More Pride Revellers..

Gay Pride Parade 2006

Revellers at the 2006 Gay Pride Parade in Portland Oregon

Where In The World..

~Pioneer Courthouse Square, the City of Portland's "living room" ~

A whimsical signpost listing the distances to the
nine sister-cities and other geographical destinations.

A signature Portland icon
"Allow Me", says the bronze life-size
sculpture offering his umbrella

Portland Arts Festival

An annual Rose Festival event where
local, regional and international artists displayed their work in a variety of media.

Oregon Coast - More Photos..

Interesting Sights That Sneek Up On You When You Are Not Looking!

A colorful train-stop in the coastal town of Wheeler

The Concept of Recycling and Reusing
A Bicyle Garden - what a great idea

Poppy Flower

Oregon Coast

These are some photos of what Oregon Coast has to offer --

Antique motorbike for sale

Windchimes Everywhere

If you wonder around enough, you might find some very interesting artwork at some very interesting places.
My favorite - Metal Sculptures at the City Dump!

Oregon Coast - Wish You Were Here - Sunset

Sunset at the Oregon Coast.
It was one of those night when the sky is clear
and one can see the sun setting beautifully.

Portland Rose Festival - Grand Floral Parade

The Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade is on Saturday June 10, and I have the chance to look at the floats up close. Together with some friends, I volunteered a few hours last night to help with decorating the Parade's Floats. We were assigned to one of the floats that will be in the Parade. The Float that we worked on is sponsored by Spirit Mountain Casino, and it is called The Grand Salmon.

Oregon Zoo

Was too impatient to wait for the Peacock
to display its tail

One of the many attractions and fun things to do
at the Oregon Zoo - feeding the Parakeets.

Portland Rose Festival

Portland Rose Festival is celebrated in the month of June with many organized events happening around the city. The highlight of the Festival, I think, is the Grand Floral Parade where awe-inspiring all-floral floats are paraded along the parade route. The Grand Floral Parade is recognized by the International Festival & Events Association and USA Today as one of the top five parades in the nation.

In Full Bloom - Portland Oregon

Spring is here and in full bloom.
Beautiful and colorful flowers everywhere to fill your senses. After a long cold and rainy winter, this is a joy!

Forest Park - Portland Oregon

Wild Rhododendron

Maidenhair Fern

Spectacular Hike - Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge

Punchbowl Falls, one of many waterfalls along the Eagle Creek trail.

Coffee Talk

Portland, Oregon, is the mecca for getting your java fix, in my opinion. There's at least one coffee shop in every block in the city, so you would never run out of coffee. These are a couple of my favorite places to hang-out - Peets Coffee and Tea and World Cup Coffee and Tea. They have the best tasting coffee and tea, friendly people and some very cool vibes going on in there. I love coming here to get my morning caffein fix, read the newspaper and chat with the regulars. Nothing pretentious, just hanging out, having a good time, and sometimes get some good laughs here and there.

Lan Su Yuan or Portland Suzhou Garden

Architecture

Water

Poetry

Stone

Plants

This scholar style garden is the masterwork of some very artistic and dedicated people from two countries, namely Suzhou, China and Portland, Oregon. This urban garden is designed with the Chinese idea of balancing harmony and tranquility. The five elements that are essential to this Ming-style garden - Architecture, Water, Poetry. Stone and Plants - provide this classical garden the beauty and wonders of the universe within a very limited space.

As I walked along the winding stone mosaic walkway, which was crafted by hand, stone by stone, I experienced this feeling of being in a whole different space. All my senses were stimulated for there was so much to take in. The sound of water from the waterfall, the smell of fragrance from the flowering tree, the feel of the mosaic stone on my feet and the visual impact of this whole garden. Every little turn that I took, something would revealed itself - a piece of limestone formation, which has the most incredible shape or a plant or tree that is new to me or the artwork or cravings on wood panels that are so beautifully done.

Most of all, besides the beauty of this space, this urban/classical garden bestowed upon me a sense of peacefulness and calmness, which gives me the feeling of being in a whole different space.

"Welcome and Enter the Wonderland"
(as quoted on the brochure)

Signs of Change

These are the wonders of nature - leaves are changing colors and berries are ripening - telling us that daylight is getting shorter and the temperature is getting colder, which means that the winter solstice is almost upon us.

Dahlias

Comes in all shapes and colors. Can be found in almost every home in Oregon.

Hydrangea

Another favorite. Blooms are beautiful on the plant and as well as dried.

Signs of Halloween

The Grim Ripper with a torch and some corn stalks.

Peek-a-Boo Jack-o-Lantern

Oops, witch is in the tree

Ouch.. that seems pretty painful

Some Halloween decorations that can be seen as I wandered around the Irvington neighborhood in Portland Oregon. People really juice up their creativity when it comes to Halloween.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

This was taken on my deck after a misty, rainy day. The spider web appears to be suspending in mid-air, bouncing back and forth going with the flow of the wind. It was absolutely incredible. Coupled with small droplets of water suspending on the web, which looks like little crystals, the web looks so magical.