It’s Spring!  Let’s go for a walk.

Let’s walk through Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Downtown Portland and run up a clean grassy hill, past folks playing Frisbee or picnicking while gazing out at the Willamette River and the east side of the city.

Let’s walk past a seafood restaurant resting on the river and order fish and chips and a soda while we enjoy the sights of the city— and the sight of the lovely lady sitting across from me.

Let’s take a walk past the moorings used for anchoring the ginormous boats during the Rose Festival; a festival which reminds us why this amazing city is called the City of Roses.  Let’s keep moving through the park, past the bridges that crisscross the city and make travel from East to West Portland a breeze.

Let’s walk past friendly bearded gentlemen playing acoustic guitar while people dance. I never saw the sixties, but I imagine this is what the sixties were like.

Let’s walk past the fountains, where children play in the summer, business men and women enjoy their lunch breaks, tourists stop to take pictures. Let’s look past this fountain at the magnificent Portland, Oregon skyline.

Let’s walk under the Burnside Bridge and visit the Portland’s Saturday Market, a tremendous crafts market that runs on weekends March through December. I can see the happy shoppers now, I can smell the enticing food, and I can see the friendly dogs and laughing children. Spring is here. I can smell the roses. The Rose City is full of them.

Let’s walk until we see the beacon of Union Station, that borders of the Pearl District and Nob Hill.

This little walk reminds us of why we love Portland, why we’ll never leave, and why it’s the greatest city on earth. For more information on other great walking tours of Portland, visit www.portlandwalkingtours.com.