Out West Adventure: Part 2--Portland

Tue. June 11: Our final day in Portland was dedicated to “doing Portland”. With way too much frogging around we finally drove ourselves to the Portland Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden, both of which were stunning. The roses were overwhelming and that garden is free to one and all. The sun was in and out and we had some very light drizzles all day long with temperatures around 61°, so we were just as happy that we had spent the other, nicer days doing what we did. We had hoped to park at the Zoo and take the TriMet train to downtown, but that wasn't possible. I finally called the TriMet phone number for “Plan Your Trip” and found out that we could have started the day at a Park & Ride in Clackamas, about 8 miles from the campsite. Oh man…. As it was, we drove there anyway, bought our All Day Pass for $5 each, and rode the green line down to The Pearl District. First we found the Deschutes Brewery and Public House for a very late lunch of a Quinoa & Cashew Vegan Burger and a pint of Nitro Stout (me) and their Burger and a pint of IPA (Marv). Both of us were happy with our choice. From there it was only a block walk to Powell’s Bookstore, which takes up the entire block and is four stories of new and used books. We wandered around exploring for quite a while and bought a used book on the northern Rockies. Nearby we caught the Portland Streetcar (which until a year ago was free fare) and rode down to South Riverfront. And then we walked---from South Riverfront along the Willamette River to North Riverfront to Old Town/Chinatown back to The Pearl and on to Union Station where we caught the green line back to Clackamas City Center. We printed some pictures at a Rite-Aid to send as postcards and tried a quick stop at McDonald’s to download Lansing State Journals but didn't have much luck. So we returned to the campsite and had the leftover Bar-B-Que on bread with veggies, did the dishes one last time, wrote our postcards and began to pack to leave Portland in the morning. 

Iris in the English Garden next to the Rose Garden

Calla Lilies in the English Garden next to the Rose Garden remind us of Sarah

Zen Garden in the Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

Deschutes Brewery and Public House

China Town gates