Ah. I understand. With many extended family members and siblings living in Canada we can dream but our kids and grand kids live here. And we love Oregon.
You are talking about down to earth every day life. Making me want to get the senior bus pass. I drive so often for errands yet I too would like to explore and visit more of Portland. I’ve done less of this now than in the past. I’m hoping more sunny days turn the sour into sweet!
Best thing about that Honored Citizen pass is that it tops out at $28 for the month. That’s quite a bargain. This month I rode for free after the 12th. We had a 2006 Outback we bought in about 2010 with 69,000 miles on it. I has maybe 89,000. I haven’t driven it in more than five years and Robert literally just drives for errands.
I love public transit and am thinking I should just get on a bus and see the sights. We used to take the grandkids on field trips to PDX or Pioneer Square on MAX. Great fun.
That's the part I enjoy ~ the engaging. It's why I eschew using those self checkout lines at stores: there's no one to interact with. I enjoyed visiting with you at church yesterday. I hope your travels this week bring delight to your days.
As a long-time NYC resident, I share your love for public transportation. Without it, I'd never be able to get around the city. These days, thanks to the great apps available, it's so easy to plan a trip via bus or subway or combination of the two, especially to places I've never been. That's also what's so irksome, among other things, about Trump's threat to end congestion pricing in NYC, which provides the Metropolitan Transit Authority funding to maintain and improve the transit system on which so many of us rely.
My husband loves the NYC subways. I fear them because so often the elevators are broken, and they’re so crowded. Plus, you can’t see anything. I prefer buses, slower but more entertaining.
Skeletons and all the tiny wonders ... the viola popping up in a stairway crack ... are what make your posts to appealing. The world around us that few people pay attention to. I can fully understand why you like to wonder, seemingly without purpose other that to get out and about. A noble endeavor! In my youth when I traveled to different places, I would simply walk around the town. No museums, tourist hot spots, or social activities. Just walking and looking around, smelling the atmosphere, seeing where and how people lived. As for your feeling down and sulky, perhaps you suffer from a rollicking case of Portland. I've been there a couple of times and it's ... and maybe it's just me ... depressing. Gray skies, drizzly rain. I'm solar powered. But it's apparent you love Portland and are intimately involved in that relationship. I just had one-night stands. Love this column today.
Portland is not gray and glum! It’s sunny today. I agree with you about just walking in a town, forget the tourist attractions.
Portland is all very fine, but I’d like to leave the country. Join my sister in Cork, Ireland, for example. But no country would have me with the MS diagnosis. So I just stay here and keep my head down.
Keeping our heads down is about all we can do. Get out once in a while to do errands and check the scenery to see if anything positive is happening. Here in MAGAland, at least the flags and posters are disappearing. Only about a dozen in the whole county that I know of. I think people are getting tired of the circus parade.
Ah. I understand. With many extended family members and siblings living in Canada we can dream but our kids and grand kids live here. And we love Oregon.
You are talking about down to earth every day life. Making me want to get the senior bus pass. I drive so often for errands yet I too would like to explore and visit more of Portland. I’ve done less of this now than in the past. I’m hoping more sunny days turn the sour into sweet!
Best thing about that Honored Citizen pass is that it tops out at $28 for the month. That’s quite a bargain. This month I rode for free after the 12th. We had a 2006 Outback we bought in about 2010 with 69,000 miles on it. I has maybe 89,000. I haven’t driven it in more than five years and Robert literally just drives for errands.
I love public transit and am thinking I should just get on a bus and see the sights. We used to take the grandkids on field trips to PDX or Pioneer Square on MAX. Great fun.
Sometimes homeless people on the bus not so much fun. But we are called to witness humanity. Sometime I engage folks. Everyone has a story.
That's the part I enjoy ~ the engaging. It's why I eschew using those self checkout lines at stores: there's no one to interact with. I enjoyed visiting with you at church yesterday. I hope your travels this week bring delight to your days.
Those skeletons! Quite the wonder indeed. You are such a sharp observer of the world, filtered through your unique lens. 😀
loved reading of your travels, thoughts, observations this Sunday morning, thanks, Fran.
Fran, I really enjoyed your tour through Portland via transit. I saw in my mind all your stops along the way. Love reading your stories. Kraig
As a long-time NYC resident, I share your love for public transportation. Without it, I'd never be able to get around the city. These days, thanks to the great apps available, it's so easy to plan a trip via bus or subway or combination of the two, especially to places I've never been. That's also what's so irksome, among other things, about Trump's threat to end congestion pricing in NYC, which provides the Metropolitan Transit Authority funding to maintain and improve the transit system on which so many of us rely.
My husband loves the NYC subways. I fear them because so often the elevators are broken, and they’re so crowded. Plus, you can’t see anything. I prefer buses, slower but more entertaining.
Skeletons and all the tiny wonders ... the viola popping up in a stairway crack ... are what make your posts to appealing. The world around us that few people pay attention to. I can fully understand why you like to wonder, seemingly without purpose other that to get out and about. A noble endeavor! In my youth when I traveled to different places, I would simply walk around the town. No museums, tourist hot spots, or social activities. Just walking and looking around, smelling the atmosphere, seeing where and how people lived. As for your feeling down and sulky, perhaps you suffer from a rollicking case of Portland. I've been there a couple of times and it's ... and maybe it's just me ... depressing. Gray skies, drizzly rain. I'm solar powered. But it's apparent you love Portland and are intimately involved in that relationship. I just had one-night stands. Love this column today.
Portland is not gray and glum! It’s sunny today. I agree with you about just walking in a town, forget the tourist attractions.
Portland is all very fine, but I’d like to leave the country. Join my sister in Cork, Ireland, for example. But no country would have me with the MS diagnosis. So I just stay here and keep my head down.
Keeping our heads down is about all we can do. Get out once in a while to do errands and check the scenery to see if anything positive is happening. Here in MAGAland, at least the flags and posters are disappearing. Only about a dozen in the whole county that I know of. I think people are getting tired of the circus parade.