The City of Roses - Sunday, June 21, 2015

Walking today in a beautiful, walkable city: Portland, Oregon, the City of Roses. At 9 a.m. I was at the Volksmarch start table raring to go. Once I signed in and had my directions, I was off like a shot.

The first iconic Portland spot we walked was NW 23rd Ave. Northwest 23rd Ave. is a hipster's shopping dream. Eclectic stores, great eateries, and fun people watching make this a unique Portland destination.

NW 23rd Ave

Art on NW 23rd Ave in Portland, Oregon

From NW 23rd, our route went up into Washington Park. First stop was at the Lewis & Clark Memorial. From the memorial there is a great view of Mt. Hood.

The plaque at the bottom of the memorial reads:

Erected by citizens of Oregon to commemorate the achievements of Captains Meriweather Lewis and William Clark who, with the encouragement and under the direction of the President of United States Thomas Jefferson, started from St. Louis May 14, 1804 and through many hardships penetrated the vast continental wilderness to the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River, and returning September 1806 gave to the pioneers a pathway and, to the nation, the Oregon Country. Begun 1904; Dedicated 1908

Mt. Hood from Washington Park

Down a slope, then up again, it was time for a checkpoint on our walk. We then made our way to the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park.

Sacagawea leading Lewis and Clark

Lots to do in Washington Park

Magnolia blossom

Hydrangeas

Hardy fuchsias

Climbing roses on a lamp post

Peachy rose perfection

International Rose Test Garden

Lovely lavender roses

Purple roses

Path to the Japanese Garden

Hostas in bloom

Rose arbor with a profusion of blooms

Roses on the rose arbor up close

We made our way back down to the checkpoint and turned to the Holocaust Memorial, dedicated the the Jews who lost their lives during World War II.

Volksmarchers at Holocaust Memorial

Art pieces on the ground to commemorate
possessions left behind when the Jews were rounded up.

Pieces from a former life well lived.

We completed a loop in Washington Park then headed into downtown Portland down the steep Park Place. In this tony neighborhood are many exquisite mansions.

Park Place home

Corner of Park Pl. and King Ave.

Zigging and zagging through downtown Portland, we passed the United States Court House and the Portlandia sculpture, a hammered copper sculpture made by the same process as the Statue of Liberty.

United States Court House

Portlandia sculpture

We then walked along the Columbia River for 1/2 mile, then turned to go through the Saturday Market (which is also held on Sundays). On the far side of the Saturday Market booths, is the well-known Voodoo Doughnuts. I had never been and thought I'd give it a try since I was in the neighborhood. Once I saw the line, I was like, "Ummmm, no!"

Voodoo Doughnuts sign

The line goes down 1/2 a block and winds back to the store.

One of downtown Portland's old churches

As I was walking, a couple stopped to ask if we were on an organized walk. I took a few minutes to talk to them about Volksmarching. He put the website into his Smart phone. They sounded like they were serious about doing the walks. I love meeting people like that.

From Voodoo Doughnuts it was a 1-1/2 mile walk back to the start/finish point. It took me exactly two hours for the 6.2 miles.

I drove home to mom's house and took a two-hour nap. My son Michael and I were heading out to play Laser Tag and have dinner in the afternoon. Little did I know we'd be playing six games of Laser Tag. That was a blast. Pun intended. The laser tag arena we went to was so much fun! One of Michael's friends, Gavin, met us there. By the end of six laser tag games after having walked 6.2 miles in the morning, I was pooped.

We were going to have dinner at Red Lobster, but it was Father's Day and the wait was 45 minutes. Another option was quickly decided upon. We would go somewhere that had a lot of restaurants in one area. If one had too long a wait, we'd try another. First choice: Red Robin. Wait time: 15 minutes. That's where we ended up. Had an excellent meal and reconnected with Michael. We went back to Mom's to watch some TV. I fell sound asleep in the recliner. When Michael got ready to leave they had a hard time waking me up! I was just done in.

Travel Bug out.