Billie took me on date yesterday! First I commissioned a doggy sitter, then I took the Max into downtown Portland for my date adventure. We met up at the Goose Hollow stop and began our date. We decided to take the scenic route and walked through a beautiful neighbor hood with million dollar homes, then through the International Rose Test Garden and reached the Portland Japanese Garden. In memory of those affected by the earthquakes and tsunami, a memorial was erected at the entrance of the garden. It was a sobering reminder of so many who are in pain and discomfort in Japan. My prayers and heart is with them all.
We entered the garden and found ourselves taking in a beautiful view of Downtown Portland. It was a typical overcast day, but we still had good visibility. I appreciated how well the view was framed by the trees on either side of this outlook.
Each of the paths in the garden have something unique about them. This path was lined with strips of bamboo punched into the ground in half-circle shapes. I thought this was a clever and inexpensive way to define a path.
This is a beautiful tree that Billie was looking at in the background of the image above. These trees are common in Portland. It is not traditional to label the types of plants in a Japanese garden, so Portland Japanese Garden has opted out as well but they do offer a plant guide that you can buy in the gift store. We chose to not buy a plant guide, so instead I tried to research the name of this type of tree. The best guess I have for the moment is a Japanese Maple.
I thought this was interesting...these trees in the garden were surrounded by this darker green ground cover. It was the only place I've ever seen this. It was striking to see the stark contrast of the light green moss and this dark green growth.
Here is another example of how distinctive the pathways are in the garden. It takes great skill to create something that is asymmetrical yet balanced at the same time. Isn't it beautiful how they contrast the different textures as well? I hope to re-create this in my garden someday!
During our walk we entered a Zen Garden. This style of garden is inspired by Zen Buddhism and originally found in Zen temples of meditation in Japan. These gardens are meant to change with the seasons and constantly sculpted throughout the year.
Exiting the garden we spent some time admiring this large pond full of Japanese influences, a bridge and the music of frogs croaking away.This was a great way to spend the early evening! Billie is so thoughtful about how he plans our date nights. We plan on coming back time and time again to see the garden throughout the changing seasons.
After we left the garden we had dinner at Deschutes Brewery. We tried their orange cream ale and the Black Butte Porter. They have very tasty happy hour specials too. We don't recommend their rock fish entree. They also offer a gluten free menu which is ever more popular in the Portland area. From here, we went to the largest privately owned book store in the world called, Powell's City Books. This store holds more than a million new and used books, the store takes up an entire block and their shelves almost reach the ceiling! They have employees all around the store who are always pleased to help you find just what you are looking for. During our visit I was introduced to and fell in love with several cookbooks. Cookbooks are becoming an addiction for me! Now I know the perfect place to indulge in my new obsession.
Overall, we had a wonderful evening spending time together and discovering new places. Portland is packed with parks and exciting places to discover. I don't think we will ever run out of things to do in our new home!
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