Portland, OR

We went to Portland last month for the skin cancer surgery on my nose and I just never got around to putting those pictures in, so I am trying to catch up. It was a cloudy day as you can see by the photos. I love Portland. I first lived there the summer I was 15. I worked as a nanny to a wealthy family with five children. The father was the Vice-President of Blitz-Weinhard Beer Company. He was descended from the Weinhard side. I lived there the summer I graduated from high school and before I went to the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Then I lived there for my third year of college when I went to Portland State College (now University) and also worked full time at the medical school in the Premature Baby Nursery. I joined the Church that year and went to B.Y.U. Then we lived there for four years during Dental School. After three years in Hawaii, I went back alone (with three kids) and lived there while DeWayne was in Thailand for a year. When he came home we finally bought our first house and lived there for another four years while DeWayne had a private practice before he went back into the Air Force. That makes a total of almost eleven years in Portland for me and eight for DeWayne. Brett, Michelle and Kay-Lynn were all born there, so I have lots of good memories of Portland.

I want to get all the 2006 photos in before I start on 2007. When I finish 2006 I am going to publish them in a book which I have started working on with Blurb Booksmart. Erica told me about it and has been helping me get started. It will be a journal, photo album and family history all rolled into one. I want to put in as much history as I can and then publish one each year like Erica is doing.


The mountains look beautiful even in fog. The weather stayed cloudy all day.


We go through this tunnel on Canyon Drive on our way in and out of Portland.


The Willamette River runs through the middle of Portland dividing it into East and West and then empties into the Columbia river. Several bridges connect the two sides of town.


Looking North toward downtown Portland from the 4th floor deck of the medical building where I had my outpatient surgery.


Same view with a close-up lens.


The Willamette River and two of the bridges from the observation deck. I used to know the names and order of all the bridges.


At the bottom waiting for the tram to come.


In the tram looking back. You can see the deck where we took some of the photos from.


We took the tram up to the campus of the medical and dental schools where DeWayne went to school and I worked as a research assistant for four years.


The tall building at the bottom is the medical building where I had my surgery. The purpose of the tram is mainly to transport patients and medical personnel between the waterfront campus
and the OHSU campus up on Marquam Hill, but lots of tourists and local residents ride it to see the view from the top.


The Ross Island bridge is the one DeWayne and I crossed twice daily to go to and from the dental school. We lived on the other (East) side of the river and eventually bought our house on that side too.

Another view of downtown Portland from the top of the tram.


You can barely see the snowy base of Mt. Hood under the clouds.


We drove by this cute little park in the downtown area.


Near downtown.


An interesting building downtown.


I took this photo of myself after my nose healed and with makeup on. You can't even see the scar. My doctor, Anna Barr, did a great job. She is a dermatologist with a specialty in Moh's surgery at OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University).