Portlandia

I went to Portland. 

Everyone is always saying how great the city of Portland is; I can now say that I agree with those in the know. Portland is laid out very well and the public transit system is definitely something to take note. I knew Portland was a biking town and sort of known for the friendliness towards bikes and was amazed to see the ease of bicycle use in town, more so than Olympia. The drive from Oly to Portland is an easy ~2hours with smaller towns along the way. Time wise Seattle or Portland is likely a toss up depending on traffic from Oly.
The trip was a tad of a quick blast, but not as fast as that last go around up to Bham. We left Friday, the parents came in tote, and made it into town sometime between 2 and 3. Drove around. Oriented. Checked into the hotel. Not that room, it is missing the pull out bed...that other room, 313.

The next day was full of park and city exploration. Lunch was at Habibi, a Lebanese joint. Great!

We found Powell's books, perhaps one of the largest book stores in the world. I had to step outside for a moment. It was hot and very crowded. The Norwegian section had some cool old Fridjolf Nansen polar expedition books but they wanted too much money.
Looked a bikes.
Looked at trams
The big tram that goes up the hill is closed and impossible to drive to directly.
Hiking.

We also had a chance to check out the Pittock mansion
What an incredible place. If you are ever in Portland I recommend it. The views of Portland from the grounds alone are amazing.

 On Sunday we went to church at an old Presbyterian church on the west side of town. It has been there since the 1800's. There was a jazz festival over the weekend and as a result all of the old hymnals were set to a jazz band with a jazz feel. Interesting!