We've taken a few breaks to enjoy our new city and see what's around. Below are some of the attractions we've seen, like the Japanese gardens and the Laurelhurst theater, but since then, we've also visited Mt. Tabor Park (just yesterday, in fact), the Chinese garden, and Mill Ends park (the world's smallest park).
Mt. Tabor is a city park encompassing the remains of a dormant volcano and sits just down 60th. It offers some beautiful views of the city as its nestles into the lush deciduous growth of the Pacific Northwest. Walking around the park is not recommended through experience. We spent an hour climbing up and down the deceptively steep terrain and I think I rubbed a few new holes in my jeans. I was out of breath and sweating as we finally assailed the summit to find a tarnished and pigeonshit encrusted statue of Harvey Scott, editor of the Oregonian from the mid-19th century and these impressive views of downtown.
The Chinese Gardens were unexpected; we did not think such a peaceful garden could or should be found in the middle of downtown's Chinatown. While it was very nicely groomed, with large leafed plants shooting up from immaculately pebbled walkways, neither amber nor I were as impressed with this garden as with the Japanese garden (described in a previous post). The Rising Sun soars over the Middle Kingdom when it comes to Portland gardens. It was just noisy; being in the middle of downtown, that makes sense, but I prefer a quieter space. Everything was formulaic, and I understand it's a formal garden and this is merely a personal preference. The Japanese garden was simply more natural in both its setting and display. But we took some nice pictures.
And finally, one of Portland's most confusing (difficult to find) landmarks: Mill Ends Park. Sanctioned in 1976, the park has a much greater lineage than most. Richard Fagan, a writer for the Oregon Journal, grew tired of a vacant utility pole spoiling his view as he sat working in a nearby office building. He was inspired, by the great muse or psychosis it is not known, to beautify what would become a traffic island. Fagan immortalized the park in his Mill Ends columns, describing the fantastical events occurring in the park. He wrote of leprechauns and fairies and inspired the imagination of Portland. The city holds St. Patrick's Day events near the park to honor its creator, and his magic (crazy) park. It's wee; don't blink.
If you're interested, I've created a link to our public Picasa album of Portland. To the right, look for "Picture Portland" and click on "Through our lens" to find out what we've seen. I'll update it regularly with new images from around the city. The link is below "About Us" and above the Slideshow.
The Chinese Gardens were unexpected; we did not think such a peaceful garden could or should be found in the middle of downtown's Chinatown. While it was very nicely groomed, with large leafed plants shooting up from immaculately pebbled walkways, neither amber nor I were as impressed with this garden as with the Japanese garden (described in a previous post). The Rising Sun soars over the Middle Kingdom when it comes to Portland gardens. It was just noisy; being in the middle of downtown, that makes sense, but I prefer a quieter space. Everything was formulaic, and I understand it's a formal garden and this is merely a personal preference. The Japanese garden was simply more natural in both its setting and display. But we took some nice pictures.
And finally, one of Portland's most confusing (difficult to find) landmarks: Mill Ends Park. Sanctioned in 1976, the park has a much greater lineage than most. Richard Fagan, a writer for the Oregon Journal, grew tired of a vacant utility pole spoiling his view as he sat working in a nearby office building. He was inspired, by the great muse or psychosis it is not known, to beautify what would become a traffic island. Fagan immortalized the park in his Mill Ends columns, describing the fantastical events occurring in the park. He wrote of leprechauns and fairies and inspired the imagination of Portland. The city holds St. Patrick's Day events near the park to honor its creator, and his magic (crazy) park. It's wee; don't blink.
If you're interested, I've created a link to our public Picasa album of Portland. To the right, look for "Picture Portland" and click on "Through our lens" to find out what we've seen. I'll update it regularly with new images from around the city. The link is below "About Us" and above the Slideshow.
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1 comment:
For the record, I really REALLY hate this picture of me. I do realize you put it in there for scale, but scheeezch!
-Amber
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