Vancouver, B.C.

Last week Omar and I travelled to Vancouver, B.C. Omar attended Siggraph 2011 while I enjoyed the city. Vancouver is a very beautiful city surrounded by water and mountains. We stayed on Coal Harbor near the conference center.

The city has plenty of green space and dedicated bike and pedestrian paths that travelled through the city, through Stanley Park and along the seawall. Carina and Joaquin showed us a fine viewpoint on Cypress Mountain and then took us for a lovely dinner on Horseshoe Bay.

I enjoyed my time in Vancouver. I toured the campus of the University of British Columbia,

visited the Museum of Anthropology,

and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which has the skeleton of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling. An impressive sight!  

Overall, the city endeared itself to us. Omar keeps saying we are moving to Vancouver, but I think that a few days back in PDX will cure him of this fantasy :)

-Take care,
Linds

Dora y Edgar in PDX

Omar's mother and brother recently came to visit us in Portland. We were very excited to have them stay with us and show them the beauty of Portland, Mount Hood and the coast.

We started the grand tour at the Rose Test Garden.

We spent time at Wallace Park and on Mt. Tabor. Here is the view from Mt. Tabor, picture perfect!

We spent a day around Mt. Hood. We ate brunch at Timberline, we watched kite surfing at Hood River, and visited Multnomah Falls. What a day!

                                                                   

For most of the week, we walked around Portland hitting up all the highlights of the city. We wanted to show Edgar and Dora how we live and how much we enjoy Portland. It is such a great city to show visitors. We went bicycle riding along the waterfront, shopping and eating at the Farmer's Market, watering the garden and browsing at Powell's.

For the grand finale, we went to the coast for the day. Omar and I enjoyed taking Edgar and Dora to Ecola State Park, which has a lovely secluded beach and amazing views of the shoreline. We ate well at Cannon Beach, and then stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for ice cream on the way home.

 All and all, we had a spectacular week with Dora and Edgar. For those of you who have not visited us yet, let this be a preview of all the wonderfulness waiting for you in Portland!

-Hope all are well!
Linds