Today was a very unscheduled day, again. Only real objective for me was to make it to Portland in time to check out the VA hospital there. We got a little later start than I would have wanted, but that was due to the long day we had before. Originally, I wanted to do a hike of some sort at Mt. Hood, but sadly, there wasn’t time for it. About 30 minutes outside of Bend, we saw Mt. Hood in the distance. It is a volcanic structure that stands well above everything around it. We drove right by the base of it, and it was very impressive. Still covered in a ton of snow, and I saw a truck with skis leaving from the ski area; that’s pretty ULTRA.
As we neared downtown Portland we ran into a lot more traffic than I was expecting. There was also a good amount of construction going on throughout the city; not a good first impression. We got to the downtown area and didn’t have too much of a plan. I had been waiting to hear back from the VA and also an old friend that I used to work with who now lived in Portland. I didn’t hear back from either, but the VA did take priority so that was our first stop. My only other impression of a VA hospital was the Philadelphia VA, which was OK. This VA was very nice. It sat up on a wooded hill, a little bit outside of the city surrounded by a park. I was given a quick tour of the clinic and spent time talking to one of the residents, who was very cool and knowledgeable. I liked what I had seen, and was ready to see the rest of the city.
We headed off for Washington Park, which is the equivalent of Fairmount Park in Philly. I took Mom to the Rose Garden, and she was blown away by its size and beauty saying it was the most impressive rose garden she had ever seen. I was glad to hear that because I knew the traffic had taken its toll on her (no pun intended). Nick and I tossed the Frisbee around for a while, which he is getting much better at. Last summer, he could barely throw it 10 feet and now we were having a pretty legitimate catch. After that, we went down to the waterfront area of the city. It was very nice and they were setting up for “A Bite of Oregon,” which is their food, wine and beer expo. We missed it by 1 day, but it definitely seemed like a good time. Again, traffic was awful to get to the hotel. I checked Google Maps on my phone and it was red all over the city. Now Williamette River cuts right through the city, so there are about 10 bridges crossing over and every single one was backed up. Our 10 mile drive took about 40 minutes, but whatever, we weren’t in a rush.
We had a very late lunch so no one was particularly hungry. Thanks to my handy Yelp! App I found a sushi place ~1 mile from the hotel. The last sushi I had in Vegas was very sub-par, but I can’t complain because it was free. I did feel like having some fresh sushi though. The sushi was delicious and everyone was happy. Back at the hotel, we got stuck with one king size bed, but luckily it was a California king so all 3 of us climbed in and called it a day. Seattle tomorrow for Mom and Nick’s last day L. ULTRA day 19/39: COMPLETE
JM
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