GABST Day 3: On to the next

Another busy day on the Great American Bookstore Tour. After a final morning in Seattle that included a visit to Mercer Street Books, and a walk up one of the steepest hills known to man (and by man I mean me, as I had to stop three times to catch my breath and covertly air out my sweaty t-shirt), Sarah and I got on the road to Portland.

I’ve learned from Seattle not to judge a city by its downtown, and so I’ll reserve my opinions of Portland for tomorrow, after I’ve visited neighborhoods quirky and hipster enough to qualify as authentically PDX. For now I’ll just say that little gets me in the mood for out-of-town adventuring like a free wine and beer hour, which Kimpton Hotels — my Portland stay is at the impressively furnished Monaco — provide on a nightly basis.

I also picked up two new travel companions in Portland, best friends from high school whose decision to accompany me on the Portland/San Fran leg of GABST will cut down on my “eating alone in restaurants” quotient by a significant amount. Together we enjoyed enjoyed dinner and drinks at Grüner, a German/Eastern European spot that had me hooked at “beet-pickled deviled eggs,” and even more drinks at Scooter’s, a downtown dive our waitress recommended with no small amount of trepidation. Two beers and two Jell-O shots later, I’d spent a whopping $9.50 (with tip) and was ready to saunter home and crash in our almost painfully Portland-esque hotel suite. (Like seriously, the lobby has gourmet dog treats.)

Having yet to see anything outside a three-block radius of the Monaco, I’m already wishing I’d allotted more time for Portland. And persuaded into the aforementioned Jell-O shots by a boisterous bridesmaid-to-be, whose friend was having her bachelorette party at Scooter’s — on a Tuesday — I also can’t wait to see what Portland has to offer by way of 20-somethings, de facto hipster sister city to Brooklyn that it is.

Anywho, tomorrow it’s on to Powell’s, bastion of books, paradise of pages, labyrinth of literature. As there is a distinct possibility I will get lost and die in Powell’s (intentionally or non is TBD) I just want to say that it’s been a pleasure blogging for you all. I bequeath my cats to my mom and my furniture to my sister. Just please bury me with my books.

GABST DAY 3 BY THE NUMBERS: 

Bookstore visited: 1
Mercer Street Books

Books purchased: 2
The Mysterious Stranger, by Mark Twain
An American Dream, by Norman Mailer