Art and Impromptu Barbecue

Anara decided not to go back to Kumoricon today, so we all spent the day together, starting with morning coffee, brunch, and a walk.

Chris's front porch is a great place for morning coffee (and screen time).

This afternoon we all biked to a fine arts and crafts festival called "Art in the Pearl." The Pearl is a former warehouse and light industry area north of downtown Portland which has been revitalized and is now known for its art galleries, lofts, and upscale businesses. Powell's City of Books is located here, and many galleries participate in the First Thursday art walks.

The festival is held every year on Labor Day weekend and features some hands on crafts demonstrations and over 100 artists displaying their works.

After we'd ooh'ed and ahh'ed over about half of the show, we were ready to sit down for some coffee at the nearby Glyph Cafe & Arts Space.

Chris's friends Ken and Heidi sent out a general invitation to an impromptu "bring your own" barbecue at their house this evening. We stopped at New Seasons on the way over to pick up some food to grill and some drinks. Ken and Heidi had a large barbecue grill fired up and a fire in the fire pit for folks to sit around and converse. Chris made some veggie skewers, which we shared, and we had some chicken sausages.

A great time was had by all. Anara was able to read her book in the dark (very young eyes!). The conversation turned into a game of Truth or Dare, with a pole set in the fire pit leaning over to select the victim.

And yes, I took a dare, which turned out to be coming out with my underwear on the outside of my clothes (photo deleted). All in good fun!




















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Word Games

Chris made delicious omelets for breakfast, along with light, buttery homemade biscuits. Afterward Anara went with us on our morning walk before she headed out to another day of Kumoricon. She will spend the evening with her mom before returning to Kumoricon tomorrow.

Chris went with us to do some shopping and stop by our rig to pick up a few things. We were reassured that the fridge is running well, we still have propane, and the battery is charged.

This evening we played some Boggle and Perquackey, both word games. I won the Perquackey game, but we all took turns winning or tying at Boggle. As we sat around talking afterward, Chris gave the rats some love. They seem to enjoy being on his lap. Read more!

Kumoricon and Visiting the Schaffers

This morning after our walk we drove Anara to the Hilton Vancouver Washington for the opening day of Kumoricon 2014, a major anime convention held annually in the Portland area. The con goes on for three more action packed days.

This afternoon Chris came home a bit early to join us in visiting our friends Arnie and Sue Schaffer, square dancers we met in the Rio Grande Valley. They also have a son who lives in Portland. We were delighted to meet Scott and his wife, Tracey, and their two children (11 and 8).

At the Oregon coast: Scott, Sue, Arnie, Tracy, and children
 
Their home, built in 1911, is listed in the National Register and has wonderful views of the Vista Bridge and downtown Portland. They have been working to renovate it and to reshape the steep hill in the back into a series of terraces, with shaped and fitted basalt stone walls. It's a work of love, but clearly an ongoing challenge. We had a stimulating conversation on one of the terraces. We were happy to reconnect with our friends and to meet their family. Sue and Arnie will be in Paris, TX, for the TXPACC weekend in October, so we'll see them there. Read more!

Waffles! and Terri's Last Day in Portland (8/28)

I woke up this morning to the sound of Chris's mixer, music to my ears because I knew it meant he was making his signature Belgian waffles for breakfast. The making of waffles is a bit of a production--or even perhaps a ritual.

The waffle batter must be prepared in advance and left to rest for an hour before the waffle iron is turned on and the first tender, crispy, buttery waffle comes brown and delectable to the table. All sorts of toppings and syrups were available, but most of the waffles were adorned simply with either pure maple syrup or raspberry syrup. No visit to Chris and Anara would be complete without waffles.

After breakfast we walked over to the UPS store to pick up Terri's boarding pass, which Chris had sent to be printed there. She's flying Spirit Airlines, which charges extra fees for almost everything, including printing boarding passes at the counter.

Back at the house, we regrouped, loaded Terri's luggage in the back of the truck, and headed to the Architectural Heritage Center, where an exhibit of paintings by Anna Magruder entitled Oregon's Painted History is on display. The painting of a French Canadian fur trader with his Native American wife and Metis daughter is emblematic of the struggle for identity between two cultures that children of such unions experienced.

We briefly visited some other exhibits at the Heritage Center, including an exhibit on

Logos, Monograms, and Corporate Imagery: The Fine Ornament of Emblematic Hardware. We saw lots of fancy brass doorknobs and such.

Next we went to Stark's Vacuum Museum. Stark's sells modern vacs, including the Miele that Chris bought here, but it also has an extensive collection of vintage machines. The oldest actually rely on bellows that the user has to pump to create the vacuum.

http://starks.com/vacuum-museum

Onward, next we visited Powell's City of Books, one of Chris and Anara's favorite places and a draw for visitors to Portland. Chris and I visited the rare book room on the top level while the others did their own thing.

Our next destination was REI, where Ken and I unsuccessfully looked for hiking socks and shoes. Terri found a toiletries bag she was looking for. The best thing was that Terri gave me and early birthday present: some very nice hiking poles (to replace the ones that I left behind at the Eagle Creek Trailhead). Thanks, T.!

Next it was time to visit a large group of food carts at SW 10th and Alder, so many carts that they have overflowed from the original block to two sides of an adjacent block. Chris, Anara, Ken and I got crepes at the Snow White Crepe Cart (aka Snow White House). All were really delicious, and Chris and Anara got their crepes quickly. For some reason it took quite a long time to prepare our chicken crepe. By the time it arrived, Terri had finished her BBQ bowl, and Chris and Anara had eaten their crepes. Ours was worth waiting for--really delicious.

Our time was running out, so we went back to the truck and drove Terri to the airport. At times it seemed that we might get their faster on foot than in the stop and go traffic on I-84, but we actually managed to get Terri to the airport by 4:30 p.m. for her 6:10 p.m. flight.

As we drove back to the house, Chris got a call from Terri. She discovered that she had left her Kindle Fire at the house. So when we got home, Chris scooped up the Fire, and we walked to the UPS Store. I had my hiking shoes to return also. Mission accomplished, we walked home, stopping at New Seasons for a few things. After supper we walked to the blackberry bushes and snagged another batch of urban fruit. Yay!


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Columbia Gorge to Portland Cartopia

We drove out to the Columbia Gorge this morning, to the Eagle Creek trailhead. The idea was to hike early and beat the heat. Not many cars were parked at the trailhead when we arrived, but as the day progressed, more and more hikers showed up.

The trail runs through a canyon cut by Eagle Creek, and in parts the trail has been blasted out of the canyon walls. Steel cables help to stabilize hikers in some areas, with extremely steep dropoffs and narrow trail sections. Anara had some difficulty at first, but her dad coached her a bit with advice about holding on to the cable and keeping your eyes on the trail and not the dropoff.

The section of the trail we hiked leads to Punchbowl Falls. We all sat down on the rocks and enjoyed a picnic lunch in this beautiful and peaceful spot.

Punchbowl Falls

When we returned to the trailhead, we drove to Sandy Riverfront RV Park to pick up the chair and small table we had left to guard our campsite, one which we will not return to on this trip, since the work on the rig has been delayed.

Back home, we regrouped and rested before heading out to meet Shawn at the Ladd's Addition circle. We stopped on the way to pick up Talulah (Shawn's dog, a Treeing Walker Coonhound). When Shawn arrived in the circle, we all walked to Cartopia, the Hawthorne and 12th St. food cart pod.

Pyro Pizza--some of the best pizza in town

Food cart pizza oven! Hot work for pizza chefs...

Shawn got some french fries with rosemary catsup and some Poutine--a French Canadian treat, french fries with cheese curds and gravy (usually beef gravy, but in this case the vegetarian version, with mushroom gravy).  After we all ate our selections, we walked back to the Ladd's Addition circle to sit and listen to the musicians.

Chris and Talulah

Shawn had to leave early because of her work schedule, but we wished a happy birthday and gave her birthday cards. Chris gave her a book of the 60 best hikes in the Portland area. Her birthday is August 30. Wow, the month is almost over.

After listening to the music for a while we walked over to Palio Desserts and Expresso. They sell JacIva's cakes. Ken and I shared a slice of bittersweet chocolate cake. Yum! Read more!

To Be Takei

We walked to the Hollywood Theater this evening, this time to see To Be Takei: A Star's Trek for Life, Liberty, and Love. George Takei played Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek television series and the Star Trek movies, and that is pretty much all I knew about him before seeing the film.

It's a documentary that illuminates his experiences as a child in Japanese-American internment camps during WWII and his struggles with understanding and dealing with his gay identity personally and professionally. Takei transmutes the pain of these experiences into a fierce pride and activism in campaigning for an apology and redress from the government for survivors of the internment program and for marriage equality. The movie manages to be intense, touching, jarring, and comic by turns. Takei and his husband, Brad, seem to lay themselves bare for the screen.

Earlier today we drove over to our rig to pick up a few things. We were hoping to talk to Jeff, but he was on a trip to the coast to deliver an RV, so we don't know much about progress. We did talk with Jason, one of the workers, who described at least some of the brakes as missing an essential pin to stabilize the shoes. I really didn't understand the details. I guess we'll see what happens next.

Terri walked to a couple of local fabric stores while we were out. Anara went to a dental appointment, but found that she needed a parent to sign forms, so that will have to be rescheduled. She spent several hours with her friend, Sierra, who will also be attending Kumoricon. Read more!

Dahlia Day

We went to Canby, OR, south of Portland, for the Swan Island Dahlia Festival today. It's a huge affair and runs over two weekends (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday).  Swan Island Dahlias is a family business with over 40 acres of spectacular dahlias, 350 varieties! Many of them were displayed indoors. Some of the varieties hybridized on the farm are named after family members, and many have whimsical names.

For the festival, food trucks and live music were on the grounds. We all had fun and learned a lot about dahlias and enjoyed their beauty.

We were lured by a sign for a nearby Basil and Art "Festival." It turned out to be not much, so we quickly moved on. We were hungry, so we drove back to Portland to one of Chris and Anara's favorite restaurants, the Jade Bistro. It's not near their home, so they don't get to visit often. It's definitely worth a visit! We ordered at the counter and soon received our selections, all fresh and delicious.

Jade Bistro

On the way home we stopped at a large Goodwill Outlet. The detritus of Goodwill stores around the city was dumped on large counters or on the floor. We didn't find much: fifty cents worth of reusable bags and a small dish. We also stopped at a large fabric store, Mill End Fabric, where Terri was happy to view the enormous selection.

Cute rat!

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Sunday Parkways and Terri Arrives!

Sunday Parkways SE is a grand celebration of bicycling, community building, fun, and a healthy, active lifestyle.  The route runs right by Chris and Anara's house, so it was easy for us to join the fun. Along the way Ken and I got some free basic bike repairs and advice. A really nice repair guy oiled my chain, added air to my tires, and adjusted my brakes.

Oregon Ferret Shelter

The route goes through three different Portland parks, but by far the largest is Laurelhurst. It has the most activities, with lots of food booths and vendors and entertainment. The highlight for me was As You Like It, with a unique approach to Shakespeare in the Park presented by Opsfest Shakespeare (Original Practice Shakespeare Festival: Because Shakespeare Should Be a Little Dangerous). The fast pace and improvisational feel were engaging. Unfortunately we arrived a bit late and didn't have chairs or blankets, so we had to stand in the back. We stayed only half an hour or so. Next time we'll go prepared.

Anara especially liked Circus Cascadia, which offers participants opportunities to learn and practice circus skills, like stilt walking, tightrope walking (on a low rope!), and others, including hula hooping. That's Anara's forte. She can effortlessly keep a hula hoop in motion while reading a book and eating a snack!

Ken didn't feel well, so he left us early to go home and rest and take some decongestants. Fortunately, he felt much better tonight.

Chris and I picked Terri up at the airport. Her flight arrived right on time at 5:25 p.m. Ken had the salad made and the lasagna baked when we arrived home. We popped the bread into the oven, Anara set the table, and we had dinner in no time.

This evening we walked to Powell's 2. Terri loves Powell's, and she purchased some books for Anara and herself. We dropped by the Goodwill boutique store, where I found a couple of nice items, including a pair of REI convertible hiking pants/shorts and a skort.

Back home we played the Quilt Show game. It was fun, but Terri was really tired after her trip and three hours of time change, so everyone went to bed early. Read more!

Busy Portland Day

After a hearty breakfast, we set out on our bikes this morning for the Portland Saturday Market, a visit to the nearby Oregon Maritime Museum, and a walking tour called "DIY Portland." We've been to the Saturday Market before, but of course the booths and offerings change. A wide array of arts and crafts are on display, including lots and lots of jewelry, pottery, duct tape art, photography, woodworking, tee-shirts, flutes, candles, tie-dye, soaps, and much more.

After perusing about half of the market, we visited the last operating sternwheeler steam tug, the Portland, moored at the Willamette River in downtown Portland’s Waterfront Park. A volunteer docent led our group through the intricacies of renovating, operating, and maintaining this link to the vital past of Portland's river commerce.

After our visit to the museum we stopped by the food court at the market for a light meal before our walking tour. Ken and I split a "Healthy Burrito" and a large serving of fresh fruit, both delicious. Anara had bubble tea and a strawberry crepe, and Chris had some concoction he pronounced very good.

A little after 2:00 p.m. we headed to Voodoo Doughnuts, not to get any of their famous sweet creations, but to meet our tour guide, Kyle, from Know Your City.The tour we were taking is called "DIY PDX."

DIY PDX

Sick of big box stores and corporate chains? Welcome to Portland, OR, USA—Home to all things independent!

This walking tour is designed for those seeking to connect with the true, homespun culture of the city (which can sometimes be tough to find as a visitor). Along the way, we'll meet with some of the personalities that contribute to Portland's artisan and DIY culture, and we'll also explore some of the key policies that help foster these independent businesses. DIY PDX introduces tour-goers to our grassroots culture that embraces local self-reliance and sustainable living—and that defines Portland's independent ethos.
This two-hour tour includes:

• The history of Portland's unique food cart phenomena.
• A look at Portland's burgeoning music and literary scenes and its independent businesses.
• A visit to a craft brewery that has been in business for 20 years.
• A local roaster that transports its coffee only by bicycle, of course!

Kyle was knowledgeable and quite personable. He offered opportunities for everyone to participate. Most of the 14 people on the tour were local or regional residents. One couple hailed from the Midwest, and a young man was from Australia. We had a very large group, but fortunately Kyle had a microphone and portable amplifier, which helped.

We heard about the brief history of the X-Ray Cafe, a small music venue, and about the burgeoning craft brewing business.

Kyle ended the tour over a mile from our starting point, so we hiked back to our bikes and pedaled home, taking only a brief few minutes to wash up and change before heading out again to a barbecue/party hosted by some of the folks in the OHSU library. The couple who own the house, in Vancouver, WA, are Indian. Shyama works at the OHSU library, as did many of the guests. Shyama and her husband, Ajit, were wonderful hosts.

Shyama is an amazing cook. There was a variety of foods laid out on a large table, including salmon, beef, and tandoori chicken (grilled by Ajit), tofu cakes, Indian rice, spinach salad with strawberries, rolls, and more. After dinner a selection of desserts appeared, all yummy.

We were regaled with tales of some really unusual bicycle riding feats and death defying accidents by Kyle (a digital collections and metadata librarian). Read more!

At the Beach

Portland is well inland, but water plays a big part in the city's life. The confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers lies nearby. We went to Kruger's Farm Tunes on Sauvie Island yesterday, and today we went back to the island, this time to go to the beach. Lovely white sand beaches line the Columbia River side of the island, looking much like sheltered ocean beaches.

The weather today was warm and sunny, a nice day for a picnic, a walk on the beach, and lazing on a beach blanket reading. We saw large barges being moved up the river by tug. Lots of smaller boats tied up off the beach, and we actually saw people swimming or relaxing on floats in the water. Kids played in the sand and splashed in the water. Dog owners threw sticks and balls for their eager companions to retrieve. It was a bit breezy part of the time. We saw some folks struggling to keep their Sun-Brellas deployed, but a few minutes later, all was well.

This evening we had Soup-Cycle Dahlicious soup for dinner (Sweet and savory Indian dahl with squash, lentils, marinated tempeh and himalayan spices.) With salad and bread, it made a tasty meal. Anara had her usual ramen instead of the Dahlicious--leaving more for the three of us 8-)

We played three rounds of Rummikub tonight. Chris won the first after being the last to open, well into the game. Of course he complained right up until he went out! I won the second, and Chris again won the third round. Chris found an online site that discussed all the issues with different versions of the rules and also linked to the Pressman site, whose rules we agreed to play by. Read more!

Farm Tunes

We went to Kruger's Farm on Sauvie Island for a concert this evening. Held on Thursday evening during the summer, these events are billed as "Farm Tunes." Tonight's featured performer was Scott Law. People flock to the farm, especially families with small children, to picnic, dance, take hay rides, and listen to music.

We weren't among the first to arrive, but we still got a fine plot of ground to lay out our blankets, set up our chairs, and enjoy the proceedings. Anara enjoyed a snow cone, and the adults had beer and cider, before we hopped aboard the hay wagon for a ride around the fields. Kruger's grows a wide variety of crops and also makes products like pickles and jams for sale at the barn and at two farm stands in town (one quite near Chris's house).

Earlier today we walked to Hawthorne Vision Clinic with Anara for her eye check. She passed with flying colors. She did get some exercises to help strengthen her eye muscles to converge properly. She rode her bike to Clever Cycles for its annual tune-up while we walked home. On the way we passed Barber Q, which offers walk-in haircuts. Perfect! I had just told Ken I really needed a haircut.

After lunch we drove over to J & S to visit our rig and pick up a few things. It's looking like our repairs won't take place until after Labor Day--while we're in Hawaii. The parts were supposed to be shipped out today and arrive in 6-7 days.

Meanwhile we stopped at the 190th RV Storage lot to check it out. They are the only ones to respond positively to our request for temporary storage while we're in Hawaii. The place seems a bit marginal to us, but it will do if necessary. We'll see. Read more!

Blackberries!

Chris got word of a nearby blackberry picking opportunity, so this morning on our walk Ken and I checked it out. It's on a busy city street, so we're not the only people who might be looking for blackberries, but we did find a pint or so. This evening we all walked by the bush and picked another pint. At this rate we'll have enough for a blackberry dessert soon.

I drove Anara to her school orientation after lunch today. She got all the classes she wanted, so she is a happy student. She picked up some text books, got a locker assignment and put the books in it, got her bus pass, and so on. Afterwards I drove her to Guardian Games for her Dungeons and Dragons summer camp (afternoons this week).

I stopped by the largest Goodwill in Portland, but didn't manage to find a single thing. Drats! That happens sometimes.

We got some really bad news about our brakes today. All six wheels need brake shoes, and three of them need rotors, plus several calipers need to be replaced. We had so fervently hoped that we were over the worst of our brake problems. Now we're facing the prospect of expensive brake repairs every few months, interrupting our travel plans and taking time out of our lives.

We're having the parts expedited, but second day air will possibly get them here Friday, which means the brakes won't be worked on until next week . . . . We are lucky to be in Portland where we can stay with Chris while all this work is being done. That's not always possible. Read more!

Hiking Hills

We've spent a lot of time in flat lands, which this part of Oregon is definitely not. Our idea of a nature trail doesn't necessarily include signs that say "steep incline." That is what we encountered today, along with lots of ferns and moss and some impressive views. We didn't see a lot of local wildlife, but the deer seemed quite heedless of our presence. One twitched an ear before going back to resting calmly in the grassy shade.

It was a good day to be outdoors, sunny and mild. Even during the heat of the day, we felt a bit of refreshing breeze. It was a nice break to be out of the city. However, we were also out of cell phone range, so we missed a call from J & S. We'll call in the morning to find out what progress they are making. Read more!

Entrusting Our Home to J & S RV

We got up early this morning and prepared to move our home, not to a new campground, but to J & S RV Services. Unfortunately we have another brake problem (hoped we were done with those). The middle wheel on the driver's side is rubbing hard, just like the others that have gone bad. One of our Bigfoot leveling feet has some hydraulic fluid leakage on its tank.

We also need a new valve on one of our 40 lb. propane tanks. It turns out that they don't do that kind of work, but Jeff agreed to try to find a place and said he would take the tank for repair. He also agreed to tackle getting spray-on liner on the front where we've gotten rock chips and some impossible to remove white line paint.

Meanwhile we're staying at Chris's, so we're comfy and well taken care of, but it's always a bit uncomfortable going off and leaving our home in the hands of strangers....

On our walks today we saw more Little Free Libraries. I picked up a novel by Donald Westlake I haven't read.

We also saw several poetry spots, which we have never seen anywhere else. Portland is special.

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Great Bike Ride

We set out today to do a bike ride along a portion of the 45 mile route of the Portland Century. We loaded all our bikes (ours on the rear bike rack, Chris and Anara's in the truck bed) and headed to the University of Portland, the starting point of the ride. (The actual organized ride was yesterday.)

We parked at the university and rode west. It was a beautiful day for a ride. We stopped at Kelley Point Park to eat our picnic lunch in the park near the river. We went on to ride along the Smith and Bybee Natural Area. We stopped to visit a couple of observation points, one on Bybee Lake and the other on Smith Lake.

We had to walk our bikes into the natural area because no bike riding is allowed on the trail. After riding through a commercial and industrial area, it was refreshing to find ourselves in a completely different environment. We saw lots of water birds and some turtles on a log.

We ended up accidentally taking a shortcut back to the university, but we were all happy to get back to the truck. The afternoon sun was quite hot, and air conditioning felt really good. While we were at the university we walked along the bluff overlooking the Willamette River and found a historical marker showing the furthest penetration of Lewis and Clark up the Willamette River.

We stopped at the Backyard Bird Shop on Fremont for Chris to pick up an ant moat, a small upside down metal umbrella to hang above the hummingbird feeder on his porch. The idea is that ants fall in the water and are unable to get to the hummingbird nectar. Rather spiffy! He also decided to buy a suet feeder to attract more birds to the porch.

[photos later] Read more!