Though a wet morning didn’t deter we four from bike riding, it did persuade us to stay in N/NE, so we checked out Compass’s first shop in PDX.  Close to the entrance to & exit from the Fremont Bridge, this Compass outlet is a completely brand new shop in a recently opened mixed use building; and like a couple of other newer shops, during business hours it opens directly into the lobby of the building’s residential section, allowing for additional seating and table options.  However, in the shop proper itself there are only a few tables for sitting and conversing, with lots of single seats around the counter and some along the window looking out.  All in all, although this shop is very attractive, and has advanced coffee + tea equipment, its table limitations limit those who want to hang out.

Topics today wandered some, from E’s interest in the tiny homes exhibit at PNCA where various architectural firms designed their best ideas; to D+R’s spring Amtrak trip that’ll include staying in a back-country chalet in Glacier, his 50th high school reunion in Wisc., and their $200 per-seat tickets to Hamilton in Chicago;  to M’s backpacking group planning their summer trip around this coming summer’s solar eclipse; to H+P’s upcoming trip to Colombia, instigated by an invitation from a Spanish friend – who lived with them for a summer in the mid-90s as an exchange teenager – and is now a human rights lawyer in Bogota on a 2 yr. assignment.

3270 N. Vancouver, Ave.       http://www.compasscoffeeroasting.com