A day on the river

With only one full day in Portland, we took off across the nearest bridge to explore the CBD.  Downtown Portland is nice, but next to the sights of New York, London or Berlin it wasn't all that impressive.  It had its charms though.

Sitting on a big, smooth river, Portland felt a lot like home.

In the afternoon the Skeptic and I went for a run along the Willamette River.  It was a stunning day, and we both took our cameras.

There are loads of bridges in Portland.  This is one.

We weren't the only people out; Portland seems to be home to a number of active people.  There were a lot of runners, cyclists, rowers and dragonboaters out in the afternoon sun.

For those who care, this is a sixteen; sixteen sweep oars.

In the evening we went out to sample some local beers, of which there are many.  We started the night at Tug Boat.  Because of the volume of hops grown in Oregon, all of the local beers tend to be very strongly hopped.  After a few beers there we moved over to Bailey's Tap Room.  This brought the dual introductions of my new favourite beer and the people we would hang out with for the next couple of days.

The people of Oregon are incredibly nice, fun and borderline alcoholic.