Downtown Portland

Portland Downtown

After working all week, I was done and it was time to go explore the city a bit. We took the streetcar downtown and walked around a bit, retracting some of the steps that J & the kids went during their journeys while I was working. Downtown Portland had an interesting feel. We often compared it to Pittsburgh with all of the steel bridges and river running through the city that separates it into differnt sections. It appears very blue collar, not a city like New York or Boston. There weren’t many high rise buildings, and what buildings there were were not very tall. It is a really cute city with many brick buildings, which might be the Portland’s downfall when The Big One hits. We sat for a bit in Portland’s Living Room and watched the people relaxing and meandering. The Visitor Information Center is right there as well, so if you are looking for things to do, that is a great place to stop. There are also public restrooms available. It was interesting going to that public restroom, because it was one bathroom for both sexes. There was a security guard in the common area of the restroom, I image just for safety sake, and the toilets themselves were each in little rooms around a common area with sinks. I don’t know if I preferred this or not, but having a family with small children definitely made it easier to use the bathroom as a family—no one needed to fight about who was going with who.

Ice Cream

So, we stopped for ice cream at Ruby Jewel Scoops. It was a really great place to eat ice cream. I got Mint Chocolate Chip sandwiched between two Chocolate Chip cookies—it was divine.

All of us enjoyed our ice cream very much and would definitely go back when we are in the area next.

Park with Steps