With traffic, it was a four-hour drive from Seattle to Portland today, so I don't have all that much to say today. This was my first time driving outside of Seattle since I went off to college, as far as I can remember, as I don't typically drive outside of work -- I had forgotten how much less stressful rural highway driving is compared to city driving!
My hotel for the trip is an older, but nicely remodeled, Hampton Inn in Clackamas, a suburb southeast of Portland proper. (I couldn't afford any of the hotels actually in downtown!) One new challenge associated with driving places -- I have to make sure to choose angles that don't show my parent's car (though if they ever did somehow discover this blog, I'm sure they could easily tell that it's me...).
My first stop today was the Fred Meyer across the street from the hotel, to get some snacks and a transit farecard. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to have a full photoset from this store -- it's a pretty typical 80s Fred Meyer that was remodeled to the ubiquitous Marketplace decor a few years ago (it used to have the full Cartoon decor package before the (un?)fortunate remodel), though it does have a fairly deluxe version of Marketplace. The one interior picture I took today is of one of the most interesting decor elements, a circle of (what I assume to be) wine bottles hanging above the liquor department, replacing the typical banner signs.
I decided to treat myself to some Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner tonight -- always one of my favorite restaurants! The Clackamas location is one of the few custom-built, standalone OSF locations out there, and it's quite a nice place. The second picture is the view from my table (in a little side room, nice and quiet -- I was able to get these pictures when there were no staff members in the room!) towards the main dining room, with the (fake) trolley barely visible through the door. One distinctive Spaghetti Factory thing is the paper placemats at each seat -- they always have some sort of advertisement (currently for their 50th anniversary) with their locations and years of opening around the outside (Clackamas, OR '95 is at the bottom right). The Spaghetti Factory was founded in Portland, and while their original location no longer exists, I may have to go to their current flagship Downtown Portland location sometime in this trip!
I hope this isn't too much navel-gazing for everyone... I normally try to make this more about the stores than about myself. But I decided this would be a nice little change of pace, and it also gives me an excuse to talk about places I wouldn't be able to make a full set about!
I hope this isn't too much navel-gazing for everyone... I normally try to make this more about the stores than about myself. But I decided this would be a nice little change of pace, and it also gives me an excuse to talk about places I wouldn't be able to make a full set about!
I keep forgetting your parents don't know about this hobby... mine are totally in on it. Pretty sure AFB's family is as well, although he's said they keep their distance :P
ReplyDeleteAs for the wine bottle sign, I remember seeing that at the Mansfield, OH, Kroger Marketplace I visited. I think it's an older element of that decor, replaced with the usual circle signs since then.
And ha, what a coincidence you went to the Old Spaghetti Factory - my dad ate there just last week! Even sent us a photo of the exact same ad for those T-shirts (plus one of his meal, to make us jealous XD )
Ha -- my parents think I'm weird enough as is, I don't need to give them more ammunition! 🙂
DeleteFunny you say that, since this appears to have been a semi-recent remodel, mid-2017 per Google Maps photos. It does seem to have some older-Marketplace elements, though, so who knows...
Nice! I always forget you have Spaghetti Factories out there too (yes, I know it's on the placemat, but I still think of them as a West Coast thing...).
LOL!
DeleteInteresting! Maybe it's not as old as I think, then :P
Actually, he was closer to the West Coast! I didn't realize they were out my way, either XD I've never been.
My old car would have really stood out had I captured it in my pictures, but my new car is generic looking enough that no one would probably notice it unless I made it obvious. However, I always park in the far back end of a parking lot so my car never even shows up in my photos. I find parking way in the back or off to the side of the building makes it easier to get exterior photos, and works especially well if you don't want to capture the car either.
ReplyDeleteAnd to confirm what Retail Retell said, my parents or sister want no part of me when taking photos of a store! They actually don't know about the blogs or the flickr account, nor the extent of how many photos I've taken. They only know I have an interest in retail, collect old retail knickkancks, and take some pictures on occasion (which they want no part of).
Yep, that's what I did too! My parents' car wouldn't have been particularly distinctive when they first got it (in Port Angeles, at least -- there were tons of near-identical cars in town!), but it's now old enough that there aren't quite as many left around any more.
DeleteHa, funny to hear that! That's how my parents/friends treat my transportation-related hobbies, but I know they'd find this even more weird...