Portland

An abandoned Foster's Freeze covered with graffiti.

Sacramento’s Oldest Ice Cream Shop, Portland’s Neon Signs and More From Our I-5 Road Trip

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Our trip up to Portland and back was filled with stops to charge our car and take photos, I also had a couple of days in Portland to roam my old stomping grounds and take photos of things I never did while I lived there. Thrifty Klean Center. 1661 S. El Dorado Street, Stockton, California.…

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Overall of the Sandy Jug, which is a building shaped like a jug, painted a pale cream. The very top is painted brown, with a gold stopper. Around the shoulder of the bottle are gold circles with roses painted in the middle. A door sits in the middle, with a blue neon sign reading "Cocktails" above, on either side of the door are windows of glass blocks.

Grabbing a Drink at Portland’s Only Bottle Shaped Bar, the Sandy Jug

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While living in Portland I would sometimes find myself passing by a massive jug, solidly painted maroon. Inside? A strip club dubbed Pirate’s Cove. I always sighed, and bemoaned the fact it was a strip club. Here was a beautiful example of programatic architecture, and it was a strip club? And not even painted well?…

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Sign reading "The Skeleton Key Odditorium"

The Skeleton Key Odditorium is Keeping Portland Weird

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Portland’s unofficial motto is “Keep Portland Weird” something stolen from Austin, Texas. And Portland certainly marches to the beat of its own drum. One place that is helping keep Portland weird is the Skeleton Key Odditorium, a 2,500 square foot museum filled with oddities, spooky treasures, and best of all, a spirit board collection. Visitors pass…

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Myself seated on a bench just outside the roller rink above you can see the pipe organ that hangs above the rink.

Oaks Park: One of the Last Trolley Parks is Home to America’s Oldest Roller Rink

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Located on the banks of the Willamette River is a true treasure of Portland, Oaks Amusement Park. Not only is it one of America’s oldest amusement parks, it is home to the oldest roller rink in the United States. In 1905 the Portland area was gearing up for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Meanwhile…

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Aloha Portland

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In this case, “Aloha” means “Goodbye”. Last night Patrick and I had a small going-away party at one of our favorite bars in town, Hale Pele. The fabulous tiki atmosphere I felt was fitting as we were traveling to a more tropical climate, and it gave me a very good excuse to wear my new-to-me…

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