With a friend this morning swimming three miles in the Willamette as part of an 11 mile relay team, two members chose a shop along the River to hopefully cheer her on.  Upstream Coffee + Eatery is located in the former Leaf and Bean site, apparently with a new owner and some remodeling of the counter, amidst the pedestrian path and string of shops south of the blues festival bowl.

It’s a small shop, so there’s some pressure not to hang out inside for too long.  But Upstream also has access to picnic benches along an espalanade overlooking the Willamette, and on these benches it’s easy to feel carefree and hang out.

Two topics dominated today’s conversation.  The first was about our admiration for swimmer Mona – and her cohorts, some of whom were swimming all 11 miles – to take on this challenge, – and for organizers of this event and the Big Float who are dedicated to make the Willamette accessible to the public at large.  The second was debriefing on the  CD release party we both attended at the White Eagle three days before, for a primarily-based Bellingham band that is co-led by Sammy, one of our friends’ children, who is also an oil painter. Again, the word “admiration” was used a lot to describe his artistic endeavors.

315 SW Montgomery     https://www.facebook.com/pages/Upstream-Coffee-Eatery/142502342461074