I went on a 6 mile walk last week. Sort of just meandering around- my eyes taking in the sights of the houses, the landscapes, my butt taking in the slow peaks and valleys, and my ears taking in a lot of quiet. It's not that things are still around here- there are cars, there is music, the noise of garbage trucks, my neighbors slamming doors, and there are the sounds of people playing basketball, but where I am is far removed from the sounds of a city. A walk down the street here sounds very different than a walk down a side street in Chicago. I'm not sure why, entirely- residential is residential, right? Not so much. And I can't pin point it. Perhaps there were just more people in Chicago on the streets, perhaps not. I'll get back to you on that one.
I'm still without a bike (on my to do list) which is a huge form of transportation around here, hence the 6 mile walk. It feels lonely being a pedestrian- there don't seem to be a lot of us round these parts- and the ones I do see are usually walking dogs. There are tons of bikers, runners, skateboarders, and not a whole lot of people walking. Sure, on the main drags there are people going in and out of bars, shops, etc- but they probably got there by bike, bus, or car...not by foot. This is an initial assumption, and may be more reflective of my neighborhood than downtown, but we shall see. But I will have to drink the kool-aid, buy a bike and pedal on. I don't mind walking places- I've got 3 main drags within 2 miles of me- Alberta Arts, Mississippi Avenue, and the small strip on Williams avenue. But 2 miles still takes while by foot, and when the weather turns crappy I'm sure to want something a bit speedier.
Due to this lack of cycle, I haven't really left my quadrant of the city yet (except when it was raining one day and me and my friend Ben went to go see Super 8 in the SE). Portland is divided into 4 quadrants, SE- neat areas, famous perhaps for the Belmont/Hawthorne districts. SW - where most of downtown is, as well as PSU, NW- famous for the Pearl district, and NE - where I live. And then there's North Portland (aka NoPo) -the 5th quadrant. It is west of NE, North of NW, kind of on it's own, but a neat area for sure. So I suppose I've been in NoPo a bit, as well as venturing around the NE, and I can say that I'm pretty happy with where I've landed.
In my 10 years in Chicago, I didn't live farther than 2 blocks from a grocery store. Now I'm a bit farther out, and pretty limited- 6 blocks to Whole Foods. Whole Foods is well and good for some things, but we all know it is not the cheapest place around, and I have no intentions of going broke on organic meats. There does seem to be a lack of bodegas in my hood as well, but I'll just have to deal...and we are back to the bicycle issue. Until then it's pedestrian city.
So what else is in the 'hood? Sunday farmers market about a mile away where I've purchased some tasty radishes and honey, watched a kickball game, ate some fresh goat cheese, and again meandered (I do a lot of that lately). Capoeira class, which I was peer-pressured into going to, and damn happy I went. I had a lot of fun, but my feet didn't. I'd take pictures of my blisters, except I fear that I'd lose all my readers by doing that.
I found an art store in, where else, Alberta Arts district that is tiny and adorable. Blasphemy though, as they don't carry any Prussian blue paint. What's a girl like me to do?? Oh right, tiny stores will special order stuff. I also ate at a Mexican food cart that had rave reviews on yelp. The reviews must have been more for the vegan/vegetarian menu (which was larger than the meat eaters menu) as I wasn't too impressed by my carnitas burrito. Rumor has it that Mexican food isn't that great in this town. Le sigh. I miss Taco Burrito Palace and Big Star.
That's all for now. If you need me, I'll probably be reading at the park.
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