An adventure downtown, part 2.1

 Sandy is a great traveler.  He loves getting his picture taken and learning about all sorts of things.  Sandy was feeling patriotic today.  

We are hanging out in Pioneer Courthouse Square.  In the background you can see the courthouse (still in use today) and the train, similar to the one we rode into town on today.  There is a great Starbucks on the corner too.

There are lots of ways to get around town.  Of course you can walk, or you can be like this statue and try to hail a cab.  Any luck Sandy?

Besides walking or taking a cab a lot of Portlander's bike.  They have these cool bikes for rent and we both fit perfectly in the basket.  Let's go. 

Portland has a statue of the Liberty Bell, who knew?

Cruising around town Sandy really wanted a picture of this street, go figure.

Soooo, there is a cool statue in the middle of a road.  The road is one way and the statue faces the other way.  Why, you ask?  When the city was laid out it and the statue was placed the road was a two way road.  Then, they changed the grid to one way roads but the road the statue is on faces the opposite direction.  People either love or hate this statue - I think it's cool. 

 It's a good looking elk, right?  Now, with two stuffies in the picture it's a great looking elk.

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A quick stop on the waterfront for a picture of the bridges then it's off to lunch.  I hope Sandy is hungry. 

On the menu today, Dim Sum. Lots of pork, shrimp and a couple of tofu items to satisfy our stomachs. 

 I think we did a good job eating our fill.

Sandy is my guest so I will pick up the tab.  This is odd, I have no idea what any of this costs.

Since we dined in China Town it seems that we should visit the Chinese Garden. 

It's closed for inclement weather (i.e. ice) so we can only hang out in the ticket purchase area. 

However, I was able to find a window into the garden so we can check it out. 

China Town/Old Town is known for many things.  In the mid 1800s many people would be "shanghaied".  Portland was a port town and when men came into port they drank and drank.  Saloons in the old town area had runners who would look for drunk men and take them on board a captains ship.  Typically when the men would wake up (remember they were really drunk) they would already be out to sea and stuck on the ship till it reached it's destination.  

Don't worry readers I am not going to Shanghai Sandy but I did take him into some back alleys to get a glimpse of old town and Portland's Shanghai past. 

Old Town Pizza (in Old Town) is one of the entrances to the Portland Underground and the Shanghai tunnels.  No one has been Shanghaied at Old Town Pizza but there pizza and beer is top notch.  A great way to end our adventure.

An adventure downtown.

I am so excited that Sandy is visiting and I want to show off my city.  I told Sandy we are taking the train downtown today to explore.  He was up for the adventure, let's go!

Our first stop is the "mighty multnohmah" although I really don't know anyone who calls the county library that name.  There is a great cooking section here, probably some French cooking books Ben. 

Sandy and are hanging out by the warm heater in this photo.  You can still see the snow on the trees. 

Now that we warmed up in the library, it's time to hit the streets.  I know the perfect place to take Sandy.  Sandy insisted that he get his picture taken with the salmon going through the building.  This building houses a nice restaurant and in the 80s, it hosted a dance club run by Rajneeshpuram called Zorba the Greek.   Every Oregonian living in the 80s remembers hearing about Rajnesshpuram. 

On our way to our next stop Sandy wanted to get a photo of us in the park. We look great and in the background is a statue of Honest Abe.  Honest Abe was offered the first Governor of the Oregon Territory in 1849 but turned that down the job.  There are various theories why he didn't want to govern Oregon. 

Our next stop on our downtown tour is categorized as something that either you love or hate.  The Portland Building designed by Michael Graves in the 80s.  The building is now considered an architectural gem but in the 80s when it was built many a Portlander wasn't too thrilled with the design.  

Gracing the entrance to the Portland Building is Portlania.  She recently turned 30 and is the second largest copper repousse (Statue of Liberty is the first)  in the United States.  

Portlandia had a unique entrance into our city.  First, she came in via barge.

 After docking she placed on a flatbed truck and driven through downtown to her resting spot.

A special garden consultant

Four days of snow on the ground does not fare well for a Little Fox.  My garden is probably taking a beating.  **Sigh** I have been delaying this for a while, I best go out and explore. The Mint plant looks like it could use some attention.  Why am I wearing my sombrero you might ask?  Well, certain roommates have "misplaced" my winter scarf collection so my sombrero is the only winter gear I can find right now. 

The Winter pansie is struggling

.I don't even know what this plant is.  The little chalkboard sign isn't really helping.

A dog to the rescue.  Look who Sequoia found, it's Sandy!  I can't believe it, Sandy is in my garden, dressed for the weather, and ready to help.  

Little Fox: Sandy, what do you think I should do with the mint plant?

Sandy: Let's wait and see what happens.  Mint is a pretty strong plant, just be thankful you didn't plant it in the ground.

Sandy: Little Fox, this Jalepeno pepper is gone.  You must let it go.

Little Fox: Sandy, thanks for the garden advice.  Let's explore a little, eh?

Sandy: Do I need snowshoes?  Cross country skis? Bobsled?  I didn't know you got this much snow. 

Little Fox: Yes, Sandy we did get a lot of snow but that won't stop us from exploring.

Now that we are safely inside, relaxing on the sofa it's time to start catching up, planning our adventures and get some hot chocolate to fortify our systems. 

Cooking for a special guest.

There will be a special guest arriving soon at our house.  Once Canadian Geese Airlines flight 2343 arrives safely our special guest will be here.  Now, as anyone knows who flies Canadian Geese Airlines it's a low budget carrier where one needs to bring their own snacks and flights that should only take hours take weeks.  Just how it is when you fly CGA so I figured I better make some snacks for our guest since he might be hungry.

I hope  my guest likes "homemade" brownies. I have a big bowl, a nice box of mix from Trader Joe's and a preheated oven.  Let's go!

Any good brownie recipe starts with a stick of butter.  Since I want to impress my guest I am using first quality butter, I hope that is acceptable to him.

I got the batter mixed and put in the pan evenly.  Time to find a roommate so they can put it in the oven and get this cooking. 

Ahhh, now the hardest part. I must wait till the brownies cool so I can test them to make sure they are acceptable for my guest. I hope that he is hungry from his flight?

Drunk Fox's Birthday

Can you believe it, another year has passed by. Drunk Fox's birthday is coming up and I want to make sure I get him a good gift.  Obviously, a trip to the Liquor store is out of the question.  What do you buy the fox that has everything?  Chicken of course.

I should probably enlist Reindeer as a helper in the kitchen as he is one who can do the heavy lifting. 

After giving the chicken a good rinse it's time to season the bird.  Since I am making Greek chicken probably should use some oregano.  Do you think there is enough Oregano in this jar?

Salt and pepper are always good spices to have on hand. 

Reindeer suggested that garlic and lemon would go well together.

Fox can't live on chicken alone and Reindeer suggested quartering up some potatoes and putting them in the bottom of the roaster as the chicken cooks. Good idea Reindeer. 

While the chicken is cooking it's best to have a snack.   Has anyone ever had this brand of granola from Trader Joe's? It's pecan maple granola and the granola is addictive.

The chicken came out great.  It was very tasty and Drunk Fox really enjoyed it.  Reindeer's vegetables were tasty as well.  Now, you are probably thinking "Where is the picture of the finished chicken Little Fox?" well I got a later start and it wasn't done till everyone was really hungry and we decided to scarf it down instead of posing patiently for the blog.  The chicken won out this time.

Happy Birthday Drunk Fox.

Mail Call

It's been a busy week for a little fox.  I have been in the snow, keeping my roommates working hard, and making sure the house is running smoothly. Recently, I have received some mail.
This card must be for me, it's addressed to me and there are stickers of foxes on the front and back.

Sweet, a birthday card with my hero, Officer Nick from Zootopia.

This is a big card. 

Let's see who it's from:  Allright, Jerry and Ben.  Thanks guys!

Speaking of Jerry and Ben I think this next package is from them as well. I can always tell their tell tale "signature"  

Awesome!  It's my certificate from winning the Halloween contest (thanks Sandy for helping me enter). 

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There are lots of prizes here:  A notepad to write my thoughts down (hmm, buy more chicken).  Mints and coasters for Hot Chocolate. In fact I got two coasters so I should have two mugs of Hot Chocolate. 

I also got some maple candy and a bear pin (just like Beanie).  Thank you Jerry and Ben.

Did I mention it's been cold lately?  I wish I had something to take my mind off of all the cold.  In the mail I got these cool postcards.  The one on the left if from Ajdin and the one on the right is from Ajdin as well.  Apparently, I got two postcards - aren't I a lucky fox.

Update:  Sandy was kind enough to send me a cool card as well.  I love how the fox (at least I think it's a fox) is inspecting the little mouse and how brave the mouse is.  Great painting. 

Thank you everyone for the mail and prizes.  I appreciate it sincerely.

Little Fox