Day 6: 4th of July

I've had the pleasure of experiencing the 4th of July in many places across the United States. From my home town of Lewiston/Auburn Maine, to Laramie Wyoming, to the more grand locations such as Washington D.C. and of course Boston, each place brings its own character and memories. Kate and I planned our Northwest trip for the 4th of July week because it best accommodated our busy schedules, also Kate would only need to use 4 vacation days. The difficult part in our planning was deciding which city to see the 4th in, Seattle or Portland. Seattle had excellent views but it seemed like our guts were telling us to choose the quainter Portland. Retrospectively Portland OR was definitely very memorable, boasting a bohemian atmosphere that was more like a rock concert than a tribute to the birth of the United States. But then, perhaps the haze of cannabis settling over the banks of the Willamette River is after all far more fitting of a tribute than the increasingly restrictive, less-than-free country we've become since the Square and New Deals brought about at the turn of the last century.

Before the finish with the fireworks we embarked on a day of exploration taking in the feel of Portland with our guide Jason Potts. We hit both on the "beaten path" as well as some more remote sites along our way, giving us the inside scoop on the overlooked city of Portland which has only been recently discovered by Americans through the satire piece "Portlandia."

 We suspect the public transit is decent as far as "American" public transit goes, however Kate and I did have some issues catching the bus to meet Jason on the other side of town. We just missed one bus, largely because we passed one stop closer to our hotel, and then we had a long wait due to the "holiday schedule." The day was beautiful however, and the people were friendly, and after a half hour of waiting we were afforded our first views of the Willamette, one of the two large rivers that divide Portland, OR.

 Elephants Delicatessen was the coffee shop/store that Jason suggested. I say coffee shop, but in reality it is a beautiful deli in a fantastic leafy and seemingly cosmopolitan, albeit laid back neighborhood off of Burnside St. in Northwest Portland.

 I had a fantastic muffin- which I honestly can't recall what it was, all I know is that it was an eccentric "flavor," but very tasty regardless. The coffee was excellent. Jason had been waiting for a while due to our transportation hiccups, however he didn't seem phased, and I understand why. I wouldn't have a problem killing time in a place like this.

 These photos are from the Portland International Rose Test Garden. It was a beautiful day here, but war out. I felt a little bad because I'm sure Jason had seen these sites far too many times, but he was a great sport to be our guide, and we appreciated the company. While we frolicked in in the roses taking far too many pictures, Jason plopped down in a natural amphitheater where a female bag piper was performing. Yes, female bag-piper, in a kilt, who also was an Asian American, and yes, that certainly added to the cool factor I must admit. Weirdness. It can be good right?

 Ridiculous. Really. I'm pretending to be a bleeding heart here too, I thought I'd fit in better in Portland if I wore my "green streets," t-shirt. Not a flattering picture.

 This is in the adjacent Japanese Garden which thankfully I think Jason was a little less familiar with. It was nice, not really authentic, but very beautiful and perhaps closer to a Japanese garden than you might get elsewhere here in the U.S. The koi ponds are always enjoyable to stare at for a while.

 The gardens are up on a hill on the edge of the city, and you can see down on some of the few high rises below, beyond that you can see the mountains in the distance. I'm going to conclude this post due to the sheer amount of pictures. This probably marks the half-way point of our 4th of July, but probably 75% of all of the photos we took that day. Flowers are pretty.

Day 5 Evening: Food Cart Madness!

Upon getting back to Portland, OR we met up with my friend from the University of Wyoming Jason Potts. He suggested meeting at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. and told me to get a "Fred" beer upon arrival. Kate and I arrived, saddled up to the bar, she had a root beer (made by the brewery) and I followed through on Jason's suggestion. The golden ale didn't disappoint, and soon despite 13 years of not seeing him, I recognized Jason as he strolled through the door. We had some nice sandwiches and listened to a band preparing their sound check. Hair of the Dog was in a very industrial part of Portland, and it reminded me of Williamsburg in Brooklyn NYC. Between the occasional vagrant and abandoned factory, you would find a hip cafe or gallery, and the rare side street with cheap rental units populated by those wishing to check out and tune in... or whatever.

 Following this Jason brought us to a nearby Portland food cart pod. Recently we were re-watching some Portlandia episodes and Kate and I noticed that the very pod we went to is the one featured in the show, which is pretty sweet. Jason had us get several different favorites, and we tried our best to eat it all at the picnic tables set up in the center of the carts.

Jason Potts and I got in a car wreck together coming through a Rocky Mountain pass between Wyoming and Colorado. There was a surprise snow squall on an otherwise serene spring day that caught Jason off guard. He wasn't going fast, but he hit a drift going across the road and when his Toyota Tacoma's wheels skidded, the tires broke their seal and we rolled into a ditch 1 and a half times. We oddly had good luck, as it was probably one of the few stretches of road where we wouldn't have fallen off of a cliff. We had just eaten Italian food, and the sauce from our leftovers coated us making us seem all bloodied. Needless to say several freaked out people zoomed past us before someone was nice enough to stop and call the police and a tow. Jason salvaged the truck, and as insane as it sounds, he is still driving the same old beast of a truck today. He was told that the special model he had with a roll bar in the frame, essentially saved our lives. I recall the cd player in it didn't miss a beat, I think we were listening to no doubt... no doubt. In my mind "Don't speak," seems perfect somehow. So Jason and I hold that special bond of almost biting it together. I remember thinking at the time as the truck spun to what I thought was going to be my death... "eh, can't complain, its been pretty good..." I'd like to think I'd have the same emotions today if I was faced with a similar scenario.

 The sign above is featured in Portlandia. Below is some vegan poutine which is popular, which despite its lack of meat was damn good. It was actually the first time I've had poutine, not something I'd probably order on my own, but I was glad to put it in my gut.

After the food cart pod, we headed out to a hole in the wall watering hole (wait to many holes.... ah hell) called the Green Dragon. Apparently "Imbibe" magazine named it as one of the 100 best places to have a brew in the States, and without a doubt, it is fantastic. Great atmosphere it is situated in some desolate industrial street in SE Portland, complete with tables out front, a huge beer garden closed off from the street, and a great atmosphere that was stark and cozy all at the same time. It was the type of bar that I like, where you can have a conversation without having to struggle to hear yourself think, although I do recall an unruly table of jock types that we moved away from. They seemed farm more out of place in this hipster magnet than we did. But who am I to judge. 

In the next post, Jason will help us tour the mean streets of Portland. Thanks Jason- you were an awesome guide.

Day 5 Morning through Afternoon in the Columbia River Gorge

 The photos in today's post are all from the Columbia River Gorge, which exceeded my expectations. The area has the highest concentration of tall waterfalls in North America.

 This Art Deco visitor's center in the park, located on the cliffs of the gorge was an attraction in itself. The stain glass window included further down is from inside.

 Some of these are actually different waterfalls, however I admit there are multiples of a couple.

 I like how you can see the volcanic rock in the picture above, the formations remind me of Devil's tower, also pretty awesome if you ever have the opportunity to see it.

 These photos are of the Gorge's largest waterfall Multnomah Falls, which is a huge tourist attraction complete with a classic Lodge, restaurant, snack stand, and a horrible parking shortage. It was worth the road rage to find a space (actually since I was on vacation I recall being very mellow-albeit probably more high strung than 85% of the Portlandians). Like most of the waterfalls, it involved a nice 1-2 mile hike. Needless to say after seeing several we did a lot of walking. We had a lovely park service hot dog here, and some chips- the kind that try too hard to be Yuppie-tastic and leave you wanting a bag of Utz.

 I know- these photos are almost exactly alike but the top one show's the vibrancy of the trees better, where the bottom photo includes more of the two falls, the top one is 542 feet tall, and the bottom one 69 feet. Pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself.

 Aw shucks, you're taking a photo of little ole me? Oh yeah... the sodas were ridiculous. I can't remember if we were smart enough to just get one, but retrospectively I like to think so. I'm representing Maine here with my BIW shirt.

 This little waterfall and the bridge below involved a longer hike along ledge in the wall of the gorge. It was late afternoon and once you got up high enough away from the sound of the traffic, the light coming down through the trees and the sound of the water was total serenity. Just don't go in the poison Oak! We successfully avoided it.

 This tunnel is no longer in use and is only maintained as a tourist attraction. Some photos in the visitor's center indicated that there are more of these nifty tunnels in the gorge, some of which you can still drive through and they have windows out of the side of the tunnel into the gorge below. Sadly we did not find them.

 There was a sort of here.... and it seemed tempting to walk in, if the water weren't icy and I wasn't certain I was going to come out with some sort of leech on me. Also, I have this feeling that walking under a 70 foot waterfall doesn't quite work like it does in the movies. Just call it a hunch.

 Fishy Fishy!

 Come here so I can eat you.... (The sturgeon's thoughts not mine- I'm fluent in sturgeon, bet you didn't know that)

 The sign says this bridge will collapse if you are too American.

I'll continue later with our return to Portland for dinner.