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[VictimOfGrief]

Before I respond to your jaded comments, do you mean Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine?

 

[Myllz]

Your best bet is to find the nearest umbrella and unicycle stores, and join the fun.

 

[Ash Housewares]

unicycles? that's bull shit

 

[Johnas]

I hear the gaming is awesome in Portland. Maybe you should check that out

My best friend from high school moved to Eugene (S of Portland) about a year ago, completely on a whim. Not sure how he's getting along.

 

[MmmBeef]

Echoing the earlier comment, Oregon or Maine?

Edit: OK. A local news weekly just put out a free, magazine format guide to the city this morning. Click here to find out where you can snag a copy. It's pretty good. After looking at it, my wife said that if she weren't living here it would make her pretty homesick.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

yeah, meh is a good word. I just don't like the city but I have to go over there almost once a week because Vancouver doesn't have a Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

[fnmore1]

yeah, went to Portland and Oregon in general to visit my brother who lives there
last month- the thing I dont get- why the fuck cant I pump my own gas?
Oregon has attendee's pump the gas-they wont allow the general populace
to pump gas- how fricken retarded-

 

[djtiesto]

Isn't there some nice Japanese gardens there to visit or something? Or am I getting real life confused with Tengai Makyo:The Apocalypse IV =P I actually heard Portland was a pretty nice place with lots of nice women, from someone, I forget who though. Yeah sorry I'm no help =P

 

[djtiesto]

yeah, went to Portland and Oregon in general to visit my brother who lives there
last month- the thing I dont get- why the fuck cant I pump my own gas?
Oregon has attendee's pump the gas-they wont allow the general populace
to pump gas- how fricken retarded-

Yeah, Jersey has this too, so do many gas stations around LI. I know people who've been driving for years who have never pumped their own gas before (including my ex) =P

 

[Musashi Wins!]

yeah, went to Portland and Oregon in general to visit my brother who lives there
last month- the thing I dont get- why the fuck cant I pump my own gas?
Oregon has attendee's pump the gas-they wont allow the general populace
to pump gas- how fricken retarded-

wow, sounds wonderful. I remember when that was an option here. Do you guys tip them?

Everyone I know who has spent time in Portland likes it....haven't been there myself.

 

[Gek54]

I assume it is to prevent people stealing gas. Last time I saw a place where they pumped gas for you was back in the mid 1980's.

 

[Leatherface]

I was gonna say... Portland Maine is nice.

 

[theo]

Portland Maine rules!

of course i am biased as it is my hometown

 

[FortNinety]

Edit: OK. A local news weekly just put out a free, magazine format guide to the city this morning. Click here to find out where you can snag a copy. It's pretty good.

Sorry but if you need a magazine to figure out how to tolerate a city, then there's problems.

Then again, I'm just biased. All my friend back home and I in Washington State loved goofing on people in Oregon. :lol

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Portland is like Bizzaro Seattle.

 

[fnmore1]

- Oregon does have one good thing goin on, I learned from my trip-
No sales tax!!

 

[Cherubae]

The next day when walking to the mall, we encountered some guy dressed as a Storm Trooper, a man with a...UMBRELLA hooked onto his bicycle to cover up his body (?!), and a man on a UNICYCLE. What the fuck?

:lol aaah.. that's my town. Just wait until you visit Saturday Market. You'll find even stranger attractions there. All the day-to-day strange stuff tends to be on the east side of the river, which is probably where you ran into the hooker. The downtown west side is more preppy/artsy/snobby.

If you're in Portland then you'll have to travel down I5 to visit the Enchanted Forest! Everybody loves the magical enchanted forest! It's an amazing attraction! It's as exciting as the historic Oaks Park :lol

 

[Tarazet]

- Oregon does have one good thing goin on, I learned from my trip-
No sales tax!!

I was so tempted to fly up to Oregon, buy a car there, and drive it back to California. I see Oregon license plates all the time because of this.

 

[MmmBeef]

Sorry but if you need a magazine to figure out how to tolerate a city, then there's problems.

Then again, I'm just biased. All my friend back home and I in Washington State loved goofing on people in Oregon. :lol

Nah, it's a guide for folks new to town.

fnmore, actually, the guide does address the entire "can't pump my own gas" question as well as others. It's one of the reasons it's so damn expensive here as well.

We do have a formal Japanese garden on the west side but it's been years since I've been. We have an absolutely gorgeous classical Chinese garden that's really worth checking out.

 

[karasu]

WTF is that drive through story suppossed to mean @_@

 

[AB 101]

Portland is pretty cool. Have relatives there so I visit once a year, usually at the same time I visit my dad and brother in Seattle.

Yeah, the can't pump your gas shit is crazy. Every year I go, I usually rent a car and I automatically get out and start grabbing the nozzle and then have the terror faced attendant run towards me and say I can't do that.

My response?

"Oh, I forgot I am too stupid to pump my own gas here but Texas lets me do it."

 

[AB 101]

I assume it is to prevent people stealing gas. Last time I saw a place where they pumped gas for you was back in the mid 1980's.

Yeah, there used to be full service islands at some stations.

You know, where the fucking moron attendant would start cleaning your winshield with shit filled water and ask if you wanted him to check under the hood.

Yeah, right.

 

[distantmantra]

I assume it is to prevent people stealing gas. Last time I saw a place where they pumped gas for you was back in the mid 1980's.

It is actually done to provide people with jobs.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Nah, it's a guide for folks new to town.

fnmore, actually, the guide does address the entire "can't pump my own gas" question as well as others. It's one of the reasons it's so damn expensive here as well.

We do have a formal Japanese garden on the west side but it's been years since I've been. We have an absolutely gorgeous classical Chinese garden that's really worth checking out.

are you saying you live in portland?

 

[MmmBeef]

Yeah, Portland native. I love it here but I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everybody. It's more like a really big town than an actual city (hell, we use half-sized city blocks!) so it's really easy to get comfortable here but there's always something new to discover. If you're coming from a New York or LA or Houston, however, you might find it a touch too quiet.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

which part? didn't know there was anyone from gaf that lived within walking distance of me.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Okay since I've lived in portland for 24 years, I'll give you a little insight into "what to do".

"Trendy" 23rd Ave. You have to visit, even if you hate yuppy gimps. It's a cool street, great shops inbetween pottery barn and the starbucks. If you like sandwhiches, check out the Ney York Deli there. Best Ruben in town.

Clubs - Aura, Henry's, h2O, barcode - Best places for some live DJ's, dancing and drinks. None of the above places water their liquor down either.

Movies - Regal Cinema's are the social whores of the Portland Metro area. If you happen to get out into Beaverton, check out the Centurty 16 theater at Cedar Hills Crossing AKA, Beaverton Mall. Best Buy and WinCo foods populate the area in case you're lost.

Coffee - Stump Town Coffee Co. 33rd and Bellmount St. best fucking coffee shop in Portland. They make their own cofee beans (roasting) daily. If you flirt just enough with the girl making the coffee, she will make a design in your foam with the espresso. Truly quality.

Games/Arcades - Wonderland!!! OMG!! I think it's $2 bucks get you in and then it's 5 cents for the games there. Some cost more than 5 cents (ie 20 cents = 4 nickles ) but are worth it for some lazy time fun. Most the games are a little older (depending on your tastes) but otherwise a blast to the past.

Also worth note is down in Wilsonville - Family Fun Center. Mini-golf, go-carts, arcade, pizza, batting cages, water boats. Usually for the younger crowd before 8pm, after 8:30pm, the older crowd gets there. Usual night down there costs about $20 bucks for a good time.

Oregon Zoo - We've got some pretty cool displays and exhibits at the Oregon Zoo. Head up to Washington Park via MAX or Bus and check it out. Sadly we just had a blind sea lion die the other day so if you hit it in the next week, you'll hear about it. Good bird shows as well. Check local times at the zoo.

Still can't find anything to do? Head to Pioneer courthouse square. Wait for a game of Chess near the Starbucks on the corner. See how good you really are. Games range from 5min to 3hrs depending on skill. Some of the guys may look like bums but my god are they good chess players.

Enjoy the town.

 

[fnmore1]

another cool place to visit, mt hood- about an hour out of Portland, notable
for having the Timberlake Lodge(otherwise known as where the Exterior Hotel shots
were used for the film " the shining") cool place to visit, dont get a room though-
190.00 a night---uggghhh

 

[element]

Games/Arcades - Wonderland!!! OMG!! I think it's $2 bucks get you in and then it's 5 cents for the games there. Some cost more than 5 cents (ie 20 cents = 4 nickles ) but are worth it for some lazy time fun. Most the games are a little older (depending on your tastes) but otherwise a blast to the past.

Wonderland is awesome!! I remember going there when I would visit my grandma. It was the best thing ever!!!

OMSI is pretty cool and Lloyd Center is cool, especially in the fall/winter.

205 represent!!

 

[MmmBeef]

Okay since I've lived in portland for 24 years, I'll give you a little insight into "what to do".

"Trendy" 23rd Ave. You have to visit, even if you hate yuppy gimps. It's a cool street, great shops inbetween pottery barn and the starbucks. If you like sandwhiches, check out the Ney York Deli there. Best Ruben in town.

Clubs - Aura, Henry's, h2O, barcode - Best places for some live DJ's, dancing and drinks. None of the above places water their liquor down either.

Movies - Regal Cinema's are the social whores of the Portland Metro area. If you happen to get out into Beaverton, check out the Centurty 16 theater at Cedar Hills Crossing AKA, Beaverton Mall. Best Buy and WinCo foods populate the area in case you're lost.

Coffee - Stump Town Coffee Co. 33rd and Bellmount St. best fucking coffee shop in Portland. They make their own cofee beans (roasting) daily. If you flirt just enough with the girl making the coffee, she will make a design in your foam with the espresso. Truly quality.

Games/Arcades - Wonderland!!! OMG!! I think it's $2 bucks get you in and then it's 5 cents for the games there. Some cost more than 5 cents (ie 20 cents = 4 nickles ) but are worth it for some lazy time fun. Most the games are a little older (depending on your tastes) but otherwise a blast to the past.

Also worth note is down in Wilsonville - Family Fun Center. Mini-golf, go-carts, arcade, pizza, batting cages, water boats. Usually for the younger crowd before 8pm, after 8:30pm, the older crowd gets there. Usual night down there costs about $20 bucks for a good time.

Oregon Zoo - We've got some pretty cool displays and exhibits at the Oregon Zoo. Head up to Washington Park via MAX or Bus and check it out. Sadly we just had a blind sea lion die the other day so if you hit it in the next week, you'll hear about it. Good bird shows as well. Check local times at the zoo.

Still can't find anything to do? Head to Pioneer courthouse square. Wait for a game of Chess near the Starbucks on the corner. See how good you really are. Games range from 5min to 3hrs depending on skill. Some of the guys may look like bums but my god are they good chess players.

Enjoy the town.

As an addendum to the very good list Victim wrote up, NW 23rd also has good slices of pizza at Escape From New York. If you want cheese steaks, further down 23rd you'll find Tributes.

Besides the Wonderlands, there's Ground Kontrol retrocade. They specialize in really old arcade games and pinball, so if you ever wanted to play PaperBoy with the handlebar controller, that's where you'd go.

I'll second Stumptown. But I thought it was company policy for their baristas to draw the leaf in your latte foam?

There's a Century 16 theater in South East as well, along Powell.

Oh, and Powell's City of Books. Biggest independant bookstore west of the Mississippi.

Portland has one of the highest per capita rates of book stores, coffee shops, microbreweries... and strip clubs.

And Bune, South sieeeeeede.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Wonderland is awesome!! I remember going there when I would visit my grandma. It was the best thing ever!!!

OMSI is pretty cool and Lloyd Center is cool, especially in the fall/winter.

205 represent!!

damn, all the Portland-ites are coming out today. I used to work at lloyd center in the TRU that they recently closed down. decent mall but the location kind of sucks.

 

[MmmBeef]

damn, all the Portland-ites are coming out today. I used to work at lloyd center in the TRU that they recently closed down. decent mall but the location kind of sucks.

Yeah but it's near a Chipotle! Burritos the size of your face! Yeahhh!!!

We still need a goddamn Fatburger or In-n-Out here. As much as I love Burgerville it just ain't the same.

 

[distantmantra]

Yeah but it's near a Chipotle! Burritos the size of your face! Yeahhh!!!

We still need a goddamn Fatburger or In-n-Out here. As much as I love Burgerville it just ain't the same.

I'll trade you our Fatburgers for a Burgerville. I want one in the Seattle area so bad.

 

[element]

damn, all the Portland-ites are coming out today. I used to work at lloyd center in the TRU that they recently closed down. decent mall but the location kind of sucks.

That TRU was the first place I got to play the Saturn, due to the 'sneak launch' they had. ahhhh, memories.

That end of Lloyd Center what ghetto, outside of Nordstroms. I remember visiting after the remodel a couple years ago and it was lots of empty space.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

god-damn skippy it was ghetto. we had to chase so many thugs out of the store when we closed...you'd think they would have had something better to do than mess up the stuffed animal displays.

I worked in the R-zone for the year I was there (2002-2003 time frame) as the "world leader" and I was also closing manager so you may have seen me once or twice, God forbid.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

I would agree about the In-and-Out. They need to get their asses up here doublemeat time! :lol

Oh and Beef - the girls at stumptown usually make me a rose design in my foam after chatting with them. The leaf is normal. Sometimes if you're lucky (like catch them on a day that they're extremely horny) they'll make you a four leaf clover and look at you and wink. It's pretty sly but I love it.

 

[Nutter]

Portland Native here as well..

If u want to play the latest Arcade games, you need to check out the arcade at Lloyd Center.

 

[MmmBeef]

Just passed by a Burgerville on the way to the convention center. I should go there later.

Pepper Bacon Tillamook Cheeseburger for the win! The Walla Walla onion rings are still in season, but for God's sake, let those things cool! My first impulse is to take a big bite out of them and I'm always rewarded with the searing pain of white hot oil in my mouth.

They have good fish and chips too.

 

[Cherubae]

I would agree about the In-and-Out. They need to get their asses up here doublemeat time! :lol

They were here back in the 90's, but one day they all closed up. It was odd. Now the buildings have been converted into Papa Johns and little drive-through coffee shops. There was one down on McGloughlin down in Oak Grove.

The folks at the Lloyd TRU were great and even gave me and early release on one of the special FOX video/sticker boxes that FOX was giving away for the new Turtle cartoon. I heard later that the video that was included in the box was ordered to be removed from *every* box that was to be released that day across the country, but because of the Lloyd TRU I got mine early

If you were into biking there's the Springwater Coordoor, which is a bike path that runs from Portland all the way past Gresham and out to Boring. It's a long run but it's a little scenic.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

The folks at the Lloyd TRU were great and even gave me and early release on one of the special FOX video/sticker boxes that FOX was giving away for the new Turtle cartoon. I heard later that the video that was included in the box was ordered to be removed from *every* box that was to be released that day across the country, but because of the Lloyd TRU I got mine early

heh, that would have been while I was there. I st...appropriated a few of those for myself.

 

[Nerevar]

It is actually done to provide people with jobs.

yeah. In jersey it was originally made a law that gas station attendants had to pump gas because, ostensibly, it was "unsafe" to allow regular drivers to pump their own gas. The law has been kept on the books since and not repealed because it provides so many jobs. Seems like a pretty shitty way for the government to boost unemployment numbers if you ask me.

 

[MmmBeef]

They were here back in the 90's, but one day they all closed up. It was odd. Now the buildings have been converted into Papa Johns and little drive-through coffee shops. There was one down on McGloughlin down in Oak Grove.

Are you sure you don't mean Hot 'n' Now? I'm pretty sure I'd have remembered if I had access to the double-double and then lost it.

 

[distantmantra]

Okay, so like, I just went to the "Adult Bookstore" in Chinatown because it looked interesting enough, and well...they had "preview rooms". I thought this concept was utterly disgusting, so I decided to bail before something happened I didn't want to happen, and some fat Mexican (or Asian?) dude comes up to me right before I was leaving and was all like,"You wanna share a preview room together? I'll pay. You can do whatever you want to me, handsome." I did not know I was attractive to homosexual men before this man said this comment, anyways, he started rubbing my pants, and I escaped before he could do anything else that...would...make me feel...very uncomfortable. I think because of this experience I will never enjoy the rest of this trip.

I want to go home.

So, why are you in Portland exactly?

 

[distantmantra]

Damn Church convention.

http://www.disciples.org/ga05/

Where are you from?

 

[Drozmight]

Dude, Portland is awesome like that. You're encounters make life more interesting

Edit: Try going to Spokane. A crazie on the street tried to convince me that I should join the WWF. We talked for hours about it. That guy rocked.

 

[distantmantra]

Houston, Tx. You want a date or something? Becauseyou sound very interested. Perhaps you were that Mexican man?!

Fucker.

Calm down buddy. Just curious if you were from a small town.

 

[White Man]

I was cracking a joke.

:lol

Really, distantmantra, he's clearly only into gay asian men.

 

[Sp3eD]

I've never been a big fan of Portland. Everything else below it in Oregon rocks though. Portland to me seems like it is trying to be a Seattle or LA, but just doesn't have right feel.

 

[alejob]

So can I buy a car in Oregon(no sales tax right?) and bring it back home(Utah)?

 

[distantmantra]

So can I buy a car in Oregon(no sales tax right?) and bring it back home(Utah)?

Nope, doesn't work like that.