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.