Portland Evening...



Last night I headed out for a run around town. It had cooled off from the high 90's and was finally at a temperature were it was comfortable to go out. I miss the ocean but the Willamette River runs through the center of Portland so I can at least see some water, though it is nothing like the ocean. I can't wait to get back to the beaches and my friend the Pacific Ocean. Portland has a lot to offer but it is not that same as living within a few minutes of the ocean. 

The Broadway Bridge with the setting sun behind.

  Portland it actually split by a river and most of the city is on the east side. The west side is a much smaller area but it is where all the large buildings are. The east side is mostly residential and small business, the center of town is only a few blocks in size, squeezed between the river and the western hills that rise up more than 1000 feet. Portland has become popular lately, but in real life the people are quite dirty and uneducated. 20% of the people in Oregon are on food assistance programs and a lot of people have not finished high school. Hippie life is a big thing, smoking and drinking is a major past time, lots of vagrants around the center of town. The city prides itself on being 'Green' but there is a lot of garbage and pollution around the city. There is a distinct difference in people, one group are the educated and working professionals, the other are the barely working low skilled hippie types. The city looks nice but it is not as wonderful as depicted.
 

 

"Big Pink" in downtown Portland