Oregon Vacation - Day 4 - Portland

Hello there!  We slept in!  Yep, that is unheard of during a vacation together.  There is just so see and do, but my sweetheart (and myself if truth be told) need to take it easy this week.  This is a chance to push the reset button and, by golly, that is what we are going to do.

However, that being said, it is almost 10 and time to go.  Downtown is the destination and wandering for awhile is the agenda.  Come along and see what we do.

First stop is the Pine Street Market.  We are hoping for some breakfast in here but as we enter, it quickly becomes clear that this is not a market so much as a food court.  Drat.  At any rate, we DO  find a great little coffee shop with pastries and that will work too.

Having satisfied the bellies for a bit, we have about 5 minutes before we have to move the car.  Yes, parking here is not fun at all.  What that means is, time for some steps.  Fitbit on -- let's go.

Walking towards the water, this colonnade comes into view.  Looking for some information, we soon discover that the original one was constructed in 1872.  In 1956 the north wing of the new market block was demolished and these columns were salvaged from the demolition and supplied by Portland Friends of Cast Iron Architecture.  The colonnade has been restored to its original condition.  Pretty cool, huh?

Directly across the rail tracks from it is the Skidmore Fountain, dedicated in 1888 in memory of Stephen Skidmore and styled after fountains he viewed at Versailles on his visit to the 1878 Paris Exposition.  It was intended for "horses, men, and dogs" to drink from and is Portland's "oldest piece of public art."

This area is know as Ankeny Plaza or Ankeny Square.  It was once the heart of Portland's entertainment and commerce and the first, true public space in the Skidmore, Old Town District.

Passing through the Plaza, we arrive at the river.  The Willamette River cuts right through Portland and they have a vast array of bridges that cross in various places.  I have hopes of seeing them all, but time will tell.  First up is Burnside Bridge, a bascule bridge built in 1926.

Looking the other direction, I see many more but they are quite far at this point.  Ooooh, looking down is fun too.  This grey seagull is watching me until I lift the camera.  Now, I'm getting indifference.  Too funny.

The path along the river leads both directions and we take the southern one coming to a park with an interesting feature.  Always a sucker, I venture forward to increase my knowledge.  It turns out it is the Battleship Oregon Memorial Marine Park and the object is the figurehead and foremast of the ship itself.  She served in three wars and this was presented to the city of Portland in 1944, making home here ever since that date.  Wow.

Well, our time on the parking meter is up forcing us to go and move the car.  That means that our time downtown is over for today, but we'll be back another morning or two for sure.  Now that we are driving, we decide to check out Forest Park and perhaps the Japanese Gardens but the traffic is crazy near them and we opt to wait until tomorrow and go there early in the day.  As an alternative, my sweetheart wants to go and check out the Grotto.  Sounds good to me.  GPS on and off we go.

Right smack dab in the city is this oasis of calm.  It's amazing.  The official title is The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, The Grotto and it is 61 acres of tranquility.  It is a national Catholic shrine and the first thing we see as we enter is a beautiful Japanese Maple.  I do so love these trees.

Feeling incredibly dwarfed by the trees, in we go.

Directly inside the entrance are wonderful statues, images, figurines???  What is the correct word when used in religious settings?  At any rate I am stopped in my tracks at several of them.

The Savior struggling under the burden of carrying his cross to his crucifixion impacts me tremendously.  No words.

As we enter the main area of the lower level, the heart of this shrine comes into view.  Our Lady's Grotto is a rock cave carved into the base of a 110-foot cliff.  A life-size marble replica of Michelangelo's Pieta is at the center.

At the end of the plaza, the chapel stands sleek and graceful in this environment.  It fits.  I venture in for a couple of photos and a moment of peace.

Wonderful mosaic tiles and stained glass.

As I look about, I notice that my sweetheart did not make it inside with me.  That's odd.  As I go back outside, I also notice that I was so in my own world that I bypassed a group of people outside the door.  He wasn't so lucky.  A well-organized group is doing their best to force their own opinion on the people visiting the shrine.  They are being loud and obnoxious and my dear, sweet man decided to let them know what idiots they are, thus I find him heavily engaged in a discussion with one of the group.  Trying to stay out of it, I do a great job until I see where another person has cornered an older woman and her berating her for being here.  What?  I quietly walk up and tell her to walk away when he informs me that I am the devil because that's how the devil works.  Whispering quietly in one's ear and pulling them away from the truth.  That's it -- I have to engage now too.  Ugh -- Our time here is ruined and these people are just awful.

Mister and I finally walk away, ready to leave.  The director of the sanctuary comes up to us and thanks us for trying to help.  Neither of us are Catholic and yet this display was just so offensive.  She asks if we are going to go to the upper level and we decline, saying it's time for us to go before the police arrive and it gets even uglier.  She shakes her head and takes us to the elevator (without tickets) and sends us up to the upper level to once again let the wonder of the area bring back our sense of calm.

As we walk towards the elevator (left) I see Mary standing up high on the rock over the grotto (right).

We emerge from the elevator and go into a glass meditation room that has a view all the way to Mount Hood on a clear day.

Unfortunately, today is not such a day.  It's out there somewhere.  Look close.

From the room (we are the only people in here so not disturbing anyone else with our cameras), we can also look down on the back of the chapel and surrounding area.  It's quite lovely.

Exiting the room, our path takes us past the Monastery of the Servite Friars (who serve here) and their beautiful gardens out front.

The next area takes us past the shrines from other countries and we stop to photograph the one from Lithuania for Mister's mother to see.  I also feel the trees themselves stand as a shrine.  Look at them.  So great and glorious.

Continuing on, our path winds down near the edge of the cliff and right beside the statue of Mary that we saw from below.  Dang, it is still up there quite aways.  The many carvings on the stones themselves show a great deal of history.

Once we descend the elevator again, it appears the police have done their job for the noisemakers are nowhere in sight.  Mister goes to see the chapel he missed out on before and I hunt down the director - dang, I just can't remember her name - to thank her for sending us to the upper level which definitely did its job and we are at peace again.  I am unable to locate her, meet back up with hubby, and are walking to the exit as she finds us.  The thank yous go both ways and we are presented with a "document" as an extra touch.  Wow.  And Yum.  She tells us that the police are right out front making sure a return doesn't take place and off we go.  Sure enough, they are there and we thank them as well as say we are sorry these types of things even have to use up their time and they shrug and tell us which way to drive to avoid any more harassment.  Thank you for your service, gentlemen.

Having spent quite a while at the shrine, it's late afternoon now and we are relatively close to the ONE brewery my sweet man has listed as a "must" during his research for this trip.  Cascade Brewing here we come.

I am always game to check out a brewery but this one scares me as much as it thrills Mister.  They specialize in sours and I am just praying there are a few "regular" beers too.  As luck would have it, there are.  Yay for me.

I select the Cascade IPA and the Oblique Coffee Ale while my better half starts in on his MANY small servings.  I have said, I'll nurse mine and he can just have fun.  I'll drive.

At one point, a restroom break is required and as I turn the corner to the entrance, I spot this sign and do an about face.  Gotta have a picture so must retrieve camera.  Now I can continue on.

We haven't really had much to eat today and right next to us is this sign listed all kinds of great stuff.  I have to admit, I'm a sucker and succumb quickly.  May I have a Smoked Sockeye Salmon w/Herbs Smear along with Salt and Herb Bagel Chips please?   OH, doesn't this look good?  (Yes, for you naysayers - breweries have awesome food, not what you think of as "pub" offerings.)

I have fallen in love with this Oblique Coffee Ale.  For a place that makes sours, this is perhaps one of the best beer I have ever tasted.  It has the feel and taste of a coffee stout, while still an ale.  Crazy good.  I'll have one large one and then that's it for me please.  Keep those waters coming.  Okay, okay -- honesty in all things -- I am warily tasting a few of Mister's sours and I actually found a couple pretty decent.  There is a Honey Ginger Lime that really isn't sour at all to me.  I could drink it.

I glance up and notice that one of the kegs has changed.  Dang, I'm right here at the bar and missed it.  Wow.  Powers of observation are not on high.  Even the bartender laughs at me cos it' takes a few minutes to switch them out.  She tells me that the one in there is just a blank.  They will switch it out for the real one in an hour or so as they are tapping something new tonight.

Fast forward an hour (yes, we are still here) and she calls out to me to look up.  Ahhh, here it goes.  This time they are sliding the entire barrel in.  And here it is.  At the same time, we've been here long enough for more food to be required.  This time it's a Cheese Plate w/Charcuterie.  Again, how delightful is this?  There is bread and sliced plums along with some pickles and a wonderful ginger dipping sauce in addition to the cheese and meat.

About the time we finish our meal and I have given in and ordered a SOUR -- the Honey Ginger Lime I mentioned above, the owner comes over to us and asks if we would like to participate in their tapping tonight.  Heck yes!  Well at least I am.  Mister is a bit hesitant, but then again he has drank more than me too.  Still, he agrees and another half hour goes by before they come get us for a "training."

When the training ends, we look up and the place is packed.  Where did all these people come from?  We then discover that this is a weekly event and people sign up to do the tapping MONTHS in advance.  For some reason, the people signed up for today had to cancel, thus the opportunity came our way.  What fun.  And now it is scary.  They have draped the entire area with blue plastic and apparently it's common to get soaked.  Oh, now you tell me this.  One, two, three -- time to watch the video.

We did it!!!!  Mister has a tiny bit of spray on his shirt and that's it.  We did good.

Lemon-Kissed Hibiscus is now tapped and we are sent back to our seats where the first two pours await us.  Well, I'm certainly moving into this sour thing rapidly now.  Enjoying the beer and visiting with everyone in the bar who now feel as though they know us and are asking if they can stay with us in 7 years for the next eclipse (yes, that really happened) takes up another hour.  Armed with our gifts of t-shirts and pictures, we have located a dinner spot close by and definitely need a meal.  It's been a fantastic afternoon/evening - a definite memory for us both.

While at Cascade Brewing, we enjoyed the bread so much that we asked about the maker and were told that he has a restaurant nearby.   Thus, Ken's Artisan Pizzas is on our radar and my mouth is already watering.  The place is packed so we sit at the bar with the oven right behind us.  Mister orders a drink while I imbibe with a nice glass of wine.  Yep, we're on vacation.

Grabbing a moment when there aren't a lot of people behind me, my camera does it's job and then the baker actually wants another one.  Okie dokie.

We have a delicious calamari appetizer and follow it up with a margherita pizza (which I feel is a bit overdone - okay a LOT overdone) as it's crust is not only blackened but chewy.  Drat.

Well -- that's the end of our day.  It's time to put these bodies to bed -- another adventure awaits tomorrow.

Please stay tuned and come along with us as we discover why this area is loved by so many.