Tuesday, April 04, 2017

4~ Right Into Portland

The first day on the Coast Starlight took us far into Northern California, and the next day we awoke to the snowy peaks and pines of Shasta Lake, and we kept riding, through snow filled forests, over rivers, and right into Portland, Oregon.

We love the paper covered tables in the dining car, where we can play our word games, draw our pictures, leave messages. Happy impressions were all around us as we ate our breakfast. It's nice, too, being wide awake when the train leaves California, and you see those first Oregon sights.

So long, California!

Our first stop in Oregon... Klamath Falls. We walked to the back of the train to visit the private car. Can you tell it was very cold?

Cold enough for snow!

We rode through miles and miles of postcard scenery, and even though I know that a fast moving train and dusty windows make a poor filter for good pictures, I couldn't help myself. No one has ever taken blurry pictures of snowy forests from a train, so I had to be the first. Enjoy.

I was glad the parlor car wasn't overheated. It felt nice to wear some layers, and feel a bit akin with the natural scenery. Between staring at scenery, and gasping in audible delight, Geoff and Maria played a game, so it was up to me to be sure and take dozens and dozens of those snow pictures.






By the time we pulled into PDX, all snow was long behind us, but we still had cold weather, and beautiful scenery.


Spring! Bold, beautiful, bodacious Spring!

We found the bus to take us to our new home, and soon enough we were walking through our new neighborhood, and discovering all of the touches that make a visit to Portland so worthwhile, so inspiring, like Poetry Posts. Moss. Lichen. Tulips. Trees. Porches. Windows. Doors. Sidewalks. And darling nooks.

There was no question, it seemed, whose bed this would be... Maria and The Hobbit, together with a view to the park. If not for hunger, we might have never left our Airbnb nest.

A brisk and happy walk from home, we found a recommended place, Nicholas Restaurant. This fabulous bread, light, fresh, hot... was just the beginning of a very satisfying dinner.

After dinner, happily, there was just enough light for more walking and catching Pokemon, a fun game to revisit after an eight month break. It felt like we really were in Portland, again!

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

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