Next stop: Portland. We had never been there before, but it came recommended. Central and northern Oregon had nicely wooded areas, farms, and generally more green than you see in much of California. We arrived in Portland around 4:30 PM, at which point we remembered that we knew nothing about Portland, didn't know what to do, and didn't know where to stay. Some of us are used to advance planning, so this felt extra adventurous.
In the yellow pages, we found a listing for a good campground near Vancouver, Washington, which meant that we'd be sleeping in a different state every night, so far. Yes! Having settled that, we walked around the city trying to get a feel for it and what might be happening on Labor Day weekend.
The next day Lisa awoke with a donut craving, defining our quest for the morning. We figured we'd find some just by walking around downtown Portland. No such luck. 45 minutes of walking, and though we found lots of scones and other frou-frou pastries, no good, old-fashioned donuts were in evidence. Again, we consulted the yellow pages. After only 30 more minutes of fruitless driving through the outskirts of Portland, we located the promised Dunkin Donuts. Not the ultimate in donuts, but a sure thing. Our hunger was sated.
Portland is known for having many parks, and Washington Park is the biggest. If there was something happening on the holiday weekend, we knew we'd find it there. Washington Park did not disappoint. It has many attractions: a museum, zoo, Japanese garden, botanical gardens, and more. Lisa hadn't been to a zoo in a long time, so there we went.
The Portland Zoo is a good one. The animals are look healthy and, as far as we could tell, happy. We saw a birds of prey show, during which Joe was buzzed by a buzzard (it missed by a couple of inches); a walk-in cage full of pretty, but noisy, rainbow lorikeets; bears, mountain goats, primates, elephants, hippos, rhinos, and all sorts of other creatures. One of the most interesting things was talking with one of the zoo keepers, who told us not only about hippos but the FDA. Apparently the FDA is in charge of many aspects of our country's zoos: what the animals are fed, where they go when they're shipped in from other countries, and so forth. The zoos keep track of each other as well, by maintaining "stud books" for various species, which list all the breeding information for all zoos tending that species. The zoo with the stud book decides what zoos are allowed to breed their animals and when. She also told us that most zoos focus on research and habitat protection programs, rather than on raising animals to release back into the wild.
While we were at the zoo we were rained on for the first time in months. The Bay Area rarely gets rain in the summer, so although it was a bit cold, it was nice.
Returning to the city, we decided to go watch Ghost World. Every review we had seen of it was good, and it lived up to the hype. We recommend it.
Overall, we liked Portland. It's a very green city. Park Street, which runs all the way through town, is a divided street with parks all the way down the middle. Portland reminded us a little of Pittsburgh because it runs along a river and has many bridges. The skyline is more cluttered with construction, but it looks good. One thing that struck us was how predominantly white the population seemed; we've gotten used to the pleasant diversity of the Bay Area. Portland didn't strike either of us as the next place we should live, but you never know.
We stayed in the Portland area for two days, and then it was time to head toward home.
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