Friday, July 25, 2008 - From the Eastbank Esplanade, the Hawthorne Bridge and a portion of downtown Portland's skyline

July 9, when lunch time rolled around, I took my zippered-shut plastic tote and set off walking on the approach to the Hawthorne Bridge, thinking I'd make my way down the curving ramp beneath the Marquam Bridge and find somewhere to sit and eat lunch on the Eastbank Esplanade.

Right beside the Hawthorne Bridge, I found a backless bench on a fenced-in concrete deck that juts out from the shore, right next to a fire station. I spread out my camera, my bottle of sweet iced tea I'd brought from home, my paperback book, my sandwich and Fritos. As much as I enjoyed my food and drink, I enjoyed the glorious blue sky even more. To tell the truth, though, I didn't find enough people-watching to satisfy me, so since then I've been riding a bus across the bridge, walking a couple of blocks to one or the other of the parks on either side of the Thompson Elk, finding a bench in the sun or the shade, and eating my lunch there. Plenty of people, plenty of vehicles--a watcher's (and photographer's) paradise.