Shelbyville

Sidewalk Dining at The Observatory

Shelbyville is a fictional town in The Simpsons universe, it is next door to Springfield and is nearly identical, though there are subtle differences. Ross and I drove over to NE 82nd Avenue in Portland on Friday to have lunch at The Observatory. NE 82nd is like the other side of the world for me, being as I  live 15 miles west of downtown. 82nd is where the airport is. If you consider Beaverton to be Springfield, being over there is like being in Shelbyville.

The restaurant is fine, though we ended up sitting at the picnic tables on the sidewalk. It wasn't too bad. We had one person collecting signatures for a petition stop by and ask us for signatures but they were quickly dismissed. There was a fair amount of traffic noise and there was one woman who looked like maybe she was practicing karates moves on the sidewalk in front of the pet supply store next door. Karate or crazy. Or just typical Portland, you pick.

We had burger burgers. They other like four kinds of burgers including elk, lamb and beef. The tab all told was $45.

Like any big city there are myriad ways to get across town to Shelbyville. If I am on a mission to take care of some business, like going to the airport, I'll take I-84. It isn't much fun, it's usually crowded with the usual assortment of idiots putting along at 50 MPH and the maniacs trying to go 90 and failing with intermittent massive application of the brakes. It takes a lot of effort to stay calm, stay in my lane and not get caught up in the frenzy of getting someplace. So we took Burnside. There are a lot of traffic lights and it's slower, but I get to see parts of Portland I seldom visit. Once you get out of the commercial district it turns residential and there some very nice houses so the scenery is pleasant. It also gave us a chance to catch up. 

Vinge's Sheet Metal
Note Bender on the corner

Just past 67th Avenue the main drag veers off to the right. I vaguely remember being out this way before, so I veer and half a dozen blocks farther on I can tell we are in Shelbyville because we come across Vinge's Sheet Metal shop. We made several trips out here when we were working on the duct work in the new house.

Mr. Plywood

We drive around for a bit, gradually homing in on the restaurant and we pass by Mr. Plywood. If you need any further evidence that you are in Shelbyville and not Springfield, this is it.

Jaguar XJ6

There's a 20 minute wait before we can be seated at the restaurant, so we walk around the neighborhood. It basically a little scruffier version of Beaverton. We spot several old cars on our walk: a '64 Mercury Cyclone that someone had but some effort into, a '63 Ford Falcon that looked pretty original and looked like is was still being used, and an aging Jaguar Sedan that looked like it hasn't move in ten years. Amazingly enough, the tires were still holding air. I wouldn't breath on it  though, it looks like one breath could turn the whole thing to dust. We didn't take any pictures, we were otherwise occupied, but when I got home I wondered if that Jag might show up on Streetview, and sure enough it did.