Curious?

As I looked through my photos, I came across this one I though would pique your interest.


Let's see if I can satisfy your curiosity.

While perusing the newspaper and surfing the local channels, one can't help but think about Portland's Rose Festival (May 29-June 8, 2008). That's because the announcement of the Rose Festival Princesses started Monday--they're students at area high schools. Fourteen princesses later, the big reveal ends on March 21. Then we'll find out who the queen is on June 7, the next to last day of Fleet Week, another big part of the Rose Festival.

Here's a bit about Fleet Week from the Rose Festival's Web site: "Ships from the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and the Canadian Maritime Forces arrive from around the world for a four-day visit to the City of Roses. Fleet visitation has been an annual tradition for nearly 70 years."

The Portland Fire Boats salute the ships as they dock on the west bank of the Willamette River. Although I worked all day when the fleet came in last June, I still managed to get a few photos of the fire boat spray from my building.

Have I satisfied your curiosity yet? I haven't made a dent in mine. I hope to take the day off work, or at least half a day, so that I can head for the river. I want to see the fire boats and the ships, up close and personal. Then I'll share them with you.

Now for some detail about this particular photo. You recognize that I shot it from several stories up--that's an air conditioning unit on the roof of a building in the forefront. And a power pole left of center--is that a transformer? The cars that you can see, going downhill slightly to the right, are on the top deck of the Marquam Bridge which is Interstate 5 North. Just above the vehicles, at the left edge of the photo you see some yello, red and blue--that's part of the WaMu Waterfront Village. According to the Rose Festival's Web site: "As the region's premier children's celebration, the WaMu Waterfront Village is fun for all and all for fun. Presented in Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the Village has a whole new family-friendly focus, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Featured activities include our Pirates Rendezvous, two tall sailing ships, fun-loving strolling minstrels, and more than 500 hours of eclectic family entertainment. Add the Pacific Northwest's finest, cleanest and most family-friendly carnival, three food courts offering menu items from around the world, and exciting educational exhibits for a classic American celebration WaMu style."

See the two white pyramids on the left edge of the photo, above the colorful WaMu stuff? They're on top of part of the covered bridges that are part of the World Trade Center. Finally, those taller trees are on the west bank of the river, while the shorter ones are on the east bank. I think my building itself is five blocks east of the river. Oh, and the dark, bluish green you see in the distance between the tall buildings--those are trees on Portland's West Hills.