Exploring Mississippi

Mississippi Ave from the North end of the street.

Since I am currently between professional positions I have a significant amount of free time. The amount of that time that I am not dedicating to writing, I am pushing myself to explore Portland. Part of my choice to move here last year was knowing that there would be plenty of opportunities for new experiences that would be similar enough to traveling without as many logistics.

That in mind, I hopped on a MAX (Metropolitan Area Express train, they are the local light-rail train) and headed up to North Portland. While I have been through and around parts of Northeast and North Portland, I have not spent any concentrated time.

Disembarking the train at the Killingsworth stop, my intended destination was the Mississippi Avenue neighborhood. I walked down Killingsworth and realized that not only had I passed where Mississippi should be, the actual main part of the street did not connect to Killingsworth. So I walked around to Alberta and walked to Albina which turns into Mississippi. The Mississippi neighborhood is very fun and quirky. It has the feeling of a quieter, more relaxed Hawthorne Avenue with a greater volume of diversity. I enjoyed seeing a range of African restaurants across from Thai restaurants down the street from a Taco Truck.

There’s a lightbulb store – yes, a store that only sells lightbulbs – and their window decorations are LEGO sets.

Check out these notebooks! They are made from old beer cases or VHS cases.

I stopped in a couple consignment type stores – one that sold prints and zines and such, and another with a range of miscellany, before discovering an adorable bookstore. I meandered the bookstore before picking up a copy of an Ellery Queen book for two dollars. Mysteries aren’t usually my thing, but Ellery Queen mystery magazine is right next to Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction on the shelf at Powell’s, and my interest has been piqued.

After grabbing that, I went to the Mac and Cheesery right next door and ordered Hamburger Mac. It had bacon and was delicious. As I was eating it, I wrote a bit.

Then I began my brewery adventures – I am trying to visit as many Portland breweries as I can. I will be detailing all of these in a collected post every Thursday for the next few weeks.

After stopping by Stormbreaker, Hopworks Urban Brewing, Ecliptic, and Widmer Brothers, I stopped at a movie theatre to see The Fault in our Stars. Then I headed home and grabbed the Quesarito, Taco Bell’s newest menu item, which I ate before falling right asleep.

All in all, a good day. I found a new neighborhood I really like, had some good beer, and enjoyed a rare bit of Portland sun.