Oregon

Friday, June 27th

Alejandra and I flew into PDX, picked up the rental, and headed to the Porter hotel in downtown Portland. Roving gangs of the unhoused did not accost us. I did notice a few, but it wasn't the massive skid row some would lead you to believe, and a far cry even from the population I remembered seeing when I was last here. We certainly have not been strangers to homelessness in the Denver area, and from my experience elsewhere it's an issue in every major city. I left the car at a Smart Park Garage caddy-corner from the hotel. We walked to the waterfront south of the Hawthorne Bridge, and had dinner at the King Tide Fish and Shell. We ordered local oysters, some octopus a la plancha, and some ahi tuna tostadas. We then walked back to the hotel as reggae music pumped out from the speakers of a nearby outdoor concert.

Saturday, June 28th

We had breakfast sandwiches at the Portland Exchange next to the hotel, and then drove to the International Rose Test Garden. I would imagine as a local one might take for granted how easily everything seems to grow in this part of the world. There was a pretty sizeable tourist population walking between the rows of flowers. I had no idea so many varieties of rose existed, or that they are so interesting to so many.

The entrance to the Japanese Garden is up a set of switchbacks across from all those roses. It was larger than what I remember it being when I was here last. There is a nice view over the city behind the main pavilion. An impressive collection of koi gave us beseeching looks from their ponds like something out of a woodblock print, or an illustrated copy of The Tale of Genji. There is a tranquil waterfall and stone gardens where one can sit and endlessly contemplate the harmony of garden, region, world and universe.

It felt a worthy homage to what one might see when consuming similar visages while stopping at temples on the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto. We then drove to Beaverton, and had a nice dinner with some of my relatives.

Sunday, June 29th

We walked north from the hotel past Burnside to Chinatown. The area has definitely seen better days. I was disheartened to see so many businesses boarded up. The Lan Su Chinese Garden was a welcome oasis, however. The tour guide gave us an overview of the grounds. Lotus and water lilies dotted the ponds. Rooms were laid out in various states of Ming Dynasty ornateness. The area is meant to be evocative of the home of a successful aristocrat based in Suzhou, which is a Portland sister city. Symmetry is subtly integrated. On the pillars hung in one of the rooms were two poem scrolls creating a couplet where each character matches its twin on the other side in part of speech and theme.

Later that day, a family member was gracious enough to give us a driving tour. He took us up to the Pittock Mansion for a view over the city, and a walk of the grounds.

We then headed over to the Hawthorne and Alberta neighborhoods, first stopping at Powell's Books (a smaller version of the massive original on the other side of the Willamette), before having a drink at a local bar.

Then that evening we had an excellent dinner at the home of one of my other relatives in Tigard.

Monday, June 30th

We set out on our road trip out of Portland toward the 101. We drove northwest on 26 to the coast, and were enchanted by the lush, Jurassic-looking forests on the road approaching Ecola State Park. At the park we walked to the beach and inspected the tide pools. We looked out over the rocks, and zoned out to the sounds of the waves crashing and swirling around the interesting stone formations.

Despite being warded off from doing so by some family members as a tourist-trap not worth visiting, we checked out Cannon Beach anyway, including the crowd-drawing volcanic leftover of Haystack Rock. Yes, there were lots of tourists walking in front of the shops and cafes, gawking at the saltwater taffy pullers behind the windows of the candy stores. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the levels of tourism were on par of what you might see back in Colorado at Estes Park. Sure it was interesting, but to my family's point, it was hard to understand why it would pull in so many. Are there really that many die hard fans of The Goonies? The last scene of Point Break was filmed around here, too. Maybe that's why.

In the evening we arrived in Newport. The hotel room had an excellent ocean view. We ate at Local Ocean for dinner. More oysters, halibut collar, and broccolini. And for dessert, coconut flan and a cognac-based after-dinner cocktail to cut the sweetness, and wash it down. Can I live here?

Tuesday, July 1st

A quick back track to Yaquina Head was well worth the effort. Seals on the rocks, urchins in the tide pools, and a picturesque lighthouse overseeing it all. It's a shame the sea otters were hunted to extinction, or to be more precise, extirpated (wiped out locally). I read there have been studies to potentially reintroduce them in Oregon and northern California-- studies which were found to be feasible, but perplexingly, not recommended. As a keystone species, their reintroduction could reduce the overgrown population of purple sea urchins which in turn would help to regrow the kelp forests thereby aiding in carbon sequestration. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

We crossed over the Yaquina Bay Bridge to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and walked underneath the glass of the main exhibit to look up at all manner of local fish and sea creatures including flounder, halibut, rockfish, sharks, rays, mackerel, cod, and salmon. There was also an aviary containing tufted puffins, and many other sea birds. The rotating exhibit was about the Amazon Basin and included piranhas, snakes, turtles, salamanders, and frogs.

The next stop was at Cape Perpetua first to view Devil's Churn, an area where one can witness dramatic wave crashes against the volcanic rocks. The wave erosion first created a cave which then collapsed to expose the narrow inlet you can see today. We hiked around a bit, first to get a closer look, and then we made our way to a calmer beach just south of the great natural washing machine. A short drive down the coast from there brought us to the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center, and then we darted across the highway to view Spouting Horn and Thor's Well where we watched the water spray up from a hole in the rocks, reminiscent of a Yellowstone geyser. We were there right at high tide so were able to see the spout at maximum height and duration, as the well restlessly drained and refilled.

Our last stop that time allowed for on the coast was at Heceta Head Lighthouse. A short hike up the cliff reveals the light house keeper's home and the 1894 lighthouse itself.

It was now time to leave the coast and head inland, so we drove towards Florence, and then cut over to Eugene. Just because we could, we drove by the massive, iconic Autzen Stadium, and the monstrous new practice facility the Ducks are building. We found some parking downtown, and looked for a place to watch the US - Bosnia & Herzegovina World Cup game. I found an Irish Pub, ordered a black and tan, watched the game, and then had dinner at the excellent French restaurant, Bar Purlieu. More local oysters with a raspberry mignonette, roasted bone marrow, and sea scallops. I'll allow it.

The original plan was to do a wine tasting at one of the vineyards in the southern Willamette Valley outside of Roseburg, but we opted to postpone to the next day. Our stay at the Best Western Garden Villa Inn in Roseburg was unpleasant due to the mildew wet-dog smell in our room.

Continue to Part 2→