Wednesday Wander

After a late night yesterday, getting our Blip entries in just under the midnight deadline, we had a slow start today. We both agreed that another visit to Cascade Brewing Barrel House was in order, so by 11:30 we were on our way, enjoying walking on a cool day and close-up views of interesting signs, including the one I used for my Blip; urban wildlife; and some of the thousands of blossoms adorning this beautiful city in the spring.

Once again, we were the first patrons of the day at Cascade Brewing, which despite its rather plain exterior continues to amaze us with its fabulous beers (my raspberry ale and Phil's 2011 The Vines) and imaginative food. Today we shared the best curried chicken salad I've ever tasted and a smoked chicken wrap that was equally delicious. We may well find ourselves back there for a third long lunch before we leave Portland.

Less than a block away was The Green Dragon pub, so after lunch we thought we should look in and try a beer there, just for comparison purposes. You can see part of the interesting bar in Phil's journal today. I tried a Fruitcake Stout and Phil had a Cardamom Pale Ale (shown here with the full list of 55 beers on tap), and considered buying a bottle of this very unusual beer as a possible breakfast, but decided against it.

Today's photo doesn't mean that Phil and I are planning to move to Portland (or anywhere else, for that matter), but we both agreed that if we were ever to live in a major city, this one, with 584,000 residents in the metropolitan area, but a surprisingly small town "feel" in the areas where we've stayed -- and great Blip friends and beer! -- would be our choice.