First Parade

Things I've noticed about Portland people: 1) sincere and open 2) a little kooky. If you drive around Portland, you'll notice a popular bumperstickers on cars that say, "Keep Portland Weird". So, every now and then, you'll get these strangers who will come up to you and harmlessly say something kinda strange. Sincere kookiness.

A shining example of a weird tradition here in Portland is the Starlight Parade, one part of the many events that make up the two-week long annual Rose Festival (Portland is also called the "City of Roses"). It's a night-time parade with brightly lit floats with the typical marching bands and even princess and queens in tiaras and gowns doing the pageant wave (not sure if they were in earnest or ironic).

I know this all sounds like standard parade fare but it's hard to explain why the whole experience was such a spectacle. Let's see... there was the large group of Star Wars storm troopers, the Elvis riding on a really tall unicycle, the tap-dancing step dancers.... And then there were the crowd members watching the parade: a random group of joggers that ran through the middle of parade dressed in togas, the person standing next to us in the head to toe bee costume (including bright yellow face paint and oversized glasses), the woman dressed as a pink flamingo riding a homemade bike built with tires from a truck...

It was ESK's first parade and she loved it. Here's a picture of her with a new friend and a trio of Royal Rosarians (still not sure what they do?!):


New Home
We closed on a new home yesterday! After renting for so long, SK and I cannot believe we are homeowners. This confirms that we are in complete adulthood. Weird.