Visit to LT's – Oct. '09

After returning from the coast, I hung around Gresham and did a bunch of shopping at my favorite stores. Most nights I’d dry camp either in a vacant field near LT’s Pub or at the Flying J truck stop. That got old quick as a storm rolled in and the temps dipped into the low 40’s. I finally decided to stay at a ‘Passport America’ campground up in the hills above Troutdale. With a PP card, you get to stay at 50% off. If the parks daily price is $28 per night, you only pay $14.  The park is nice, in the very small town of Corbett, Oregon, and named Crown Point RV Park. Stayed there 2 weeks while I shopped and visited with my other friends at LT’s Pub. If I celebrated to much, I would just stay the night at the empty lot near LT’s. If not, I’d drive up to Corbett.

Julie & Nancy...

Julie telling me how her genius son was doing in school.

Margie...

I gave Margie a call because I love Margie. She and I have been hanging around together since we met while she was a bartender at the old LT’s. Years ago. She didn’t like being a bartender who had to cook. Other then that she loved it. The cooking and other stuff drove her nuts until she finally quit. Went on to be a carpenter, office worker, etc., etc.. You know the drill. We play pool usually and although she’s better then me, somehow I tend to win more often. Funny how that goes. She also has this infectious laugh, so I’m always trying to be funny around her. So far I haven’t been able to talk her into traveling around the country with me for a few months. I’m wearing her down though, 🙂 .

It's me!

Margie took a picture of me, even though I warned her about broken cameras and the like.

Linda showing off her winning ticket.

Still showing off. Jennie enjoying it all. Gordon trying to escape being in the picture.

Finally, Max shows up for work.

Love Max too. She is a part time bartender here at the new LT’s. At the old LT’s she was a full time tender. We got to be fast friends up there during the period I was hanging out there every night. (It was on my way home)! Now she works at the old M&M restaurant and lounge. Another place most of us hang out.

Really nice to visit with everyone again over those two weeks I stayed up in Corbett and hung out at LT’s.

Finally, it got to be time for me to move on South. So, the younger crowd I hang out with all came over to M&M’s for a going away party.

Oct. 25th, Sunday afternoon & evening.

Danny the bartender...

Danny is also a friend from the old LT’s. He actually doesn’t need to work as a bartender…he’s a day trader…but he gets cabin fever so here he is bar tending. Been doing it for years now. Use to own one of those little stores out in the boondocks.

Max is back behind the bar grousing at me for taking her picture.

TJ (Theresa) & her bf Lee show up.

Downtown Gresham.

I ran outside to get a picture  of downtown before it got dark and I forgot. This is looking North. It’s an old fashioned downtown with small eclectic shops, bars, & cafe’s. There’s even a tea room. It’s gone through many stages while administration after administration has tried to revitalize it. A few blocks in any direction shows much new development and even a block to the right in this picture are fancy row houses. And we’ve got MAX, the Metro Area Transit trains for people that work downtown. I ride it all the time.

Behind me just one block is a large city park. Gresham is a neat little town nestled in an urban area. There are bike paths that go for miles, creeks, parks, large treed hills looming up around you, and everywhere it’s green. The annual rainfall is so high that all green things thrive, even when mistreated.

Problem is that it’s not often considered a destination by people that live around here. Gresham is so close to Portland that for the most part, people do their shopping or partying closer to downtown Portland. And when they don’t, there are many big box stores withing a few miles of downtown. There were times when you’d see nearly 50% of the business along this street closed and for sale.

There is one closed bread bakery just a block from here that was remodeled into a brew pub and restaurant. It failed and closed. Then it was bought and reopened as a pub…this went on over and over. I was a real estate broker back when this was going on so I often talked to the owner(s) about the business and I’d go on line and check the secret things a broker can check to see how much it sold for each time. Believe it or not, the place was a real estate cash cow. Each time it sold, with all the beer making equipment, it went for a higher price! With the new owner not doing their homework the pub was doomed to fail as the mortgage kept getting higher with each sale. Low traffic in downtown Gresham meant not enough customers, higher mortgage meant high prices, fewer people came, business fails. Must have happened 4 times over 10 years. It’s now a pub again as Main Street Ale House. Opened in 2003 after a Italian restaurant opened and closed in just a few months. I think they’re still open but because they’ve been closed so often, I didn’t think of visiting there. But I’m not sure. Hope they got a good price on the building.

Well, back to the M&M party. A few people I knew who didn’t want to hang out at the new LT’s because of the overly loud and uncomfortable feel of the place came to say goodbye here. It was great getting to visit with them again like old times.

TJ, Lee, & Jackie.

Jackie even came by. You remember her from her visit up to Fairbanks in the summer of 2007? She’s preggers now so only soft drinks for her.

Jackie's BF, Jeff, showed up too.

There were a few later arrivals but I got tired of taking pictures.

Next time, we’ll visit Multnomah Falls as I leave the area and head easterly.