Sunday 20 August. Vintage Portland Hotel

A short trip to see a short event.  Boogs along with several, many, thousands of others. 

Planned, or rather did not plan, this event about a year ago.   Hotel booked but research into the details of the path through Oregon overlooked.  Not quite full eclipseunless the path is diverted by some cosmic event not yet invented ala Doug Adams.

Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced.
John Keats

Fun fact:
“Michael Zeiler, a cartographer and eclipse chaser who runs the website GreatAmericanEclipse.com, determined when the sunlight during the eclipse will be of the same intensity as it is elsewhere in the solar system. If you were standing on the center of the moon’s shadow in the path of totality at 28 minutes, 40 seconds before totality, you’d experience the intensity of sunlight on Mars. A breath before totality, just 7.7 seconds before the sun is swallowed, you’d experience the sunlight on Pluto. At 59 seconds before totality, you would experience the sunlight on Saturn”

On the plane: many are discussing their travel and accommodations. Southwest calling it The eclipse flight.  Conversions morph to Trump and Nazis.

Hawthorn vertical lift bridge

Hawthorne Bridge historical vertical lift bridge

Vintage Portland hotel

North of the hotel and towards the river the area is very poor looking with lots of drugs and marijuana smell everywhere but no construction; numerous homeless. It looks like the city is going to hell.

Far more pan handlers, Street people, drugged out than we have seen in a while.

Several food stalls looking good except for garbage everywhere

Above food looked good but not clean enough for standing around and sampling.

Heading South the city improved greatly. Reasonable commercial and retail areas, food area, and many hotels.

Found a good ramen place.

Shaved ice with a coconut foam right by the ramen place.

Near the hotel is a park where hungry can come and eat, at least at times.  Was very crowded at 4pm.  This is during clean up.