Anniversary Trip

Benj and I are six married years old as of this Saturday. My, how time flies when you are married to your best friend. We really lived it up this year with a overnight getaway to Portland while Sophia had her first over-nighter with her Grandma Kathy and Papa. All parties were satisfied with this arrangement before and after the stay, so although it was our first night away together since Sophia was born it certainly won't be our last.



Here we are on our way to The Portland Saturday Market. I haven't been since I was a Freshman in college and Ben had never been. It is a very fun place to people watch and if you should decide you'd like a lawn gnome with your face on it you can get one there.

After The Saturday Market we went to The Japanese Gardens. I have seen brochures for this place and it looked spectacular, but nobody I talked to had ever been. Doesn't that seem odd? I wondered if it would be like watching a commercial to a really good looking movie only to discover they showed all the best scenes in the previews. So with my expectations set pretty low we visited the gardens. I'll let you take a look at my pictures and you can decide for yourselves, but I'm already planning my trip back this fall.



The Portland Japanese Gardens are said to be the largest Japanese gardens in the world outside of Japan. They are built on 5.5 acres.

Heron Statuary

The Falls


One thing I was curious to find out is what makes a garden a Japanese garden?

This picture sums up the three elements in a Japanese garden in one breathtaking glance. Stone, the bones of the garden; water, the life-giving force; and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons.

As you can see the gardens are so beautiful they are almost magical. By this time I was in such a trance that if a unicorn were to frolic by it would not have seemed out of place to me.

Check out the size of the koi in this pond. Jinkies!

The majority of the gardens are shaded by a thick canopy of trees, which really helps you forget you are just outside of downtown Portland - until you hear the zoo train whistle.

The gardens are made up of five distinct gardens. This particular one proved to be a little too abstract for my taste. It's pea gravel that has been raked into a very flowing pattern, which is supposed to represent the sea...

Hmm. Still not there yet....

And the grand finale as you finish your tour of the gardens is a stunning view of the city below with Mount Hood keeping watch. I wish we could have captured the mountain in the background for the picture.What a perfect way to celebrate our first six years of marriage.

So - any takers for a trip back this fall?