West Coast Crush II

Still in Portland and still loving it.  Today I made it to the Chinese Garden and Washington Park, though did not go into the Japanese garden there because it was so close to closing.  It's really cold here right now- I think it was in the 20's today.  I wasn't expecting the weather to be this cold here so I neglected to bring enough cold weather gear. 

Nonetheless, I did brave the Chinese Garden but it was so cold that a lot of the plants were wrapped in plastic which was a little disappointing.  There were a few persimmons left (frozen solid like ice cubes!) and a handful of frozen flowers.  Thanksgiving is my last day here and we're going to see the gorge since I don't care about holidays.  Hopefully it will be a little warmer... 

Some photos from the garden...

West Coast Crush

I'm visiting Portland this week on an exploratory trip.  I was here as a youngster with my family on the road trips we made annually from San Francisco but I don't really remember Portland, I only remember the coast.

Maybe you already know but Portland is an amazing moss covered, brilliant green, bike friendly city.  A place I could easily live.  It's been a little chilly, putting a slight damper on my plans to visit all the different gardens, but perusing bookstores, drinking coffee and wandering the old neighborhoods is a perfect alternative.  It's cold today so what better day to go to the coast and walk on the beach?