Dave Knows Portland

Archives for December 2009

Things to do in Portland on New Year’s Day (2010)

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Updates for 2011: Things to Do In Portland on New Year’s Day

Unfortunately many bars and restaurants are closed on New Year’s Day, to recover and clean up from the previous night’s party. Most of the bars that are open have TVs and thus will be showing football all day. So yeah, there’s the Rose Bowl; I figure everyone who wants to watch it already has it planned out, whether at home, at a friend’s, or at a bar.

So what about those of us not particularly fond of American football?

Please leave a comment if you know of a local place that’s open for business on New Year’s Day – I’ll add them to the list below:

SHOPS

Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside) is open 10am to 9pm. And unlike on Xmas day, all the other locations are open too.

ACTIVITIES

The Oregon Zoo is open 9am to 4pm.

Most movie theaters and bowling alleys are open.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance invites you to a New Year’s Day Bike Ride. A 50 year tradition, this year’s ride is all about the Best and Worst of 2009. The ride starts at Waterfront Park under the Morrison Bridge at noon. Please RSVP! (via Around the Sun)

CAFES, BARS and RESTAURANTS

Seven Virtues Coffeehouse (5936 NE Glisan) is open 9pm to 5pm on New Year’s Day.

Red and Black Cafe (400 SE 12th) will be open 10am to 11pm.

Kenny and Zuke’s, both locations, will be open, as I learned on the following thread on PortlandFood.org: Open New Year’s Day Lunch.

Prost! (4237 N Mississippi) opens at noon, serving up Bloodies and bier (according to the Facebook page). They’re showing the football game too, though they only have one TV above the bar, so it might not be too imposing.

And many of the places that were open on Christmas day are also open on New Year’s Day (give them a call first though to make sure!).

GETTING AROUND

TriMet’s buses and MAX will be running on Sunday schedules, the streetcar on a Saturday schedule.

New Year’s Eve 2009

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New Year’s Eve is not one of my favorite holidays. For one thing, I’m usually asleep by the time 12:00 rolls around, and thus I am rudely awaken by the neighbors’ fireworks and other noisy antics. For another thing, I don’t like to be on the roads that evening because 90% of the cars out there are driven by either cops or drunks.

However, there dozens of great parties and events on New Year’s Eve, and it is my duty to let you in on what I know – which is that, just like last year, PDX Pipeline is on the case, with 30+ Portland New Years Eve Events & Parties 2009/2010.  And visit Portland Food and Drink for more food oriented New Year’s Eve events.

If you’re looking for New Year’s Eve fireworks, Mount Hood is the place to be.

Transit is free after 8pm on New Year’s Eve. TriMetiquette has the bus, MAX, and streetcar lowdown.

Back in Town

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Wow, it was quite a surprise to arrive home this evening on a flight from sunny and warm Long Beach, California to find that Portland had thrown out the fluffy white welcome mat. Mile73‘s Heather and I spent Xmas with her lovely and amusing family in Los Angeles. We’d glanced at the Portland forecasts, and had no inkling that we would be arriving home to Snowpocalypse 2.*

The Red Line from the airport was the most crowded I have ever seen it, but Heather and I staked a claim to a spot by the door and a handhold on the overhead bar. There were some TriMet bad weather schedule shenanigans at the Rose Garden, but we finally, after a surprisingly short time, made our way home to find a kitty starved for attention and a 55 degree apartment.

Anyway, I apologize for the lack of posting the past few days, and am pleased to inform you all that Dave Knows Portland is returning to a normal programming schedule as of right now.

* Just a little over a year ago we had some pretty nasty weather too, as you may recall. You may recall from last winter the gem below from Mike Vogel:

Portland Timbers Roundup, Festivus Edition (12/23/09)

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Surprisingly, after a somewhat expected winter and holiday slow down last week, the Portland Timbers news has been thick this week.

The big news?

The Portland Timbers released information about PGE Park Renovations (image above from PortlandMLS2011.com). The Oregonian‘s Rachel Bachman has a good summary:

Portland Timbers reveal design plans for PGE Park

PGE Park’s field will slide toward home plate, snug in the crook of the stadium’s grandstand. A larger video screen will appear against the Multnomah Athletic Club, along with a standing-room/stage area. Most notably, covered seats and a club level will mushroom from the stadium’s nearly empty east side, ushering scarf-snapping fans to within a throw-in of the sideline. [More]

And now to the rest of the Portland Timbers news roundup . . .

Timbers News – So Why Does This Dispute Matter? by Kip Kesgard at Oregonlive.com

During a regular Timbers offseason, there can be a lack of news to cover about the team when the colder weather appears. However, this season isn’t like most off seasons because of two situations that affect the lads: the USL/NASL rift and the planning for MLS to start in 2011. Both situations have significant impact to the Timbers but the team continues to press forward as best they can. [More]

Timbers’ coaching candidates include John Spencer, Houston Dynamo assistant by Geoffrey C. Arnold at The Oregonian

The Portland Timbers are strongly considering a current MLS assistant coach as their head coach when the team joins Major League Soccer in 2011.

John Spencer of the Houston Dynamo of MLS met with owner Merritt Paulson and others on the Timbers’ staff within the past few days in Portland. [More]

An Open Letter to the Portland Timbers FO by Zach Woosley at Ginge Talks The Footy

Dear Merritt Paulson and the Portland Timbers Organization,

Congratulations on becoming a part of Major League Soccer. Those of us who followed your efforts to join the league have been impressed by your organization and the spirit from your loyal supporters during the entire process. You long standing rivalry with the Seattle Sounders will only go to further enrich MLS and help build another layer of tradition in the league. There is no question that your inclusion in MLS will be a positive step forward for soccer in the United States.

That said, we have a problem that needs to be addressed. [More]

Oh, and HAPPY FESTIVUS!

First Dave Knows Bus Ad Spotted (and Photographed) in the Wild

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UPDATE: I’ve copied these photos, plus several more, at the Bus Ad Gallery page.

The first photograph of a Dave Knows Bus Ad in the wild was sent to me by none other than Emily Gibson, host of The Meat Show (and one of the hosts of iPhoneSlutz and The Nerd Report)!

Here is her handiwork:

Dave Knows Bus photo by Emily Gibson of The Meat Show

And here’s the riveting account of how she was able to capture the moment (via Twitter):

i only saw it because i was out in front of sassys stumbling, it was awesome, i was all sweeeeet! look dude!

Blog reader Maureen Oliver sent in a photo this morning, taken on Saturday. As you can see the bus appears to be a 75 (you can see the 39th and Powell Safeway to the left, and the check cashing place that used to be a Duncan Donuts on the right).

Thanks Maureen!

On Christmas day my old pal Hollie sent me the photo below. It’s a #12 near the Barbur transit center: