Parks, Parks, Everywhere a Park Park

There are somewhere between 30 to 40 parks in the Portland area. We have the most acres of park in correspondence with city area, of any city in the U.S. (I think that's the right statistic...if not, it's some sort of similar statistic that means the same thing - Portland has a buttload of parks.)

Anyway, it's become my mission...my goal...nay, my very calling...to go to a different park each weekend. Rain or shine, because in Oregon, mind, if you wait for it to not rain, you might never leave the house from November through May.

First up: Laurelhurst Park, Saturday 9 December 2006. Why? Because I could go there on foot & it wouldn't interrupt my plans to attend Tuba Christmas downtown in Pioneer Courthouse Square later on. This is a park I will go to a lot, largely because it is a seven-minute walk from my apartment. Which is good, because reading about it gives me a suspicion that I ended my exploration too abruptly. But, what I did see was quite pretty. Apparently the park is based on Central Park in NYC, albeit on a smaller scale. Ummm, much smaller scale. In 2001 it became the first park ever named to the National Register of Historic Places.

My impressions? A lovely pond. Nice paths. Ducks! Picnic tables. Alcoholic beverages are permitted in the park in certain areas, so I think that in tandem with its walkability would make it a lovely place to picnic in warmer weather. Apparently there's a recording studio about the park somewhere, & in the summer outdoor productions of Shakespeare plays are put on. (Not unlike Central Park - egads!) Overall, a pleasant little place.