Portland, Oregon

We're in Portland for the week-- Daniela is completing White Belt training for NIA, while I am undertaking a whirlwind beer tour of the city sometimes known as Beervana.

But one can only start drinking beer so early. I'm not sure how early, but I don't want to push the envelope too far-- like the folks outside a bar on my regular dogwalking route back in Minnesota, whom I have observed drinking as early as 10am on a Sunday.

So I've also done some exploring of the Rose City, as it's known. A very easy city to explore, having as it does an extensive and fairly easy-to-use public transit system-- light rail, streetcar, and bus routes galore.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I went to Washington Park, a very large public park and the home of the Oregon Zoo, the International Rose Test Gardens, and the Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial. I also walked around the Hoyt Arboretum for a bit.

Here are a few pictures, the first couple random shots on the street in Portland, then one of the Vietnam memorial (where I spent some time thinking about stupid immoral unnecessary wasteful wars), then some of the Rose Garden. All taken with my phone, so the quality is not great....

And there are lots of skaters...

where one has to go if one starts drinking too early, I suppose...

The Vietnam Memorial from the top-- you enter in the circular garden, then walk up a spiralling path around it, viewing several marble slabs (one just visible at the top center) with info and names of those killed in several time intervals.

One small part of the Rose Garden. There were lots of flowers.

And then lots more. A bit overwhelming...