To Portland by Train....and Back Again

To celebrate the successful conclusion of the 55th Edmonds Arts Festival, and my last Festival as a director, Nonie and I took the train from Edmonds to Portland, Oregon for a long, lazy weekend away.

part of the Heathman Hotel sign, taken from the bar window

We stayed at The Heathman Hotel, in downtown Portland.  We usually stay there as it has a lovely restaurant and is centrally located with Powell's just a few blocks away.

I love Portland.  The downtown has its share of tall buildings, but they are not overly tall, blocking out the sky, but are tall enough to be interesting subjects for photos.

There are lots of great little places to eat, some very plain and others quite fancy.  We had a bit of both on this trip.

art by Beth Kerschen from an Urban Landscapes postcard

And then there was Powell's, the reason we opted for a weekend in Portland.  Nonie and I both love Powell's and can spend a lot of time browsing the aisles, looking at this book and that one.  We both bought so many books we shipped them home as we didn't want to even try to haul them home with us on the train.

I spotted this tag promoting my friend Bee's wonderful collage book.  That was fun!

I love the water fountains.  I've only ever spotted this sort, with the four heads, in Portland.

We had all kinds of weather....rain, wind, sun, drizzle, gray, cold, warm, and yet more rain.
A typical "Junuary" in the Pacific Northwest.

The train ride was great fun, in both directions.  Lots of scenery, both urban and country.  And lots of rather interesting graffiti.  Some of it was very artistic, if one is allowed to admire graffiti.

We had such a good time we are planning a repeat visit in the autumn.