A Day in the City

Welcome to
Portland!

I rode the MAX train (metro rail) into the city this morning to meet my husband for lunch. (He's been working in Portland all this week.)


After we had lunch down at the river front (oops--I forgot to take a picture there), and Larry went back to work, I spent the afternoon wandering around on my own.

I browsed the beautiful, downtown shopping mall (3-4 floors tall), finding nice little spots to stop and rest, and enjoy the bright sunlight flooding in through the domed glass ceiling in the atrium center of the mall.

During one of my rest stops, with shoes off and legs stretched out on a long wooden bench, I was enjoying a cell phone chat with my daughter in Montana. I noticed a mall security officer come by and pause to glance my way. He had a look on his face that told me he was unsettled about something he was seeing, and the object of his displeasure was obviously me. He kept looking from my face to my feet, motioning something that I figured must mean he didn't approve of me having my feet up on the bench. Strange. But, at least he was showing consideration for the fact that I was on the phone. It seemed that he didn't want to interrupt me, but he wasn't about to walk away either until he got this serious business taken care of. So, I paused my conversation with my daughter, to ask him what was wrong. Get this...he wasn't happy that I was barefoot! I quickly held up my shoes which were sitting right next to me, in plain sight, to show him that I was fully clothed and in my right mind. With that, he nodded his approval and moved on.

Then I hopped back on the MAX train and went to the library--a very charming, vintage building, that I've noticed, but never entered before. I slowly browsed the entire 3-4 floors of all that is kept in very large libraries, including exploring all the nooks and crannies that always intrigue me in these old buildings, while admiring all the beautiful, ornate woodwork that used to lavishly trim the insides of such buildings.

Then it was back onto the MAX train to head back over to Pioneer Courhouse Square. See the train in the top (far back) part of the picture?

This place is always full of activity. Throughout the work days, and during many weekends throughout the year, it is home to a variety of ethnic festivals and outdoor concerts--just a really fun, place to hang out in downtown Portland.
Here's the courthouse (Appeals Court) that gave its name to the "Square". I tried to go into the courthouse for a tour, but they had just closed when I entered the doors. I'll be sure to go back there someday.
Well, since the tour of the courthouse didn't work out, and I had extra time to kill, waiting for Larry to get off work, I just enjoyed some people-watching, soaking up some sunshine, while sipping on a tall glass of raspberry iced tea.
Oh, by the way, that guy with the umbrella, in the previous picture, is a life-sized statute depicting the "normal" weather around this part of the country--lots of rain! However, with nine months of rain, there's also beauty!

Oh--Larry just informed me that the building you see in the top left corner of this picture (the pretty glass building) is the building he has been working in this week.