Portland 2011 - Day Four

[agt_spooky]

Our first stop today was the Chinese Gardens. While much, much smaller than the Japanese Gardens, it was still very, very pretty. It made you forget that you were in downtown Portland, for sure. 

After the gardens we took the aerial tram up to the hospital's observation deck where we got our first look at Mt. St. Helen's. It, too, was completely covered in snow. As we stood there looking at it we were trying to picture what it must have been like when it erupted. 

We needed some lunch after that, so we headed to the famous Grilled Cheese Grill food truck. If you've seen any food show about Portland you've seen this place. It was SO GOOD! LOL! I had the Gabby, which had four different kinds of cheese and I added avocado to it. YUM!  

Since we were in Portland during the Rose Festival, we wanted to go to the International Rose Garden, where there was supposed to be literally hundreds of different kinds of roses. Only one problem - nothing was blooming yet! The weather had been so bad recently that it hadn't been warm enough. So that was a disappointment. :-( 

We headed into the city to go to Powell's books and OMG, I could've spent DAYS in there! Amazing! I ended up with an m/m cowboy book and a Powell's t-shirt when I saw that it said "Established 1971", which was the year I was born. :-) 

The best part of the day actually happened late that night, when we took the Beyond Bizarre ghost tour. It was a two and a half hour walking tour through the city and we had BLAST. Our tour guide was fantastic and the stories he told about the haunted buildings were creepy and awesome. The coolest thing was that we were each given an EMF detector! We picked up ghostly activity in several spots, but the best came at the very end of the tour, in the basement of the haunted Old Town Pizza restaurant. They've got a ghost in the basement named Nina, who's been there for like, a hundred years. And I'll be damned if we didn't get her to talk to us via the EMF detectors! It was freaky and awesome and cool and I've never felt more like Sam or Dean in my life!  LOL! It was seriously one of the best highlights of the entire trip. :-) 

And now it's photo time again! Enjoy! 

Chinese Gardens:






















Taking the aerial tram:


















My first view of Mt. St. Helen's:




I loved how this photo of Mt. Hood turned out:




Lunch at the Grilled Cheese Grill! Yep, it's really a school bus!













Time for some book shopping!







Photos of the only two flowers blooming at the Rose Garden:







Eat your heart out, Sam and Dean! The Winchester SISTER is here! LOL!  Yeah, I look like a dork, but it's a freakin' EMF detector!

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Comments

[celtprincess13.livejournal.com]

I think we should probably point out that the grilled cheese in the left of the photo is NOT burnt (as both Barb & I thought at the time!)--it's made on marble rye. Also, BEST. GRILLED. CHEESE. EVER.

[cadia58.livejournal.com]

Thanks for clarifying - my first thought "oh jeez - burnt, so not good..."... ;-))) Love reading about you three ladies having a great time!!!

[celtprincess13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we were both somewhat horrified when we saw it as neither one of us is down with the burnt food. We thought there might be a fight on our hands!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks for pointing that out to everyone because it was our first thought, too - eww, burnt toast!

And I swear I’m never eating grilled cheese without avocado ever again!

[cadia58.livejournal.com]

So cool - all of this!!! The Mt. Hood photo is mesmerizing, the bus is so lovely flower-powery *G*, love the column at the book store and handling an EMF detector successfully is AWESOME (and slightly creepy)!!!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

The inside of the Grilled Cheese Grill bus was totally funky! Not only was the roof one big, crazy mural but the tables also had all sorts of colorful artwork and pictures on them.

I should’ve taken a photo of each side of the column at Powell’s because all four were different with different books and even languages. Really unique!

OMG, I can’t say enough about the whole ghost hunt/EMF thing! So freaking cool! I’m just glad the ghost was friendly because I didn’t have my salt and lighter fluid with me. ;-)

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Great travelogue and pix!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Why thank you! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my adventures. :-)

[morganslady.livejournal.com]

Who knew there were so many fun things to do in Portland.. Love th Mt.St. Helen's pic.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

And there were still a zillion things we didn’t get to do! Mt St. Helen’s was pretty darn awesome to see. I truly can’t imagine what that must have been like when it erupted and how weird it must be for people who live there to remember what it used to look like.

[lausbub0402.livejournal.com]

Awwww lovely pics once again, my dear!
I had a huge smile on my face when I saw the photo of you on the ghost tour with the EMF meter - always knew you would be a perfect match for our brothers - LOL ;o)
This really was a fun trip for you ladies.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie! Admit it, you laughed out loud when you saw me with the EMF reader. I look like such a dork! LOL! But hey, I think I’d fit right in, in the backseat of the Impala, don’t you? [snort]

hahahaha

[winchesterwoman.livejournal.com]

I didnt get, and what you can eat in the grilled chesse grill, just cheese with something else?

GHOSTS!!!! I like those stories!!!! Hey, I think the winchester's EMF look away better than yours! :P:P the yours looks like a remote control of the tv! hahahahhahaha. And, that ghost that has been there for 100 years, what happened with her? They told you the stories of the ghosts or just told you that over there , there are ghosts?

Re: hahahaha

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I didnt get, and what you can eat in the grilled chesse grill, just cheese with something else?

Yep! It’s all cheese sandwiches on different kinds of bread and you can get avocado or bacon or tomato, etc on them. So yummy!

GHOSTS!!!! I like those stories!!!! Hey, I think the winchester's EMF look away better than yours! :P:P the yours looks like a remote control of the tv!

LOL! It’s true! My EMF wasn’t as impressive as either Dean’s homemade version with the Walkman or their more professional model. :-) Mine is actually a real tool that electricians use.

And, that ghost that has been there for 100 years, what happened with her? They told you the stories of the ghosts or just told you that over there , there are ghosts?

No, they told us her story - she was working there at the bar/restaurant and helping the police because illegal things were going on there, but someone found out and killed her in the basement. It was very sad!