Seen through the plate glass window of the Goodwill Store on West Burnside

Here's another photo that I took last Saturday when I was out and about. On the way back from getting my flu shot, I decided to branch out and ride the MAX Yellow Line, then the Portland Streetcar, then the 20 bus. After I got off the bus to walk to our apartment, I passed the first ever Goodwill Store I visited in Portland--back when Mama and I came to see the guys back in the summer of 2004--and now I live so close to it that I walk by each weekday on the way home.

Earlier in the week I had noticed these shoes, so you know how excited I was to see them again on Saturday! And to make things even better, I walked right in and found some paperback books that we haven't read yet, so I bought them and stuffed them into my Goodwill-purchased red Kate Spade handbag. I'm loving living in Portland!

A bit about our mass transit trip to the eye doctor

Although I took this photo of the Portland Streetcar back in October, I wanted you to see this particular stop, at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, so that you would know what the streetcar looks like and where Mama and I recently caught it.

On a good weather day, we could have walked the eight blocks. A couple of Mondays ago we knew it would be raining, maybe hard, but we still made the decision to go to her eye doctor appointment using only mass transit. People do it all the time in Portland--one of my bus buddies has not owned a car since 1976!

We boarded a 15 bus in front of the Goodwill Store on West Burnside, a block and a half south of us, but uphill all the way. The bus turned north on NW 23rd Avenue, and we rode downhill all the way to Lovejoy, where we got off and quick-stepped on a totally level sidewalk (thank goodness) to catch a waiting South Waterfront streetcar.



Naturally Flat Stanley accompanied us--he'd never been on a streetcar and was curious about how it compared to a TriMet bus. You can read all about the Portland Streetcar here. Flat Stanley himself was particularly pleased to read the section about bringing your bike onto the streetcar, just in case he ever decides to trade in his Vespa for a bicycle.

As you can tell, Mama got a kick out of Flat Stanley's sitting all by himself in the seat beside her. Since it was raining pretty hard, Mama had taken off her eyeglasses and put them into her pocket. She's holding tightly onto my somewhat water-resistant tote bag. I carry it in a downpour rather than my rolling bag because I can't figure out how to keep the rolling bag from getting drenched.



Did you notice those shiny spots on the floor? That's where rain dripped off people as they stood, waiting for their stop to come along. I'm surprised that the floor is that surface. It looks hazardous to me, but I don't particularly remember feeling unsafe.

We made it both directions without a hitch--riding the Portland Streetcar, braving the wind and rain--just like we'd lived up here all of our lives. We are Portlanders!