Tunnels

My 3-year-old daughter loves tunnels. Fortunately for her there are a couple in Portland that we go through on a semi-regular basis. This one is on I-5, just before the exit for the Oregon Zoo, Korean War Memorial, Children's Museum, and Forestry Center. I personally love this tunnel because you enter it surrounded by city, and when you come out on the other side, the city is gone and all you can see is forest.

Spaghetti & A Walk

This path begins at the original The Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland. It follows the Willamette, and on nice days like this one, it is a lovely walking path.

Moonstruck

On a recent date night my husband and I decided to do our own walking tour of some gourmet chocolate shops in downtown Portland.  This was our last stop, Moonstruck Chocolate, and they had some fantastic truffles on display, including a set of barnyard animals - pig, cow, chicken, cat, dog, sheep, and horse.  The free taste test wasn't too bad, either!

Rain

I love cloud-watching.  I saw this on my way home from work earlier this week.  Looks like a strange funnel cloud, but really it's just a small rain shower.  We may not get amazing sunsets here, but we do get pretty clouds.

Crossing the Water

The Glenn L. Jackson Bridge is definitely my route of choice when crossing the Columbia between Vancouver and Portland.  This is the bridge I-205 uses, and I love multiple things about it.  First, the view.  I absolutely LOVE the view east toward Mt. Hood.  Second, the width.  There are four lanes going each direction, and while during major commute times it does get backed up, I rarely hit traffic jams here.  And lastly, it's not a drawbridge.  The only other way across the river between Port-Van is the I-5 bridge, which is smaller, has a blah view, and often lifts for boats, causing hours of delay in traffic.  One of these days they'll build a new I-5 bridge that's tall enough to eliminate the need for a drawbridge feature, but until then...I'll stick with 205.

Lacamas Lake 3

Part of the trail around Lacamas Lake is paved, part is gravel/dirt.  I absolutely LOVE tree-lined paths like this, so I couldn't resist this cliche picture of woods in the PNW.  It's very flat, so it's perfect for a family walk.  The Wee One (she just turned one last week) was in the backpack, which my husband carried around, and Little Miss (who will be four this summer) did a good job of keeping up with us.  At least, when she wasn't distracted by petting caterpillars or picking wildflowers for Mommy.

Lacamas Lake 2

I absolutely love the lush green of spring here in the PNW.  This is on the southeast end of Lacamas Lake, which is spread out long and thin like a serpent.