First Evening in Portland

Portland's Amtrak station is unique in that it has a nice bar & restaurant adjacent to it. It's called Wilf's and it's been an institution there for many years. Waiting for me there was my good friend, Ginette.

Rather than head out right away, I joined her for a few drinks there. A little while later a 40-something fellow came into the bar pushing the kind of stroller that some elderly people use. I don't precisely know what his ailment was but he appeared to have only limited use of his legs. He sat down with us and joined our conversation. When he found out I was from Canada he said, "You seem alright but I've got to tell you that all of my past dealings with Canadians revealed them to be the cheapest people anywhere."

"Oh really?", I responded.

"Yes", he continued, "In fact, do you know how copper wire was invented?"

I shook my head.

"Copper wire was invented when two Canadians fought over a penny!"

Ginette & I burst out laughing. What I didn't tell him was that I had heard that same joke before except it was about two Scotsmen.

After Wilf's, Ginette & I headed over to a neat sushi place in the center of downtown named Bush Garden. The food was very good, quite comparable to the sushi restaurants in Vancouver, of which there are plenty.



On our way back to Ginette's vehicle we came across a Mexican cultural festival in the central Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was sort of surreal to see this in the Pacific Northwest, but I did enjoy the music and the energy!