T-shirt #121: BOSTON (Red Sox away)

This shirt was part of a yearly tradition of getting a new Red Sox shirt at the start of every season…I think I got this one at Bob’s. I wear it today because it is the last day of my first visit to Portland, the end of an awesome and fun-filled week. What you might not know is that Portland was a coin flip away from being called Boston: When it came time to name their new town, Pettygrove and Lovejoy (the founders) each wanted to name it after his home town. They settled the argument with a coin toss. Pettygrove won, and named it after Portland, Maine; had Lovejoy won, he intended to name it after Boston, Massachusetts (from http://www.portland.com ).

Here are some of the highlights of my trip (other than hanging out with great friends I haven’t seen in months!):

1. Voodoo Doughnut (http://voodoodoughnut.com/) - I had a chocolate frosted chocolate doughnut with Cocoa Puffs on top
2. Slappy Cakes (http://slappycakes.com/) - Glen and I made our own pancakes (the grill is part of the table) with regular and peanut butter batter and chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, bananas, and apples
3. Powell’s Used Books (http://www.powells.com/) - 3 floors of a city-block big bookstore, I got a book of 3 Edward Burns screenplays for less than $5
4. Simpsons Landmarks (http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/10/08/portland-or-home-to-the-simpsons/ ) – I took pictures of all the streets that named characters, went to the original Evergreen Terrace (where Matt Groening grew up), and unsuccessfully tried to find the Bart Simpson in the cement near the high school Matt Groening went to
5. Byways Café (http://www.bywayscafe.com/) - A place that reminded me of Harry’s in Westboro, although the latest it’s open is 3PM
6. The Rose Garden (http://www.rosegardenstore.org/) - although not many roses were in bloom, it was still a pretty sweet place to walk around. Also, I had my first frozen banana…very good
7. Last Thursday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Street,_Portland,_Oregon ) – a fun street fair that happens (you guessed it) the last Thursday of every month, fun to check out all the vendors, the interesting mix of people, and bicycle jousters (yup)
8. Opening day of Wiffle Ball 2010 – The rain was minimal, the results might have been different if we had the “official” umpire chair, but the category was fun
9. Road Trip to Seattle – Glen and I checked out a few rock landmarks (Jimi Hendrix’s grave, the venue of Pearl Jam’s first show, The Moore (where Pearl Jam’s Even Flow video was taped), the house Kurt Cobain ended his life, and the (although disappointing) Sound Garden sculpture that the band got their name from. We also got to have dinner with our friend Mike (another person from The ‘Boro), his wife, and daughter (who loves me for some reason!)
10. Bruins game 1 Brunch – this morning, The Bruins played game 1 in their 2^nd round match-up with The Flyers. It started at 9:30 AM here, so we had brunch while watching the nail-biter that ended with Savard’s first game back OT winner…great stuff.

So, my week in Portland is coming to an end. It was a great time and reminded me how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends. I look forward to my next visit…which if The Bruins start losing, may be soon!