Sunday in the Park with A.M. Dellamonica

Portland's Pittock Mansion, high atop the West Hills.

So the divine A.M. Dellamonica is in Portland for a Powell’s reading (tomorrow night, 7 p.m., Cedar Hills Powell’s … be there or be square!) and we met up for some glorious Sunday adventures.

We started with breakfast at Besaw’s in Northwest Portland then strolled around the NW 23rd shopping district. The plan was that we would kill time after breakfast (until Pittock Mansion opened at 11) by hitting a few of the quaint little shops. However, I hadn’t planned on the quaint little shops not opening until 11 a.m. on a Sunday. But in the end, we had a very nice walk, circumambulating the neighborhood. Along the way, we passed the first apartment building I lived in after college (the Lucrezia Court apartments on NW 22nd Place) and hit Coffee Time for espresso. And at that point we STILL had time to kill, so we went up to the Rose Garden (the gold standard for out-of-town visitors) and snapped a few pictures (Alyx gave me some pointers on how to set my camera which are going to be invaluable.)

The first apartment I lived in after college, on NW 22nd Place. It hasn't changed one scintilla.

By then, the clouds had cleared away and it was time to go up the hill to Pittock Mansion, which was home to Portland scions Henry and Georgiana Pittock from 1914 to 1919. It’s one of my favorite places in Portland, and I never get tired of visiting it. And this time I actually had a good camera with me! I don’t think in all the many times I’ve visited, I ever brought a camera. I managed to get some relatively decent shots, but I can’t wait to see Alyx’s, as they’re sure to be spectacular

We hit the gift shop and got a couple little pretties for Alyx’s wife Kelly (no spoilers!) and then had an absolutely HILARIOUS time trying to make the Google Navigate work on my phone so we could get out to Rocky Butte to meet up with Rebecca Stefoff and meet the indomitable Xerxes. Except apparently I domitabled him (I’m guessing it was the reek of puppies that follows me around like Pig Pen’s stink lines) because he wanted nothing to do with me. But I did catch a glimpse of how exceedingly handsome he is.

And that was it for the glamorous part of the day. After that I drove home (stopping for puppy formula and Dollar Store bowls) swamped out the puppy dungeon with mop and bucket, did some laundry, took a nap, fed the puppies, got dinner on … and now I’m catching up on email & other social mediatry. By my count, my Kickstarter got SIX new backers today! Maybe this is the Internet’s subtle way of telling me that I appreciates me shutting the hell up for one goddamn day?

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