Fun in Portland

We have had a great week in Portland. We have walked all around Kathleen's and Marty's neighborhood, seen the Portland rhododendron gardens, gone to the Oregon coast, played and had fun with Mason, and just relaxed, taken naps, and caught up on our rest. It has been great seeing little Mason swim, play at the park and beach, and warm up to us as he has finally become comfortable with us. We may not see him for another year, so we have wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

Portland is a really nice city. It has a population of about a half million people, and the weather is moderate. We wake up to cool mornings, days of temperatures in the 70's or lower 80's, and nights that are cool. No air conditioning is needed because the nights are so cool and comfortable. With the widows open and fresh air coming in, we sleep like babies.

The Oregon coast is beautiful. When we went on Thursday, we were shocked at how cold it was in the morning. We had on jackets but it was still very cool. It is much too cold to swim, so you enjoy the beach in a different way than what we are used to. You sit on the beach, watch the seagulls, play in the sand, and then walk in to town to treat yourself to coffee and fudge. As the day wore on, we did finally warm up enough to take our jackets off. It is like being at the beach in NC in early spring or fall.

We are leaving early in the morning for Seattle. While there we plan to take in the city and see Pike's Place fish market, the Space Needle, and the underground. We board our cruise ship on Sunday and then we will be heading for Alaska!