We Saw People!
The general consensuses is that Portlanders hibernate. For the better part of winter, we've noticed that most people stay indoors. Around our neighborhood, there hasn't been a ton of people jogging or spending time outside. The exception to the rule has been Alberta Park. We like to throw the football and watch the dogs play while standing among the old growth trees. Its definitely awesome. The other exception to the rule has been the West side of the city. Especially on nice days, people always seem to be out and about. This past Saturday was one of those days.
We were over in the Southwest running a few errands. After I visited the Apple Store, Teresa wanted to stop by JCrew. The blocks around Pioneer Courthouse Square were buzzing with life. It was a refreshing change from the empty streets of our neighborhood.
Now, I can only deal with so much shopping before I need refreshment. On other trips to this area of the city, we've noticed the Rock Bottom Brewery, but we hadn't made a visit. Its part of a chain, so it wasn't high on our list of places to visit. I honestly had low expectations. On this day, it seemed packed with people. We decided to give it a shot. We were lucky to grab a couple spots at the bar. March Madness was on the TV; I bet that was the reason for the large crowd. It didn't matter to us. Everyone was having a good time on a Saturday afternoon! It might have been one of the first times we visited a bar in the afternoon, and people were doing it. Last time I noticed, this is the weekend and your suppose to have fun. We proceeded to order a few beers. I tried a Hefeweizen and Cast Conditioned IPA. The IPA had great flavor and was very smooth. I liked it a lot.
We didn't stay long and were back in our neighborhood for dinner. Instead of cooking on Saturday, we went over to Alberta for visit to the Mash Tun. Surprise, surprise, there wasn't a single seat at the bar available! We sat at a table an ordered a delicious dinner. I enjoyed their Red brew. It was a good end to an enjoyable day.
Since last week was the start of spring, I am hoping we see more people enjoying the outdoors of the city. All winter long, we've only seen people in certain places. Whenever we visited Portland in the summer, people were always outside. Its great to see this transition beginning. Heres to the impending months of perfect weather...
