You've Gotta Love Portland!

I have to admit that when I first moved to the Northwest, I thought Portland was weird. The Peace protests, the environmental terrorism, they even protested George W. Bush the day AFTER he was elected. Things move a little more slowly here than most places. People actually follow the speed limit if they are not going under it, they let you in when you turn on your blinker or when you are trying to exit a parking lot onto the street.

After living here for 10 years, I have completely and fully fallen in love with Portland! I can't imagine a better place to live! Today, I was photographing an adorable little three-year-old boy and his parents. We had decided earlier to meet at the Portland Art Museum and take photos around there. When I drove up, the streets were blocked, there were policemen on bicycles and horses everywhere, and a huge group of people was assembled in front of the Schnitz Concert Hall. We had no idea what was going on, so we went on with the photo shoot amid the helicopter circling overhead and the flashing lights and sirens. While we were in the middle of the shoot, the mom came up to me and showed me a group of people standing around one of the large stone statues. They were having a hippie wedding! Way too cool! Then at the end of our shoot, I saw this delightful guy on a bicycle riding by. I grabbed a quick snapshot of him and he caught me! He rode his bike over to me and I asked him if I could take a photo. He graciously offered to be my chauffeur to the May Day rally on his flower-laden chariot. He was quite insistent and I would have loved to have accepted his offer, but sadly, I had to get home.

All in all, I had a fabulous day with Portland. KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD!