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
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.
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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