No, I've never live here, and I've only visited once, but it was a really, really good trip with lots of fond memories.
I had a business trip out there last summer, and got to play tourist a little while I was there. I saw some of Portland, the coast (above), Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge (way above), Multnomah Falls, actual tracks on the Oregon Trail, and as much other stuff as I could pack into a trip just under a week and still get my work done. :) Even had a quick afternoon trip up to Mt St Helen's, just across the state line in Oregon.
The pictures below are from the International Rose Garden in Portland. A beautiful garden!! One of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Apparently Portland is the ideal climate for roses, not too hot or humid, so they get tons of roses all the way into October. All I could think of when I was walking through it, was the line from The Secret Garden about "curtains and fountains of roses." I loved the Shakespeare Garden too, a side garden off the main test garden. All the roses there are ones named for characters in Shakespeare's plays (like the Prospero rose), and the non-rose plants in there are ones specifically mentioned in his works (oak, etc.) It was a really pretty little side garden. Good wedding location too, I learned (one was finishing up as I walking through the gardens - don't worry, I didn't distrub them!)
Forest Park is the largest green space contained within a major city, and a great place to run! So deep green - even greener in my memory, as I live here in the Land of Brown! A great place to go for a run, trails running all through the park. And, yes, I did choose Wildwood Trail for a reason ;) (it's the name of my in-laws' farm)
Multnomah Falls is another pretty stop to do. It's just off the Interstate running through the Columbia River Gorge (a pretty drive in itself). Multnomah is actually one of several waterfalls right there along the Gorge - it's just the tallest. :) There's a nice little trail to walk up to the top of the fall, only about a mile or so ("only" because there are several more miles of trails in the park itself). Not very long, but VERY steep - zig-zagging back and forth like CRAZY up the side of the hill. Still, definitely worth it for the view (and to be able to say you did it!) :)
And as another site-worth-seeing in the Portland area, if you in the least bookish, you MUST stop at Powell's Books. It's an independent bookstore in the area - new stuff and used stuff both. A FULL CITY BLOCK!!! I kid you not! I definitely didn't have nearly enough time there to see everything I wanted too in that store! The picture below is the column at the front entrance to Powell's - good sign, right? :)
I got to see the actual Oregon Trail, because I had to head into eastern Oregon for the job site itself. The Trail had passed right through the town I was visiting for the site, so of course I had a detour after work was done to visit the little museum in the town and learn some more. So many wagons had passed over the same ruts, you can still see them today! I'd never realized that before I went out there - so cool!
Like G (Golden Gate), O is important to be because of the timing of the trip. I had about a week out there last year when I was in Oregon. I was actually sent out there for work with Horrible Job, but was able to squeeze in some tourist time too. Being on the opposite coast put me several hours off of Horrible Job, so I was "safe" from the phone calls for much of the trip. And just being somewhere new was energizing. I had a chance to recharge. Dealing with Horrible Job while planning a wedding in another state was very draining last summer, and my trip out to Oregon (which I would have loved anyway) became that much more important because of the release it offered me.
And yes, I do know I was late on O. Took me a while to think of a good one. Don't worry, though - P will be on time :)
I had a business trip out there last summer, and got to play tourist a little while I was there. I saw some of Portland, the coast (above), Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge (way above), Multnomah Falls, actual tracks on the Oregon Trail, and as much other stuff as I could pack into a trip just under a week and still get my work done. :) Even had a quick afternoon trip up to Mt St Helen's, just across the state line in Oregon.
The pictures below are from the International Rose Garden in Portland. A beautiful garden!! One of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Apparently Portland is the ideal climate for roses, not too hot or humid, so they get tons of roses all the way into October. All I could think of when I was walking through it, was the line from The Secret Garden about "curtains and fountains of roses." I loved the Shakespeare Garden too, a side garden off the main test garden. All the roses there are ones named for characters in Shakespeare's plays (like the Prospero rose), and the non-rose plants in there are ones specifically mentioned in his works (oak, etc.) It was a really pretty little side garden. Good wedding location too, I learned (one was finishing up as I walking through the gardens - don't worry, I didn't distrub them!)
Forest Park is the largest green space contained within a major city, and a great place to run! So deep green - even greener in my memory, as I live here in the Land of Brown! A great place to go for a run, trails running all through the park. And, yes, I did choose Wildwood Trail for a reason ;) (it's the name of my in-laws' farm)
Multnomah Falls is another pretty stop to do. It's just off the Interstate running through the Columbia River Gorge (a pretty drive in itself). Multnomah is actually one of several waterfalls right there along the Gorge - it's just the tallest. :) There's a nice little trail to walk up to the top of the fall, only about a mile or so ("only" because there are several more miles of trails in the park itself). Not very long, but VERY steep - zig-zagging back and forth like CRAZY up the side of the hill. Still, definitely worth it for the view (and to be able to say you did it!) :)
And as another site-worth-seeing in the Portland area, if you in the least bookish, you MUST stop at Powell's Books. It's an independent bookstore in the area - new stuff and used stuff both. A FULL CITY BLOCK!!! I kid you not! I definitely didn't have nearly enough time there to see everything I wanted too in that store! The picture below is the column at the front entrance to Powell's - good sign, right? :)
I got to see the actual Oregon Trail, because I had to head into eastern Oregon for the job site itself. The Trail had passed right through the town I was visiting for the site, so of course I had a detour after work was done to visit the little museum in the town and learn some more. So many wagons had passed over the same ruts, you can still see them today! I'd never realized that before I went out there - so cool!
Like G (Golden Gate), O is important to be because of the timing of the trip. I had about a week out there last year when I was in Oregon. I was actually sent out there for work with Horrible Job, but was able to squeeze in some tourist time too. Being on the opposite coast put me several hours off of Horrible Job, so I was "safe" from the phone calls for much of the trip. And just being somewhere new was energizing. I had a chance to recharge. Dealing with Horrible Job while planning a wedding in another state was very draining last summer, and my trip out to Oregon (which I would have loved anyway) became that much more important because of the release it offered me.
And yes, I do know I was late on O. Took me a while to think of a good one. Don't worry, though - P will be on time :)
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