While cold and blustery weather lingers, I'm dreaming and knowing this too will come, No. 5

I took this photo at 6:43 p.m. on June 14 2008, as I walked across the Morrison Bridge towards Southeast Portland. Look at that blue sky! I hope that I can remember to take a similar photo this year, just to document any changes in the buildings. And I hope that the sky is just as blue! Can you see the people walking on the Eastbank Esplanade? They know how to enjoy the Willamette River's east bank. When I got there, I walked down that spiral ramp and along the esplanade until I came to the Hawthorne Bridge. Then I walked across it and began my homeward bus rides, taking a couple of them to get home. I lived in Northwest Portland then, in the Alphabet District. My little Mama and our miniature dachshund Duncan were still alive then, and we totally enjoyed our lives in Portland. We'd been here two years, almost to the day.

P.S. I work in the brick building with the flags on top. When I take photos from the rooftop garden, I'm on that lower part of the building, very near those windows, the ones half visible due to the angle of the photo.



There's a nice patio there, a neat place to go outside at break or at lunch, to enjoy whatever the weather has to offer. Here it is after a rain had marked the edges of the tiles. I took this photo on August 23, 2013, at 7:13 a.m.

The tunnel of light, usually known as the Hawthorne Bridge, downtown Portland

Part of the PDX Bridge Festival involves highlight the birthday bridge, the Hawthorne which turns 100 this year.

Here's a bit about the lights on the bridge, from the PDX Bridge Festival Web site:
FABRIC AND LIGHT

The centerpiece of this years festival is the Hawthorne Bridge, which celebrates its hundredth anniversary in 2010. In honor of the centennial of the nation’s oldest working vertical lift bridge, we’ve designed an installation that will transform this bridge into a large-scale work of kinetic art. The lighting display makes use of programmable and environmentally aware lighting technology to interact with the nightly vehicle and bike traffic on the bridge. The lights accentuate 48 panels of colored fabric installed in three spans of the bridge trusses, turning the structure into a wash of color and moving light, and marking the rhythm of commuter traffic as it moves across the bridge. The installation will be visible for the 15 days of the festival and can be viewed from neighboring bridges, both esplanades of the Willamette River and downtown buildings.

I got to take this photo Thursday night through the windshield of the Zipcar Artale, a Scion xA. After making sure that no one was behind me a we headed west across the Willamette River, I stopped on the bridge and took four photos. Oh, joy!

Come back tomorrow for some that I took from the Eastbank Esplanade. They will be my City Daily Photo Theme Day pictures!

To see the latest on our vacation and my trip to Talladega Superspeedway, be sure to check out Mama and Me from PDX. The truck race is on!

Kenny and Zuke's with Lamont, 1/15/2009

Thursday evening after work, Lamont and I met at Kenny and Zuke’s to eat dinner together before walking over to Powell’s Books.

Lamont had told me how delicious their pastrami is, as well as how huge the sandwiches are.

A week earlier when Marsha and I went to Powell's to attend a reading of ”Beauty of the City: A. E. Doyle, Portland's Architect" by Philip Niles,” we took Lamont's suggestion to heart. I'd tried a happy hour sandwich of said pastrami, on challah--Marsha's was on rye. The two of us shared a side of potato salad. After one bite of that good-sized sandwich, I seconded Lamont's opinion about that delicious meat; Marsha did, too. In fact, we decided that we would return soon, especially when Powell's scheduled another interesting book reading.

Back to last Thursday, Marsha decided since the weather was so much better, she'd take a walk along the ”Eastbank Esplanade beside the Willamette River.” She knew she wanted some good exercise, and she knew that Kenny and Zuke's would be there next time.

Here's a close-up of my sandwich and my potato salad; you can see a bit of Lamont's fries in the background. All in all, a delicious meal--he really enjoyed his Reuben Sliders, too, that you can see in the top photo.


Lamont and I attended Mark Bittman's reading in conjunction with the publication of his latest book, ”Food Matters.” I have to say, after listening to Bittman talk about his food philosophy and how he decided his own ideas worked best for him, I am giving some thought to my return visit to this wonderful deli in downtown Portland. By that I mean I need to eat more plants that entire day, then I can eat meat for supper. Simplistic interpretation, sure, but a starting point, too.

Anyway, I wanted to put my darling first-born son Lamont on the blog because I'm missing him. He's off camping on this cold winter's night, somewhere called Eagle Creek, out to the south of the Columbia River in the Gorge. He's sent me five Spot messages, the last one 6:49 p.m. I am comforted by that communication. I appreciate his understanding of my need for them. Right now I imagine that he is bundled up in his sleeping back, snug inside the tent a co-worker loaned him. He's going to call me tomorrow when he gets into cell-phone range, in addition to sending more Spots. Hooray!

Finally, gee, I wish I had taken a vacation day tomorrow so that I could watch the inauguration activities on TV all day. I'm going to have to settle for the specials tomorrow evening. I am so excited about our new president and hopeful for our country's future. Join me in prayer for President Obama, all politicians and all citizens as we work together to get America back on track. I believe Obama when he says, "Yes, we can."

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.

Echo Gate, public art along the Willamette River

One of four pieces of public art, created by RIGGA - a group of local artists, are featured between the Morrison Bridge and the floating walkway is the Echo Gate. Located beneath the Morrison Bridge, the sculpture 'echoes' the pier buildings and Shanghai tunnels of Portland's past. Echo Gate is made of copper plate that was heat-formed, fitted, and welded.



Here's some information I found online about the Eastbank Esplanade, where I found the Echo Gate the day that I photographed the arrival of the fleet. I was on the floating sidewalk when the fireboat doused me.

The Eastbank Esplanade provides visitors with a unique and distinctively urban experience. Tucked between Interstate 5 and the Willamette River, the Esplanade is 1.5 miles long, extending from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge with connections to eastside neighborhoods as well as across the river. Primarily a pedestrian/bicycle corridor, it offers unparalleled views of downtown Portland and leaves visitors with a whole new perspective of the river and the eastside.

Thirteen urban markers run the length of the Esplanade, marking the eastside street grid and providing information about the river and the rich history of the area. Seating walls, benches, overlooks, and small plaza areas offer places to stop, relax, and enjoy.

The 1,200 ft. long floating walkway is the longest floating walkway in the United States. Here, the sensation of walking on water adds another dimension to the experience. The adjoining 120 ft. public boat dock provides moorage for recreational boaters as well as space for a future river taxi and other commercial uses.

A cantilevered walkway is suspended from the bulkhead of the original City Pier #2, providing opportunities to view the old pier as well as the riverbank below.