cow! This is MY playpen!" We got into Portland around 8:30PM, and of course got lost getting to the hotel due to a sudden closure of I-5 for some "bridge demolishment." Quad Cities, anyone?
The hotel itself was a tiny establishment across from the convention center, but luckily only a short drive across the Willamette to the downtown. After we got settled, we headed downtown to find a late dinner. As luck would have it, we turned a corner and I found myself staring at a purple octopus... marking a Greek restaurant a labmate had fondly recalled spending a birthday at. Unfortunately, the wild upstairs was booked for a private reception, so we ate downstairs and listened to the wild music, breaking dishes, and rounds of "Opaaa!" But the gyro was good.
Zach, a good homo, had actively researched Portland's gay bars... so after the purple octopus, we headed to Ember's. Verdict: Interesting... My old home metropolis sported six gay bars [gasp]... and Ember's embodied an unholy mixture of all six of them. I won't say much more than that; you Quad-Citians out there will understand. The bar was decent, until I had a Tequilla sunrise that just about made my hair fall out... ["Whatever's in there... it was NOT Tequilla..."]
Saturday:
At Ember's, Zach "limited" himself to two drinks. So imagine my surprise Saturday morning when he's hungover. Ah, my poor lightweight boyfriend. So we slept in a generous amount, and headed over to nerdland: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Hell yeah! The verdict: I am way cool! I dragged hungover Zach all through the life sciences center, through the "T-Rex: Hunter or Scavenger?" exhibit, up through the simulated earthquake house, into the fossil preparation room, the tech center, the [mating] walking sticks display, the hissing cockroaches house... coolio! Best part: several dozen "logic game" exhibits designed for small children. Yes, we gave them a try... and we're dumb. 50% success rate, at best. Worst part: I spent about fifteen minutes busting my squishy brainmatter on one particularly perplexing puzzle before walking off in a huff, only to see four-year-old "Heidi" run up and solve it in less than thirty seconds just after I left. Damn you, Heidi.
After OMSI bliss, I reluctantly returned to the hotel for hungover boyfriend to nap. He woke up completely refreshed, just in time for Powell's. Holy Toledo!... that place is f*cking huge! We immediately resolved to return Sunday, as we only got to three of the seven or eight rooms of books. [Homer: "Mmmmm... bookstore that fills a whole city block..."] After five or six unnecessary purchases [Homer: "Mmmmm... no sales tax in Oregon..."], we reluctantly tore ourselves away and dined at a Lebanese restaurant downtown, Karam. This is why Karam is cool: the food was fabulous. This is why I will live in Karam: they had maps on their tabletops.
Next on Zach's list of Portland gay bars: Silverado. Imagine my surprise to learn that it was ALSO a strip joint. Ah, well. I didn't complain! While small, the bar was partitioned pretty decently into dance, sit-and-drink, or stand-and-watch arenas - so we spent the evening circulating between these areas. Zach refrained from drinking... and I drank enough for the both of us! The atmosphere was great, the music wasn't too loud, and the best part wasn't even the naked guys - I just loved the fact that the place and patrons didn't seem at all portentous. In fact, the whole city thankfully lacked the poretentous and pretentious atmosphere that seems to plague Seattle - particularly in its Capitol Hill bars. I felt entirely at home - in Silverado, Karam, Powell's, the OMSI, everywhere... all those different establishments. I never felt inadequate, or unfairly judged.
Back to Silverado: drinking, some dancing, lots of conversation. We eventually struck up a conversation with Sean and his gang, who were celebrating Sean's twenty-second birthday... and spent the rest of our time at the bar sitting with them. Good times, good people. And it was at about that time that I realized, "Hell, I LOVE this city. The unpretentious Seattle!" I enjoy a healthy dose of humbleness.
Sunday:
Pridemoment: I was not (nor have I ever been) hungover.
Walks in Chinatown, and a park on the western bank of the Willamette River... which made us both nostalgic for the Mississippi.
We spent a good deal of time exploring the downtown and the Portland State University campus... and finally headed back up to Powell's to browse the rooms we didn't get to on our first pass. Then, upon the urgings of one of Zach's many guidebooks, we headed to the eastern end of the city along Hawthorne Boulevard, and ended up in a nest of "alternative" shops and restaurants. I got a handmade sweater (Yay for winter sales!); Zach almost got a lawyer t-shirt. Dinner, a little more exploring, and then back to Seattle.
The best part: despite my above bitching about Seattle's ego trip, it's still my home. So, reaching the final crest on I-5, and having the city skyline spread out around me, I couldn't help but think, "Now there's a sight for sore eyes!" (Driving makes me sleepy, anyway.)
The Verdict: I'm definitely going back to Portland. Love it, love it, love it. A big city without the big city atmosphere. Clean, warm, sociable, humble, spirited. Plenty to do - without the arrogance of boasting that "there's plenty to do." And hell, though Seattle's my home now, I wouldn't mind making Portland my home in the future.
Posted by James at February 3, 2004 11:18 AM