The Earth, The Sky and Everything In Between

....and a few more... The Chinese Gardens are pretty cool. I think these are really gonna turn out well once I finish them.

Some thoughts on Portland... You can walk everywhere important in the city within 30-45 minutes if you want, or you can just ride the lightrail, which is free. There's also no sales tax, which is a lot of fun if you don't live there (they've got a state income tax - a shocker for us Texans). I went out to Beaverton last night and ate some great Indian food. Very spicy - I'm paying for it today.

The first descriptive I have for Portland so far is 'grey'. I haven't seen a really blue sky since my airplane began its descent into Oregon. Constantly overcast and usually sprinkling, Portland's colors are typically neutral; their neutrality is only hightened by the weather. Combine that with the simple fact that Portland is an incredibly artistic place in general, and what you then get is a very beautiful and very somber place, and it almost creates this poetic tragedy - as if neutrality were preferred. Very good for walking and thinking.

I went to Kurt's church today, a young, small church in a suburb of Portland called Scappoose. I'm actually at their pastor's house as I'm writing this. They're a good church - still developing in a lot of areas, but the pastor, Mike, is a kind and insightful man.

Tomorrow Kurt and I head out to Seattle. I'm sure plenty of pictures will follow from that. Till then.