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Portland, day two
Apr. 17th, 2009 08:26 amIt's amazing how quickly I went from a city mouse to a country mouse. Now that we are back in a city, I feel like a country mouse here in Portland. Last night for dinner we went to downtown to an awesome pizza place, Old Town Pizza. The whole time I sat there, I felt bedazzled by the sites and sounds of the city. A homeless man wandered in and laid down across the threshold. He just laid there with his cheek to the floor until a few of the employees convinced him to leave. Later we saw a man walking down the street strumming his guitar and singing to himself. How did I, someone whose lived cities for the past seven of the eight years of my life, become such a country bumpkin in such a short time? I don't want to blink because I don't want to miss anything. Portland is just amazing. I love it here.
The drive along I-84 was beautiful, for the most part. Initially it just looked like more Idaho (irrigated desert/plains) but once we started driving parallel to the Columbia River everything changed. Mountains towered above us on one side and the river ran beside us on the other. I actually saw two waterfalls just from the highway! I took lots and lots of pictures, but of course I didn't bring my cord so I can't upload anything. Also, there is just such a historical feel here and it's so diverse; we drove through what must be the Vietnamese section of town and ate dinner right next to Chinatown. Chris told the kids they aren't allowed to say the word "Idaho" while we are here. We're pretending that no such place exists :)
I'd planned to take the kids to the shore today, but it's rainy so instead I think we'll hit the science museum. Chris works all day today so it makes sense to do something distinctly kid friendly as I'll be going it alone. Our hotel rocks. They initially put me in a smaller room than I'd reserved and when I asked them to get us into the larger room as planned, they upgraded us but kept the cheaper price. I tried to tell them that I was fine with paying what I'd reserved it for but they didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I don't mind paying $50 a night for a suite :) I've heard about killer vacation deals offered in response to the bad economy but this is the first time I've benefited from one such deal myself. I like it.
The drive along I-84 was beautiful, for the most part. Initially it just looked like more Idaho (irrigated desert/plains) but once we started driving parallel to the Columbia River everything changed. Mountains towered above us on one side and the river ran beside us on the other. I actually saw two waterfalls just from the highway! I took lots and lots of pictures, but of course I didn't bring my cord so I can't upload anything. Also, there is just such a historical feel here and it's so diverse; we drove through what must be the Vietnamese section of town and ate dinner right next to Chinatown. Chris told the kids they aren't allowed to say the word "Idaho" while we are here. We're pretending that no such place exists :)
I'd planned to take the kids to the shore today, but it's rainy so instead I think we'll hit the science museum. Chris works all day today so it makes sense to do something distinctly kid friendly as I'll be going it alone. Our hotel rocks. They initially put me in a smaller room than I'd reserved and when I asked them to get us into the larger room as planned, they upgraded us but kept the cheaper price. I tried to tell them that I was fine with paying what I'd reserved it for but they didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I don't mind paying $50 a night for a suite :) I've heard about killer vacation deals offered in response to the bad economy but this is the first time I've benefited from one such deal myself. I like it.