Day 145: Drake Peak, carved in stone

This building in downtown Portland has these carved stones along it's outside wall that show the different peaks around Oregon. This one shows Drake Peak, which measures 8,406ft or 2,562 m.

Day 144: Parking station

 No more of those coin drop meters for Portland!  This is a parking station - they are found all around town, and especially downtown. You can use either a credit card or coins to pay for your parking time.  Many meters, like this one, have a time limit (in this case 90 minutes) - you cannot pay for more than that and you cannot park in this area for longer than an hour and a half.  Once you pay, a small ticket prints and you place it inside your car in a window that faces the curb. You can also buy a ticket in one station and then move your car within the allotted time - using the same ticket. Very convenient if you're running errands or such!

Day 143: Look at that fog!

You can't quite see how foggy it is outside because of the reflection of the lights in the window, but it was so foggy that these three siblings just had to turn and have a look at the gray skies.

Day 142: Portland is a port... whaddaya know!

Most of my photos focus on scenes on the streets of Portland. But, it's important to remember that PORTland was named as such for a reason. Ships pass under the draw bridges of the Willamette river daily and for miles along the river, the industrial side of the water trade can be seen. This appears to be some sort of loading mill for grain.

Day 141: Chug a chug a....

This giant steam engine is permanently parked outside of the World Forestry Center in Washington Park. You can walk into the conductor's room in the engine. The size is impressive!

Day 140: Costumers UNITE!

I am not sure who these ladies are - an anime club, perhaps. They were out and about, but took a moment to get a shot of all of their shoes together.  In Portland, this sight just simply isn't strange!

Day 139: World's Largest Foucault Pendulum

This Foucault Pendulum hangs from the ceiling of the Oregon Convention Center. The pendulum swings and rotates related to the angle and spin of the earth. It takes approximately 32 hours to make an entire 360 degree journey. Amazingly enough, according to Seattle Astronomy news, this is the World's Largest Foucault Pendulum (which I didn't know until I researched for this post). How very cool!!

Day 138: Subway reading

This is the Max (Portland Rail Line) stop in Washington Park near the zoo. I really love this stop because there are all sorts of interesting scientific facts carved into the walls. Waiting for the train is actually fun here! This shows a random, but interesting timeline and the glass tube holds stone from the Portland Hills (which were carved through to make the underground part of the rail line). The stone stretches the length of the subway station and has depths and age of the rock as it progresses.

Day 137: Portland Children's Museum

I love this cow outside the Portland Children's Museum. I haven't had a chance to go inside yet, but it IS enticing!

Day 136: The Latest Style

 

No, this isn't a restored photo from the 1980s.... neon shoes are back!  This guy was sitting across from me on the public rail and I just had to grab a photo of his fabulous shoes!

Day 135: Martin Luther King Jr Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MLK was a key figure in the Civil Rights movement in the United States. His most famous speech was his "I Have A Dream" speech. This statue, "The Dream" is by Michael Florin Dente. It sits on MLK Blvd in front of the Oregon Convention Center. It was dedicated on August 28, 1998, thirty-five years to the day of Dr.King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

To watch a video of the speech in 1963, see below:

Day 134: Skating in Style

I love the Portland flair and style in this photo - taken at the skating rink inside the Lloyd Center.

Day 133: Chocolate festival

 

Portland's own Willy Wonka! :)  We spend a couple hours today at the Chocolate Fest at the Oregon Convention Center. This is the Pacific Northwest's premiere Chocolate festival.  A large hall in the Convention center was filled with stalls like this one with chocolates, truffles, chocolate granola, chocolate wine, vegan chocolate, single source chocolate, candy bars, organic chocolate and much more. You name it - it was there.  Many of the companies were local. Most had samples. (mmmm!)  I particularly loved this stall - and the owner. He had samples of his base chocolate (which was "everything free" ... gluten, dairy etc .... well, "everything" except for taste - it was delicious!) and then truffles of all sorts!

We heard a lecture on ECOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE TREE with Dr. Gary Hartshorn, President and CEO World Forestry Center, which was very interesting. And were interested to stay to hear the talk on preparing Mole sauce, but had eaten ourselves into a chocolate coma by that point.

Yum!

Day 132: Fire escapes

Beautiful day with fire escapes climbing high towards the sky.  This reminds me a little of New York.

Day 131: Gate to Chinatown

Chinatown is in the NW part of downtown, in the old town, bordering the river.  This is the grand entrance gate located on W Burnside Road. The traditional male and female lions stand guard (female on left - with her foot on a pup and male on rt with his foot on a ball.)

Day 130: Recycled stairs

I love this staircase of recycled tires.

Day 129: Takin' a break

It's cold work for city workers who work outside in these winter months. This fellow stepped inside a starbucks to take a short break.

Day 128: Pay to Park

Most of downtown Portland is "Pay to Park". After finding a parking spot, you put money (or credit card) into a payment machine and receive a small ticket to place in the curb-side window. The ticket lists the date and the time at which your parking expires.  You do not have to stay in the same parking spot for the entirety of that time - as long as your time has not expired, you can park anywhere (street parking) downtown. Most curb-side parking has a limit as to how many hours you can stay parked in that one area ranging from 15 minutes to 5 hours. Parking used to be free on Sundays, but as you can see here, you now must pay from 1pm-5pm.  City life....

Day 127: Here comes the sun

I love the sun! I didn't look through my viewfinder to take this one - even on the computer screen I want to squint looking at that great ball of fire!

Day 126: Ankeny Square

Another (half) beautiful day today. This new year is proving simply wonderful !! Ankeny Square (pictured here) is one part of Ankeny Plaza, which "was once the heart of Portland's entertainment and commerce. The first true public space in the Skidmore-Old Town District, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built on vacated Vine St. and Block 35 on the site of the Bank of British Columbia"(Portland Parks and Recreation website). This is one part of the area where the weekend crafts market is held in the summer and fall months.

Day 125: A Different Type of Rose Garden

The Portland "Rose Garden" is actually not a garden at all - as I found when I went to check it out. It is an impressive arena that houses Portland's basketball team, the Trailblazers, as well as many large concerts that come through the city.

Day 124: A Light Dusting

We had another small snow "up on the hill" where we live. This antique car, belonging to a neighbor down the street, is always parked in this exact spot - I think at least one of the tires is flat. But, I thought it looked quite regal dusted in snow.

Day 123: Benson Bubbler

This is no ordinary drinking fountain. There are 52 of these special, 4-bowl drinking fountains found in the downtown Portland area. They are Benson Bubblers - named after an entrepreneur in the early 1900s who donated money to the city to set up drinking fountains to keep workers from getting so intoxicated (as going for a beer was the only way to quench one's thirst at that time)

Day 122: America's Bicycle Capital!

Self explanatory: people bike here. Seriously!

Day 121: Cork Window

I couldn't help but notice this entire window wall full of wine corks at Porto Terra Italian restaurant. That is a LOT of corks!!

Day 120: Recycling Everywhere

Even on the streets of downtown, there are plenty of opportunities to recycle. This trash can stands next to a "regular" trashcan. With compartments for paper, plastic and glass, there is not much need for the other can!

Day 119: Umbrella Man

 This statue "Allow Me" by J. Seward Johnson was gifted to the City of Portland by a New York artist. You can tell this man is a New Yorker and not a Portlander because 1.he's wearing a suit and tie (Portland is generally much more casual) and 2.he's carrying an umbrella.... here, a hoodie or hat is the choice item to fend off the constant rain!  Still, it's a fun statue!

Day 118: Which VooDoo do You Do?

VooDoo doughnuts is a landmark in Portland. This is no ordinary doughnut shop - with outrageous names for each, they have doughnuts filled with maple and topped with bacon, doughnuts covered in fruitloops, vegan doughnuts and doughnuts int he shape of voodoo dolls (of course!) complete with a pretzel "pin" in the heart. Check out their menu HERE.  Talk about sugar rush!!! When I took this photo, the shop was closed, but typically, there is a line about a block long just to get in the door!

Day 117: Smiling at Jeld Wen Stadium

 

The Portland Timbers play at Jeld Wen Field - the only city stadium which is build DOWN into the ground instead of up. I just love this happy face statue in front of the gates to the stadium!

Day 116: Right 2 Dream Too

I love this wall of doors located along West Burnside Road near the gate to Chinatown. This "wall" is one side of an area that "houses" the homeless. There are some makeshift shelters and it is a self-made area for homeless to sleep safely. Currently, there is a political battle over the land and the homeless population are fighting to keep it for it's current use. I drive by this wall of doors every day and only now have stopped to look, photograph and really take it the depth of what it stands for. The title of the area/organization is "The Right 2 Dream Too". It was very moving to explore this area.

Day 115: Where will this year take you?

This wonderful "street sign" offers so many options - to places in Portland, in Oregon, in the US and around the world. I think it is so much fun sitting here in front of Pioneer Courthouse.  Where will this new year, 2013, take YOU?