Better Late Than Never

Portland Classical Chinese Garden: Taihu Stone

Hubby’s dad is in town this weekend for a brief business trip, and his Saturday was completely open to spend with us. We met him for breakfast downtown this morning, and then we were planning to split up – Hubby & his dad were going to go to the Nike outlet (his dad’s favorite destination out here), and I was going to go home for a nap… But then Hubby said, “Why don’t we go to the Chinese garden?” We’ve been meaning to go ever since it was built, and were only blocks away for breakfast, so we walked over and spent a lovely couple of hours in the garden.

It was built by artisans from our sister city in China, Suzhou – the “Venice of the East,” full of impressive gardens and canals for streets. And since it’s one of the cities we’re hoping to see in September, it was certainly a good idea to get a preview in our own downtown area. It’s one city block downtown, and even though you can hear (and sometimes see) the traffic outside – cars, trains, and boats – you still feel like you’re a world away from the city. It’s designed so that you can’t see the entire garden from any one vantage point, which makes it feel much larger than its actual size. We lucked out an a guided tour was leaving just as we arrived, so we joined it and decided afterwards that was a good thing – sure, we knew that in Chinese architecture everything would have a meaning, but we would have missed much of the significance of the things we passed without someone to point them out for us. Thankfully, I had my little digital camera in my purse, and so I was able to capture some images of the garden – nothing spectacular (I didn’t have my good camera, or any filters to make the sky bluer), but it was fun to be able to see the results immediately when we got home. We both want to return to the gardens again before we go to China, and Hubby’s also talking about having a company event there as well. It would be a lovely setting for a low-key party.

After we left the garden, the boys went on to Nike and I went to the camera shop to get myself a new bag for my SLR – I wanted something I could wear like a fanny pack (despite the fact that they’re unfortunately named and they are completely unflattering, they’re terribly convenient) for when we’re traveling and I don’t want a zillion things over my shoulder. This way, I can wear a small backpack for provisions (and extra film!), and have the camera around my waist, leaving my hands free. Brilliant. The only annoying thing is getting all this travel gear and travel research ready, and then not having a trip to go on right away! I do love the preparation, but I guess in reality I’m quite impatient… Although if I didn’t have the time to prepare, I’d worry about the lack of preparation. So, I suppose that the real truth is that I’m impossible to please!! Oh, well…