Birthday getaway 2010

Chris and my birthdays are exactly a week apart, so we usually do something to celebrate them both at the same time. Last year we went down to Gold Beach on the Oregon coast. http://carolleighdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/05/it-was-more-of-just-fun-getaway-than.html and this year, we drove up to Portland to see Cirque du Soleil. We stayed at the Waterfront Marriott where our room overlooked Tom McCall Waterfront Park and the Willamette River. From our 12th floor balcony we could look down on bicyclists and pedestrians in the rain, a drawbridge, and more.

We walked to the Cirque du Soleil venue (luckily no rain during the walk) and then through a heavy mist which turned to rain just as we reached the hotel on our walk back. Next morning we visited Powell's Books and a couple of other stores and then drove back home. A delightful, relaxing birthday trip for us both.

I haven't figured out how to put captions underneath my photos, but here you see a walking path/pedestrian from our balcony, also our view over toward the drawbridge, and cyclists at an intersection. Oregon is incredibly green right now -- quite luscious and soothing. And then you see reflections in a skyscraper, a view looking up at the freeway where, if you want to go to Seattle, you need to be in the left lane. And a shot of a newly-installed sculpture in the park promoting acupuncture and health. ©Carol Leigh