One of my favorite places is Portland, Oregon. There is just something about it that stands out, perhaps it’s the eclectic people or the fact that they promote “keeping Portland weird.” Either way, I like it! It’s a very down to earth town, and I’m very into the whole eco-friendly/going green movement that seems to be picked up on more in Portland. It’s my kind of city.
So, on this particular occasion, my grandparents from California were on a bus tour that brought them to the city to watch the Rose Festival Parade. My father was going to drive the two and a half hours down to spend the day with him, so I figured I would join him and spend some quality time with the “G-folks.” After a pretty easy drive down (all thanks to cruise control) we made our way into the city. Parking, we decided to do a little shopping before heading over to the start of the parade. My mom’s birthday is coming up and she has been asking for this particular Tiffany & Co. necklace that she loves, so... you can only guess where we went. BUT considering that she will probably read this blog, I will not say another word on the subject. ATTN MOM: You’re still in for a surprise. (I love you!) Ok, but anyways- we walked around for a bit and then decided to cross the bridge and head over to the Colosseum where my grandparents were watching the parade.
Crossing the Broadway bridge, I had to snap some photos of us. It was a interesting structure, and provided some cool photography. It was an extremely bike and pedestrian-friendly bridge, which was nice compared to some of the bridges here in Washington. I would be very afraid to cross some of our bridges on foot. Walking through people sitting and waiting for the parade to come, we definitely got our fill of interesting people. Approaching the parade, we found a little spot to sit and watch for a bit. Surrounded by families and small children, it was so cute because there was this little boy that kept wanting to march with every marching band that would pass by. I definitely got a laugh out of watching his enthusiasm for such a passive (for lack of better words) parade.
Becoming quickly bored by the overwhelmingly redundant scenery, we decided to head over to find out where we were supposed to meet the old folks. Upon our venture over there we ran into this couple who informed us that they had been given four tickets to watch the parade inside the Colosseum. They offered us the extra two and we all headed inside. However, I didn’t quite understand the point of why someone would want to watch a parade indoors... because doesn’t that take away from a huge part of why people like parades? I still don’t understand, but I guess it was nice at the time to sit on something a little softer than concrete. We spotted the grandparents and took a seat to wait out the increasingly boring display of entries... Can you tell I wasn’t a huge fan of the parade?
I took some photos of the “highlights” (if you could call them that) and I’ll let you decide for yourself where this parade ranks on the awesometer (awesome meter). Catching up with the grandparents was the best part though!
We caught the MAX back into downtown, grabbed some lunch, witnessed a horrifying display of the F-bomb being dropped fifty times in less than a minute, and soaked in some of the sunshine that decided to pop out from in hiding halfway through the day. Upon heading back to the car, I kept seeing these people running around like they were in some sort of scavenger hunt. They were wearing bib numbers and they were part of “The Great Urban Race.” I did a little research and it apparently is a scavenger hunt! You have a sheet of clues and puzzles that you have to solve and get checked off. TOTALLY like the Amazing Race, which is something my best friend and I are DYING to do someday! The G.U.R. is coming to Seattle in August, so you already know where we’ll be! I wanted to do it so bad in Portland, I was almost tempted to run up to a team and ask them what our next clue was. Good thing I never follow through on anything...
Heading back into Vancouver, WA to the grandparent’s hotel, I had the opportunity to visit with my boyfriend and his family while I left the rest of the gang back at the hotel. After a couple of hours soaking in some sun and chatting with some of my favorite people, I dragged Kyle back to have dinner with me and the oldies. And boy, was that an experience.
Before dinner, we hung out on the main hotel patio overlooking the Columbia River and it was beautiful!!! I could have stayed out there all afternoon. We then went into the dining banquet hall where Kyle and I were literally decades and decades... even half a century younger than some of the people in the room. Now, I work with a lot of elderly people and I have quickly become used to being around them. Kyle’s excuse was that he loves old people... Can you see me rolling my eyes as I type this? We piled up our plates and not even a minute after taking our seats, one of the older ladies started to sing. She was really getting into too, but everyone was just watching her like it was no big deal. I am sitting there, however, TRYING to be polite and not start busting up laughing at this unexpected and truly unpredictable sight (and I guess, sound). The best part was when my Grandma leaned over and says, “She does this at every dinner. Yesterday, she grabbed the microphone on the bus and started singing...” Oy vey. Can I just stop aging now? PLEASE?!
After a tasty, and entertaining dinner, we said our goodbyes and headed back up to good ol’ Federal Way. I was extremely drained from the busy day, but again- Portland never fails to create memories. Gotta keep Portland weird, right?
Portland is great as long as I'm not driving around the city. The streets there are worse than Seattle's. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteIt's a weird place, like you said, but in a great way.