Every week, at Weight Watchers, we make a commitment to do something to get us closer to our health goals. I committed to doing one of the walks from the book, Portland Hill Walks, by Laura Foster, which the handsome David bought for me.
Unfortunate side note: Upon hearing about my commitment, my otherwise lovely Weight Watchers leader Shelley told the class, "This is a great book. I know Laura. She's from Ohio. We forgive her for not being from here." As a gypsy/pirate, I h-a-t-e "You ain't from 'round here, stranger" regionalism. It was huge in Santa Cruz, too. Except there it was, "Locals only, dude." Shut up.
Anyway.
Today's walk was a 3.5 miler that took me from my own neighborhood through Goose Hollow into Portland Heights.
I started the walk at the Portland Art Museum, where Rico and I have walked many times since it's close to our apartment.
I learned today that the museum was designed in 1931 by the famous modernist architect Pietro Belluschi. Born in 1899, Belluschi was educated at Cornell University. Besides designing this building, he served on the teams that designed some of Reed College's buildings, the Multnomah County Library, and the uber-cool Meier & Frank building that houses the sacred downtown Macy's. Belluschi went on to become the Dean of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), so Pietro was something of a smartie pants.
As all people named Peter are. (Start your blog, sweetie.)
Next on the tour was the downtown Safeway. I found it unremarkable at first, since this is my regular market.
In fact, I was there last night when a man with no teeth told me that I could take his place in line, even though I had as many groceries as he did. When I said, "That's okay," he said, "Don't you know that Deepak Chopra says you should accept gifts?" So I thanked him and took his. While I checked out, he told me "3:10 to Yuma" is his favorite movie. I told him I saw the first one (from 1957), but not the new one with Russell Crowe. He said the old one was better. Glenn Ford was a teensy baby when he made the movie, and, in fact, it was very good.
The guidebook states that "This is not your mother's Safeway, with suburban parents carting their toddlers around. The customers are a bit more eclectic here." Indeed. Quoting Chopra and all.
Besides dispensing historic and "not-my-mother's whatever" facts, I love that this book reveals secret staircases that lead walkers from one neighborhood to the next. Here, Senor Suave revels in 158 steps of freedom.
The book also brings celebrity to countless microdots on the planet, you'd otherwise miss. This tree was planted in 1910. It is called by the book, "a giant curb-eating sequoia."
The house whose curb is being eaten used to contain Nan Wood Honeyman, who was a gal pal of Eleanor Roosevelt and in 1937, she became the first Oregon woman in the U.S. Congress.
Next on the tour is a cool house at 2030 SW Vista Avenue. Built in 1885, it's the oldest house on the street.
AND, it's for sale! For a mere $1.7 million, you, too, can own 6,000 square feet of 12-foot ceilings and fancy molding. I must have it. Shiny, shiny.
It's right around the corner from an "authentic ruin."
This is the antique brick gate house for the city's reservoir that was deemed insufficient for the city's use by 1895, when it was abandoned. Still, cool.
Not in the tourbook was this cool public sculpture.
And this private one--honoring Christmas, Easter, and Fourth of July.
It belongs to this house.
I only bring these last points up because it's the microdots on the planet that make walking in Portland worthwhile. 
Like San Francisco, it has painted ladies and gorgeous cityscapes. Like Santa Cruz, it has natural beauty. (That's Mt. Adams in the distance. I gotta learn how to shoot volcanos.)
But, it's not either of those places. And, these walks reveal details about Portland's specialness that leads me to understand why Shelley is such a protective native. Still, I'm staying.
And, I'm telling everyone.
I love your blog. We really miss Portland, and I've been in most of the spots you showed. That last shot from the Heights is much like the view from our last house, which was above OHSU. Thanks for taking me along on your walk and pointing me to the book. Our daughter still lives in Portland, and I'd like to give her this book so she and Brent can take some great walks around Portland.
Posted by: innkeeper | February 24, 2008 at 06:52 PM
oooo, i love stuff like this! i hope you keep writing about the walks. :)
Posted by: gl. | February 26, 2008 at 11:15 AM
I just made your "curb-eating (???) sequoia the desktop background on my computer. Now I feel small and inconsequential--and some days that is a good thing.
Posted by: Iowa | February 26, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Cool virtual walking tour of Portland :-) Why does it seem like Portland has all the great things I would love? I'm sure there are some cool walking tours around here but it doesn't seem like they'd be nearly as interesting. Ah, Portland...I hear you calling!
Posted by: Tree | February 27, 2008 at 08:16 AM
As one who has obtained paranoia from people conducting google searches to obtain information (for good or evil) on other people; I have decided to refrain from blogging while submitting applications. Just to avoid any sort of e-harm.
Posted by: Sugarman | February 27, 2008 at 05:20 PM