A Feast of Rivers

We're back from a wonderful trip through Oregon, a paradise for lovers, like me, of swift-flowing, picturesqe rivers. You can hardly drive five miles without encountering another gorgeous stream.

Some crystal clear, offering abstract tableaux for the camera lens.

Others find their descent squeezed into the narrows of lava rock and roar mightily through their constricted passages.

Still others come tumbling down over dramatic precipices.

Waterfalls abound.

As if these gems of nature weren't enough,

Oregon offers up another pearl of an entirely









different order--

the wonderful city of Portland--

an approachable metropolis of ideal scale with just the right blend of urbanity, laid-backness, hipness, and unpretentiousness.

My kind of place.

The state's abundance of sustainable, organic agriculture makes for some mighty good eating.


Two standouts worthy of mention: the sublime yet reasonably-priced Andina; and for the best, most inventive organic food I've ever tasted, The Blossoming Lotus.

I wanted to try Lucy's Table, but befell the same fate as Frank Paynter. The joint was closed.


Another favorite was the Chinese Garden, an oasis of quietude and contemplative beauty plunked down in the middle of a commercial district.

I could go on and on, but I'm not a travel writer, and this isn't a travel blog. Suffice it to say, if you want to enjoy a nice vacation in the western US, you won't go wrong with Oregon.

I Was hoping to have a chance to meet up with Elaine's son, the OneTrueB!x--a unique, original, and talented blog voice of long standing. I think he helped Elaine get started in this medium--in which case we owe him a vote of thanks.

Unhappily, like the doddering idiot I tend to be when attempting to multi-task during stress-inducing periods like last-minute trip prepartation, I misplaced Elaine's instructions, or forgot them altogether.

When I got to Portland I tried to wing it. Elaine told me he worked at a bookstore and I intuited that it was probably in the hip Northwest District. So when I found myself in the neighborhood, I scoured around, but to no avail.

Upon arriving back home, I discovered that my intuition was erroneous. He works in a completely different area. Oh well, next time, B!x. A libation of your choice and a hug per instructions from your mother.