Portland with the Dudes Part One

So the road trip to Portland was interesting. I actually think I’d like living there more than Seattle, mostly because their downtown reminds me of the East Village / Lower East Side in Manhattan. Although, after telling someone those feelings back here in Seattle, they told me it’s like a hipster Vegas. As in, there really isn’t much useful commerce or industry there. All there is are boutique shops, brunch spots, bars and night clubs. Which on first thought sounds great, on the second, I sure wouldn’t want to work in any of those places for my lively hood, um… unless of course I owned the shop.

Looks like this sculpture ended up with two goofballs instead of eyeballs. Just look at em! My two favorite brothers in the world! This was just outside the soccer stadium. I was really surprised to find out the city has a stadium for that. Way to go Portland! The road trip down was relatively uneventful. We all took our turn to play the tunes we wanted to show each other and we took a couple of breaks to piss. Piss is the choice word here, because it was just the dudes after all. The hotel suite dad got was pretty nice and spacious with full kitchen and living room. It was also conveniently located just a few blocks from the old timey music gathering that attracted my dad and younger brother to make the road trip plans.

There’s my awesomely talented father carrying his banjo. I snapped this one all paparazzi style so I could catch  him off guard in front of the urban style building as the backdrop. I remember he’d make up songs for us when we were little and we would dance around in the living room of our old house off the Rock Road in STL. My older brother and I teased him through-out the weekend about him being the seed for our overly passionate musical involvement now. Its true and I”m not sure if he like hearing it or not, but I like saying it. Even though my dad said he didn’t know the regional songs most of the people were playing at the gathering, it was great to hear him play a few Irish tunes with my two brothers.

(Continued in Portland with the Dudes Part Two)

Advertisement