The Albina Press

The Press
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

I love this place! This is a photo from my phone of the Albina Press on N. Albina just n. of the Mississippi activity area. We love this place because they know how to do coffee. They server Stumptown, a local fav, and for drip coffee, they don't drip, they use a french press. One of the baristas has an award for being the best barista at a competition. They also have a large comfortable space with Wi-Fi and art.
Our walk today was to the Pet store- Healthy Pet's NW. They sell excellent pet foods that are healthy and organic and for us, geared specifically to our little Chihuahuas. Have I told you about our little dogs? We have 3 Chihuahuas, Phoebe, Frodo and Franka. Phoebe and Frodo are bro and sis and Franka is thier older crazier step sister. We love them.
Back to the walk. The weather was cool and a bit windy, but we pressed on. The dogs go through about 1 bag of Royal Canin dog food specifically for Chihuahas in 1 week, so we've done this walk to the pet store every saturday this new year. It's great. I also entered thier grand opening contest and won some dog biscuits. mmmmmm. Our walk took us over Skidmore bridge and up Mississippi/Albina. We took the dogs and strolled past some new businesses opening by the coffee house. Atlas Tattoo, moved from NE Pdx to our hood. Mississippi community Health Clinic. A massage studio where we met Travis and Annie, the new owners. Welcome! It was then up to Alberta and out to the Alberta arts district. This is a nice walk because we're walking through neighborhoods mixed with commerce. Alberta is a hub of activity with stores, restaurants and art galleries. Our favorite kids shop is there - Wild Child PDX, a locale for the non-gap parent. We picked up some amazing items for Anna's cousin's soon to come girl. We went down to the pet store, got our food and then Anna needed some new shoes. pedX is truly a shoe shangrila as they state. They have some great brands and really know what to pick and sell. Anna picked up a pair whilst I hung with the dogs and showed them off.
Our return walk was nice, yet chilly. The wind and sprinkles picked up, so we hurried back. I love my neighborhood.

Another shot of the coffee house:

Portlandia

Picture(2.jpg
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

nice little woman on a perch. she has a spear too. i remember when portlandia was drifted down the columbia and willamette on a barge from hood river or the dalles.

i posted this because i was walking all over pdx after work and taking pictures with my camera phone. i love this - take picture, send to flicker, post on blog.

another thought- there are cool public bathrooms built all over downtown which are currently closed due to the homeless challenge we have.
have a good weekend.

dog on chair

Picture(2.jpg
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

quiet day for walking and camera-ing. is that a word? so i worked and worked and sat and sat and then.... ate lunch- mmmm veggie chili i made. then i surfed the web a little (2 hrs) and then left for beers with jake. sound like a good movie doesn't is? office space? yes, that seems to mimic my life sometimes. so what should i write about since i didn't do my afternoon walk home - ......

BEER!
Mississippi blvd has a brewery- Amnesia Brewing. Started last summer by a young couple who just wanted to brew beer and grill sausages. We began visiting because it was on the way home and they knew how to chose good micros. Now they have thier own and I can't say enough about how excellent the IPA is. They have it on tap at 6 other bars/restaurants in the hood and that is exciting. So, here's the story of the photo - this is the owners husky who hangs around. Christine, the owner, informed us that he taught himself to sit in the chair and has been doing it for a few months. What a cool dog.

nopo sunset

nopo sunset
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

Walked home toda via NW, the Pearl, broadway bridge, N. Flint ave, vancouver, fremont, mississippi, skidmore and home. Nice walk. I had to do some shopping for bread, romaine and wine for dinner and then started walking throug the pearl. It began sprinkling, but I held out.
Many are against the Pearl, calling it gentrification, banal, yuppified etc. I love it. I love the warehouses converted to appartments, i love the modernity, I love the feeling of the city. There aren't any grocery stores, but plenty of boutiques and restaurants. Oh well. Like I said, I love it. I was a kid growing up in the country always wanting to be in the city, now I have that chance.
The walk took me through n. pdx up to fremont and then over to mississippi. i got offered "want to stay warm" just off mississippi and i declined. the fun of my hood.

More pictures from my walk:

Two racoons having some fun.......

ha ha ha, we heard the high pitches screams, the cat calls, the rustling- i thought it was a cat fight, but no...... suddenly, not 15 feet away accross the street we see two cute racoons. After a bit more screaming and us walking, the two coons were headlighted by a car and we realized they were doing the nasty. now the screams make sense.

we did a nice walk today with the Mazamas of Portland. They put on a "ramble" every Tuesday and Thursday. A ramble is a walk in the evening around the streets of Portland. Our walk was a moderate one which began @ NW 19th and Kearny and progressed up through the west hills via Pittock Mansion to Hoyt Arboretum. We didn't make it that far. Being a daily walker of 10-12,000 steps, we felt we could handle the moderate walk. Once we began the hills up into Portland's west side, we realized we were a little over our heads. We kept up for about 1/2 hr, and then backed off and made our own way through the hills and NW Portland for the next 1 1/2 hr for a total of 10,000 steps and 2 hrs of walking. I'm proud of us. We didn't make their walk, we ended up making our own and saw some amazing homes and views of the city.

Thank you Grace for hooking us up with the Mazamas. We'll see you next Tuesday.

Steel Bridge Jan 2005

Steel Bridge Jan 2005
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

Walked home today via the east side esplanade. Nice day - sunny, dry, warm. The walk was pleasant and quiet, gave me time to think and wind down from a day in cubicle world.

Caddy

Caddy
Originally uploaded by Brett Burmeister.

Walking home via N. Williams, I came accross this very nice, yet unique caddy. Never seen a caddy el-camino from the 70's. Parked outside of Sloans, the famous tavern with the semi nose attached to the side. I enjoy my walks because they allow me to see Portland and especially my neighborhood from a different view. I see things I've never seen before.