The quickest way to get to Portland was to take a 90 minute flight to Long Beach for a 3 hour layover before getting back on a plane for a 2 1/2 hour flight. This basically shot the whole day, the one redeeming point was that I did pick up an hour by being in a different time zone. Instead of losing 6 hours to travel, it was only 5.
When I landed in Long Beach, I did leave the airport to walk around to see if there was anything to see or do or eat, but didn't get too far. The airport isn't very large but it was mostly commercial businesses in the area and too far to walk carrying my laptop. I guess I could have been more adventurous and took a cab but there was nothing around that I was interested in to rush around town for. If I have a whole day there, I would have like to have gone to the waterfront area.
One good thing though, the weather in southern California was gorgeous. The sun was high in the sky with very few clouds and it was very warm. It was a beautiful day and so I spent it outside on a picnic table working on my laptop. (So, I'm a geek).
Long Beach airport is very small and it is like a hold over from the past. In order to get on and off an airplane you have to walk across the tarmac.
I landed in Portland after 6pm and took a courtesy shuttle to Rodeway Inn. The reason I selected this motel was not just the price but that it had a shuttle and most importantly was near the Portland light rail system. The motel is owned by the same company but the complex is shared with another motel, Quality Inn. The 2 motels share the same reservation desk and when you check in they ask which motel your reservation is with. I had to ask was there a difference and was one better than the other. They said there was a difference and Quality Inn was better though the 2 motels are kind of connected physically to each other.
Since it was late and all I have to eat all day was the snacks you get on the airplane I was pretty hungry. When I planned the trip I did look for places to eat in the area and one place that seemed quite interesting and had gotten some good reviews was Jim Dandy Drive-In. It was like a 50's style drive-in.
I was kind of expecting more of a diner but their menu consisted of mostly sandwiches. I ended up getting a chili dog with a side order of onion rings. The meal was pretty disappointing. The chili dog was mediocre. The chili had beans which I don't really like on a chili dog as it makes it more messy to it and the hot dog itself was pork and beef and was pretty bland. But all was not lost as the onion rings were very good. There was thick slices of onions and they had a crispy coating on them. Reviews on the web were generally pretty good for the place, but Guy Fieri didn't go here, maybe that should have been a clue.
I was still kind of hungry and decided to walk around the area some to see if there was something else to try. I walked around a mile and saw mostly gas stations, motels, and a few bars. There was a Mexican restaurant that looked interesting but I wasn't hungry for another full meal. I did pass by a nondescript building that was a Chinese restaurant. I am always interested in trying Chinese food in non-traditional places plus I knew I could always get something like an appetizer to snack on instead of a meal.
The place was called Good World. The people there were very nice but the place was empty at 8pm, usually not a good sign. The restaurant had been open for about 1 year and the building used to be a bank. They used the vault for storage. I got an order of potstickers to go and ate them in my motel room. The potstickers was quite tasty, but you really can't mess them up that much. With my snack came the ubiquitous fortune cookie. My fortune was: "An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you near the mountains". Since I just came from the mountains in Utah, maybe the fortune was a little bit too late?
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