Portland, Oregon
We had an expedition of a different kind today. After docking the evening before, just at dinner, we had time to adjust to the city lights and the change of scenery ahead. It was a balmy evening and some went for a stroll that soon found them in the heart of the city center. Under the streetlights, the color of the fall leaves took on a new dimension, swimming with the light wind and crunching under foot.
By bus and with well versed guides, we weaved our way through the city. It seems Portland has many best of and in this case smallest of as we were made aware of the smallest park in the world. It was a cactus planted in the middle of a boulevard that is quite legitimate and has made the Guinness Book of Records. This seemed relevant to a sense of humor the community derives as we soon came across a large salmon protruding out of a brick building for no apparent reason other than the name of the street was Salmon Street. Parks were definitely a theme throughout the city, large and small. They created a sense of relaxation in a small city that isn’t in a hurry.
Our first stop was at The Japanese Garden which is deemed to be the best outside of Japan. As we meandered through the many stoned paths that lead us into a seeming wonderland, it was the calming sound of water moving downward that gave us all time to stretch and breath in the restful air that surrounded us.
We moved on to another garden representative of Portland’s other name, The City of Roses. There were many blossoms even this late in the year. The rows of bushes of varying colors drew as in and then just as abruptly stopped us in our tracks to take in the aroma surrounding us.
The afternoon was open. Those favoring history took advantage of a tour to Fort Vancouver and others just wanted to soak up the scenery the bus drive had to offer. Others simply wanted space from the ship and took to the streets on their own, discovering the city in their own fashion.
The rain did decide to come down, but certainly didn’t put a damper on this voyage of discovering a unique and likeable city.
We had an expedition of a different kind today. After docking the evening before, just at dinner, we had time to adjust to the city lights and the change of scenery ahead. It was a balmy evening and some went for a stroll that soon found them in the heart of the city center. Under the streetlights, the color of the fall leaves took on a new dimension, swimming with the light wind and crunching under foot.
By bus and with well versed guides, we weaved our way through the city. It seems Portland has many best of and in this case smallest of as we were made aware of the smallest park in the world. It was a cactus planted in the middle of a boulevard that is quite legitimate and has made the Guinness Book of Records. This seemed relevant to a sense of humor the community derives as we soon came across a large salmon protruding out of a brick building for no apparent reason other than the name of the street was Salmon Street. Parks were definitely a theme throughout the city, large and small. They created a sense of relaxation in a small city that isn’t in a hurry.
Our first stop was at The Japanese Garden which is deemed to be the best outside of Japan. As we meandered through the many stoned paths that lead us into a seeming wonderland, it was the calming sound of water moving downward that gave us all time to stretch and breath in the restful air that surrounded us.
We moved on to another garden representative of Portland’s other name, The City of Roses. There were many blossoms even this late in the year. The rows of bushes of varying colors drew as in and then just as abruptly stopped us in our tracks to take in the aroma surrounding us.
The afternoon was open. Those favoring history took advantage of a tour to Fort Vancouver and others just wanted to soak up the scenery the bus drive had to offer. Others simply wanted space from the ship and took to the streets on their own, discovering the city in their own fashion.
The rain did decide to come down, but certainly didn’t put a damper on this voyage of discovering a unique and likeable city.
