Thursday, September 12, 2013...

 

Jackson Tower, first electrified building in Portland

 

 

 

Up at 7:30 AM for coffee, cereal and banana...then leisurely got ready to head into downtown for the Pink "Hop On, Hop Off" Trolley.  Pat, Sharon and I left at 9:45 AM made it through morning traffic to Nordstrom, finding parking nearby in the Fox Tower.  We got our 3 tickets and daily schedule for the 11:00 AM trolley tour and headed to Starbucks for PSL and waited for the trolley to arrive across the street.  We were soon headed up Broadway Street, which we learned was once home to many theaters, but now is mainly a shopping district.  Next to Starbucks was Jackson Tower, the first electrified building in Portland, and Pioneer Square Courthouse. 

One of the large one-family homes in the wealthy district

Beautiful mansion on the hill overlooking Portland

 

 

 

 

One of the many beautiful roses in the
International Rose Garden

Interesting arch & seating area in the Rose Garden

Pat & Sharon Rose...under an arch of roses

 

 

Amazing fragrant award-winning rose

Artist capturing beautiful roses on canvas

 

 

Turning off Broadway we entered a street leading up a hill, which was a very wealthy area with large one-family homes.  Our first stop  was Portland's International Rose Garden, with an amazing array of more than 500 varieties of roses.  There were roses of every hue, style and fragrance covering the beautiful terraced grounds with arches, fountains, and en plein artists at work capturing the abounding beauty on canvas.  The rose garden is a part of the over 16,000 acre Washington Park...the largest city park in the United States.  The Portland Zoo is part of this park, which also includes a statue of Sacajawea and a column honoring Lewis & Clark.

 

Wild flower with "lantern-like" blossoms, as well as the white star flower

View of Portland from Washington Park

Stone column to honor Lewis & Clark

 

 

Our next "hop off" was to stop in a unique shopping area with a Paper Source store on the corner.  Of course art teacher, Sharon, was in 7th Heaven as we entered the store whose catalog had provided her with many wonderful art supplies.  Pat & I also enjoyed the many specialty papers, cards, envelopes, and creative paper projects on display.  It was easy to spend an hour in this shop, but soon it was time to catch our Pink Trolley and "hop on" to discover a new area of town.

 

Abandoned warehouses made into trendy lofts
in the Pearl District

 

Pearl District street sign

 

Our next stop was the Pearl District, which was once filled with warehouses and light industry.  Due to a renaissance within the past 20 years, warehouses have been turned into lofts...occupied by artists.  Therefore, the "pearls" have been found within abandoned buildings...restaurants, breweries, galleries, and trendy shops abound.  We first headed to the world's largest independently owned new & used bookstore, Powell's Books.  Taking up two city blocks and 4 floors...it was overwhelming to shop in this store.  I headed to the children's books area, and found a special book for each of my 5 grandchildren.  I met Pat & Sharon at the checkout, then headed up the street to Deschutes Brewery for lunch.

World's largest book store....Powell's Books

Column made up of class books, supporting
Powell's Books entrance

 

The large restaurant had beautifully carved beams, and oversized booths, along with windows allowing you to view the massive brewing equipment.  We were seated right away, and we ordered sandwiches to split...turkey sandwich and a cheeseburger.  They provided a side of delicious pickles, their own, that had an unusual floral taste.  When we asked about them the waiter really didn't know anything about the flavoring, but nicely offered to bring us more.  Yum!  We had spent so much time at Powell's Books that we had to hurry a bit to catch the Pink Trolley. 

 

 

Twin glass towers at the Portland Civic Center,
built to honor the World Trade Center

 

The really nice thing about the "Hop On, Hop Off" trolley system was that we could stay 2 hours at one location, follow the schedule, and know we would get picked up after the extended time.  Just as scheduled the trolley picked us up as we headed to the "Old Town" area of Portland.  On our way the tour guide pointed out the Chinese section of town, the Gold West Hotel, where Chinese railroad workers stayed, and the Portland Civic Center, with twin glass towers built in honor of the World Trade Center.  The guide explained that they are only lighted on 9/11...which we had gotten to see last night.

 

 

 

Gas street lamps are painted red and white in Chinatown area

 

 

This hotel housed many Chinese
railroad workers

 

 

The tour guide dropped us off one block sooner, since we said we were headed to world famous, "Voodoo Doughnuts", then we hiked the four blocks to the shop.  We had heard stories of great lines of people, waiting for a long time just to enter the Voodoo Doughnut shop, so we were pushing to get their as soon as possible.  Seeing the sign ahead, we noticed that there were only about 5 people in line outside the main entrance.  Good!  Now we just hope they have doughnuts left for us to enjoy!  YES!  There were so many unusual varieties, flavorings and decorations on all of their doughnuts.  And their signature "Voodoo Doll" red jelly-filled doughnut, with a pretzel "stake" thru its heart was readily available.  Of course we wanted a BOX for our doughnuts...and we started choosing the kind we wanted.  We got bubble gum flavored, a maple frosted one with bacon slices, beautiful "web-like" iced doughnuts with lemon or Bavarian cream, an apple fritter, and of course, 6 Voodoo Dolls, so we'd have enough to share for breakfast tomorrow.  We ordered some fizzy drinks, and some souvenirs, then headed to an outdoor patio to taste at least one of the tempting treats before heading back to our trolley stop.  The doughnuts were even more delicious than they looked!

Famous original "Voodoo Doughnut" sign

 

 

Should we get a box or COFFIN of
delicious Voodoo Doughnuts??

Interior of the funky doughnut shop

Lots of different varieties on the menu board

Here's the famous "Voodoo Doughnut"....filled with blood...
I mean strawberry jelly!

Crazy stained-glass windows & chadalier in the shop



We'll take a box of Voodoo's to go!

 

Now for some exercise...taking the walk, a little more slowly, back to the trolley stop in front of an historic iron building built by Willamette Iron Works in 1885.  The Fechheimer and White Building at 233 SW Front Street, was built for $7,000.  On the corner was an historic "Benson Bubbler," one of 52 found around Portland that had been a gift to the town by wealthy industrialist, Simon Benson.  As the story goes, Mr. Benson, did not drink alcohol and wanted to encourage people, especially his workers to drink water.  The bubblers made water readily available to workers as well as visitors to Portland.  Since the trolley was 15 minutes late, I called the dispatcher to check on the situation.  He said he'd check with the driver...but it was most likely due to traffic.  The traffic was very heavy, and finally a the Pink Trolley appeared about 15 minutes later.  We weren't making any more "hop off" stops, but did head into the waterfront area to pick up guests at the last stop.

 

Plaque on the historic structure

Historic Fechheimer Building

 

Benson Bubbler

Park along the Willamette River

Heavily travelled bridge across the river

 

 

Our Pink Trolley

 

We finally made it back to the Trolley station, where Pat & Sharon ran into Nordstrom for a pit stop, while I ran back into Starbucks to buy some freshly ground coffee for us to brew for our breakfasts.  We headed out through the busy downtown traffic, and made our way to I-5.  As we neared our exit, we decided to take Sharon across the Columbia River so she could say that she had been to Washington during this adventure.  There were many beautiful sailboats cruising on the Columbia as we crossed into Washington, made the turn around and came back.  Arriving back at the condo, we felt we had accomplished a lot in our first "official" visit in Portland.  Now, what should we do tomorrow?

 

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013...

 

I got up around 8:00 AM, started the coffee brewer, had some cereal and a banana.  John  Savage had spoken with his daughter, Megan, and she told him about some of the stores and shops we should be able to find near our condo.  Since I had a lot of souvenirs and extra clothes that I didn't need in this climate, I located an Office Depot that could provide a box for my items, and then have it shipped to my home.  As it turned out, Office Depot and Target were in the same shopping area on Jantzen Island, just one exit north of us.  I was feeling much better after getting cleaned up, so John S., Pat and I headed to Office Depot.  A young lady there was a great help and it just cost $30 to ship my 18 pounds of loot. 

 

Next we were off to Target for some lunch supplies to have during our visit.  We were able to get more cereal, fresh fruit, metts, hot dogs, chips & dips, more bread, toilet paper & paper towels.  When we got back to the condo, Pat fixed us all a delicious lunch.  We discussed what we would like to do this afternoon, before it was time to pick up Sharon at the airport.

 

 

Children splashing in the splash area of Grant Park
with Ramona Quimby

Henry isn't very happy with Ribsy splashing
in puddles just after his bath!

Ribsy disobeying Henry Huggins

 

 

Ramona Quimby loves splashing in
puddles with her shiny new boots

 

I had always wanted to visit Grant Park in Portland to see sculptures of Beverly Cleary's famous characters, Henry Huggins, Ribsy, and Ramona Quimby.  As a 3rd grade teacher, I had read each of Beverly Cleary's books about Henry, Ramona and the Klickitat Street neighborhood, to my class each year.   I located the park on Google, then added the address to the GPS, as we headed to the park.  Tucked away in a corner of Grant Park, the 3 statues seemed to come to life, as children splashed and played all around the beloved characters.  I couldn't believe how overcome with emotion I was as we walked in Ramona & Henry's neighborhood.  I'm so happy I got to spend some time once again with Henry, Ribsy, and Ramona.

Close up of Ramona's joyful smile in Grant Park

 

 

 

A large lumpy tree in the Klickitat Street neighborhood

 

One of the many honors for the award winning children's author,
Beverly Cleary, Klickitat Neighborhood School

 

We came back to the condo and rested, before getting started on some research about tours of Portland.  I learned about the Pink Trolley, Hop On/Hop Off tour of Portland, that started at 11:00 AM.  We decided that this could be something for us to do tomorrow with Sharon.  John S. & Janice left for the wedding rehearsal at Mt. Tabor Park, and Pat & I headed out for a "dry run" to the airport.  We drove right to the airport, seeing the Alamo Car Rental area, on the way to the United Terminal where we would await Sharon's arrival around 8:30 PM.

 

About 3 exits south of the airport, we found "Elmer's Family Restaurant," where we decided to have dinner before heading back to the airport.  Pat and I split a cheeseburger and an amazing grilled Tillamook Cheese, tomato and bacon sandwich, with onion rings and French fries.  Yummy!  We enjoyed our meal, and decided that if Sharon was hungry upon arrival, we'd come back here, and THEN get dessert!

 

It was time to head back to the airport.  We followed the signs to the United terminal parking, and were surprised by the technology applied to the parking area.  There were red lights glowing above each occupied parking space, while a green light indicated an open space.  It was great not to have to drive around the lot, to try and find an open spot.  We also realized that this system is linked to the signage at the entrance of each level, that told whether the area was full or the number of spaces still available.  Great planning!

 

After checking the arrival board for Sharon's flight, we had time to walk through several shops there.  Sharon's flight arrived early, and we soon saw her come around the corner past security.  As we waited for her luggage, she shared about some of the "mishaps" that she had survived on the way here...but now she was ready to enjoy her brief vacation from school.  As we had predicted, Sharon hadn't been able to get anything to each since here lunch back at school, so we got to the car, and headed back to Elmers.  Sharon ordered breakfast for her meal, while Pat & I got pie and coffee. 

 

We arrived shortly at the condo, and John & Janice were back with stories from the wedding rehearsal.  We found out more about Sharon's fun flight, and made plans to sleep in...then head downtown Portland for the Pink Trolley Tour the next day.  Time to sleep fast!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013...

 

I woke up around 7:30 AM feeling somewhat better, but still very achy.  After putting a call into my pharmacist brother, Jeff, and explaining my symptoms Jeff said it sounded like the flu.  Drink plenty of liquids (got Gatorade) and take Advil...and I started feeling much better.  THANKS JEFF! After getting some Starbucks Coffee and a cheese Danish, it was time to check out of the hotel and head to Portland, Oregon.

 

A fleeting glimpse of Mount Rainier as we head toward Portland, Oregon

 

 

 

As we headed south we luckily got some views of Mount Rainier, made a pit stop near Olympia, Washington, saw the domed Washington State Capitol, and made it through lots of traffic in Tacoma.  We were in an area with some beautiful rolling hills as we got closer to our next destination, Portland, Oregon.  Crossing the draw bridge into north Portland, luckily the GPS was able to guide us through several loops of the highway to 1000 North Anchor and our condo along the Columbia River for the next 6 days. 

 

Pat's brother, John, & sister-in-law, Janice, would be sharing the three bedroom condo with us, as we were all in Portland for the wedding of Megan Savage, John's daughter/Pat's niece.  We were surprised when John pulled up right behind us and parked at the condo's address.  After Pat spoke with the condo owner to retrieve the condo entry code, we made our way into the elevator and headed to 406.  Two sets of keys, and garage opener were lying on the island when we walked in the door.  Very nice layout with a large master suite, a king-sized bed & large jetted tub, two other bedrooms with double beds, and a shared bathroom.  Great dining room & kitchen with all the appliances, family room with a fireplace, washer/dryer in a closet and a patio door out to a balcony. 

 

It was time to head back down to the cars, pull into the secure garage, and then unpack our luggage for the six day stay.  Since Pat's wife, Sharon, was flying in from Cincinnati the next day to join us for Megan's wedding, we gave the master suite to them.  After 17 days "on the road" we both had lots of laundry to do...so we started a load and then headed out to get something for supper.  We found a restaurant near the airport called "Shari's Pies."  It was a lot like Denny's, but lots of pies for dessert.  I had a Cuban sandwich, and of course some pie...cherry ala mode!

 

We decided to get to some groceries, but only found a 7/11 open.  We were able to at least get milk, cereal, bananas, and bread so we could make breakfast in the morning.  Arriving back at the condo, we did another load of laundry, and I set up the coffee maker for a full pot to be brewed in the morning.  Now, time get some well-deserved rest!

 

Monday, September 9, 2013...
 

Up at 6:30 AM, we headed down to Starbucks in our hotel for the first PSL of the season (Pumpkin Spice Latte), cheese Danish, and banana...as well as the USA Today.  After checking email, we got ready for our Seattle tour and lunch at the top of the Space Needle.  Soon our tour guide, Karen, arrived with the tour bus.  After boarding the bus, Karen introduced herself, and shared that she was originally from Indianapolis, Indiana! 

The famous Pike Street Public Market on Seattle's waterfront

Love the flowers growing out of the gutters

 

Tour bus zooming by Lowells...site of a famous
scene from "When Harry Met Sally"

The very first Starbucks Coffee shop

 

Stopping at another hotel to pick up more tour guests, Karen deftly drove us through the streets of Seattle, pointing out the must see sights, and sharing information about Seattle.  We went to the Pike Street Public Market, waterfront seaport, and 3 "hill" areas...Fremont, Queen Anne and Belleview.  Fremont is considered to be the "hippie" area of town...they consider themselves to be the "center of the universe" and have annual festivals to honor this declaration!  Queen Anne area has amazing views of both Seattle and Puget Sound...and of course beautiful, expansive homes.  We crossed the I-90 "floating bridge" to the Belleview area, a popular area for professionals in Seattle.  We drove by the Mariners' home...Safeco Field, next to Century Link Field, the home of the Seahawks. 

 

 

 

 

 

Surprising waterfall in the town which is
Falls Park built to honor 100 years of  UPS

 

My second "Klondike NP"...Seattle was the starting
point for many Alaska Gold Rush in 1898

Bars of Gold stacked to represent the prize of the  Klondike Gold Rush

As we drove on Hwy 99 to the Historic Pioneer area, Karen explained that the elevated highway was being replaced, due to earthquake concerns, with an underground highway.  This will be the longest tunnel in the world and is being dug by a large machine that the areas students named Big Bertha.  We made a short stop at the pioneer area, got some coffee at Tully's (another Seattle coffee company), walked through Union Falls (a beautiful memorial built on the 100th anniversary of UPS), and Klondike National Park (where I got my NP Passport stamped). 

 

 

 

Seattle Mariner's home...with a retractable roof

 

 

Fremont area of Seattle has this giant hiding under a highway
bridge...note the VW Bug under its left hand.  Karen said
that people come by the thousands to have their picture
taken with the "giant under the bridge"

 

Fremont claims to be the "center of the Universe"...Saturn's
close by though!

 

Yachts in the Lake Washington Harbor

 

Chittenden Locks link Puget Sound to Lake Washington

"Wave" sculptures in the Chittenden Lock Park

Fish ladders at the locks

 

A yacht as it passes through the Chittenden Locks

 

The drawbridge is up to allow a ship to enter the locks

Our next stop was at the locks and fish ladder between Lake Washington and Puget Sound.  Karen explained that the locks were built to allow boats to travel from the Pacific Ocean to Lake Washington.  Of course the fish ladders were built to allow the salmon to swim UP to spawn.  It was a beautiful park area along the locks that were built in the early 1900's and still in use with few modifications.

 

 

 

Our tour guide pointed out the massive yacht in the Puget Sound
Harbor that is owned by a Russian billionaire

One of the grand homes in the wealthy, Queen Anne Hill area

Tour bus, zooming past the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Offices

 

Karen then took our tour to the base of the 51 year old Seattle Space Needle.  As this was our last stop, and our lunch destination we would be exiting the  tour.  Before leaving the bus, Karen explained that the strange looking building next to the Space Needle is called EMP, and built by co Microsoft founder, Paul Allen.  The EMP Museum (formerly known as Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame or EMP|SFM) is a leading-edge, nonprofit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture.  The unique structure was designed by world renowned architect and designer, Frank O. Gehry.  Leaving the tour we thanked our amazing tour guide, Karen, and excitedly headed to the Space Needle for lunch.

The EMP Museum, with a Jimi Hendrix exhibit at the
base of the Space Needle

 

Unique  EMP Museum exterior....beautiful reflective surface

 

Sculpture at the EMP

 

 

A little fog surrounds the Space Needle before we head in there

The beautiful arches at the Pacific Science Center,
were here at the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair

The glass elevator that wisked us to the top of the Space Needle

As we entered the large gift shop at the base of the Space Needle, we made our way over to the hostess desk, who verified our reservation for 12:45 PM .  She told us that we could be seated right away and directed us the speedy glass elevator, taking us to the "Sky City" restaurant level.  After checking in with the hostess, we were soon taken to a step-up table away from the large windows.  We said that we'd rather wait for a window seat, since this would likely be a "once in a lifetime" event, and were told that it would be a half hour wait.  Not a problem...so within about 20 minutes the hostess took us to our table next to a window with, of course, amazing unobstructed 360 degree views. 

 

 

 

"Outer space-like table setting at Sky City

 

An "out of this world" dessert was being enjoyed near our table

 

Ta-da, our yummy shared lunch at Sky City

Our waitress, Katy, went over specials and made suggestions, while we took in the breathtaking views.  We took lots of pictures of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the bustling city below.  We decided to order a burger and nutmeg crusted chicken sandwich, that we would split and share.  Not feeling rushed at all, we continued to enjoy the views and the sandwiches, along with sides of fries and faro with dried cherries (very good).  It was a wonderful meal, great service, and of course, amazing views.

 

 

The view from the top of the Space Needle with
a Seattle Ferry coming into Puget Sound Harbor

Downtown Seattle with Mt. Rainier in the distance

Queen Anne Hill from the Space Needle

Beautiful Seattle waterfront from the top

 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Office Complex

Our hotel's rooftop from the Space Needle (gold/white building)

Sailboat headed across the bay

The "Big Dig" project via my telephoto lens...someday the
world's largest tunnel will take you under Seattle!

 

An artist must have had some fun creating this unique
rooftop sculpture

Beautiful Puget Sound from the Space Needle

Heading down the elevator, we spent some time checking out the gift shop, then headed out to walk around the Chihuly Garden in Glass and Sonic Bloom.  During lunch Pat and I had decided to take the monorail down to City Center, and then walk to Pike Street Public Market. 

Sonic Bloom, large musical sculptures in the park below the Space Needle

 

Sonic Blooms giving off sounds, as they frame the Space Needle

Chihuly Glass Gardens

A garden of glass

 

Beautiful Chihuly glass flowers



A Chihuly Glass Cactus?

 

The monorail dropped us downtown, and we then walked the 4 blocks down to the well-known market.  We walked through the gigantic market, filled with booths of fresh foods, coffees, bakeries, beautiful flowers with large $10 & $15 bouquets, and of course lots of fresh "flying" fish!  Not buying anything, we started walking up the street to check out area shops.  We soon came to the ORIGINAL Starbucks, with the original logo.

 

 

We walked to the historic Public Market

 

Love these "pepper" wreaths and arrangements

Watch out for flying fish!

Beautiful outdoor dining area at the market

 

Colorful, fragrant bouquets for sale

One of the many "buskers" entertaining the crowds at the market

 

 

Ladies putting together beautiful bunches of flowers

This was the site of  a famous scene from,
"When Harry Met Sally"

 

 

The original "Starbucks logo" on the original Starbucks

Mount Rainier, glowing behind Seattle

 

We continued walking, and decided we would just walk the 15 blocks back to the Mediterranean Inn, rather than going back to the monorail.  BIG MISTAKE!  It was ALL UPHILL to the hotel.  After making it to the base of Queen Anne Hill Avenue, we stopped to rest and get a drink at a Subway.  I started feeling very bad...very achy.  I thought it was from the long walk, up hill.  We finally made it back to the hotel, and to the room, where dragging, I put on my jeans, turned off the overhead fan and climbed under the covers.  Pat thought I may have a fever, so I took some aspirin, and shook under the covers, aching all over.  I finally got to sleep around 3:30 AM after taking some Excedrin migraine.