Rockstars and the Glory of Winter at the Downtown Marriot

On the street across from the hotel, there is a cluster of small palm trees around sign for Tom McCall Park. They look lonely but sturdy amid all the white covering.

It's such a treat to see the city this way. During the great storm, we holed up the entire weekend watching the weather coverage and the Sochi Olympics. We watched opening ceremony and most of the coverage of events.

Last night, the room service waiter apologized for the weather. "I wish I could just take it all away," he said, motioning through the patio doors down towards the snow and ice.

We laughed at that.

Our room looks out over the river. The unfrozen river is placid in the cove between the Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges.

The Hawthorne is the older bridge---an old railroad-type truss bridge low to the water with a raiseable span . Built in 1910. A gem. Carries local car traffic. From our room we watch the cars that cross it and time their crossings.

The Marquam soars diagonally across the river in a great arch, carrying the great flow of mighty I-5, in two decks atop each other.  It is the bridge that currently defines the the city, forming the backdrop of the cove. The Marquam is like a sculpture---the great civic art piece of Portland in steel and concrete---an offering to the influence and power of the highway.