Portland, Oregon

If you have never been to Portland, Oregon before it is a little like Seattle with about 1/2 of the rain. It is also the whitest city in the U.S. and people say the city reminds them a lot of european cities to for some reason. It is also a place where many Swedish people migrated to around the beginning of the 1900s and Seattle is like this too. I guess in some ways Portland and Seattle reminds them of Norway and Sweden because it is so green from all the rain.

The Williamette and Columbia rivers are a big part of Portland too as well as the whole Portlandia thing. I suppose you could say the real "Ecotopia" of you have ever read the book in the 1970s or since is really Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. It's a more alternative way of viewing reality for many. But, it has always been this way since all the dreamers of the Gold Rush Days both in California and Alaska moved west or came to the U.S. from other countries then. So, there is still this "I can do anything" sort of attitude in places like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego still from all of this.

But still, Portland has it's own flavor. For example, there is Powell's book store in downtown Portland. When a place rains or is cloudy as much as Portland people tend to read a lot because of a lot of rain during the winters when it might not be the best to go outside much. So, Powell's bookstore is a multi-story book store that is almost a kind of social hub of the city just like it's theaters. When it rains a lot indoor entertainment is a big thing even though you might have only a couple of days of 1 or 2 inches of snow in the city you still have a lot of days of 30s and 40s temperatures during the winter here. Seattle is a little like this too only with much more rain.

My father moved from Seattle to San Diego for the Sun and really loved taking his shirt off and running around the beaches and deserts in shorts. And so when we moved to California in 1952 when I was 4 it was a completely different life than in Seattle where you spent a lot more time indoors because of the cold and rain and snow.

Another interesting thing about Portland is it is only about 3 hours by car to Seattle. So, this closeness creates many business bonds and cultural bonds between these two Northwest cities near the coast and the Pacific Ocean.

Getting used to always being outside year around and temperatures in the 100s Fahrenheit often in the summers except when we lived near the beaches where it is usually cooler was a big adjustment for me at 4. But, I loved the warmer temperatures and all the different birds like Mockingbirds and other birds and animals in San Diego too then in 1952. We settled in Vista and then moved to El Cajon where I went to Kindergarten and then my parents were put in charge of a church in Los Angeles and so I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles from ages 6 in Tujunga to Glendale from age 8 to 21 (1956 to 1969).

Also, nearby to Portland is Mt. Hood. So, only about 1 or 1 1/2 hours a way you can drive up to Timberline Lodge in the snow (most of the year) at 6000 feet and sometimes (maybe this year) you can ski year around because there is so much snow there too. In Seattle you have a similar experience with Mt. Rainier where you can see Mt. Rainier from almost anywhere near Seattle with a view of it.