PORTLAND, OREGON IS HOT! NO! I MEAN REALLY, REALLY HOT!
So I understand it was in the mid sixties today in Iowa. Gheesh. You gotta come west! Terry, Eden, and I are in Portland, Oregon for Terry's American Meteorological Society conference. Beautiful city by the way. So green. But I understand it rains here a lot. Snow is on the iffy side too so that's a problem for Mr. Swails.
But I digress. So while you folks back home were enjoying spring-like weather, in Portland we were riding a sizzling hot heat wave. Which is pretty uncommon in Portland. Normal temperatures are between 70 and 77 degrees for this time of year. OF course, Terry was tracking the ultra high highs like a dog rubbing a blister.
Every hour he was scanning for the latest update as the temperature just kept rising. So while we waited for our hourly updates, Terry registered at the conference and received his nifty little weather bag packed with goodies.
He also tried out the microphones...all working fine.
We strolled through the heat to the boardwalk.
But the biggest splash came when we stumbled upon this amazing water fountain. Kids and adults were tromping around in this watery maze. So Eden jumped right in. It came at the right time. We were seriously feeling the heat in a not-so-good way...and the water was frigid.
Terry ended up talking with a Portland resident who explained she was moving to Maine in July. When Terry told her we were from Iowa, her eyelids snapped wide open. She confessed she was nervous about driving across our great state because she "might get lost and no one would ever find her." Terry reassured her we had plenty of roadways, maps, friendly people, and clear signage to get her through.
Then the next update rolled in.
The temperature kept rising (if not the excitement).
We found this hilarious candy/soda store complete with the weirdest soda pop I've ever seen. I mean dirt pop!
Candy dresses, the giant marshmallow man, and horse heads galore made for an entertaining experience.
Of course more big news on the weather front!
That called for a celebration. So we rode the skyline tram and got some cool pictures of Mt. St. Helens. We are definitely planning on fitting in a quick trip to the mountain. It looks spectacular. From the airplane, I snapped off several shots of the all three of the biggies...Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainer, and Mt. Hood. Amazing.
Not sure if the heat wave is in place again for tomorrow. But if it is...might have to pull a Heidi and climb that mountain to get some relief! We'll keep you posted.
Carolyn
