You have to love Southwest Airlines.  They have good prices, free baggage, relatively comfortable seats, great staff, and on time departures and arrivals, including your luggage and here we are in Portland,Oregon.

What's not to like about this city?  

Start with a great airport with good signage to find out where to go, and helpful assistants to help you along your way.  

A $1.00 ticket gets you on the train to downtown Portland in 38 minutes. 

We later found out that as well as a "free zone" for travel in the downtown area, a $5.00 all day ticket will allow you to take trains, buses, and streetcars anywhere on the very efficient and clean transit system. 

What a concept to move people and keep cars off the streets.

Our first day of touring took us to the Japanese Garden and the International Rose Garden.  Both are well laid out, the Japanese Garden being a place of tranquility and beauty, while the Rose Garden, while past its' prime, a rainbow of colors representing over 7000 varieties of roses.

Returning to the downtown core for lunch, we then walked along the Willamette River back to our hotel, passing the famous Voodoo Donut Shop where even at mid-afternoon, the lineup went around the block.

Tomorrow, we continue our touring.