Time: 4:18 pm
Temp: 52 degrees F (feels like 52)
Conditions: Showers, wind 6 mph
Distance: 3.5 miles out, 3.6 miles back (7.1 miles total)
Well, it's a been a long slog in training leading up to the Edinburgh Half at the end of May - sprained ankle, irritation in the ball of my left foot, fatigue - but this weekend everything magically clicked and after Sunday I feel like I'm ready for anything! Eleven miles on Friday and seven on Sunday - that's more than I've ever done in a three day span. Wasn't particularly fast, but no ankle or foot pain, which means the careful balancing of rest and recovery with effort is finally paying off. Phew!
And so, from the Kenton branch I headed further west toward St. Johns.
Didn't park in the Kenton Library lot...only THREE spaces! Cute but rather ridiculous. At least there was plenty of parking. And you've gotta love the Portlandia-style knitting covering the bike rack.
Heading down Kilpatrick, and then Halleck streets, I passed another little league ballfield as well as a residential courtyard with a twist: A food cart! (surprise surprise) They truly are everywhere in this city now.
As I reached Lombard Street and continued west, I came across this sign, where I briefly wondered "Homeless shelter? Counseling center?"
But turning 180 degrees, I looked and realized, "No, a pub." Of course.
Further down Lombard, at an overpass I got a great view of train tracks running north-south. I love this receding viewpoint south toward Portland:
I glanced at my watch and realized I had just a few minutes before the library closed. I almost sprinted the rest of the way, and arrived tired and sweaty at the elegant looking St. Johns branch, which looked very much like the Belmont branch from the outside. I had a brief conversation with a patron who explained that this branch had undergone a major renovation recently, and while nice, they got rid of the old light fixtures. The new fixtures look great though (and damn, I accidentally deleted that photo), very much like the North Portland ones, so while a little less "historically authentic," it does look really nice, inside and out. (You'll have to take my word for it, or check it out yourself.)
With only a couple of minutes before closing, I headed straight for the CD rack, and grabbed two intriguing discs from the F section:
As I left the library, I immediately came across this restaurant, easily one of the worst puns ever for a place of business. I assumed you would feel "kung fu'd" after eating there, but checking Google reviews later, I see customers are pretty happy with the place. So, don't let a bad pun prevent enjoyment!
On the way back down Lombard Street, I spotted a nice bit of tile work (three separate panels of it actually). I got the impression if you squinted your eyes from a distance you might make out an actual design or pattern. Here's one panel:
Turning down Willis Boulevard, I (literally) ran into some funny sidewalks, that stopped and started between lawns and gardens. I decided to skip most of it and just ran on the side of the road (well away from traffic).
Then there was this sign. "No one knows who they were, or what they were doing..."
One last interesting sighting just before returning to Kenton: this structure hidden behind a fence, at a place called Bamboo Craftsman. Not sure what it's for but I thought if people could go up in it, that would be really cool. (Probably not though, it looked a bit delicate and decorative, but it was certainly tall, I would guess 30 to 35 feet?)
And as I turned right toward my car, I caught one last view of Paul Bunyan, this time of his backside. But also if you look carefully you can see a man walking in front of the statue, showing just how tall this guy is:
____
LAST WEEK'S MUSIC
Massive Moth, More Scenery Than Man (2011)
Powerful little indie band from Salem, Oregon. They weren't listed on Allmusic, nor could I find the album on Amazon, but somebody at the library found it (probably sold by the band at a local gig) and I'm glad they did. Energetic, fresh and fun, I hope these guys keep going and get their music to a wider audience. Maybe they haven't settled on a specific style, but there's something here that reminds me of the early New Wave days when bands were rocking out, playing with different times and interesting lyrics (reminiscent of early Talking Heads or even The Clash).
Boards of Canana, In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country (2000)
Music to chill to on a slow summer's day, but with a nice slinky beat. Also good for lowering the blood pressure while driving my daily commute:
The Antlers, Burst Apart (2011)
Universe Alignment alert: The Allmusic review for this album name-checks the aforementioned Boards of Canada as a guiding force in The Antlers sound. And yet, aside from sitting one section apart in the library, there's no way I would've connected these two albums I'd never heard before. But this kind of thing doesn't surprise me anymore - it happens all the time. Connecting the dots...I think that'll be the title of my next blog. ;-)
The cover artwork on this drew me in, and the music held my attention all the way through. This is powerful indie rock, more than a little dark in theme, but a very worthy listen.
No comments:
Post a Comment