Gardens, Racecars and Jetboats!

So last week I traded in my outdoor and Indiana-Jonesetta (as my mom says) adventures, hung up my hiking boats and decided to explore more of the "Portland scene." My good friend Amanda from San Diego was in town visiting, so we decided to pack in several must-see's in about a day and a half before I had to jump on an early flight to Miami that Sunday...

First stop, the famous Portland Japanese Garden. This place is nothing short of amazing. We took a guided tour so we would be able to enjoy all of the intricacies of the place. The Japanese gardens don't really have any flowers because they feel it disrupts the harmony of the garden. Instead, to create contrast, they have several different sizes, shapes, textures and colors of green that blend together exquisitely to create the breathtaking scenes you see below. The garden also has uneven, and sharp corners and steps meant to slow down the spectators in order to get them to stop and reflect on not only where they've been, but where they're going. Also, the Japanese believe that evil spirits travel in straight lines, so the zig-zag path is intended to ward off the malevolent spirits.

Next stop, the Portland Rose Gardens. Portland is called the city of roses!... can you see why??!! This place is amazing...

On Saturday, we kicked off the day with a trip to the Portland International Raceway to check out Formula Drift racing and some other type of racing. Haha. It was pretty cool actually. My first experience with race cars....

Then, we rushed over to the banks of the Willamette River in downtown Portland to take a jet boat tour! This was awesome. We got to see the city skyline from the water, and even got to see a bald eagle!! Our jet boat captain was a little wild, so we were pretty much drenched by the end of the ride, so its a good thing we decided to change in the parking lot before heading out on the adventure. Check out the pics below...