Portland

Woke up to overcast skies; rain spittin’; wind howlin’ … the high temp was forecasted to be in the low-60F range. Alrighty then … let’s pull out the cool weather layers we brought with us and go for a wander.

Once again, we skipped the shuttle and walked the ½-mile from the ship to the top of the Lee Breakwater. And kept going. A quick detour to the Visitor Center and we had a walking tour map to guide us around Portland.

Following the foreshore, we stopped at the Old Town Hall and went in to visit the small — tiny would be a better description — museum. Then, past the historic courthouse — dating back to 1845 … still in use today — to the Botanical Gardens. With plenty of colorful flowers in bloom, it was a delight to wander the paths as we made our way to a trail that follows the canal to Fawthrop Lagoon. The wind was blowing unchecked in the wetlands, so we skipped that part of the walking tour and turned inland.

As we made our way back towards the CBD, we stopped at the Powerhouse, which provided electricity to Portland from the 1930s until 1959. Today, the building is used as a motor and car museum, with some fun vehicles … including cable tram cars similar to the ones that run along the foreshore today.

It was near the museum that we saw our first koalas in the wild … a mom with her baby … napping in the “v” of a couple of branches. We’ve seen koalas before. Even held one at the Lone Pine Sanctuary in Brisbane when we went there in 2017. But nothing beats a chance encounter with wildlife.

By the time we tore ourselves away from the koalas, it was past noon. Time to get some lunch. But when we passed by the Portland Art Center, we could not resist going in. Turns out that the place is more like a community center where adults and kids can paint, sketch, and do crafts. In one of the rooms was a “painting” on the wall … with the words, “Draw on me!” So, Mui did just that. After staring at it for a while, a yellow ball inspired him to paint the Colorado state flag on the t-shirt of one of the male figures someone else had sketched.

Once we got to the CBD, Mui asked Google for nearby restaurants. We didn’t have to go far. Right behind us was the Clock by the Bay, a restaurant housed in the Old Post Office, which dates back to 1882. The food was delicious — the arancini crisp; the beef stroganoff pie filled with tender beef; the pearl couscous salad tasty and different. We washed it all down with homemade lemon squash … yummy!

Energized by our meal, we decided to wander around a bit more. But I’ll leave that for the next footprint …Read more