Portland

Portland was full of warm reconnections with old friends.  We hoped to make connections with local farms and wineries, but our plans were spoiled by local thieves who decided to break into our van and take our laptops, lots of camping gear, half of Molly's clothes, jewelry, passports, electronics.  We spent the rest of that day figuring out where to get a new window, filing a police report, and reporting our passports stolen.

Overall, though, Portland still ranks very high on our city list as far as beautiful, fun, friendly, hip, local-focused places.  Catching up with Azusa friends, biking the Biking Mecca, strolling Hawthorne, sampling local fare, enjoying some local bands on the streetcar, Racing for the Cure, and a nice hour up in the Rose Garden filled up our stay in the City of Roses. 

 

 

  

And if Portland needed a bit of redemption after the break in, it came through viewing the Swifts and kicking back at Swift.

We joined hundreds of picnickers at a school in NW Portland to witness the beautifully entertaining actions of thousands of swifts.  Their annual migration takes them not only through Portland every summer, but to this same school with the same large chimney that serves as their sleeping quarters.  The show lasted about an hour, the birds figuring out a massive coming-together in spiral form, interrupted occasionally by a hawk or other unwanted guest in the sky, finally all swooping down into the chimney.  Quite a spectacle!  And then very apropos, we walked across the river, finding the hip, inviting Swift Lounge and joining other Portlandians for an herby ball jar cocktail on the sidewalk, taking in the rare dry warm evening.

To check out some more pics of our Portland adventures click HERE.