Scenic Portland

Instead of just sitting around my hotel room, I met up with two guys I'd gotten to know in my class last month for a beer. One of the guys then proceeded to take me on a tour of some of the scenic stuff around Portland. Simply flying into Portland, you see Mount Hood and some hills, but nothing too impressive. Rich and his girlfriend, who are both avid mountain climbers, took me to see some amazing scenery in the Columbia gorge. It was some of the most beautiful scenery, unlike anything I'd ever seen anywhere in the US. They took me to the Multnomah Falls, which was just amazing. The whole gorge area around the Columbia river was awesome to look at as the sun set, coloring the rock walls and the water. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera gear with me as these phone pictures pale in comparison to the real thing, but then really, so would any pictures.

Rich and Katie then took me to a chain of brewpubs called the McMenamins, which have so-so beer, but are all in these restored buildings with a great ambiance. I was really taken aback by the great hospitality that was offered to me. Rich and his girlfriend Kate gave up their evening to show me the highlights of the area and I will never look at Portland the same.

The downside to seeing these things without Cathie is that it's just not complete. With my wife as my soulmate, I feel like I don't fully experience these things until I do them with her. I was up this morning at about 4:30am, it's late, and I've to get up at 4:30 again to fly out. Just hoping for good weather.