I got back from a weeklong trip to Portland on Sept. 24. It was a good trip. I did a lot:

Japan Fest 2006 in Beaverton
Portland Symphony
Savion Glover performance
Portland Zoo
OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry)
Saw a movie (The Science of Sleep)
Walked all around the Pearl District and NW Portland
Drove around the forest park
Hiked at the gorge
Went out to dinner a few times
Toured the Japanese Gardens (yea!)
Portland Art Museum
Portland Historical Society
Stayed in Powell’s City of Books almost an entire day

It’s a small city. It has some pretty residential areas, but warehouses, loading docs, and industrial zones are around every corner. It’s definitely a working port city. This compromises its scenic beauty a bit. (San Francisco avoided this by locating its industrial zone south of the city.)

Lots of young people are around, which was a refreshing plus coming from Carmel. I’d also like to explore taking classes at the Northwest Film Center should I decide to relocate there.

About the weather: It was cloudy or partly cloudy 5 out of 8 days. It rained a little bit nearly every day, and most of 1 or two days. Two of the days were perfectly clear. That’s just the northwest for you, so you have to accept it.

All in all, it was a really good trip.