Last Day in Portland

Our final day in Portland included the best highlights of our stay: A much anticipated visit to the Japanese Gardens was especially fulfilling because they are now featuring the artist Noguchi; his artwork is exhibited indoors and in an outdoor sand garden overlooking the mountains and city. "We are the landscape of all we know"
Afterward, we were finally able to connect with Ashley from Memphis. I first met her through my niece Michelle in 2007 in the birthplace of the blues when I was on my road trip heading west in the company of Michelle - that's a totally different adventure! And now we both happened to be in another cool city at the same time and it seemed like a perfect time to connect again! We met at a fantastic little Korean place for lunch called Boke Bowl. Now this could be a chain as far as I know but I'd never eaten Korean food before and it was delightfully delish. Another nice surprise was that Viviana, another college buddy of Michelle's, was with Ashley and I had never met her. So it was an awesome moment in time. Parting was somewhat bittersweet because even though Michelle wasn't with us, it felt like I was saying goodbye to her too because her presence was so strong.
After lunch, we directed the RV out if the city. As invigorating as cities can be, it was a welcome sight to see the green forests and hills of Oregon around us again...