Portland - Day #4

Highlights of day #4 in Portland:

Lunch at “Blueplate” – I had read about this old-fashioned soda fountain lunch counter and wanted to try it.  It was legit – they even mix their own sodas, so no Coke or Pepsi here.  While the menu was extremely limited, the food was really good.  Nel loved it, but the charm of this tiny little place with the hardest working cook in Portland wore off on me rather quickly.  They only had 4 or 5 tables so we sat at the counter and it was very uncomfortable.

Waiting on the MAX for a ride to Washington Park

Oregon Zoo – We took the MAX line out to Washington Park to finally get out of downtown and our first stop was the zoo.  It was a beautiful day, and Portland really has a beautiful zoo.  It’s not the biggest and certainly doesn’t have the collection of animals you find in bigger cities, but the grounds are fantastic.  One of the highlights was a bird show they put on around 12:30.  We sat on the concert lawn and watched as large predatory birds swooped through the audience.  They told everyone to stay seated and not to have any food out.  I followed the instructions, but I was still attacked by a Golden Eagle (when I say attacked, I mean he grazed my head with his wing as he was coming in for a landing).  Another interesting attraction was a walk through a section of automated dinosaurs.  I have to say, they were VERY lifelike.  They drooled, spit, moved and made noises with eerie timing.  There were some kids around us that really weren’t happy about it.

T-Rex upset by my "walnut-sized brain" comment ("Land of the Lost" reference - an underrated movie in my opinion)

International Rose Test Garden – Portland is known as “The Rose City”, and they have the country’s oldest rose garden to prove it.  We didn’t take the time to walk through the grounds, but the overview was spectacular.



Japanese Garden – The Japanese Garden in Portland is said to be one of the most authentic outside of Japan.  It’s certainly one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.  The one in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is a little nicer and more ‘defined’, but this one feels like you could be in someone’s yard (someone very rich anyway).  We walked through the entire grounds and really enjoyed it.

Japanese Garden

Portland Timbers vs. West Bromwich Albion – We knew that the Timbers were playing WBA in a friendly match tonight, but the game was sold out and we weren’t planning on going.  The MAX train that we were taking back into downtown stops right at JELD-WEN Field though, so we decided to hop off and just see what was going on.  It was a couple hours before game time and the place was already hopping.  We saw a scalper so we decided to go to the game and bought a couple of tickets.  We were hungry and had a couple hours till kick-off so we walked into “Hot Lips Pizza” and had a couple of slices.  It was REALLY good (and really crowded – we were lucky to get a seat).  After the quick bite we headed into the stadium and I picked up a green Timbers shirt to blend in.  It’s actually a very nice venue for soccer.  They’ve really captured the small, middle of the city feel of most British stadiums.  There was a young girl who sang the National Anthem as well as God Save the Queen – she was FANTASTIC!  The fans are GREAT!  I have to admit that the atmosphere was much better than Dynamo or FC Dallas games back in Texas.  They stand and chant and cheer the entire game.  They even sang songs I couldn’t make out just like they do in England.  There was also a guy walking around with a running chain saw who cuts a slice off a giant log every time the Timbers score a goal (they take the wood slice around the stadium to each section and get a cheer – I’m not sure what they do with it after that).  The Timbers, who aren’t very good, were dominating the English Premier League team for the first 75 minutes and had a 2-0 lead.  Then WBA scored a goal against the run of play and took over after that.  They scored the winner in extra time for a 3-2 victory.  Our seats weren’t that good – they were VERY uncomfortable and there was a big pole obstructing our view of one of the goals – but we had a great time and I have a real envy of soccer in the Pacific Northwest.  I hope the Dynamo do a good job with our new downtown stadium so we can create a similar atmosphere in Houston (although it will be impossible to replicate the perfect weather we had tonight).

Portland Timbers vs West Bromwich Albion at JELD-WEN Field