Portland; Thursday, 28 March, 2024

I slept through surprisingly well waking up just after 6am, so after a bit of reading in bed I got up, had a shower, and headed down to be one of the first people in to breakfast. After consuming a hearty breakfast and spending a bit more time in my room I headed out of the hotel and went for a wander through downtown Portland, starting right by my hotel at Pioneer Square the de facto centre of the modern city, before heading down towards the riverside.

I wandered along the bank of the Willamette River, heading towards the Japanese American Historical Plaza. This memorial was erected in memory of the American citizens of Japanese ancestry who were rounded up and imprisoned when America found itself dragged into World War II.

I continued on down to the Steel Bridge, a lift bridge which still is in use to this day lifting clear to create a high enough passage for ships to get through, despite being over 112 years old and now containing an upper road deck that includes MAX tram lines and the lower deck which houses Amtrack railway lines as well as a recently added cycle and pedestrian walkway. From here there were excellent views back across the river to the Cherry trees in full blossom as well as the Portland Oregon White Stag sign, one of the symbols of the city.

I wandered back over the bridge and into the city centre to pick up the Streetcar a few stops down the line to the museum district. I had originally intended on walking, but the weather was having other ideas and the earlier passing showers had deteriorated into continuous rain so I decided just to hop on the tram instead and caught that all the way.

My first stop was going to be the Portland Art Museum, but at the time of visiting it was undergoing major expansion and renovation works, with much of it’s collection off display, but it’s entrance fee still at full whack, which didn’t strike me as particularly fair, so I decided to give it a miss instead popping over the road to the Oregon Historical Society to look around their museum.

I spent a decent amount of time looking round the museum, taking in the history of the state and the, at times very frank admission of how bad the settlers had been to the native population when they arrived in their covered wagons to settle (read steal) the land.

After visiting the museum I realised that it had been quite a long time since breakfast so I headed back into the centre of town to grab a bite to eat for lunch before going for a bit more of a wander, though not for long as the weather was making it clear that today was not a day to be outside. I had a quick look to see what other options there were, but the only other nearby museums all closed within half an hour, and the only things open later were all out in the open so not ideal in the current climate. Instead I headed back to my hotel room to dry off.

The rain did finally ease off a little bit just after sunset so I ventured out of the hotel in search of a light dinner, but having spent quite a bit of the day walking, and the effects of the previous days flight still lingering, I could feel my energy levels dropping away quite quickly so after a very quick bite I headed back to the hotel to turn in.