Portland - Days 2 & 3

Saturday morning was a beautiful day, so we decided to head over to the west side of town to the International Rose Garden and Japanese Garden. The easiest way to reach there is, again, the light rail to the Portland Zoo. From there, the Zoo Train goes through the zoo and stops at a station just a short walk from the two gardens.

The Zoo Train is a treat in itself. Three trains run continuously through the zoo and Washington Park, which surrounds the zoo. We rode the Oregon Express, a diesel-powered train, on the way over to the gardens, and the return trip was on the Oregon "Steamer" which is a steam-powered train built in 1959. The round trip is 4 miles.

The International Rose Test Garden opened in 1917 and is oldest continuously operated public rose test garden in the US. The garden is a testing ground for new rose varieties. Honestly, I wouldn't know a new rose from an established one, but I can tell you that I have never seen so many beautiful roses in one place, ever. I got quite carried away with my rose photos, so I have just posted all of them in a slide show to the left.

Several features in the rose garden are worthy of mention. The Shakespeare Garden includes only herbs, trees and flowers mentioned in his plays. Of course, roses play a prominent role in this garden - "Of all flowers methinks a rose is best." A rose arbor stands in front of a brick wall - a perfect spot for weddings. That's us standing under the arbor!!

At the foot of the Rose Garden is the "Queen's Walk" which honors all past, present and future queens of Portland's Rose Festival. A plaque bearing the name and signature of each queen is laid in the Queen's Walk. I found not only Queen Linda, but Queen Linda II. Portland is called the "City of Roses" for all it's city streets lined with roses.

The Japanese Garden is 5.5 acres and is just up the hill from the Rose Garden. We were asked to turn off our cellphones before we entered the garden.

This quiet retreat is filled with lush greenery, symmetrical rock paths and steps and serene ponds, waterfalls and sculpture. The garden consists of five separate garden styles: Flat Garden, Strolling Pond Garden, Tea Garden, Natural Garden and Sand & Stone Garden.

The Sand & Stone Garden was probably my favorite, consisting of only stones rising from raked sand, suggesting the sea. All the gardens were simply beautiful and what a spectacular view of downtown Portland and Mount Hood to the east!!

We took the Zoo Train back to the light rail station and stopped at the Brewfest. By this time, it was late in the afternoon and the tents were mobbed!! An estimated 30,000 people visit the Brewfest every year, and I think all 30,000 were there - just too much for us - so we headed over to Kell's Irish Pub and found a table on the sidewalk. Kell's is rated the #1 Irish Restaurant and Pub in the nation.

Have you ever had Irish Nachos?? Made with homemade potato chips and covered with cheese and traditional nacho ingredients, they were so good they didn't last long at our table! The sweet potato fries weren't bad either!

What could be better for dinner with beer than more pizza?? This time we chose Flying Pie Pizza. By the way, I love my brother's convertible and Portland weather was perfect convertible weather.

Day Three (Sunday) we decided to get to the Brewfest early and avoid the crowds later in the day. We parked the car on the east side of the Wilamette River and walked over one of the many bridges spanning the river.

Our plan was perfect - no lines for beer, plenty of tables and a much more leisurely experience.

Beer t-shirts were the unofficial uniform for the brewfest. Here are 3 of my favorites, from left to right: Polygamy Porter - Why Have Just One?; Killer Ale, Bottled on Orcas Island; and The liver is evil, It must be punished.

As the crowds started to build, we walked back across another bridge to the car and drove over to the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub. As the name suggests, this is a dog friendly place, and several dogs were there with their owners. It's located in a sheet metal warehouse and picnic tables are set up on a covered patio - perfect for peanuts and their excellent brews.

We just had to visit one more brew pub for dinner - you know, calling our name!! The Bridgeport Brewpub was the perfect ending to the day. Located in a historic building in the Pearl District of Portland, it's a great neighborhood for people watching. Even the server there was quite colorful. No pizza tonight, but the food was quite tasty and we felt that throughout the weekend we had sampled some of the best Portland has to offer.

Charles says he is retiring this year and leaving Portland. While I understand their desire to be closer to family, we will miss visiting them in Oregon. Portland has so much to offer and we are pleased that we have had Charles and Carol to show it all to us!!

We are back in Big Sky, recovering and drying out our livers!