Today was out last full day in Portland and apparently we felt pretty content with our accomplishments so far, as we did very little touristing today.
One of the joys of spending time with a 3-year-old is all the unexpected surprises. This morning, the first thing that greeted us was finding a tucked-in Sasquatch sitting on the sofa. How sweet!
Our first stop of the day was the International Rose Test Garden in Portland. Portland is known as the City of Roses, and this test garden might be a big reason why. Over 7,000 rose bushes are in this garden, that has been in operation since 1917.
There were a number of volunteers throughout the property, clipping on the bushes. KK walked up to one of them and told her, “you have a really good job”. The volunteer told KK, “I know. I have the best job in the world.”
Following the rose garden, we went to lunch at Pine State Biscuits on Alberta street. It was a fun and quirky neighborhood. We stood in line outside for 15 minutes before getting to order, but it was worth it. Our group ordered heavy on the fried chicken biscuits. Some with gravy, some with apple butter, all tasty. For dessert, a cinnamon roll that was among the best I’ve ever had.
The last attraction of the day was driving north of Portland about 50 miles to visit the Mount St. Helens visitor center. The clouds were obscuring the mountain more than I’d like, but it was still quite impressive.
It is a well-known volcano since it erupted in 1980. I remember that my cousin Earlene brought Scott and I Ziploc baggies full of Mount St. Helens ash back in the day.
The Visitor Center has a pretty extensive display, plus a movie, and they charge a $5 admission. This Visitor Center is not run by the National Park System, but is a state park run by Washington.
After leaving the Visitor Center, we drove back to our rental house in Vancouver and Erin cooked us a real dinner of Taco Salad and all the trimmings. It was the best meal yet! Tomorrow the road show moves on to the Oregon Coast.
I cannot believe you visited “Mount” St. Helens instead of returning to the much more beautiful and much taller Mount Hood. This supposed “Mount” St. Helens is not even 3000 meters tall. Rose pictures were nice.