Portland!

Greetings all! I'm back from Portland. It was a lot of fun, although next time I go, I want to go when it is warmer. :)

We drove out Friday night. Since the 5 looked so bad, Matty decided to take the 99 to get past some of the worst of the out of Seattle traffic. In theory this was a good idea. In reality we got lost. We spent between an hour and an hour and a half just driving around Burien. Luckily, though, the detour got rid of the worst of the traffic and we made it down to Portland by like 10:45.

Saturday we got up and ventured out. It was rainy and we wandered around downtown Portland. Unlike downtown Seattle, there weren't a lot of people about. We stopped at a used music store and grabbed a couple of tapes for the drive home. We also went down to Powells bookstore. Matthew LOVES Powells books. I did not show enough of my love for them, though. I did like it. I bought a buttload of books.

After lunch we went to the Chinese Garden. It was gorgeous. I really liked the peacefulness of the place. I really enjoyed it there. I took a ton of pictures, which I'll post in a 2nd post. I want to go back when the flowers are in bloom.

Sunday morning, we went to Washington Park. Although now that I looked through the website and description of the park, I think we were mostly in Hoyt Arboretum. This also seems to be a place I want to see in the spring or summer when the flowers are in bloom. Mostly we just tromped along in the cold until we were freezing. Then we headed home.

All in all it was a good trip. I saw a bunch of cool things. And I want to go back. :) Although if I do, I won't stay in a Days Inn.