26th, 27th & 28th May

Thursday 28th May

Even though it is still morning as I blog this, there will not be much to write about today. We have to catch the 2.30pm Amtrak for Redding, Ca. so this morning will be re-packing (again) and a short stroll around before heading off to the train station to be there by 1.30pm. The journey to Redding is about 12 hours and we arrive there at 2.20am tomorrow morning. Not nice! Dorothy (my friend who lives there) will meet us and take us to one of her friends houses where we are staying whilst in Redding.

Wednesday 27th May

What the Rough Guide to the USA says about Portland is quite true: “With few major attractions and an unpretentious bohemian flavour, Portland makes for an excellent spot to slow down and relax ….”

We decided to see Portland by foot as it is quite a small city, so we walked along the waterfront (the Willamette River). Not too sure of the distance, but I would say about a mile took us to the far end of downtown where we went to Chinatown and visited lovely peaceful Chinese Garden.

We then strolled back though the centre of the city. I love the ‘grid/block’ system as you always know exactly where you are. On the way we popped into the Wells Fargo Centre where there is a museum showing the history of that famous organisation. Lunch was a sandwich sitting in a lovely square with gardens and trees (it reminded me of such squares in London). Our by then aching legs and feet took us back to the motel where we crashed out with our books - and I fell asleep for over an hour! Dinner was at a local Chinese place - can’t call it a restaurant, just a café really but the food was very nice - and cheap, and next door was a hair cutting salon where I managed to get a much needed haircut. Our motel is situated very near the Portland University, so prices around here are set to accommodate student budgets - and that suits us just fine.
So - Portland is a lovely place to be to ‘chill’ with no ‘must see’ places to visit. We both enjoyed it. The weather was lovely - hot but not uncomfortably so.

Tuesday 26th May

We took the 1120 Amtrak from Seattle and arrived in Portland (Oregon) at 3.15pm. We did not have such good train seats this time - no ‘upstairs’ like we had before and we were not by a full window, but a pillar. We were still able to see out quite well though.

We were booked into the EconoLodge Downtown so took a cab directly there. Both tired out - why should sitting on a train for 4 hours be so exhausting? We rested for a while then went to the local McDonald’s for dinner, too fagged to do anything else.