Portland, OR - Waterfront Marriot

As indicated in the previous post, we did get a room in Portland (with a shower) and we did have pizza. Both were heavenly. We pulled into Portland in early evening and walked the waterfront for a few miles to Old Town and back. Portland is full of characters… hanging out on the waterfront, swimming in the public fountains, playing music on the corner.

I’ve heard Portland has a large homeless population. I suppose there are a lot of homeless people, but it’s a mix of transients, good timin’ “I choose my choice” youth, old fashion crazy homeless, and then just eccentric folks who probably have lovely homes. And, of course, everyone else.

After the riverwalk we hit the town for some Old Town Pizza(good pizza, awesome atmosphere). We stopped in for some off track betting before heading back to the hotel. The next day we tried to get bagels, but we were in a financial district that catered to 9-5ers, so everything was closed Sat. morning. Fear not, we headed down to the Saturday market. Every weekend they put this on near the river where hundreds of artists and craftsmen display and sell their work. And they have an international food area. That became our breakfast at 10am: Bob=lamb gyro Christine=teriyaki thai noodles. We walked around for a couple hours and then rolled out to Mt. Rainier National Park where we’ve planned 2 nights.

OH! One hitch in Portland: no dogs at the Marriot. I was desperate and would not accept campground for an answer. I told Bob to figure something out. This picture is what he figured out. It involved the parking garage, 8 flights of stairs and posted lookouts. The Marriot was not dog free that night, but no harm no foul, right? We loved Portland and had a great time in the 24 hours we spent there.