48 Hours in Portland
[nggallery id=”44367″ template=galleryview] Last weekend, we jetted off to Portland, Oregon for the weekend with Mrs. B to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. Actually, don’t tell her this, but the impetus for the trip was an offer to review the hipster-friendly Ace Hotel in downtown PDX for the equally chic British travel site Mr and…
[nggallery id=”44367″ template=galleryview]
Last weekend, we jetted off to Portland, Oregon for the weekend with Mrs. B to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. Actually, don’t tell her this, but the impetus for the trip was an offer to review the hipster-friendly Ace Hotel in downtown PDX for the equally chic British travel site Mr and Mrs Smith. You’ll have to wait to read our review of the hotel, but in the meantime we thought we’d share some photos of just a few of the Portland buildings that caught our eye. After the insanely good food and drink (we managed to hit Doug Fir, Le Pigeon, Byways Cafe, Pok Pok, Clyde Common, Langano Lounge, Cafe Broder and Foster Burger, in that order, in the course of 48 hours), the architecture really stood out. Of course, so did the epic level of homelessness. Can’t have everything.
“By antidope on May 21, 2010 11:51 AM
new favorite coffee: stumptown.
but that’s a long flight for a cup of joe.”
You do realize that Stumptown is all over Brooklyn and Manhattan? There is even a stumptown cafe at the Ace Hotel NYC 🙂
“young transient homeless … Portland .. on a circuit from San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver CA, and points up to Alaska.”
by 1910 at 2:14 PM
Another component to the transient kids/adult-travelers, such as mentioned above about Portland, OR, is the added financial burdens to cities and towns they stop in. Because they are traveling, they reflect numbers in excess of the *truly impoverished and homeless who live in a city and need genuine help*. When the travelers come through, in one town I know of specifically, there are outcries for more outdoor toilet facilities and shelters and more police presence is required. So they are supported both by city governments and panhandling. And as already mentioned, business owners suffer loss of business because local shoppers don’t want to put up with their aggressive behaviors.
I just googled “crustie” with a “c” and there is quite a bit of explanation. It is called a subculture. Some have been observed with platinum debit cards, they like college towns … and more …
If there are still goth children begging for money in front of Nordstrom’s, be forewarned: most of them are actually from the west hills. Portland is, as everyone has said, a haven for the young and rail-hopping, whose parents really don’t understand.
Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. B!
Rob is correct. I went to a talk about this one time, or I would not know about it. The (usually) young people trek up from who knows where, up the coast of California, all the way up the Pacific northwest stopping at different towns and congregating there. They have favorite towns and Portland is one of them. Most people think they are homeless. They usually have a philosophy that they are trekking for peace and the more they trek, the more peace they will create in the world, or the more peaceful they will become as individuals (go figure). Usually they create chaos in a community with their dogs and
congregate by businesses, then the business-owners lose customers. Rob is correct that they are usually homeless by choice. And they collect change from people to support themselves while they travel (trek for their world philosophy).
I often wonder, however, if they are casualties of the generation without adequate parenting, ie, parents who themselves have been blown out by drugs, divorce, etc., and they really do not have much hope. They also have favorite places in India, and there are some who go up to New York, as Rob said. Pot and other drugs are a part of their philosophy for traveling for peace.
Anyway, the advice given was to not support their traveling lifestyle (unless one wants to), because this is a transient lifestyle choice. I tried to Google this and did not have the right key words I guess to get the info. Rob said they are called “krusties”, but I have just heard “trekkers”.
It is surprising how many people do not know this, even in communities in which they congregate.
those arent really homeless kids/adults. they are kids from regular families who choose to be homeless. they are krusties. they come to nyc sometimes too in the summer and sit on broadway with their pitbulls begging for change. losers.
*rob*
We made it a point to hit Pok Pok and Clyde Common. Wonderful meals at both. And Portland is definitely #2 beer/brewpub city in the country next to San Diego. Great place to eat and drink your way around town. And the Saturday farmers market is killer.
Yes, I was agreeing. There is a homeless population native to Portland, but the number is greatly increased by young transient homeless and runaways. More specifically Portland is a stopping point on a circuit from San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver CA, and points up to Alaska. Again is is upsetting to see and it is very apparent.
1910, nearly everyone I know who goes to Portland comments on the large numbers of homeless. I’ve never been there but no reason to doubt so many similar accounts.