Author Archives: Mike

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About Mike

Journalist, writer, world traveler

I Hear A Freight Train, Ah Coming…

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Mike
A front row seathttps://youtu.be/hIiw8rwnATI

In cities across the United States, passenger and freight trains crisscross local roads, at all hours of the day in some places. While spending a part of my summer in Portland, Oregon, I’ve chosen an Airbnb in a section of town with its share of trains. Known as the Pearl District, it’s a section of town teeming with shops, restaurants, bars and generally venues that focus on relaxation and fun, day or night.

The Pearl is also heaven for trainspotters. Wait a few minutes and a train — particularly a freight train — will happen by. I absolutely love trains. I could sit and watch them all day — but better to be on them on my way to somewhere than to be sitting in my car waiting for them to allow me to continue on my way. 😁

The Steel Bridge in Portland, Oregon, on which trains cross the Willamette River.

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Plane-Spotting in Los Angeles

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Mike
Los Angeles International Airport

On a grassy area in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, near one of the runways of Los Angeles International Airport, easily hundreds of people gather daily to watch planes land. Not sure you can call it a hobby or entertainment, but plane-spotting is a thing. Some people are just fascinated by airplanes. I confess, I’m one of them.

I went to this location to get a close-up glimpse of planes from all over the world arriving at LAX. Some of the planes are literally right over your head and flying low on approach. This is how some people spend their mornings or afternoons: plane-spotting. Here’s my video compilation of some of the planes I saw.

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In Plain Site: Bishop’s House

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Mike
You can’t miss this building in Portland, and yet you can.

This is Bishop’s House, located in Downtown Portland. It’s 142 years old, completed in 1879. It was the official residence of Archbishop William Hinckley Gross, after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese moved from Oregon City to Portland.

 Hinckley, who also served as the Bishop of Savannah, Georgia, died in 1898 at age 61, in Baltimore, Maryland, where  he was born and laid to rest.

 A marvelous cathedral once stood next to Bishop’s House, but it was demolished after a much larger cathedral was built elsewhere in the city in 1885 to accommodate Portland’s growing population. 

Bishop’s House has undergone some renovation but it has held on to its Gothic architectural style and original bones. Notice the cross? The building’s facade holds other tell tale signs that signal this was a building tied to the church. 

In 1974, Bishop’s House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it is occupied by a Lebanese restaurant on the ground floor, offices and a startup above. It is one of those buildings in Portland that easily goes unnoticed, if you don’t stop to smell the City of Roses. 

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