Cruising the Willamette

I don't like to be negative on the blog, but even I have to admit the lunch part of the Willamette cruise that Sandra and I took was, with its mediocrity, unforgettable. Putting aside the meal, I have to say that the sightseeing was good.



The Willamette

The river offers a different perspective. It's not just a matter of being low on the water. You see views that you don't see elsewhere, particularly of the many houses that lie along or on the river.



Along the Bank


On the Water

Click on the above montage and you'll see a larger version which offers a better view of the diverse housing on the river.

It was good to be on the top deck to soak in the sun and the scenery on a very pleasant August day. As an extra image, you can click and view on Imageshack Sandra looking ahead.

Only 187 miles long, the Willamette still impresses with its size. At a depth of about 40 feet, the river varies in width from 600 to 1,900 feet in its lower parts and discharges a water volume which ranks the Willamette 19th in all of the United States. Its size and access to the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean has led the Willamette to be of major importance commercially and recreationally with the Port of Portland and other industries using its banks for operations.



Shipyard

Centered along the Willamette, Portland is sometimes thought as a city of bridges, with many old structures still in use. One of the more iconic, the Hawthorne Bridge opened in 1910 and is the oldest vertical lift bridge in operation in the United States.



Hawthorne Bridge

A tour of Portland wouldn't be complete without a look at a neon sign. Originally built in 1940 and has advertised numerous companies, the sign has had many names, including White Stag and Made in Oregon. Now the city has bought the sign and it welcomes visitors and locals on Burnside with "Portland Oregon". A tree obscured part of the lettering, but I snapped this photo of the sign:



Portland Icon

Okay...

I've been a little late in finishing the Portland trip posts. Life has been busy, and when I have had the time, the blog hasn't been the first priority. Still stay tuned.

Catching the Moment

I'm a huge fan of photography, particularly of planets, stars, and galaxies. It's a reason why I have Astronomy Picture of Day website so prominently featured in my Sites To Visit. The site is still showcasing excellent work and I'll probably highlight a few of the recent excellent work there.

Though, today I'd like to mention an image captured by an amateur photographer in Norway. Check this image of a meteorite streaking across the Milky Way as Northern Lights flare. It's on Yahoo news, so I can't guarantee the link will stay active for a very long. Take a look when you get the chance; it's amazing.

A Monday Update

The weather has been fantastic--upper 70s and low 80s with lots of sunshine. Add an increase in work and I haven't been blogging much lately. Still I plan to finish the Portland trip posts later this week. I was back in Chicago for a wedding at the end of September, so I'd like to show some images from that trip.

Now if I can just break a 100 playing golf...

Chocolate in Portland

Monday morning on our Portland trip, we visited two of the city's fine chocolate shops. The first was the Swiss chocolate maker, Teuscher, located in a small shop on Broadway in downtown. We bought several bars. As expected, the milk chocolate was good, with the sugar-based bar being much better than the fructose-sweetened, but my preferences definitely stray toward darker varieties these days, so I thought that the dark chocolate was the best bar. And then there were the truffles. Since they are expensive and we didn't know how they tasted, we only bought a pair from Teuscher. Quite simply, their champagne creams are the best truffles I have after eaten.

The second stop was Moonstruck on Alder in downtown Portland. The quality of their bars was more consistent than Teuscher. I enjoyed the Espresso bean dark chocolate, and the Fortunato, single origin dark chocolate from Peru, is uniquely flavorful. At $12 for a 2oz. bar, the Fortunato is very expensive, but I don't regret the price. The chocolate is first-rate. On the other hand, the truffles were more mixed. Some were not special, but then there is the Pure Gold, a delicious dark chocolate ganache infused with Drambuie and honey.

If you're in Portland and a chocolate lover, I would suggest visiting. You can also check out their websites: Teuscher and Moonstruck. Teuscher has a few other locations in major cities, while Moonstruck can be found in some stores throughout the United States.

Pub Crawl, Portland-Style

After the Chinese Garden, Sandra and I headed to the Pearl District to taste some of the local brews. Out first stop was Deschutes. Where wood meets more modern open ceiling duct and pipe work, the brewpub, or public house as Portlanders like to call them, is a nice restaurant setting. Judging from the numbers on the Sunday evening, I would say quite popular too.

From the perspective of beer, I could see why. The brewery, established in 1988 in Bend, Oregon, knows what they are doing. The sampler was reasonably priced and the brewery offers a wide range of styles to choose from. All were tasty with the Black Butte XXIII being quite exceptional.



Deschutes Public House Interior

Afterwards, we travelled to Rogue. In many ways, Rogue has grown to become the iconic Orgeon beer. Irreverant and fun-loving, Rogue has positioned itself with labels which set it apart. Walking into their public house on Flanders in the Pearl, you immediately realize that this is a bar first and foremost. While they serve food (according to their principles, beer should go with food), you feel that the place is a drinking establishment and not some fashionable, family-centered restaurant which also happens to make their own beer.

And the beer is good, though not better than Deschutes. However, there was more. The sign of the placed, reads Distillery & Public House. Originally founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon, Rogue founded their second brewpub (and current headquarters) in 1989 in Newport. In 2003, they branched into making small batch spirits. In tasting, the Pink Spruce Gin, which is aged in used Pinot Noir barrels, and the Hazelnut Spice Rum stood out, especially the rum. With aromas and flavors of hazelnuts, hazelnuts, hazelnuts, there is nothing like it that I have ever tasted.

Our last stop was Bridgeport. Like Rogue, Bridgeport is a brewery whose beer I have had before. So while considered craft brew, they are not your local brewpub in amount of beer produced. In some ways, our timing was bad for the brewpub. At 9 pm on a Sunday evening, the kitchen was winding down and not all menu items were available. The food was good, but we both wondered if one of earlier stops might have been a better choice for dinner.

Founded by winemakers, Richard and Nancy Ponzi, in 1984 in Portland, Bridgeport was a pioneer in craft brewing. These days, the beers are good, though the selections at the brewpub were more limited compared to Rogue or Deschutes. One special treat was the barleywine. During 1990s, when craft brewing was making its ascent into American consciousness, barleywine was considered by many the height of beermaking. Today, I don't find them often, so tasting a well-made barleywine was a great find.

If you want to find out more about any of the breweries, check out their websites: Deschutes, Rogue, and Bridgeport.