Greetings from Oregon! Here are some maps to help orient readers. First, showing Oregon in the pacific northwestern part of the US. Right now we are at the blue dot on the Pacific.
And this zoom in of the state of Oregon shows Portland, where we landed, south to Eugene, and west to Florence (the blue dot).
We flew in to Portland and stayed there 2 days. Some highlights included lots of good food (middle Eastern, sushi, rice bowls) and coffee in this coffee-crazy town. We ate at both restaurants and food carts, which are everywhere in the city. The weather in Portland is moderate year round and the food carts are really popular. Here’s a group downtown (early, before opening for the day).
We were very multimodal in Portland, meaning we took many forms of transportation getting around. Their rental bike system is called Biketown and while very popular way clunkier than the Chicago divvy!
We took the bus and street car trains, and John and miles also tried an electric scooter.
We also walked a ton, including by the Willamette River downtown.
Portland has lots of bridges.
And a vending machine for Keen sandals!
Amazing Japanese gardens that reminded us of Powerscourt gardens south of Dublin.
We also visited a couple of neighborhoods, one called Mississippi avenue and the other Alberta street. Both are very cute with lots of unique restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques.
And not much to say about this mural but it was across the street from our hotel and I like it!
We also went to a very cool Chinese garden in the Portland Chinatown.
It was totally sunny and very warm throughout our stay, and people say it has been a really nice spring and summer there. Thanks for the great time, Portland!