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Portland Trip
May. 30th, 2022 11:58 pmSATURDAY
We left Everett about ten after ten Saturday morning after I passed my COVID test. It was raining off and on the whole way, until after lunch at the usual Shari's in Lacey it became a steady downpour. We stumbled upon a live broadcast of Philip Glass' opera Akhenaten on KING-FM and listened to most of it on the way; when the signal faded out south of Centralia, we switched to The Score on Oregon Public Radio.
We arrived at Mike, Pat, and JD's home just before three PM. Oliver the cocker spaniel was ultra excited to see new people. We sat and talked until dinner was ready at six-ish: homemade wings and delivered supreme pizza, washed down with home-brewed Chai tea. After dinner we watched The Lost City which was a laugh riot. During the film Oliver climbed up behind Gary's head on the back of the couch and parked there, so Gary used him as a pillow.
At the end of the movie Pat went to bed and Mike drove us to Winco Foods so I could pick up a bottle of distilled water. As we left the store an angry young dude was being denied entrance for some reason and responded by pounding on the glass and calling the store manager a "fucking faggot". I thought for a moment how humiliated this asshole would be having his ass kicked by three "fucking faggots", and told Mike and Gary so, but engaging him was clearly not worth the trouble.
We stayed up till 11 and then went to bed. As I was preparing to turn off the lights, Oliver opened the door and sneaked in to say good night; I shooed him out and Mike got him secured upstairs.
SUNDAY
I woke up about 6:15 to use the bathroom and catch up on my journal; there was puttering around upstairs. I went back to sleep at seven and woke about ten to nine. We had breakfast around ten and watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
After the movie we showered, and left with Pat and JD for the Rose Festival around one. We took Pat's yellow truck to the Parkrose transit center and caught the train downtown, exiting at Old Town/Chinatown. We walked over to the waterfront, passing a dude who was screaming and making sure to cross the street to avoid him. It was a long walk to the entrance, past a couple of false starts. The grounds were muddy from the steady rain the previous day. We found a table under the big tent and I went in search of lunch. I was served gyros and seasoned fries by a very young girl while an older man, presumably her father, cooked. The gyros meat was cooked on a grill with onions, which did double duty as Philly cheese steaks with Cheese Whiz on top. While Gary and I ate (Pat wasn't hungry and JD had eaten a churro), a tall dude in a preposterous yellow suit and matching top hat sat with us briefly and remarked on the hats we all wore. A cute ginger bear was working the African food booth next to the Greek place. Under one big tent there was an arcade with vintage pinball games and among the newer games a 4-player version of Pac-Man; and a country band playing of all things I Will Survive.
We exited the festival at the south end and caught the train to Washington Park and the shuttle to the Rose Garden. Along the way I noticed a sign that read No Skaterboarders. As we looked over the rose bushes, most of which weren't yet in bloom, we noticed the trees have grown a lot taller since 2001. The rhododendrons and azaleas were in full bloom though. We caught the shuttle back to the train station. On the platform there's a natural history exhibit based on the core samples taken during construction of the station. We boarded the train and quickly found seats further back in the car because, as some folks who boarded later exclaimed, "It smells like ass in here!" (Does he speak from experience?) As we approached Skidmore Fountain I thought the lady on the recording said "Skateboard Fountain" at first. The train runs between I-84 and a main rail line, with the freeway around the same level and the railroad in a ravine just north.
We arrived home just after six and had pulled pork, collard greens, cornbread muffins and a dessert made with Jello and orange sherbet. We sat and talked and watched Futurama until I went to bed about 10:30 because my back was sore from walking. Gary followed soon after.
MONDAY
I woke up about 7:30 to use the bathroom and decided to stay up for the day. Gary got up about 8:30 as I was ready to head upstairs. We watched the tail end of Independence Day part two, then switched to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Breakfast (around ten) was grits, sausages, toast, and blueberries.
Around noon Pat, Mike, Gary, and I bundled into Pat's truck and headed for the riverfront park in Vancouver. We were going to walk under the bridge but the trail was closed for construction, so instead we crossed the Land Bridge (over the WA 14 freeway) to Fort Vancouver. After exploring the remnants of the village outside the fort, we returned to the truck and drove through downtown Vancouver and by the later buildings associated with the fort including the barracks and Officers' Row. We parked about halfway down Officers' Row near the flagpole (at half-staff for Memorial Day) and bandstand (on which a group of children were playing), then walked to the visitor center (which was closed). We returned to the truck and drove back to the house for lunch. We had bratwurst, baked beans, leftover greens, and strawberries and whipped cream for dessert, around four, and left around 4:30.
The weather was much nicer for the return trip, and the only major traffic slowdown was passing the Tacoma Dome; even JBLM wasn't bad. We stopped by the Scatter Creek rest stop south of Olympia which was where we saw all the soccer fans on the way back from camping. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Shoreline on the current tank of gas so I stopped at the Safeway on Martin Way in Lacey across from the usual Shari's; we didn't stop there for dinner because we had lunch so late. Instead, we ate dinner at BWW in Lynnwood and arrived home about quarter to ten. Gary called Mike to let him know we arrived safely and I texted Colleen since we spoke on the car phone as we approached Seattle.
We left Everett about ten after ten Saturday morning after I passed my COVID test. It was raining off and on the whole way, until after lunch at the usual Shari's in Lacey it became a steady downpour. We stumbled upon a live broadcast of Philip Glass' opera Akhenaten on KING-FM and listened to most of it on the way; when the signal faded out south of Centralia, we switched to The Score on Oregon Public Radio.
We arrived at Mike, Pat, and JD's home just before three PM. Oliver the cocker spaniel was ultra excited to see new people. We sat and talked until dinner was ready at six-ish: homemade wings and delivered supreme pizza, washed down with home-brewed Chai tea. After dinner we watched The Lost City which was a laugh riot. During the film Oliver climbed up behind Gary's head on the back of the couch and parked there, so Gary used him as a pillow.
At the end of the movie Pat went to bed and Mike drove us to Winco Foods so I could pick up a bottle of distilled water. As we left the store an angry young dude was being denied entrance for some reason and responded by pounding on the glass and calling the store manager a "fucking faggot". I thought for a moment how humiliated this asshole would be having his ass kicked by three "fucking faggots", and told Mike and Gary so, but engaging him was clearly not worth the trouble.
We stayed up till 11 and then went to bed. As I was preparing to turn off the lights, Oliver opened the door and sneaked in to say good night; I shooed him out and Mike got him secured upstairs.
SUNDAY
I woke up about 6:15 to use the bathroom and catch up on my journal; there was puttering around upstairs. I went back to sleep at seven and woke about ten to nine. We had breakfast around ten and watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
After the movie we showered, and left with Pat and JD for the Rose Festival around one. We took Pat's yellow truck to the Parkrose transit center and caught the train downtown, exiting at Old Town/Chinatown. We walked over to the waterfront, passing a dude who was screaming and making sure to cross the street to avoid him. It was a long walk to the entrance, past a couple of false starts. The grounds were muddy from the steady rain the previous day. We found a table under the big tent and I went in search of lunch. I was served gyros and seasoned fries by a very young girl while an older man, presumably her father, cooked. The gyros meat was cooked on a grill with onions, which did double duty as Philly cheese steaks with Cheese Whiz on top. While Gary and I ate (Pat wasn't hungry and JD had eaten a churro), a tall dude in a preposterous yellow suit and matching top hat sat with us briefly and remarked on the hats we all wore. A cute ginger bear was working the African food booth next to the Greek place. Under one big tent there was an arcade with vintage pinball games and among the newer games a 4-player version of Pac-Man; and a country band playing of all things I Will Survive.
We exited the festival at the south end and caught the train to Washington Park and the shuttle to the Rose Garden. Along the way I noticed a sign that read No Skaterboarders. As we looked over the rose bushes, most of which weren't yet in bloom, we noticed the trees have grown a lot taller since 2001. The rhododendrons and azaleas were in full bloom though. We caught the shuttle back to the train station. On the platform there's a natural history exhibit based on the core samples taken during construction of the station. We boarded the train and quickly found seats further back in the car because, as some folks who boarded later exclaimed, "It smells like ass in here!" (Does he speak from experience?) As we approached Skidmore Fountain I thought the lady on the recording said "Skateboard Fountain" at first. The train runs between I-84 and a main rail line, with the freeway around the same level and the railroad in a ravine just north.
We arrived home just after six and had pulled pork, collard greens, cornbread muffins and a dessert made with Jello and orange sherbet. We sat and talked and watched Futurama until I went to bed about 10:30 because my back was sore from walking. Gary followed soon after.
MONDAY
I woke up about 7:30 to use the bathroom and decided to stay up for the day. Gary got up about 8:30 as I was ready to head upstairs. We watched the tail end of Independence Day part two, then switched to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Breakfast (around ten) was grits, sausages, toast, and blueberries.
Around noon Pat, Mike, Gary, and I bundled into Pat's truck and headed for the riverfront park in Vancouver. We were going to walk under the bridge but the trail was closed for construction, so instead we crossed the Land Bridge (over the WA 14 freeway) to Fort Vancouver. After exploring the remnants of the village outside the fort, we returned to the truck and drove through downtown Vancouver and by the later buildings associated with the fort including the barracks and Officers' Row. We parked about halfway down Officers' Row near the flagpole (at half-staff for Memorial Day) and bandstand (on which a group of children were playing), then walked to the visitor center (which was closed). We returned to the truck and drove back to the house for lunch. We had bratwurst, baked beans, leftover greens, and strawberries and whipped cream for dessert, around four, and left around 4:30.
The weather was much nicer for the return trip, and the only major traffic slowdown was passing the Tacoma Dome; even JBLM wasn't bad. We stopped by the Scatter Creek rest stop south of Olympia which was where we saw all the soccer fans on the way back from camping. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Shoreline on the current tank of gas so I stopped at the Safeway on Martin Way in Lacey across from the usual Shari's; we didn't stop there for dinner because we had lunch so late. Instead, we ate dinner at BWW in Lynnwood and arrived home about quarter to ten. Gary called Mike to let him know we arrived safely and I texted Colleen since we spoke on the car phone as we approached Seattle.