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Published: August 2nd 2014
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Today we head for Portland. I got up early to go for a walk down by the river. Interestingly, the river was calm with no wind, not at all like yesterday. Many of the locals get their morning exercise by paddle boarding. Back at the B&B, we continued our conversation from the night before, with another couple about windsurfing and kite boarding. We really enjoy B&Bs because of the people you meet. They had become amateur meteorologists, and assured us that 30 minutes down the road, Rooster Rock would have great windsurfing conditions. Unfortunately, we took too much time hiking, etc and missed seeing them windsurfing at Rooster Rock.
It's only an hour away by interstate, but there are any number of waterfalls and overlooks to visit. Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls is a very popular place to hike, because of the short drive from Portland. We went to Larch Mountain to hike up to Sherrard Point...where you have views of five major volcanic peaks (
Rainier,
Adams,
St Helens,
Hood and
Jefferson) as well as the Columbia River. The observation platform is surrounded by all kinds of wildflowers.
It was approaching lunchtime and the U.S. was about to play their
world cup match with Belgium. Conveniently we were passing thru Troutdale, so we checked out McMenamin's Edgefield. We could get lunch served in the theater where they had the soccer game on the big screen.
Our B&B in Portland was Mayor's Mansion B&B
http://pdxmayorsmansion.com/ The B&B is in a great residential neighbohood, adjacent to a city park, a few blocks from several great restaurants, and a block from Burnside bus stop. The bus ride downtown is 15 minutes and $5 for a day pass. We always look for botanical gardens, of which Portland does not have, but Washington Park has a Japanese garden that is world renowned. We also made a stop at the well known Powell Bookstore. We also took a long walk along the well developed riverwalk.
One of the brochures made reference to the gardens at "The Grotto"
http://www.thegrotto.org/ This beautiful 62-acre Catholic shrine and botanical garden is the popular name of The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. The Grotto’s Chapel of Mary, Gift Shop, Conference Center and Visitor Complex are located on the plaza level with Our Lady’s Grotto. On The Grotto’s upper level, visitors are delighted to discover the manicured gardens, religious
artwork, and beautiful panoramic views of the Columbia River Valley, the Cascades and Mt. St. Helens. Also on the upper level are the cliff side Meditation Chapel and the Servite Monastery.
We had saved a good bit by renting the car away from the airport. Enterprise was only a couple blocks from the B&B and they had agreed to take us to the light-rail train station, for our trip to the airport. I had assembled several pieces of wood and too cheap to pay for checking a bag. So, I took my chances they would let me on with a bag of wood in addition to the roller board. Fortunately, DL made an announcement that anyone wishing to check a bag could do so by coming up to the gate. The fight was eventless and got to ATL on time.
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