Catching Up In Portland

I thought we might need time to readjust to being back in the States and seeing Portland again, but that wasn't so. It was like we'd never left.

There were some things I didn't realise how much I'd missed. Like hearing All Things Considered on the radio. Reading The Edge column in the Living section of The Oregonian. Rogue Mocha Porter.

And likewise, there were things we'd forgotten about that we didn't miss: watching people pushing shopping carts down the street, scavenging bottles from curbside recycling bins for their return value; being asked for spare change or a light; the loud conversations of meth users on the bus.

But it seemed like, after no time at all, some subconscious switch was flipped, and I felt like this was all my normal place, that I wasn't visiting, and I found it hard to even properly remember details of England to compare with.

I had time to catch up on all my old haunts and neighbourhoods:

• Bipartisan Cafe
• Taylor Court Groceries
  
• riding on Tri-Met
• Rich's Cigars (for the magazines of course ...)
• Everyday Music
  
• J Cafe
• Laurelwood
  
• Milo's (for breakfast!)
• Mount Tabor Park
• a haircut at Bishops
• Jackpot Records
• Powell's Books
• Belmont Station
• Zupans
• Anthem Records
• my favourite raisin bran muffin at Pazzo's bakery
  
• Music Millennium (I was sad to learn the 23rd Avenue store is closing)
• Pizza Schmizza
• the newspaper triumvirate of Wednesday's Willamette Week, Thursday's Mercury, and Friday's Arts & Entertainment section in The Oregonian
  

I also saw lots that had changed. I couldn't miss the reconstruction of the Portland Transit Mall and the new MAX line rails. I rode the streetcar from end to end. There were enough new buildings in the Pearl District to be too many to take in on my brief ride through. I also saw some of the South Waterfront and the new tram linking OHSU (I wanted to ride it, but it's only for monthly pass holders, but I did get to see it up close).

But, aside from a few changes (like Coffee People disappearing, the Hawthorne Coffee and Tea Merchant moving down the street) it was uncanny how I still knew exactly where everything was, just which path to take, which door to open and how high to hold out my hand for the door handle. I guess a year isn't so long to be away.