Keeping It Weird!

 “Keep Portland Weird” is the unofficial motto of Portland Oregon. Portland definitely tries to live up to it's motto. A few examples: The World Naked Bike Race, Voodoo Doughnuts and the 24 Hour Church of Elvis - need I say more? I actually attended a service at the Church of Elvis the first time I was in Portland back in the nineties. The motto originated from the “Keep Austin Weird” motto. In 2014, there was a comparison between the two cities to find out which was weirder. Portland came out ahead winning nine of the twelve categories. 

So, I was excited to be in Portland – I knew it was going to be my type of city. I spent four days there and what did I do? I visited the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I know, I know – pretty far out there, wasn't it? I was promised, in the brochure, three waterfalls – there were none. But, the rhododendrons were blooming and it was spectacular. I really don't know anything about rhododendrons but I was told that there were many, many different exotic and rare rhododendrons in this garden.

The actual highlight of my visit to Portland was to see my friend, Deborah. We wandered around her very walkable neighborhood, St. John's which is nestled next to the Williamette River. I always called it the William– ette River but it is pronounced the Will LAM ette River. Crossing the river is one of the prettiest bridges I've seen – the St. John bridge. It was built in 1931 and the designer also designed the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. I had to laugh when I asked Deborah what color the bridge was and she said ODOT green. It is actually called verde green and it is very pretty.

That pretty much sums up my visit to Portland. I guess I'm really not weird enough for Portland – but wait a minute... Maybe I can be called weird because I did exactly what I wanted to do here. Yes, that's the ticket – I can be weird too. Yay Me!!

On another note - a little south of Portland is an Icelandic Horse Farm called Alfadans Equestrian Arts. Nestled in some mountains, it has some world class trainers and I was lucky enough to be able to take a few lessons with Caeli Cavanagh. She was amazing and her eye for detail was unbelievable. She gave me so many tools to take home.

Caeli's Competition Horse
Isn't he just beautiful?