Pioneer Courthouse Square

John flew into Portland after spending 5 days in Cape Charles overseeing work on Ashling's hulls. Alexis flew in from Sacramento and we rejoined forces to see Portland. It is everything we had heard: liberal, some wacky laws, eclectic, very concerned about quality of life, and interesting! They have extensive urban transit, mainly electric trains that are similar to what you see in Germany.

We drove all around Old Town, the Pearl District and the business district. This isn't easy due to the high number of No Turns and No Left Turn intersections. We had to avoid a traffic jam caused by a pro-Palestinian rights protest march.

No more drive-through restaurants are allowed, so old locations that are grandfathered in are highly valued. A manager at a drive-through Starbucks theorized that it was intended to reduce driving.

Some buildings are entirely painted in interesting designs!

It drizzles incessantly.

The homeless are a tragic epidemic that are allowed by law to prevail against normal interests, including pedestrians and businesses. You see men changing clothes in the street, or walking about shirtless in 50 degree weather. They pitch tents on carefully bricked sidewalks in front of businesses. No one knows how to solve the issue.

The city feels small, communal, but isn't. It feels alive, and is. On the other hand, REI, Target and other stores are closing their downtown locations. The population in the metro area was growing at about 1% per year, but declined 1.7% in 2021.Read more