Rick's Roadshow: Portland, Oregon

I'm traveling on business for a few days this week, on a whirlwind trip starting in San Diego that takes me to Portland OR, Denver CO, Richmond VA and Washington DC. I caught a 6:20 am flight this morning and slept the entire way, never even felt the plane take off or land. When I arrived in Portland, it was already quite hot (by early afternoon it reached 105 degrees, which is unseasonably warm for Oregon). From the airport, I drove south from the Portland airport down I-5 to Corvallis. It was a scenic drive, beautiful green trees, farms and wildlife aplenty. As I arrived in Corvallis city center I saw a store called Bullfrog Music (see above left). The sign caught my eye, because it had a green frog with a guitar singing into a microphone. I smiled as I envisioned that frog singing. Suddenly, the country music song on the radio sounded like it was that frog singing at me. I was pulled back to reality when I realized I had run out of road, and had to make a "left turn/right turn" decision. I went right, always my standard default when I don't know where I am going. A short while later, I made my way back into open areas, and passed a sign that read: "Blueberry Meadows", which sounded rather charming. It was actually a blueberry patch, so I decided to do a u-turn and quickly check it out. I love blueberries but had never seen them growing.

I contemplated picking a few, but I was on a tight schedule for work so I just stopped to snap a few photos...
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Above: There blueberry bushes went as far as my eye could see. Mmmmm.

After a busy day doing my work stuff, I made my way back toward Portland to check in the hotel. I was meeting some business colleagues for dinner, but wanted to freshen up before meeting them. Traffic in Portland was a nightmare, and I took a few wrong right turns which put me off course. Fortunately I made it just in time to change clothes. We went to dinner at Salty's Portland,which was situated on the Columbia River and featured a wide selection of fresh seafood.I had the most delicious Wild King Salmon for dinner. After an enjoyable dinner and conversation, I stopped to admire a beautiful sunset over the Columbia River. The boats (see above) were all so peaceful...they were nestled in their slips for the night. It was a good first day of travels.
-Rick Rockhill