Cecile and I are currently staying at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington across from the 69 feet tall Salmon Run Bell Tower and Glockenspiel clock tower located at Esther Short Park. After a quick cup of coffee and light breakfast we walked through the park and headed to the Vancouver Farmers Market, the number one visitor attraction in the Southwest that sits on the north bank of the Columbia River directly across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.
Afterwards we took an UBER across the Columbia River Interstate Bridge (I-5 Bridge) to peruse the Portland Saturday Market located in Waterfront Park and Ankeny Plaza in Portland’s historic Old Town. It was the brainchild of two women artists in 1973. It is considered the largest continuously operating weekly open-air crafts market in the United States. It also has a very colorful section of handmade, exotic ethnic food offerings including Greek, Lebanese, African, Indian and Kathmandu. Cecile and I had a delicious beef/lamb gyros with onion, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, feta and tzatziki sauce wrapped in toasted handmade pita from Angelina’s Greek Gyros booth.
We decided to take a scenic walk along the beautiful Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a car-free bike and pedestrian trail along the West shore of the Willamette River. It was such a pleasure to see everyone having fun.
Is Portland Oregon safe? We had the same reservations as many have given the history of political unrest. Travel Portland affirms the city remains a safe city for visitors and are unlikely to see signs of the protests that have been shown in national news media. It recommends that visitors exercise the same caution, concern and common sense when traveling to any metropolitan destination. As far as Vancouver, WA, as of November 2020, it was considered to be the 14th safest place in the country.
Postscript: On Sunday, we will hook up with our friends, the Byes who are visiting family in the area to board the American Queen for a riverboat cruise on the Columbia River and its’ tributary Snake River.
