LAZY DAY

Since the weather was still very bad this morning, I decided to spend it lounging in my hotel room. The temperature warmed to above freezing in the wee hours so the rain over downtown area helped to melt all the snow and ice from last night. It looked like the Columbia River Gorge got the worse of the storm with some areas east of Portland receiving a couple of inches of snow each hour this morning.

I did some reading while flipping between the various local news programs - a few sections in my 'London At War' book and the first couple of chapters of 'Travelers' Tales Thailand'. I also dozed off for a while before jumping in the shower around 1:30.

Hungry, I walked a couple of blocks north to Carl's Jr. A lunch of sourdough bacon cheeseburger and fries filled me up for less than six dollars.

Satisfied, I made my way over to Broadway to take some photos of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (formerly the Paramount Theater, home of some famous Bruce Springsteen concerts in the 1970's among others) with the huge "Portland" sign. I really love this type of old theatre. Walking behind the theatre to check for different angles, I discovered a small park with an old fountain and statues of Abraham Lincoln and of Theodore Roosevelt on a horse. The park was bordered by the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Historical Society Museum, and a couple of old brick churches. I think I'll investigate the museums after I move here next summer.

One last stop before heading back to the hotel saw me picking up two large Priority Mail boxes at the post office in the courthouse. I'm planning to mail home the books I bought at Powell's and a shirt or two before I head to SE Asia on Wednesday.

Now I'm just watching a bit of television before heading over to the Rose Garden Arena for tonight's U2 concert. I can either take the No. 40 bus from the stop at Sixth and Jefferson (a block north of my hotel) or walk approximately six blocks to catch the light rail at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Depending on how heavy the rain is when I set out, I'll probably take the train to the concert and the bus afterwards. Both will likely be fairly crowded as I'll be travelling at rush hour. I'm going to risk taking my camera.

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