Hollywood & Vine Fire

As I stepped off the Hollywood & Vine train stop this morning I could smell the smoke from this fire. It was right on the corner of the intersection in a popular Hollywood night club. The intersection was littered with over a dozen fire trucks, and fire hoses all over the street. Up in the air was nothing but black smoke coming out like crazy! It was quite a scene. I went to the gym and completed my morning workout just a block and a half away. After when walking to work I ran into all my co-workers on the street outside the Capitol Records tower. (2 doors down from the fire) Our offices were right in the area where smoke had been blowing the past several hours, and so the building was closed for the day until the air quality would be better. It was an unexpected day off work, but just glad that no one was injured or hurt in the fire!

You can read more if you like on the following link;

http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-restaurantfire,0,1122118.story

Portland, OR

Dale and I flew up to Portland, Oregon on the weekend of March 28-30th to visit our friend Eric. We had a hard time finding open flights from the LA area to Portland, so we flew into Seattle from Long Beach, and Eric drove up to pick us up. It was a snowy day in the Seattle area, and Eric had driven in snow most of the way up from Portland, and it started to clear on the drive back down. We were not in any hurry, and took our time along the way. It was a nice winter wonderland in some places but was all pretty much melted by the time we got back to Portland that evening.


We all went out to Breakfast one morning at the Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie, OR. They area a local miller that has products around the nation in most grocery stores. We have always loved and used most of their products, so it was fun to see the mill where it all originates from and have a delicious breakfast in their restaurant.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/company.php


We also went to Breakfast at one of the best, outrageous, most typical Portland fares you can find. The Tin Shed Garden Cafe; http://www.tinshedgardencafe.com/index.html

The food is amazing, the fun part is that they have over half their space in outdoor seating, and even though it was cold, in the 40's, we sat outside next to a blazing outdoor fireplace for a lovely breakfast that none other could compare! If you want the quintessential dining experience while in Portland, this place is a must!


We also took an afternoon to enjoy a movie and shopping in the Hawthorne area. This is one great area of Portland, and the Bagdad theatre ROCKS! http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176




We did some cooking and made a nice meal for Eric, with some great grocery stores in the area to choose from. We then headed out on Sunday to catch our flight back to LAX from Portland. This was one interesting trip, 4 different airports, in a round trip. That is a first!