Day 3--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Day 3-Saturday, June 27th--Tattooed lions, Pants free unicycle riders, Ginormous Sequoia's from 1800's California, Hillsboro Farmer's Market Fun, and Rose City Rollers Season Finale.


We loved seeing the final bout of The Rose City Rollers' two fisted, fast rollin' action. I still want a Breakneck Betty's tee.
Course, I had to explain to Sagezilla, why Derby Girls are allowed to go out in public in their underwear, and she STILL can't. We had a throw down snarkfest yesterday evening when Zilla wanted to wear a silver shirt and some thigh highs, and nothin' else, to the Mama Mia-- 70's ABBA dress up-- movie/sing along at the local library.

When reasoning didn't work, it came down to the ultimatum--you put on shorts or you don't go. Tonight, I told her, if she grows up and is on a roller derby team, then she'll have earned the right to public undie parading, if she still wants to.

Du-Jay kept his cool playin' in the Hillsboro fountain at the Farmer's Market. Markets run every Saturday and Tuesday night throughout summer.
We started the day with a look waaaaaaaaay up at some of Hillsboro's oldest residents. They moved here from California in 1880, as 3 year olds.

Hey--it's Saturday. Do you know where your sequoiadendron giganteum is? TMy how you've grown!

We checked out the Hillsboro Farmer's Market this morning. Maia's place is close enough to the market to walk over.

Here are Sagezilla and Du-Jay's takes on the group--respectively:

We checked out all the artisans' stalls. The kids are always particularly drawn to the pottery and bead makers, and always keep their eyes out for cool, new things to try in our classes. The kids have taken a Saturday family pottery class for 3 years running. We saw some rockin' torsos, garden mushrooms on stakes, and dragonfly cone planters.

At this bead maker's stall, she patiently explained her technique for two sided impressions. The kids each found and bought one special bead, with a variation of our family symbol on it. We usually make a spiral with 4 rays off the top to mark our pottery.
Then the kids had some splashin' good fun in the fountain. We chowed down on local strawberries (at their peak out here, too) and had Thai food for lunch. We also got freshly made mini doughnuts from Mama's Minis. Mmmmm chocolate frosted with and without sprinkles, cinnamon, chocolate with a fresh raspberry on top......In the evening, we had a girls' nite out. Du was tired of train riding, so Maia, Sage and I took the Trimet to The Convention Center where The Rose City Rollers do their stuff.
As an extra bonus, Wanderlust Circus performed between bouts! All their "animals" are gymnasts and acrobats dressed as tattooed and pierced lions and unicycle riding bears...and at half time, bares.



Sagezilla--Just in case you're wondering.........the same rules apply to riding a unicycle without shorts!

This bald dude has mostly mastered slithering out of his shorts while in motion, balanced on a unicycle. And he spent the first intermission riding the unicycle in a hot, furry bear suit, while twisting balloon animals. So he has earned the right to public undie parading. See how that works, kids. You have to have a special talent and practice, practice, practice.





We found the best $5 knee socks ever, from Sock It To Me, in rainbow colored skulls, garden gnomes, candy stripes and crossbones, and good ol' stripey black n white. Then we splurged on Rose City tees and got a bunch of great free stickers from all the teams. We even found free floor score G & R (Guns and Rollers) booming sticks noise makers and plastic checkered flags, under the bleachers.

Then it was time to make like a gymnast and split. We beat the crowds to get a seat on the train. (I feel naked without a camera in my hand. I'm cruuussshhing your head, little sister.)

Zilla practiced her circus moves in her new derby girl knee socks, and fell asleep on the train. When we switched trains, we ended up in the surreal landscape of a train car FULL of tweens and parents coming from a Jonas Brothers concert. Oh what a different crowd that was. All the kids had dog tags with the band's likenesses around their necks, Disney shirts and posters clutched in their hands. The frazzled looking middle aged Moms stared at my mismatched funky punk Pippi, and wished they'd been at the Rose City Rollers instead.

I ♥ Faces--Pets

These starfish from the icy waters of the Pacific Northwest are nobody's pets! But I was astounded at how artfully they arranged themselves along the rocks. At I ♥ Faces, the pets category is loosely defined to include all animals, and I had to include these super stars.

Day 4--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Day 4--Sunday, June 28th--DIY Theatre and down days

This is my 100th blog posting in ChiIL Mama and the final day to vote for ChiIL Mama in the Best Chicago Blog Competition. Regardless of who wins, I'm honored to be chosen as one of the 4 best blogs in Chicago by GoCityKids. Thanks for your votes for the duration of the contest!

Back in preschool, Dugan's teacher referred to weekends as "resting days", since the kids didn't have school. The term has stuck. Even on vacation, it's important to take resting days. We had 3 busy days, traveling and running around getting to know Portland and Hillsboro, and by Sunday, we needed a down day.

I caught a touch of flu and a bad sore throat, so I spent the day chowing down Airborne, fresh ginger slices in water and Ibuprofen. I also spent some quality time in the hammock in my sister's back yard, to let the sun work it's magic. Lots of germs aren't fond of sunlight.

The kids exercised their imaginations and made up the first incarnation of their play, which was to grow and evolve all week. We got to meet Kneeman, the wise midget teacher. He came about when my sister got recruited into the show, but didn't want to wear the hot, sweaty mask. The Shoe of Unhappiness, The Magical Unicorn, The Moss Creature,The Purple Wave of Happiness and Unhappiness, and the Masked Creature, Tonks, also came into being. This kid was born to do Shakespeare!
Sometimes being creative and just hangin' out is the best kind of day to spend. It's easy to get so caught up in doing, we forget to just BE. So today we relaxed and played and didn't plan a thing, answer a phone or so much as check an e-mail.
In the evening, John had to go to work at McMenamin's Grand Lodge Hotel, and Maia and Dug went to join him there and have a few rounds of their specialty brews. Rumor is, they had a great time. The rest of us are hoping to see the hotel later this week.

As resident sick girl, I stayed home and tucked the kids in, and got some rest. Maia has a tent and sleeping bags set up for the kids upstairs, one room over from ours. They have a little lantern and have been having a blast "camping in".
I'd highly recommend it!

Day 5--The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure

Day 5--Monday, June 29th--boss, boss, superbuzzer....Voodoo Doughnuts, Jamison Fountain, Hot Lips pizza and keepin' Portland weird.

Today, my sister had to go back to work till 2pm. So, we relaxed around the house and then went to see the thrift store she manages and meet her "kids". She works with a small group of differently abled adults at a small thrift store. She plans games, art projects and activities for them and runs the store.

One of the women fondly calls Maia her "superbuzzer". The others chorus "boss......boss.....boss." She laughs and says, "I'd like to know who started that one."

One of the men loves to listen to the classic rock station and name the bands and songs. He keeps a running daily list of what's played. And he's amazing at it. Dug and John gave him a run for the money at the band name game, but he was much better than the rest of us! He also had all our names down within minutes of being introduced, while I was still struggling to keep the right names and faces matched. So much for honor society and deans list..........

We found a few thrift scores--Converse hi-tops and a DC Skate shirt for Du and a cute cowboy/horse print skirt and a black jacket for Zilla. Then it was time to help Maia's "Kids" back on their respective buses. It was great to meet everyone and be able to envision where she works.

In the evening, we all took the train to Portland and explored. I'm in love with the Trimet. The trains are SO clean and roomy and tons of people bring their bikes on. There's even a ride free zone around downtown Portland.

Once we reached town, we started out at Voodoo Doughnut. The voodoo dolls ooze raspberry filling when you bite them, like they're bleeding. Fun fun. They even make a bacon doughnut. Mine was staring me down and oozed big puss-like globs of delicious custard when bitten.We "thought" we had coupons from the Rose City Roller Derby. They sponsor The Breakneck Betties and the backs of all our Betties stickers said bring this in to Voodoo Doughnuts for a free Hertz Doughnut. Fortunately for us, John handed his in first and got a nice punch on the arm and a witty, "Hurts, don't it" from the punk behind the counter. Ha, ha, ha.

We love walking in new towns and looking for the funky, fun and playful. Here are a few of our favorite discoveries we happened upon.

**The magnet car covered in words you could walk up and rearrange into weird sentences. I also loved their stickers with Mr. Yuck Face and the one that says "What if the hokey pokey is really what it's all about."

**Keep Portland Weird. (I've seen this bumper sticker for Austin, TX before. Good advice. That's what makes places interesting. Who wants to fly half a continent away and go to Starbucks or McDonalds!!)

**The awesome elephant statue in a tiny park, teeming with the homeless.

**The Outside Inside Windows

**Moon and Marine MammalsWe took our time and explored on our way to Jamison Fountain, so the kids could cool down with the locals. It periodically drains and fills from a small waterfall, and is only a foot or so at the deepest. The kids hopped right in and made friends. They played in the water a good while and when they started to get cold and hungry, we bundled them in multiple hoodies and walked a block to Hot Lips Pizza. The za was delicious and they have a good selection of local micro brews to make the big kids happy.It was a fun and quirky evening. The people we've met here have been great, and Portland is a beautiful city--especially in June, when everything is vibrant, lush and blooming.