Something else that I didn't take a photograph of this year, the cherry trees at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, with the Steel Bridge in the background.

I had planned to take photos of the cherry trees at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Friday the 13th because I read in the Oregonian that they were just about at peak, with rain and wind predicted over the weekend which would wreak havoc with the blossoms. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed a few hours with my older son Lamont who picked me up from work, took me home, then walked with me to the Blue Diamond, my neighborhood bar, where we ate supper, watched the Blazers on TV, and talked about his plans for the vacation he would take starting the next day with a 14-hour drive with friends to Bishop, California, to boulder in what is described on the Chamber of Commerce Web site as Possibly the greatest location for rock climbing in California, America and maybe even the world! From careful beginners to crags that challenge the pros, the climbing opportunities are diverse and many. Start at the Gorge, Happy and Sad Boulders, Buttermilk Country or Alabama Hills, we’ve got you covered.

I'm not sure exactly where they went every time they bouldered prior to returning to Portland on Sunday, March 22, but I do know that they climbed some of the time on the Happy Boulders Trail off Chalk Bluff Road because I could see those labels on the satellite map Lamont sent to me when he pushed the check-in button on the Spot Locator he carries with him when he's out in nature--at my request so that if, heaven forbid, anything happened, we'd know where to start looking. I also know that they had a terrific time, just as I did being with Lamont instead of walking through the blooming cherry trees with strangers alongside the Willamette. I took this photo on March 24, 2012. In looking at it closely, I believe the blossoms were just before their peak on that particular day.

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 2

Here's the jumping girl from yesterday's post, with her dad, mom, and little sister. Sweet to see a family out making memories in the sunshine on the first weekend that the cherry trees bloomed. The way the weather changes around here, sometimes these flowers depart quickly, so it is imperative to get on out there and take advantage of the best conditions, as soon as they occur. That's why I went over between the Burnside and the Steel Bridges Friday, March, 21, after work. I had no idea if I could get back to Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Saturday or Sunday, so I put a reminder on my iPhone 5 and made it happen. The reminder's necessary because on Friday I tend to be on autopilot for home, unless the Blazers are playing.