Dear Liza,
My friend Cynthia has moved to town, and I got to show her some of my favorite things on Friday.
First, she helped me to do some chores, and played with Auntie Katie’s cats while I did some tidying. I didn’t take any pictures, but Cynthia and the cats seemed happy with the situation.
After a good cat-visit, we caught the Orange Line train to downtown. ( I am on a mission to educate Cynthia about our wonderful transit system here in Portland.)
The train got us within a block of our first destination of the day, the Oregon Historical Society. We enjoyed each other’s company and chatted while looking at maps and displays outlining the development of Oregon. We saw some of the same names there that we had seen at Lone Fir Cemetery. In Portland, history doesn’t travel very far.
After a yummy lunch at the Market Street McMenamin’s, we headed up the Park blocks, enjoying some of the new public art. This robot was part of the Winter Lights Festival and has just stuck around. Isn’t he fun?
Further up the park blocks, we found this installation of some metal cats. It was weird, but wonderful… like Portland!
We continued north to the newly-renovated main branch of the Multnomah County Library. The outside hasn’t changed, but the inside has new carpets, new shelves, better bathrooms, and lots of bright sunlight coming through the wonderful arched windows.
Cynthia and I are both nuts about maps, and we discovered the MAP ROOM. There are hundreds of drawers with big flat maps, and a dozen globes set out in top of the cabinets. We were in map-geek heaven.
And on the third floor, this marvelous glass dome just tops off the whole space.
We stepped back out into the street knowing that this renovation was a good idea and might become, as Cynthia said, “a second home.”
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 