Dear Liza,
Yesterday was chilly, but bright and mostly dry. Grandpa Nelson invited me on a long walk down toward the river, so off we went! There were still plenty of beautifully colored autumn leaves to decorate the sidewalks.
I love walking in new areas of the city, because there is always something new to see. On this walk, there were a lot of new murals on the walls of warehouses and businesses by the river.
Some were cute, like these of Dorothy, Toto and friends heading into Oz.
Even the flying monkeys were adorable!
Others were majestic, like this giant wooly mammoth on the roll-up door of a mechanics shop.
And every now and then, a big piece of truth, twenty feet high, reminding us that we all contribute to the city, for better or worse.
Our last painted mural of the day was this one, inside the Post Office on SE 7th Street, showing the Pony Express.
The post office originally had an earlier version of this mural entitled “Post Ride,” funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts and painted in 1936 by Paul Grellert. During renovation of the post office in the 60’s the mural was destroyed. Mr. Grellert fortunately was able to paint a recreation of the original mural. The only difference is that in the original, the horse was white.
After we picked up a bunch of post card stamps for Auntie Bridgett, we headed down to find someplace to rest and refresh. More on that tomorrow!
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 
Portland is fast becoming a “Must see.” More now than ever. That leaf on the sidewalk is too lovely to be real . Is it?
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Yes, the leaf was real, and there were a dozen more all around it! The colors here are just nuts in the fall. And the spring…. And summer…. We would love to show you around (though we can’t put you up… all our beds are full). The art museum, the public art and murals… and just the city-ness. Very nice.
Sent from my iPad
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