PORTLAND PICKLE VOL 1 ISSUE 2

UPDATE:  All is good and we’re back in the condo trying to establish a new sense of what is normal.  But more of that later, I did promise something of a mini travelogue in conjunction with medical bulletins.

So what does a family of four (Leigh, Ben, Dino and me) do when they have had enough of hospitals and hospital rooms.  Eat and shop, of course.  Ben and Dino have just bought a condo in the Mission District of San Francisco, so as you may well imagine, shopping for furniture and fittings is pretty high on their agenda.  And it certainly doesn’t hurt that there is no sales tax in Oregon.  An outlet mall on the east side turned out to have a selection of shops for all comers.  I’m just glad they didn’t choose the one in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of town.  It’s so big I think we would still be

shopping, in an attempt to see every possible business.  Had a productive visit to the Pendleton Outlet.  They actually had some seconds at real savings and most of their stock didn’t feel as though it was purpose manufactured for the “outlet market”.

As we all know, shopping makes you hungry, so we turned to our restaurant guru, Mr. Constantine Konstantakis (aka Dino) for a recommendation.    He is totally amazing at deciphering the YELP and coming up with unique dining establishments.  I want to let him loose in the hinterlands of the UK and see what we find.  His latest score, Shirley’s Tippy Canoe in

Troutdale, Oregon.  It’s what might be termed a “road house” at the side of the “highway” along the Sandy River.  We were well outside the liberal sprawl of Portland and easing our way in to the more red-neck part of the state.  A two land road, banks of trees, trailer parks and old dilapidated cottages as well as modern McMansions dot the landscape and possibly, most disturbing, what the boys identified as a white supremacist flag in someone’s front yard.  Welcome to Oregon, the western headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan.  We pulled up in their tarmac and gravel parking lot with few other vehicles around.  It is a curious building and my impression was of a conglomeration of multiple building and add-ons, kinda like Topsy, it grow’d.  Passing through the doors and we were greeted with a number of locals belly up to the bar.  Rumor has it this was once a biker bar, so, they seem to be carrying on the tradition.

We had hoped to sit outdoors, but Mother Nature was not cooperating so we chose a table with a view of the outdoor garden and the river.  I don’t remember what the others ordered but I do recall that everyone was thrilled with their meal.  I went for their special, cubes of toasted sourdough, topped with small shrimp, smothered in clam chowder, sprinkled with cheese and green onions and baked.  Their claim to fame is apparently a homemade Sloppy Joe.  Strictly comfort food but my guess it really is made from scratch, in house. 

After filling our bellies we made the pilgrimage up the Gorge to Multnomah Falls.  It is still a delightful location, but after last year’s fire access is severely restricted.  Most of the old road is closed and the only access by car is from the highway.  Once there hiking is virtually non-existent.  You can’t even climb up to the bridge.  The extent of the burn is not particularly evident, perhaps some burnt trees on the ridgeline.  Guess they worked real hard to preserve the location and associated buildings. 

Having started the food thing, let me tell you about After Dark Cookies, a gift from Ernie (a Rhodesian Ridgeback) via his people Hubert and Stacy Ban.  A knock on our door (a surprise in and of itself) produced a young man with a delivery of four each, of six different types of cookies, hot from the oven.  And did I mention the two pints of ice cream.  Welcome to Portland, the land of food.  Small wonder people

say newcomers to the city gain 15 pounds.  You should have a look at their FAQs AFTER DARK COOKIES if you need a giggle.  Apparently you can only get deliveries Thursday thru Sunday after 8 p.m.  I can definitely recommend their Snickerdoodle, a personal favorite of mine.    This is definitely a business I did not need to know about.  Who can resist freshly baked cookies, on demand!

We did actually visit with Mick in between shopping and eating.  He was moved from the intensive care cardiac unit to the telemetry unit about 36 hours after surgery.  The drugs kept him pretty groggy so conversation or prolonged visits were not particularly satisfactory.  We made the pilgrimage twice a day and fortunately it was an easy drive from our place.

Hospital food is not exactly what one would call wonderful, but Providence takes it to new heights of inadequate.  Fortunately he wasn’t particularly interested but was well enough to remark that it wasn’t what one would call a peak experience.  We did sneak in some elicit Safeway Chinese which met with his approval.  And then there was the peanut butter and graham crackers, which under normal circumstances would be totally unacceptable.  Amazing what feels wonderful and exotic when you are flying high on narcotics.  The one plus from his point of view, no one tied to serve him Jello or pudding.

Long story short, he came home on Saturday afternoon.  The doctor had said that about 40% of people go home using nothing more than acetaminophen for pain relief and this is true for Mick.  The biggest challenge is the exhaustion and lack of energy, which was also to be expected.  It’s just that you can’t really know what that is unless you experience it.  We’re back in the condo, the family has left and we are experiencing what our friend Cynthia Care calls “Deep Local”.  We have become very familiar with the two blocks around our building.  The view from the window with children in the playground and dogs in the park is better than tv.  The weather has been pleasant, he’s on the mend, what more can you ask of life.