When Mark and I crossed the border into Oregon mid-October, we were welcomed with blue skies and friendly smiles. A tad different from the Olympic Peninsula. An Indian summer had arrived and the outdoors was calling. Before heading into nature again, Mark and I stopped in Portland. We met up with a dear friend we had last seen in Luperon, Dominican Republic, ten years ago. It was another reunion that will make it into a separate blog. As a matter of fact, we reconnected with three sets of friends in this state. I ought to dedicate my next post to all the beautiful friendships we experienced while on the road these last four months.

Portland

The biggest, most vibrant city in Oregon is not its capital. That honor belongs to Salem, which we would visit with friends later on. In Portland, we succumbed to urban camping. We had read about a 24-hour parking lot in the funky Alberta neighborhood, NE of the city center, where one could “settle” for $1.50 a day. This small piece of land, the size of a parking spot, became our home for a couple of days.

Our home base for a couple of days

We explored the popular bar and restaurant scene of Alberta on foot.

Fall in Portland

Funky stores

Food trucks are popular

There are many of them, throughout the neighborhood

Art is a part of this area as well.

We loved the colors and the vibe of this neighborhood

We rode our bikes across the Willamette River into the city center to soak up the vibe along the waterfront park (with its many homeless people), downtown and in Washington park.

This bridge is my favorite and the one we took with our bikes. There is a separate lane for bikers and pedestrians.

Downtown Portland

Old and new coexist

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Mark and I spotted and used an all gender restroom for the first time. It was a bit more complicated, but oh-so making sense to have all the facilities in one room.

One of the statues dispersed throughout downtown

Quite a few bridges cross the Willamette River into downtown Portland.

Time for another lunch with a view

Taking the bikes into Washington Park and its famous rose garden

Happy Halloween!

Of course, we had to check out world-renowned Powell’s book store.

Floors and floors of books (an entire city block) are overwhelming, to say the least.

And then, we had three days left, before we would meet good friends in Monmouth, near Salem. The city life (and its noise) wasn’t very accommodating to our wallets and ears, so east we headed in our camper van, towards the town of Hood River.

The Columbia River Delta

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