Waddling Around Portland: March 5, 2010

After a number of days on the road, including a working weekend in Fairbanks, I decided to take the day off Friday. It wasn't a hard decision. I had an appointment with Dr.Rachel Graves, MD at 9:40 AM so I wouldn't have headed into work until after then anyway. Add to the sawbones appointment a chance to meet up with Beluga Slim and Marc, another retired buddy from the FS for the Lucky Lab barleywine festival and it moved into no brainer territory. Well, I guess you would have to stretch your mind a bit to figure out how to make drinking beer for the afternoon fit with Waddling Towards Fitness.





Here's how. The day dawned bright and beautiful. A great spring day--hard to make it into late winter. See Ronna's blog for pictures of plants coming up through snow. It was in the 60s in Stumptown. So, I decided to waddle down to Dr. Rachel Graves, MD's office where I fully expected her to tell me to eat less, exercise more, drink less, and exercise more, and eat less...you get the picture. I wasn't disappointed, although Dr. Rachel Graves, MD has a very nice patient-side manner and you don't feel beat up after she tells you to eat less, exercise more, drink less, etc. I just look at her and say to myself, "Jeeze Louise, I need to lose one whole Dr. Rachel Graves, MD equivalent to be back where I was when I was 18.



That did it. I had every intention of taking the bus to meet Beluga Slim, but with the words of Dr. Rachel Graves, MD ringing in my ear, not to mention the fact that, in an attempt to impress her with my dedication to WTF, I promised that I would walk to the Lucky Lab up at 19th NW and Quimby, not exactly a short stroll.

So, I set off on shank's mare and along the way I saw the Broadway bridge, a real beauty and the longest rail-type bascule bridge in the world; Union Station, another; the back side of the main Post Office; Jack and Dolly-Girl's favorite cab company, Radio Cab; and some of Portland Fire Bureau's finest, including one who waved to me. I think it was Engine 3
























At my destination, I was rewarded with a great table, a cold IPA, and a front-row seat for the 25 barleywines that Beluga Slim and Marc would soon be quaffing. I stuck with IPA and only a couple at that with Dr. Rachel Graves, MD tsking in my head.












We left there, still a foot, and headed for Bailey's for a finale. Then on to the bus and home. Throw in about a mile and a half from the bus to get Nancy some wine to home, and Wolfpack West can report a staggering 8.9 miles! And Wolfpack West was staggering...