Portland Pals

We had a lovely 5 hour drive to Portland and a delicious seafood lunch with my nephew and his wife who dropped us off on their way home to Seattle. Then we set off to make the most of our 1.5 days in Portland. After riding MAX, the light rail system, from our airport hotel to downtown, we used the street cars and found our way to one of the few stores open on Labor Day evening, Powell's Book Store, http://www.powells.com . This famous store covers more than a city block, is 5 stories tall and has a plentiful and incredibly helpful staff. An amazing place! This was followed by shots of drinking chocolate at the historic Heathman Hotel's Cacao, http://cacaodrinkchocolate.com   Books and chocolate - what bliss!

Radeen, smiling and clutching her map of the store...a true necessity at Powell's 

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Even on a holiday, the Portland public transit system ran frequently and flawlessly. 

On Tuesday, we were treated to a grand tour of the city by our Bahamas sailing friends, Larry and Phyllis of IP-40 "Lark." They bought a condo last year and plan to spend every summer here. We can certainly understand why they love Portland. It is very friendly, clean, interesting and has a great vibe. They find they don't need a car because the public transit system works so well. (Watch out, we'll be coming back sooner than you think!) 

We started the day meeting Phyllis so she could escort us via MAX to their neighborhood, The Pearl District. Larry amazed us with salmon and cream cheese omelettes and fruit salad with yogurt. Thus fortified, we started out on a full day of sight-seeing and sampling the city's famous fare, including infamous & scandalous VooDoo donuts.

Our friends' condo with a wetlands park in the middle of the city .

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We enjoyed a guided tour of the lovely and surprisingly spacious Lan Su Chinese Garden.

www.lansugarden.org

This tram car is yet another mode of public transportation in Portland.

We enjoyed a stunning view of Mt. Hood in the distance and shared great stories on an outdoor terrace.

A walk in the afternoon took us to interesting old neighborhoods of NW Portland, followed by dinner with their son and his girlfriend. We enjoyed one of Portland's famous brew pubs, Widmer's Gasthaus and Brewery on the east side of Portland, across the Willamette River. http://widmerbrothers.com/

Saying good-bye at the MAX station. Thank you, Phyllis and Larry, for a wonderful day together!