Portland basically cheats when it comes to food. I have eaten a several restaurants and every one of them has been nothing less than astounding. I have seen macaroni and cheese turned into a work of art, exquisite cream and cheese layered over perfect noodles. I have seen pancaked filled with things that were surely not harvested on this mortal plane.

Petaluma, the city I live in, has burger king. Not much else. I'm beginning to suspect that Portland is siphoning the food ingenuity from small towns around the country such as the one I live in. Really, it's the only explanation I can find.

A chilly hotel room at two in the morning is made considerably more inviting with a warm laptop

Another thing about portland: People are nice to you even though they are in a big city. Portland is a large city, yet in every plaza you find people standing in circles playing hackey sack, or the lazier ones sitting around the fountain nearby, occasionally calling out to their friends.

It is raining more often than not in Portland. I imagine that the weather forecaster on their local news is sometimes just a chair with a sign reading "Rain." Consequently, they have an incredible sewer and water management system. It is visible throughout the city, quite often as works of art. You will see water pouring off rooftops to slide down a makeshift waterfall and swirl into a pond.

I would like to drive the trains. I watched a driver, and all he does is push a few buttons and relax. I would have a nice book, maybe a notepad or gameboy if I was feeling extravagant, and get paid to push a button every few minutes.

Portland is a neat city.