portland stuff
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The Weather Machine in Pioneer Square
weather. Yes, it has been known to rain in Portland. Sometimes it can rain for what seems like months on end. However, the Portland climate from May to September is pretty much the best there is in this great country of ours. Of course it can drizzle on you occasionally but generally it will not last long and the temperatures are very pleasant (how does 80 or 82 degrees sound?). For anyone that comes here from the East Coast or the Midwest pay attention to this forecast; We have NO HUMIDITY ISSUES here! If it is 75 or 80 or even 85 degrees when you visit, it is an extremely pleasant and you do not have to take a shower four times a day.
umbrellas. As a corollary to the above discussion, as a general rule, Portlanders do not carry or use umbrellas. What falls out of the sky here is not like you are used to in Florida or Ohio. If it is raining, it is usually drizzle and you have to be out in drizzle a long time to get wet. Just to warn you, If you choose to use an umbrella, you will be spotted as being "not from here" and subject to funny looks and stares.
coffee. Portland is the second most caffeinated city in the country, second only to our archrival from the north (yes, I am talking about Seattle, the home of Starbucks). Portlanders spend on average $33.00 per month on coffee for every man, women, and child. This means two things for the visitor to Portland. Most everyone in Portland is wide awake, wired, and very friendly (see talking to strangers below) and if you do get that stray summer shower discussed in the weather section above, you can always find a coffee shop to duck into for a few minutes.
talking to strangers. Portlanders do it. Get used to it. In many places around the world, and in some US cities, it is not cool, and maybe even considered rude to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. That does not seem to be the case here. With the possible exception of on an elevator, where everyone knows its a federal law that you must ride in silence, Portlanders are not shy about talking to strangers. If it makes you feel uncomfortable to have someone on the street say Hi, or ask you where you bought your shoes, or offer directions to you when you didn’t even ask, this might not be the best place for you.
beer. You like beer? We do to. Portland is the undisputed king of the microbrew with over forty breweries inside the city limits alone. Recently it was declared that Portland had more breweries than any other city in the world. It also has one of the best Brewers festivals (Oregon Brewers Festival) in America, which is held in late July every year. Two notable beer guys in town are the McMenamin brothers. They have a chain of nearly sixty neighborhood brewpubs, many microbreweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs around town and in the northwest.
keep portland weird. If you have not seen this slogan yet, you will. According to a local source, there are more than 18,000 cars in the Portland area with that motto tattooed on their bumper. And don’t even get me started about tattoos. The Keep Portland Weird slogan has been around these parts for years and many people truly live by it. Naked bike riders, urban golfers and the infamous Zoobombers come to mind. The official City of Portland motto, that found on the side of police cars, is "The City That Works" but that doesn’t have near the panache as "Keep Portland Weird". By the way, if you don't believe that Portland can be weird, you be sure to ask me while on the tour about how our local transit system board of directors has ruled that "Service Horses" (yes you read that correctly) are now allowed on our buses and light rail trains if they are there for the "comfort of the rider". In reality you don't see too many horses riding the rails, probably because their owners are NOT allowed to carry a six shooter or wear spurs. You have to have some rules!
zoobombers. What can I say about Zoobombing. I could tell you that it is a weekly ride taken by adults (the term adult is subject to interpretation) on children’s or other small bikes from the Oregon Zoo in the hills west of the city down the hills and steep streets and into downtown Portland at breakneck speeds but this description doesn’t even begin to do the insanity of this ride justice. Go to Wikipedia for the whole story on these fun loving and insane people.
naked bike riding. If you are in town the first weekend of June, and you leave your restaurant and hit the streets about Saturday at around 9:30 pm,...well, don't say I didn't warn you.
tonya harding. Back in the day (the 1990's) Portland had a bad girl resident living amongst us named Tonya. She was, without a doubt, a world-class figure skater and it seems she would do anything to win at her chosen profession. Anything including putting a hit on her competition. Literally. In a practice session before the 1994 Olympics, her husband, and his band of merry men took a collapsible police baton and wacked Nancy Kerrigan, her main competition on the knee. It was an apparent attempt to break her leg and put her out of the competition, but in the end the knee didn't break, the bad people got caught, the Olympics went on, and Nancy Kerrigan won a silver medal while our hometown girl finished an oh so disappointing eighth. I only mention this unfortunate event because this incident is, and always will be, a continued embarrassment to our fair city and if you were to bring it up to the wrong person here, you might get yourself wacked.
water. Portland is renowned for its pure drinking water. Falling as rain or snow onto the slopes of Mount Hood, it flows downhill to Portland through the pristine 142,000 acre Bull Run water shed and into our taps. A few decades ago, our city fathers even bottled our tap water and took it via train to the New Orleans Worlds Fair, where it sold side by side with "real" bottled water. What does this water talk mean to you, the visitor? Its not only safe to take a sip from all of our outdoor fountains, it tastes great.
variety. Fifty miles, and a forty five minute drive due east of Portland, is Mt. Hood and the Mt. Hood National Forest. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails through old growth Douglas Firs, it is the only place in America where you can ski year round. Seventy-five miles, and a one hour and twenty minute drive due west of Portland, is the pristine (albeit cold) water of the Oregon coast. With the exception of a few bays and a mountain or two you could, if you so desired, walk the 296 miles from Washington state to California on unspoiled beaches and not run into even one fence, beach bar or rental shop. Sixty nine miles, and a one hour and 35 minute drive, due north of Portland is the Mt. St. Helen's Volcanic National Park. It is the location of the 1980 destructive volcanic eruption that killed every living thing (including over 50 people) for 24 square miles and lopped off 1300’ of the mountain top, and you can find visitors centers, hiking trails, lakes and a relatively easy climb to the rim of the steaming crater. One hundred and ten miles, and a one hour and thirty minute drive, due south of Portland you will find the idyllic valley town of Eugene, home to the University of Oregon. Not much to say here except Go Ducks! What’s not to love about this place.
oregon history. For a most unusual, odd and sometimes irreverent look at Oregon history check out this website. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! http://orhistory.com/
umbrellas. As a corollary to the above discussion, as a general rule, Portlanders do not carry or use umbrellas. What falls out of the sky here is not like you are used to in Florida or Ohio. If it is raining, it is usually drizzle and you have to be out in drizzle a long time to get wet. Just to warn you, If you choose to use an umbrella, you will be spotted as being "not from here" and subject to funny looks and stares.
coffee. Portland is the second most caffeinated city in the country, second only to our archrival from the north (yes, I am talking about Seattle, the home of Starbucks). Portlanders spend on average $33.00 per month on coffee for every man, women, and child. This means two things for the visitor to Portland. Most everyone in Portland is wide awake, wired, and very friendly (see talking to strangers below) and if you do get that stray summer shower discussed in the weather section above, you can always find a coffee shop to duck into for a few minutes.
talking to strangers. Portlanders do it. Get used to it. In many places around the world, and in some US cities, it is not cool, and maybe even considered rude to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. That does not seem to be the case here. With the possible exception of on an elevator, where everyone knows its a federal law that you must ride in silence, Portlanders are not shy about talking to strangers. If it makes you feel uncomfortable to have someone on the street say Hi, or ask you where you bought your shoes, or offer directions to you when you didn’t even ask, this might not be the best place for you.
beer. You like beer? We do to. Portland is the undisputed king of the microbrew with over forty breweries inside the city limits alone. Recently it was declared that Portland had more breweries than any other city in the world. It also has one of the best Brewers festivals (Oregon Brewers Festival) in America, which is held in late July every year. Two notable beer guys in town are the McMenamin brothers. They have a chain of nearly sixty neighborhood brewpubs, many microbreweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs around town and in the northwest.
keep portland weird. If you have not seen this slogan yet, you will. According to a local source, there are more than 18,000 cars in the Portland area with that motto tattooed on their bumper. And don’t even get me started about tattoos. The Keep Portland Weird slogan has been around these parts for years and many people truly live by it. Naked bike riders, urban golfers and the infamous Zoobombers come to mind. The official City of Portland motto, that found on the side of police cars, is "The City That Works" but that doesn’t have near the panache as "Keep Portland Weird". By the way, if you don't believe that Portland can be weird, you be sure to ask me while on the tour about how our local transit system board of directors has ruled that "Service Horses" (yes you read that correctly) are now allowed on our buses and light rail trains if they are there for the "comfort of the rider". In reality you don't see too many horses riding the rails, probably because their owners are NOT allowed to carry a six shooter or wear spurs. You have to have some rules!
zoobombers. What can I say about Zoobombing. I could tell you that it is a weekly ride taken by adults (the term adult is subject to interpretation) on children’s or other small bikes from the Oregon Zoo in the hills west of the city down the hills and steep streets and into downtown Portland at breakneck speeds but this description doesn’t even begin to do the insanity of this ride justice. Go to Wikipedia for the whole story on these fun loving and insane people.
naked bike riding. If you are in town the first weekend of June, and you leave your restaurant and hit the streets about Saturday at around 9:30 pm,...well, don't say I didn't warn you.
tonya harding. Back in the day (the 1990's) Portland had a bad girl resident living amongst us named Tonya. She was, without a doubt, a world-class figure skater and it seems she would do anything to win at her chosen profession. Anything including putting a hit on her competition. Literally. In a practice session before the 1994 Olympics, her husband, and his band of merry men took a collapsible police baton and wacked Nancy Kerrigan, her main competition on the knee. It was an apparent attempt to break her leg and put her out of the competition, but in the end the knee didn't break, the bad people got caught, the Olympics went on, and Nancy Kerrigan won a silver medal while our hometown girl finished an oh so disappointing eighth. I only mention this unfortunate event because this incident is, and always will be, a continued embarrassment to our fair city and if you were to bring it up to the wrong person here, you might get yourself wacked.
water. Portland is renowned for its pure drinking water. Falling as rain or snow onto the slopes of Mount Hood, it flows downhill to Portland through the pristine 142,000 acre Bull Run water shed and into our taps. A few decades ago, our city fathers even bottled our tap water and took it via train to the New Orleans Worlds Fair, where it sold side by side with "real" bottled water. What does this water talk mean to you, the visitor? Its not only safe to take a sip from all of our outdoor fountains, it tastes great.
variety. Fifty miles, and a forty five minute drive due east of Portland, is Mt. Hood and the Mt. Hood National Forest. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails through old growth Douglas Firs, it is the only place in America where you can ski year round. Seventy-five miles, and a one hour and twenty minute drive due west of Portland, is the pristine (albeit cold) water of the Oregon coast. With the exception of a few bays and a mountain or two you could, if you so desired, walk the 296 miles from Washington state to California on unspoiled beaches and not run into even one fence, beach bar or rental shop. Sixty nine miles, and a one hour and 35 minute drive, due north of Portland is the Mt. St. Helen's Volcanic National Park. It is the location of the 1980 destructive volcanic eruption that killed every living thing (including over 50 people) for 24 square miles and lopped off 1300’ of the mountain top, and you can find visitors centers, hiking trails, lakes and a relatively easy climb to the rim of the steaming crater. One hundred and ten miles, and a one hour and thirty minute drive, due south of Portland you will find the idyllic valley town of Eugene, home to the University of Oregon. Not much to say here except Go Ducks! What’s not to love about this place.
oregon history. For a most unusual, odd and sometimes irreverent look at Oregon history check out this website. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! http://orhistory.com/