Day 9--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Day 9--Friday, July 3rd--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Today we awoke at The Bunkhouse in Nehalem,OR and had an excellent breakfast at their Bunkhouse Diner. The place was filled with an eclectic mix of bikers in leather, elderly tourists, families and our favorite....a little kid in a skull hoodie with a patch of Peter Criss. I tried to talk Zilla into yelling, "The hottest band in the land, ........KISS!" But she was more interested in the wood and metal puzzle tricks lining all the window ledges. The French toast and hash browns were great and Du's Tillamook cheddar omelet, while too gooey for Mr. easy on the cheesy, was delicious. I'm glad we decided to extend our stay at the coast an extra day.

The kids explored their kitchy parking lot waterfall, made from piles of geodes, agate and sea shells bedecked with fairies, garden gnomes and miscellaneous knick knacks. I was intrigued by their hand printed sign declaring rebar bending, brick breaking and fire walking demo at 9pm. Unfortunately, we'd be back in Hillsboro by then, to miss the holiday weekend crowds flocking to the ocean.

We met the fire walker, a grizzled older man, who claims the 2 time Guinness World Record for fire walking on the hottest coals. He was proudly sporting a fire walking t-shirt and was quite friendly. They may not have had a king sized bed, electric fireplace and a hotel pool, but what they lacked in amenities, they more than made up in character. What's not to love about a place with night stands stocked with good paperbacks and a note that says "Take a few books with you".

We were happy to find a reasonable last minute room available, after driving down the coast and checking at a number of places with vacancy signs, only to find the rooms were two small for 5 people or super expensive. Click on the link below for an interesting story I found on line that captures the essence of The Bunkhouse.

Our room was creatively decorated with a giant saw blade, hand painted with birds and a round stretched skin, hung with bear claws. Knickknacks were everywhere. In addition to coffee, there were many interesting and unusual packets of tea. I tried a green tea ginger and a Wildcraft and my sister tried Blackberry. The kids loved the bedside lamps that turned brighter or off with a touch and the glass chess/checker board.

The night before, we were even invited to build our own bonfire at a communal fire ring. They provided a huge pile of wood at no extra charge. At 10pm, there were embers smoldering from some earlier guests, but we had the fire ring to ourselves.

We packed up, said bye to The Bunkhouse, and hit the road after breakfast. It was just a short drive of a few miles back north to Oswald Beach. We parked
and
hiked
a lovely
half mile
wooded trail
to the beach.



Fog had descended over everything, and we had a delicious feeling of isolation as we caught glimpses of the crashing waves, surfers and dogs through the rolling mist.

Sagezilla's in the mist (tee hee)

It was jacket weather for sure,
so we didn't wade this time.
And a waterfall my sister had seen on past visits
wasn't running. But it was still a pleasure to hike in
and visit this gorgeous, non touristy beach.















From there, we drove south to Tillamook and the cheese factory. Mmmmm. Smell our dairy air. Everything smells like cow poop for miles, but it's an olfactory sacrifice worth making for the taste bud treats at the factory.










Sagezilla is obsessed with cheese sandwiches and very brand loyal. At least she picked a good one. Costco carries Tillamook medium cheddar and Zilla has taken a cheese sandwich to school every day for 3 years of preschool and kindergarten. The few times I've switched cheddar brands on her, she tasted the difference and refused to eat it.


So we took my poster child for Tillamook to see where her cheese originates. We all had samples of 5 types of cheese, toured the factory, and laughed over old photos and ad campaigns.





Then we ate a decidedly un-cheesy lunch in their cafe--shrimp and hot dogs--except for the cheese queen who had her cold cheddar on sourdough. We capped off the day with phenomenal Tillamook ice cream cones in waffle bowls dipped in chocolate. Pure vacation decadence!

We still managed to make it back to Hillsboro in under two hours. John was working at McMenamins Grand Lodge, a funky hotel in Forest Grove, OR. So we stopped there for McMenamin's own handmade ales, brewed with "green", earth friendly practices. Ruby, a raspberry brew, was tasty and sweet. And The Hammerhead was my favorite of the night. Dug was a fan of Terminator Stout. By then the kids had finished coloring their mythical creature pages and were getting squirrely.

We took a tour of the grounds that used to be a Masonic nursing home and orphanage. To quote the hotel history: 1917: After 20 years of planning and fundraising, designs are initiated at Forest Grove for a Masonic and Eastern Star Home for the State of Oregon "for the aged and infirm, and the poor and distressed worthy Master Masons, their widows and orphans . . ."

The part that cracked me up most, however is this quote from a mere 10 years later: 1927-28: It is determined that the orphanage should be closed because the relations between the elderly and the children are less than harmonious. Children start relocating to outside families.

When present management took over, the hotel hired artists to do quirky and mystical art that Incorporated some of the people who had lived there, symbolism, and music. Rooms have rock and literary themes and rates are reasonable. It was our kind of playful and creative decor, and we all had fun snapping photos. I'll do a "best of" photos page from each of the kids and Dug at the end of our adventure recap. They all got some great shots! We finished the evening off with a relaxing dip in the Japanese salt water soaking pool. Awesome!

Day 10--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Day 10--Saturday, July 4th--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

We originally planned to go to Portland's Blues Festival and see their big fireworks display at 10pm, with friends from Dugan's preschool days. But the weather was extremely hot, and the guys had to get up at 5am for their flight back home on Sunday, so we scaled back our ambitious plans and celebrated a low key 4th instead.

Sorry to our old school friend, Baxter, and his family. We would have loved to hang out and catch up. Hope to see ya next time, either out there or on the Chicago end of the magic, underground worm hole, between various cool cities. (He's our gymnastics friend from toddler days and our Montessori preschool and skate park buddy from half the kids' life times ago. Funny how 4 years isn't much when you're over 40, but it's interminably ancient history when you're 8.)

We also missed running into kids Gaia and Apollo, former Chicago Hip Family Friends of ours, who's family moved from Chicago to study micro brewing in Germany. We lost track of them, but they resurfaced living close to my sister in Hillsboro and frequenting the little park where she walks her dogs (pictured at the end of this post)! She just mentioned them by chance, never dreaming we'd actually KNOW them. They just moved again within the city, less than a month ago, so we couldn't track 'em down and didn't bump into them. We would have loved to catch up with them, too. (More worm hole theory.)

So, instead of seeking out relocated Chicagoans, we checked out small town 4th of July at it's best. The Hillsboro parade route goes right in front of my sister, Maia's, home. And people get crazy about staking out spots at the crack of dawn. The first year she lived there, she awoke early to find a family had set up a tent in her front yard, obscuring her view, and was busily frying bacon!

This year, John was proactive and put chairs out and roped off the front yard the night before. As the parade began, we hustled to erect a shade tent, which got a lotta thumbs up from marchers, drooling over our patch of cool shade. Small town parades have such a different vibe than the big city variety.




The kids caught bulging bags full of candy and enjoyed blowing bubbles at the passing floats.












We saw a unicorn, palm trees made from evergreen boughs for Robin Hood's forest (?), and various patriotic incarnations of Uncle Sam, including one with a big fake piece of cotton taped over his very real, Uncle Sam style white goatee. The gymnasts, dance troupes, marching bands, vacation bible schools, church barbecue promoters, politicians, vintage car enthusiasts, war veterans and civil servants were out en mass.

To some, patriotism means waving tiny American flags made in China or building a squadron of fighter jets from balloons. To others, it is the American right to drive Hummers and giant Hot Wheels toys for rich kids. To some, Patriotism is Homeland Security footing the bill for overkill riot gear vehicles, so the local, small town Sheriff can serve and protect in style.


To others, patriotism is pride in your job, keeping the streets free of garbage, or having the freedom to clear cut large swaths of old growth forests.


To some, it is the right to openly and peacefully protest, whether you're left wing, right wing or a wing nut. To others, it's having a president again who clearly believes in the separation of church and state, that our founding fathers declared necessary for good government.








To us, it is embracing America's diversity, and unique, far ranging mesh of lifestyles and religions, and realizing we have something to learn from everyone.



After the parade, we had a shade tent raising, and 4 of us picked it up and walked it to my sister's back yard. We celebrated with a small barbecue with family and friends, fresh berries from the farmer's market, and Tillamook chocolate ice cream.

The kids created a wacky play with costumes and a creative cast of characters. There was Knee Man, the mystic master who sent the kids on quests. The Moss Grouch, The Shoe of Unhappiness, The Purple Wave of Happiness and Unhappiness, The Unicorn and The Cat and The Masked Creature.

That evening, we donned glow bracelets and necklaces and walked to the local park to play with a balsa wood airplane that the kids caught at the parade. Then they took a last bunch of turns on the teeter totters and merry go round, both "dangerous" park gear, that no longer exist in any of the Chicago play lots I know of.








This may be the only time in their childhoods that they can spin around on a merry go round and watch fireworks fill the night sky.


They also loved the geodesic dome, based on the famous designs by Chicagoan, Buckminster Fuller. I don't think they've been declared dangerous, but I can't think of a Chicago play lot with one of these fun and functional pieces, either. Bucky's the one who described our planet as "Spaceship Earth", a contained system where we need to have clean and uncontaminated air, food and water to survive. He was a smart man with revolutionary designs, way ahead of his time.

The DIY firecrackers and fireworks were fewer and farther between than the urban barrage we're used to. But, we took a night walk and found a good curb perch where we saw quite a few. We sang and laughed while the kids butchered old Queen lyrics..........."Recommend an octopus? Insatiable in appetite." And laughed some more. We drank mugs of red wine and enjoyed the pyrotechnics and scent of burning powder. At one point the smoke trails from some larger blooms trailed across the nearly full moon, and star spangled sky. And it was beautiful.

Patriotic Stories Edition of I ♥ Faces

erutnevdA tsewhtroN cificaP taerG ehT(Or...The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure In Reverse)

Day 11--Sunday, July 5th, we rolled our wheelie suitcases through firecracker debris, and said a sad goodbye to The Pacific Northwest. My sister and John woke up early to make two treks to the Trimet with first the boys and then the girls. Dug and Du left at 6 for a free frequent flyer plane to Dallas and a 2nd AA flight to Chicago that got canceled. Fortunately, they were able to get seats on another less than half an hour later and arrived back after 7 and a half flight hours.

The girls left for the train at 9. We had to pay full price, but got a shorter and cheaper direct flight with United, clocking in at 4 hours 10 min.--since we caught a good tail wind and made it 20 minutes early. Sagezilla was charming and inappropriate as ever in her size 5T "WING MAN" t-shirt, a thrift score and hand me down from her big brother.Our early AM hour and a half train ride was slightly extended when Zilla belted out, "BATHROOM!!!!" slightly over half way to the airport. I sighed and sized up our two backpacks and two bulging rolling packs, then contemplated the joys of traveling with a sopping wet traveling companion, reeking of pee. We got off at the next stop.

A tattooed girl with waist length, multicolored hair and her nose in a book, got off with us. She overheard the dilemma and recommended a local burger place that was just a block away and "Is usually cool about not making you buy stuff to pee if it's a kid." Good. Our kinda joint. We ran up the street, with me lugging all the luggage.

They were ultra kind at the burger place, near the convention center stop, and didn't require a purchase or hassle us about a bathroom key. We bought a lemonade and found they even had a version with fresh raspberries in it. I tried in vain to talk Zilla into that one, but she stubbornly reiterated, "I do love them both, I just don't like things IN stuff!"

I was excited and a little homesick to see what I thought was a Chicago Blackhawks jersey in their case. The kid at the counter grinned and said, "Actually, it's the Portland Winterhawks, but I'm a Blackhawks fan.......and Bears.......and Cubs." Hmmm. Yet another sign of the wormhole linking Portland and Chicago. They have a major junior ice hockey team who has a similar name and identical logo to our own beloved Blackhawks?!?!? How did THAT happen? Looks like time to go home. We made it back to the station just in time, as the next 15 minute train rolled in. The Wing Man tee was working it's charms as we were in a nearly empty car this time with a 6 year old boy, who chatted up Zilla for the next 45 minutes, while I talked with his Dad. They'd come in on a 40 some hour Amtrack trip from Minnesota, only to find that the rental car they'd booked was at PDX and the train brought them to the other small airport across town. He left his wife and two youngest kids there, including one who is mildly autistic and was flipping out a bit at the change in his routine.

He regaled me with tales of their past visit to Chicago. They were passing through for what was supposed to be a one day visit, but accidentally parked in a private versus public garage and got locked in on Friday night, unable to retrieve their car till Monday morning!

Sage's 6 year old friend, William, disclosed his in depth, insider info on how to defeat the lava dwelling octopus in his Mario Space Wii game, between asking "Are we there yet, Dad?" at every stop. Finally Sage sighed loudly and said, "The airport is at the END OF THE LINE. That's why it takes a long time to get there." The two of them had a fine time entertaining each other till "the end of the line."We had an uneventful flight, where Zilla sat directly behind yet another 6 year old. What are the odds. She had a window seat this time, so we enjoyed the view, snapped snowy mountain peak pixs, and played cloud shape games.Back in Chi town, we were again at the airport at the end of the line. And, to give a nice symmetry, we took the blue line home, just like we'd begun on the blue line nearly 12 hours before and half a continent away. We walked the last few blocks home and were licked enthusiastically by our two dogs and reunited with the boys an hour later. Vacations are awesome, but there's no place like home.

We're Back

Yes, we are home at last, and back into a whirlwind week of double camp for Dugan--Eco Explorers at Northpark Nature Center for 3 hours each morning and gymnastics camp for 3 hours each afternoon with Sagezilla. Tomorrow he does a hat trick, where we scored spots in the above two camps plus a "Twits" by Roald Dahl writing workshop in the evening, at 826CHI.

Months ago, nature camp required a 4:30AM--4 hour stake out of a spot in line, by a slew of tired moms and dads, with thermoses of coffee, lawn chairs and good books. I told one dad, "There better be a freakin' rock concert at the end of this line!" There wasn't. But we did get quite a few quizzical looks from the local deer. I think they were laughing at us. Park gymnastics required pleading with neighbors of the kids' school to let me borrow the secret code to their wireless, so I could get a signal in my car, as I frantically hit enter on my lap top. 9am camp registration coincided with morning drop off at school and classes literally fill in minutes. 826CHI is the same way. Ya gotta be quick off the starting block to place in these excellent, free workshops! Oh the joys of urban child raising.The upside of all this campy goodness is, I now have 3 kid-free hours a day to get my freelance writing done, and catch up on ChiIL Mama. There are 8 days left to vote in the GoCityKids Best Blog Contest, so vote for us Chicago style-- early and often. If you're a huge fan, you can vote once a day under every user log in on each computer you have.

Starting tonight, I'm going to recap our 11 day series of adventures in Oregon.....in reverse. So, buckle your seat belts and make sure your tray tables are in the upright position, cause I've got some stories to tell.

Hey from the West Coast

Sorry for the long silence. We're spending 10 days with my sister in Hillsboro, OR, near Portland. We've been too busy doing to do much writing. But after the 6th, I'll be posting a daily, in depth recap, with lots of photos. We caught the roller derby finals for The Rose City Rollers, sampled Voodoo Doughnuts, swam in Jamison Fountain, and had a super fun time exploring Portland.

Yesterday we drove an hour and a half to the coast. We're heading for the ocean again today, in Seaside, OR, where we plan to feed the sea lions at the local aquarium. Then we'll head down the coast to Cannon and Oswald beaches. After that, we plan to tour Tillamook cheese factory, to see where my cheese sandwich obsessed 6 year old's favorite sharp cheddar originates. Rumor is, they have excellent ice cream as well.

Please remember to vote daily for ChiIL Mama in the GoCityKids best blog contest, through July 15th. We're in the final push. Click on the circular button, under the slideshow, at the top, right side of my blog and select ChiIL Mama from the 4 blogs competing. Thanks!