Portland Ponderings and Profundities

Well, I learned a thing or two on the trip to Portland:
1. It's easy to have fun when you don't have to cook.
2. My favorite "shops/boutiques/stores" sell toys.
3. Any town or city with public transportation rates high on my list. Portland has free streetcars, buses and light rail.
4. Anyplace with major bodies of water (ocean, river, big lake) are generally more romantic than other places.
5. If you eat out every day, walking 10 miles still won't be enough to maintain status quo weight. Pity.
6. I'm not the only one out there with a camera.
7. I might actually be a decent artist! Evidence: I showed some photos of my work to 2 different employees at a fancy gallery there and they each strongly encouraged me to submit to their jury process, not knowing the other person already had told me the same thing. One of these persons was an exhibiting artist in the gallery as well as an employee there and had his doctorate; had been teaching in Nebraska and Spain. It was swell.