The guy I never beat on the squash court
I took this photo at the Bollywood Theater, in Southeast Portland, of my old college friend who I haven’t seen in way too many years.

I had a great lunch recently with an old college friend and former squash partner. I don’t think I ever won a true squash match against J. when we played way, way back in the day in college. (There were some great players at my college, and J. was among them.) Some people are just naturally talented, and J. is a gifted athlete, among many having other fine attributes. My knee prevents me from doing pivot sports, which spares me the need to try and have a rematch. Injuries sometimes can be a blessing. So can good people.

Grant and Mt. Scott parks, Portland
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro

Portland, like many cities, has a lot of parks. Seen here are Grant Park and Mt. Scott Park. Portland’s parks have this almost eerie quality with Douglas firs and ultra green grass, manicured by Parks and Recreation Department staff. It is as if some great omnipotent being wanted to make a cross between an English garden and a Pacific Northwest forest, and plop it in a city. That is what they feel like to me. I like them. So do residents, who approved a big bond levy on Nov. 4 to pay for improvements.  (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Fall and fog in Portland, Oregon
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.

It was a foggy, cool, and beautiful day (Friday, Nov. 7), here in the Northwest. The colors on the oaks and maples have been spectacular, and I brought my GoPro camera on a trip to and from the swimming pool. I took these along the way, through the Woodstock, Mt. Scott, and Eastmoreland neighborhoods. I’m a sucker for color and foilage every time. What is not to like about nature doing its natural thing? (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

The Vespa mural in northwest Portland
A GoPro’s perspective on the Vespa mural (October 2014).
A GoPro’s perspective on the Vespa mural (October 2014).

In northwest Portland, on NW Vaughn Street and NW 23rd Street, the Vespa dealership partnered with mural artist Larry Kangas to create a 10-feet high and 65-feet long mural that celebrates neighborhoods and the Vespa’s connection to Italy. It is known mostly as the Vespa mural. I love murals. They transform urban spaces into a living shared meeting place. You cannot miss this mural if you take Interstate 405 to the west side of the Willamette and exit at Vaughn Street. And there it is. I suggest parking your car, grabbing a coffee, and taking a closer look. (Click on each photograph to see a larger photograph.)

Temecula, Calif., a suburb in the desert

I visited Temecula in September and enjoyed myself. I could not imagine living here, but people love all that sun. It is a brutally hot place, and yet even amid the worst drought ever, lawns are green and everything looks like the Midwest, if you ignore the thermometer and the rock and scrub mountains that surround it. Probaby a few Beaver and Wally Cleavers live here. You cannot survive here or function without a car. Period.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Portland
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken with a GoPro.
Taken in October 2014.

It is not a happy day given the elections that saw virtually unchecked amounts of unregulated and mostly corporate cash sway electoral outcomes in my country. So, I have decided to publish some peaceful pictures of a peaceful place, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in the now up-and-coming area north of Chinatown, practically underneath Interstate 405. I have seen this church for decades and was amazed it had not been torn down and converted to, oh, say a parking lot or bland building. Finally, I decided to pay a visit to the church two weeks ago. It looks like it barely clung to life as the interstate highway juggernaut ripped apart neighborhoods across the country, including in Portland–roads that i use daily, I might add. Dating from 1889, St. Patrick is the oldest Catholic church in Portland. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Portland’s industrial landscapes
This shot was taken just below Portland’s Fremont Bridge, in Northeast Portland.
Fuel storage and trucks line the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.

Portland seems to be associated with Nike, Portlandia, Intel, and hipsters in the national imagination. But for those of us who live here, the city itself tells a story of international shipping, truck manufacturing, rail traffic, shipbuilding, and other heavy industries. And still, this Portland never seems to make a blip on the national consciousness. Well, here are a couple of pictures of the Portland I see every day.

A long journey ends in La Jolla, on the Pacific’s golden shores

Some things take time … a long, long, long time. Timing requires great patience, and also knowing when to act. In life, lucky is the person who can be both patient and know when to act. I am very, very lucky.

In late September 2014, I celebrated, here, at La Jolla Beach, the place I had come 25 years earlier, when this chapter of my odyssey began. I will forever have an endearing attachment to this place. It was here where I finally felt what I had long wanted.

 

Fall colors in and around Concordia University
I took a picture of these maple leaves in Portland’s Concordia neighborhood.
Luther Hall at Concordia University
Fall colors illuminate Concordia University’s Luther Hall.

I discovered the neighborhoods and campus of Concordia University, a Lutheran university in Northeast Portland where a friend of mine is on the faculty. This is part of my larger project to visit and document all of the neighborhoods and landmarks and flavors of Portland. The school is a little over 100 years old and still has some of the older buildings standing, covered in ivy. Fall colors were spectacular on and around the campus. The surrounding area is also called Concordia. I very much enjoyed this part of town, which historically has been associated with a lot of crime and drug traffic. Now houses start at $300,000 and up.

A few more canine candids from the Vancouver Kennel Club Show
I took this at the Vancouver Kennel Club Show on Oct. 25, 2014.
I took this at the Vancouver Kennel Club Show on Oct. 25, 2014.
I took this at the Vancouver Kennel Club Show on Oct. 25, 2014.

I used my GoPro camera fo the first time at a dog show. Dogs are fascinated by the GoPro. I think they cannot decide if it is a  toy or food. Some dog owners thought the dogs would try to snack on it. But they behaved, and they demonstrated perfect camera form. (Click on each photograph to see a larger picture in a separate picture page.)