Picnic Project: Pier Park

The Picnic Project.
Established 2006.

Each year, Patricia chooses five parks in Portland—one from each section of Portland: N, NE, NW, SE & SW. She plans food and invites people for a picnic, then records the festivities. By 2028 she will have picnicked in every park in Portland.

Date: 18 August, 2009

Park: Pier Park

Present: Patricia

Food: Big salad

Activities: Reading a fabulous book, exploring the park.

Comments: Pier Park has a skate park and a Frisbee golf course. My brother goes there weekly to play Frisbee golf. I thought I would check it out.

Pier Park is in the very North part of North Portland in the area where residential begins to change over to commercial. Several trucks were parked outside the park while, I assume, their drivers rested.

Like other parks I’ve been to this summer, the dense planting of trees gave it a very Hansel & Gretel feel. It also brought the temperature down quite a bit. It was a very hot day.

There was a water feature and a play area.


Sadly, the merry-go-round had been removed.

My delicious big salad.

A very nice covered picnic area.

I wandered around the park for awhile and found the Frisbee golf course. There were a few people playing.

The heat didn’t deter the teenagers in the skate park.

The baseball fields, however, were deserted.

Three sentence movie reviews–Funny People


There are very funny parts and good things in this movie, but ultimately the middle is way too long. You also have to like boy humor. This movie left me with this question: when you are friends with a movie/tv star and you hang out with them, do you always have to watch their movies, as depicted in this film?

Bechdel score. Two women: nope.
(this is getting ridiculous)

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2009/funny_people.html

Three sentence movie reviews–The Green Mile.


Picture me sitting on the couch knitting while watching this movie. Then picture me staring at the screen, mouth open, knitting forgotten as I become absorbed by what is going on. This happened four or five times, a surprise, as I didn’t think I would enjoy this movie as much as I did.

Bechdel score. Two women: nope.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1999/green_mile_ver1.html

Three sentence movie reviews–A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

The first ten minutes of this movie I had the following thoughts: 1)I’m glad I didn’t grow up in Queens, and 2) these guys are assholes. But then I got sucked into the story and ended up really enjoying the movie, though I have a sneaking suspicion I would find the whole thing juvenile if I watched it in five years. I’ve never understood the whole Shia LaBeouf thing before, but I get it now.

Bechdel score. Two women: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2006/guide_to_recognizing_your_saints.html

Three sentence movie reviews–The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford


A slow meander of a movie, by which I mean I probably would have been bored if I wasn’t knitting. Brad Pitt plays a great, slightly unhinged Jesse James, but I was watching it for Casey Affleck, who not only believably plays a 20 year old, but also manages to perfectly convey the changeover from hero worship to ultimate betrayal. This movie is what my mother would call “old-fashioned” which I translate to “good acting, kinda slow.”

Bechdel score: Two women: nope.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2007/assassination_of_jesse_james_by_the_coward_robert_ford.html

Sunday Parkways.

This happened in June, but somehow got missed in the blogging queue.

Sunday parkways which took place on one Sunday last year, expanded to three Sundays in three locations this year. I volunteered at the North Portland one, for which I got to spend a lovely morning moving barriers for cars to go by, waving at people walking and on bikes and taking pictures.

Mid-shift, these two crazy runners came by.

As they got closer, I could see that they were Matt and Jeff, clowning around.

The day started a bit cold and overcast, but then the sun came out.

Kenton Park had food and some fun activities such as this bike obstacle course.

Three sentence movie reviews–Less Than Zero


I think this is a great movie if you want to view some awesome 80s fashions and hairstyles. It is not so awesome as an actual movie however, being a bit long and with an annoying, distracting performance by Jami Gertz. It did, however, prompt me to put the book on my Goodreads to-read list and Kelly and I spotted a very tiny Brad Pitt walk on before he was “Brad Pitt.”

Bechdel rating. Two women: nope.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1987/less_than_zero.html

Heading home: Oregon Trail Interpretive Park.

On our way home, we stopped at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Park. This was a great park with two short loops that walked you through the pioneer experience.

A succinct summation of your supplies.

It was interested to see the different “roads.” In my mind a road is a paved surface that climbs and descends slowly and steadily. This park drove home (hah!) the idea that a road was where the wagons went. At one point in the park you can see where five “roads” converge.

This was a point in the journey when the pioneers were very tired and they still had to get over the mountains before the snow came.

A view of the trail.

This tree bears the scars of the wagons rolling over its roots. How cool is that? This actual tree witnessed pioneers rolling right over its roots.

More of the actual trail.

A wagon, for your picture taking pleasure.

The first time I saw a covered wagon, I was pretty disappointed. They seemed so small. They were also much taller than I expected.

Commemorative picture.

I can’t look at the back of a wagon without thinking of Jack, Laura Ingall’s dog.

Enterprise: More sights.

I’m guessing Enterprise is cold in the winter as many houses (and businesses) had firewood stacked outside.

If you come to the VFW, you can also pick up your Avon order.

On Sunday morning I discovered the other part of the Fairgrounds. Here is the grandstand.

And here is the sign that is near the 4-H building where I bet we could have seen some good crafts.

This tiny building houses an important function.

It’s the DMV!

Imagine my delight when I peeked in the window and saw three chairs to wait in. Next to those three chairs? A “take a number” machine. I guess lines can be long even in the tiny Enterprise DMV.

Downtown Enterprise.

The library.

Our motel which was clean and nice and had a huge bathroom because we had the handicapped room.

A B&B around the corner from our motel.