Jonathan had an engineering conference in Portland last week at which he gave two presentations. We took the opportunity to hang out in one of our favorite cities, and also the chance to see some dearly loved people we've gotten to know at the Portland AC church.
The weekend was spent with some families who graciously agreed to host us. Starting off with one of those fun sushi places where the options go by on a little conveyor belt (sorry, there's no picture) and some good conversation, our stay with the Gallops also included good wisdom on life, cool stories from Holland, funky fish in huge tanks, and lots of fun! Sunday was church followed by a picnic with the church family at a State Park nearby. That night we stayed up late chatting with the Lemans who saw us off early the next morning and even provided transportation to downtown.
Jonathan took off for the conference, and I wandered my way toward Powell's City of Books. Yes, the biggest bookstore you've ever seen, I literally got lost in the towering shelves of new and used reading material. I even picked up a few special books from my childhood to add to Silly Goose's collection. Then, off to the famous food trucks for lunch.
The view of Mt. Hood from our room.
My initial fun time hanging out around Portland downtown kind of faded after awhile. I apparently don't enjoy wandering around even a fun city like Portland if I'm by myself. Not to mention, there's kind of some weird characters out there who gave me the creeps.
Yup. They're doing a good job!
I did venture out for coffee (it's too good to resist!) but otherwise I made use of the pool, took long naps (no shame, I deserve it, right?), read and generally relaxed. In the evenings Jonathan and I would take to the streets. I enjoyed it much more with him! We ate at fun places and enjoyed the sights. The last day of the conference, he was done early and we spent the afternoon doing some really fun stuff--and we even had coupons from a book he picked up at the conference!
First we visited and toured the Chinese Gardens. Very cool. Not as humongous as the Huntington's, but (according to our biased tour guide) more authentic.
My favorite part was the very intricate stone work
that varied room to room.
Then we hit up the Art Museum. They had a super cool display called "Cyclepedia" being featured which was basically a bunch of cool/old/interesting/unique bicycles suspended from the ceiling at eye level.
It was a blast!
I posted some of my crazy favorites on Facebook.
By chance we caught an open air free concert about a block from our hotel on the way back from the museum. Only in Portland! First there was an upbeat and talented acapella group singing, and then a super fun marimba band! I haven't been exposed to much marimba music (a percussion style from Chiapas Mexico), but I'm a new fan!
We topped off our Portland days with, what else, Salt and Straw ice cream. We waited in a line that went out the door and around the corner! All to try their unique flavors like "Blue Cheese and Pear", "Strawberry Balsamic", and "Coffee and Bourbon", and you can't forget their house-made waffle cones pressed right before your very eyes. Mmmm! As my dear friend, Louisa, would say, "I'm craving a little calcium!" (meaning, I want some ice cream!)
All in all, Portland was a success!
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