Oregon Day 7 - A Day in Portlandia

How did I get here?

05/08/12 Tuesday

We drove up to Portland for a day of sight-seeing.

We visited the Oregon Zoo, coincidentally on the second Tuesday of the month, which is Walmart discount day.

I spent more time staring at the people than the animals, as it was the first sunny day all spring, and the Oregonians were wearing shorts and T-shirts exposing their incredibly pale limbs.

A neurotic polar bear.

Zoos are a bit depressing to begin with, and they’ve only gotten more so as nearly every exhibit includes information about vanishing habitat and species extinction due to climate change.

The polar bear was missing patches of fur due to repetitive behavior. We watched him rock back and forth, over and over, like a robot.

It’s supposed to do something.

We next drove across the river to visit OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

OMSI has a lot of exhibits, including a submarine parked in the river. It’s especially kid-oriented, but adults can play too.

Goofing around by the river.

We walked all the way from OMSI across the bridge to downtown Portland.

Where am I?

We had beers at the Deschutes Brewery and then stumbled back to the car to have dinner at Biwa, a Japanese restaurant in southeast Portland.