Girls trip! Literally girls, Saige and her two buddies. I remember that was a thing when I was in college. It was always called the mens basketball team but the girls basketball team (or ladies). Mens cross country, girls cross country. And so forth. Sometime between back then and now, girl’s teams are now women’s teams. Which I’m certain was met with confused commentary from some men as to why it matters. There was a quote I read over summer, on a post about our small town. It was in June, and some horrible person(s) tore down all the pride flags business had up on the main drag. Side note: it was helpful to see which business didn’t put up a flag, to know where not to shop. But the quote was stellar replying to all the commenters (white, CIS men—shocker) who had nasty things to say. “When you’re used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” That has sat with me, so spot one. I’ll never understand why anyone cares how others live, so long as they aren’t hurting anyone. Some people take everything as a personal attack. Those people are weird. I digress. PORTLAND!
Portland came about because of our failed attempt to get there back in May. We were supposed to hit Portland on our way home from The Dalles. Thanks to a flat tire, we spent four hours at a gas station in a random small town along the Columbia River. Time ran out to make it to Portland.
The reason for the Portland stop was to do the Beverly Cleary walking tour. Saige’s buddy is a fan of the Ramona Quimby books and really wanted to make the tour happen. I felt bad. Damn flat tire. I suggested we make a one-nighter trip down to Portland, specifically for the walking tour. And that’s what we did.
Saturday
We picked a late August weekend. A Saturday-Sunday. Saige’s buddy, her mom, another buddy, Saige, and I pulled out just after 8am Saturday morning. One buddy’s older brother was in Japan with their dad, and her younger brother—one of Baby’s buddies—stayed at our house with Brian and the other kiddos while we went to Portland. Hitting the road bright and early on a Saturday morning was perfect; we didn’t hit any traffic heading south. It was a smooth drive to Portland. We crossed over the state line close to 11am. (That makes me think of Great White, haha! I haven’t though about them years. “You didn’t know what rock ‘n’ roll was; Until you met my drummer on the grey tour bus; I got there in the nick of time; Before he got his hands across your state line, yeah.”)
The girls forgot their goggles. First stop, Target. Goggles were needed for the hotel pool, a big part of the girls’ Portland plan. Just after the Colombia River, we took the Hayden Island exit. There’s a Target there, and bonus tax-free shopping. Each kiddo picked out goggles and we set out to find a place for lunch. Saige wanted McDonald’s because who knows why? But when we travel places, I like to find restaurants we can’t eat at anywhere around home. Not that we never go to familiar places. We do, for ease. But that’s usually when we’re in a pinch and have five tired kiddos from traveling, and we’re not up for a five-way discussion on where to eat.
We found a floating cafe on Hayden Island. Sold. We left Target and made the quick five minute drive over to the marina. Technically, we left Target first to drive around to find a place. We ended up pulling into a parking lot where we found the floating cafe while searching online for a local restaurant.
Adorable cafe. It almost felt like I was in the Caribbean. Well, St. Croix because that’s the only place I’ve been down that way (for now, a fun trip down that way is on the books for December). The weather was warm but had a breeze. The dock to the restaurant had an adorable little beachy shop to nose about while waiting for our table. I have to laugh, the girls kept pulling these swimsuit coverups/beach dresses saying they were cute, and one of the kiddos really wanted one. I had to point out that they’re not 60 yet, haha. Not that they couldn’t have rocked them and looked adorable, but think Golden Girls.
Maybe 20 minutes later our table was ready. We had a nice lunch. It was a covered outdoor patio, right on the water. We kept being reminded we were on a floating cafe because it would be still and then someone would walk, and then we’d move slightly. We ate and chatted, and finished up with the plan to head to Oaks Amusement Park next. Surprisingly, lunch wasn’t overpriced. Like everything else these days. Saige and I walked away for just under $30, with a 20% tip.
Back on the road, to Oaks Amusement Park. It was a hot afternoon now, and the amusement park was packed. We opted to roller skate first. According to their website, the Oaks Park roller rink is home to America’s oldest and most famous Roller Rink. We quickly filled out waivers outside, and then went into the cooler rink. It doesn’t have AC but they have fans and it was darkish, which kept it bearable. Saige knows how to skate, and I think it was either both of her buddies’ first times or they were still new to skating. They both did great though! They picked it up pretty quickly. I wasn’t going to skate because I was wearing a dress but decided to go for it after sitting for about 15 minutes watching all the skaters. Major FOMO, haha.
My most favorite skater I was watching was an older gentleman, probably pushing mid-70s, skating like it was what he was born to do. And he probably has been skating for the past 60+ years. He appeared to be there by himself, and he was moving and grooving on his skates. I had rented a locker for my purse, and kept the locker key in the pocket of my dress (all dressed need pockets!). I was skating with my hands in my pockets because I worry about all the things, and didn’t want the key to fall out. The older gentleman skated next to me and asked me about my skating style. All in good fun, and then he put his hands in his pockets as he skated away from me, haha.
It was starting to get warm in the rink. I called it good and found a fan to sit in front of to cool down. The girls eventually found me—and the fan—and they decided they were finished also. We all turned in our skates and left the rink for the amusement park. It was still hot. And crowded. Saturday people. Not my thing. As we walked to the kiosk to find out how rides work—be it pay-by-ride or pay an entry fee—I noticed a bifold sign that I wish I had taken a picture of to recall it exactly, but it had rules outlined along the lines of be nice, treat workers with respect, etc. And I immediately thought, oh, it’s that kind of place. It was a turn-off to me. I was mentally out, no interest in staying. If any place has to tell their customers to be nice and treat people with respect, it’s not a place for me. Common sense and decency shouldn’t have to be outlined. Perhaps I’m wrong for feeling this way but I do, so there. Haha.
Turns out it was pretty pricey for the few rides Saige’s buddy wanted to do. She was only interested in a handful of rides, and there wasn’t an option to pay for rides individually. She was disappointed but seemed to understand as we called it good, and left for the parking lot. The parking lot reaffirmed my bad vibe instincts. There was a boyfriend and girlfriend yelling, screaming, back and forth, dropping fucks non-stop, and getting louder and louder as they talked over each other. The girls were taken aback, clearly not their normal. A guy in a golf cart was heading their way, and he seemed unfazed.
We mapped to the hotel and left Oaks Amusement Park. When we picked a hotel, I had no idea about the different parts of Portland,. I still don’t. I found a nice hotel in the Pearl District, and we picked that one because it has free breakfast and the indoor pool is pretty impressive. All based on pictures, which are always nicer than in real life. But it’s nice in person. I will add that knowing nothing about the Portland districts was fine, I was in no way concerned about whatever Fox news entertainment tells people. Portland is not a war zone. Kind of like back during the pandemic, when Seattle had Chaz going on, and Fox entertainment photoshopped armed guards into pictures. Brian went to Chaz, it was like a never-ending street fair and/or flea market. Mostly peaceful. There were a few shootings but hey, America. If we do anything well, it’s killing people with guns. I digress. Portland was fine. Not once did I feel unsafe, or felt like I shouldn’t expose kids to whatever goes on there.
Valet parking was the only option at the hotel. It seemed common for all downtown hotels to only offer valet parking. Which I learned when looking for hotels. I had hoped to hit the trifecta, and find a hotel with free breakfast, a nice indoor pool, and free parking. Eh, two out of three is pretty great. Our room technically only allowed for four guests, which was the original plan when we booked. The bonus buddy decided to join us a few days before we left. Saige and I went to check in while my friend and Saige’s two buddies dealt with valet parking. With everything settled, we met up in the room. Nice place. It felt either new or recently renovated.
The first plan of attack was to hit the pool. The girls quickly suited up and we went down to the pool. It’s a nice hotel pool. It’s split in two sections—with one side being a standard pool and the other side being more for kids, like a splash zone. There’s a tall mushroom water fountain-type thing, a killer whale slide, and some buckets that fill up with water and tip over. The girls jumped right in and got to swimming. With their new goggles of course. While they were int he pool, my friend and I looked up places for dinner. The consensus was pizza, a cheaper way to feed the five of us. And I really wanted an alcoholic beverage. I had my first drink in like 14 years when we went to Las Vegas in 2022. And I had maybe two since, until Portland.
Before pizza, the rooftop deck. Turns out the hotel has one. We went up to check it out. It’s nice and all, but nothing fancy. Literally a deck with some tables and chairs, and a few benches. There’s also a roof garden. Not terribly big but enough space to enjoy the deck without feeling like you’re imposing on others up there. It was time for pizza.
The pizza joint we decided on was a few blocks from the hotel, and they had drinks. I’m a stickler for routine, and like a lemon drop. I don’t vary because I know what I like, which is another way of saying I’m boring, haha. It was a snazzy pizza joint. Like reservations and adult-only seating inside, because of the bar. We lucked out, having no reservation, there were ample tables open outside.
The sidewalk is wide enough to have tables on either side, and still have a walkable path in the middle. We were seated at a table alongside the restaurant window. Which was kind of poor planning on their part, as there’s a high-top table along the restaurant window. The restaurant is slightly raised from the sidewalk, and our eye-level looking into the window are people’s crotches. Thankfully, there was nothing to see but anyone wearing a skirt might want to think a bit before sitting there. I’m laughing here, because I don’t really like the word crotch so I googled a synonym and this came up, the forked part of the human body between the legs. I’ll just leave crotch. Man, typed that word three times now.
Fancy pizza. It was good, we ordered two pizzas and a salad to all share. And drinks for us moms. Next up, ice cream.
Turns out there are about three different ice cream shops within walking distance of the pizza joint. We picked one because it was on the way back to the hotel. One was Ben & Jerry’s, which is great ice cream. But we could go to Ben & Jerry’s here so we nixed that as an option. Cosmic Bliss is where we ended up. I always feel bad for Brian, he really wanted to name a daughter Bliss, and I vetoed it four times. I’d still veto it and I’m not even that much of a name person, even though we ended up with an unintentional theme.
Cosmic Bliss is in a massive space. I was surprised how large their shop is, all for ice cream. It’s fun, modern, and colorful. And the ice cream is tasty. Although, I’m boring and stick with vanilla. Each of the girls chose a different flavor and there were no complaints. Us moms were amused that their half-scoops are called microdoses. We decided to settle in there and eat our ice cream. The space is so nice!
Pizza and ice cream (and a lemon drop), check. It was time to swim again. The girls had big plans to hit the pool back at the hotel. But first, the rooftop deck. We went up to check out the nighttime views. It was pretty. I had no point of reference as to where were in Portland but I liked seeing all the lights. To let their food settle a bit, they watched a movie while us moms went down to the hotel bar… for more drinks!
It sounds like we’re drunks but really, we were not drunk in the slightest. It had already been about two hours since our first drink. Perhaps I’m oversensitive to drinking because I never drink, and my parents were super anti-alcohol, and it was never allowed in our home. Except that one can of Budweiser that sat in our refrigerator for yeeeaaarrrs in case my grandfather wanted a beer. I think we ended up leaving it in the fridge long after he died?! Until my mom moved houses after my dad died. Anyway, we had another drink (or two, for me), and the girls were texting us to come back up. Saige is a scaredy cat, and didn’t want to be alone anymore.
But really, they wanted to swim. When we walked back into the hotel room, they were all in their swimsuits ready to head back down to the pool. So we went. They were in the pool another hour before we called it a day, and went to the room to ready for bed around 10pm. We had big plans for Sunday!
Sunday
Sunday! It was a jam-packed day. The girls were up around 7:30am. The other mom was up on the rooftop deck, taking on the phone with her oldest who was in Japan. I got up with the girls and we went down to the free hotel breakfast. It was busy. Luckily we found a large table for all of us, and each of the girls made a breakfast plate for themselves from the breakfast buffet. Kids, they eat with their eyes at breakfast buffets. I suppose the hotels factor all that into the cost and what all they put out. Because free breakfast hotels aren’t really free, the rooms are slightly more. But when you have multiple kids, it works out to be cheaper.
Saige! This kid, she trips over her own feet. I can’t even count how many times she’s been eating dinner, sitting, and then just falls out of her seat/off the stool. It’s so weird. And at breakfast, she was literally just eating and then somehow flipped her entire tray over, spilling all her food and chocolate milk. I seriously have to idea how she managed this. That wasn’t the only excitement at breakfast. There was a shirtless man on a bike outside, that we wouldn’t have even noticed if not for him toting a bathtub on his bike! Haha, it must be for hauling things?! Taking a page from Saige’s book, he somehow managed to knock over his bike with the bathtub attached. All of us eating breakfast watched how he tackled standing the sucker back up. He eventually did and proceeded to ride away.
We cleaned up and finished breakfast. It was about time to pack up and pull out of the hotel. But not before a post-breakfast morning swim.
An hour morning swim, a quick shower for the girls, and we were waiting on the curb for the car. There was another group of women, two moms and a late teenage daughter, that we kept running into. In the elevator, on the rooftop deck, on the way to pizza, and again waiting for the car. They were waiting for an Uber. They were off to do some sightseeing and they asked our plan. We told them Voodoo Doughnut and then the Romona Quimby Walking Tour. My friend said the mom of the teenager perked up when we mentioned Ramona, that she could tell her daugther had read the books. But the daughter was too cool to show any excitment, haha. To be a teen again.
Their Uber came and then our car. We loaded and left for Voodoo Doughnut. Good thing we got there when we did. The line extended out the door after we got in line. They even have those amusement park poles that zig zag back and forth outside of the front door. They must get some massive lines to have those installed permanently. Behind us was a family having a reunion, noted by their matching shirts that said Last Name Family Reunion 2023. Cute and all. But I’m not sure I’m on the matching shirt kick yet. In fairness, it was probably one family member that excitedly made all the shirts and everyone else went along with it to make the one person happy.
The line went fast. They clearly know how to handle mass amounts of people. Saige and I decided on a dozen, to take home with us for the rest of the family. I was slightly overwhelmed with all the doughnuts so I just told the guy to give me a dozen doughnuts that kids would like. He said he knew exactly which ones to pick, and proceeded to quickly make a dozen appear in the pink box. He didn’t include the penis-shaped doughnut, although the kids would have gotten a kick out of that one. We left once we all had doughnuts in hand.
Next up, the long awaited walking tour. The whole point of the trip. After doughnuts, of course. The girls each ate their selected Voodoo Doughnut before we set out on the 2.62 mile jaunt, according to my Apple Watch.
Walking with Ramona
We parked alongside Grant Park and started with the sixth stop of the tour, the Grant Park Statue Garden. The walking tour, in pictures (and probably some added ramblings).
6. Grant Park Statue Garden
7. Beverly Cleary School, Hollywood Campus
On the way to the school,. we were walking along the sidewalk when I noticed two older folks chatting and saying their goodbyes as before each got into their respective cars. The man said to the woman,”Get on the list!” as he closed his car door. I’m getting old because I now randomly talk to people. I looked at her and asked, “What list do we need to get on?!” She wasn’t sure I was talking to her at first and just kind of looked at me, and then realized what I asked and smiled. Turns out they were talking about a knee replacement list. She went on to say her husband had both knees replaced and he is back up and moving. He’s even back to hiking! At 79. Good for him! We had a nice little chat before parting ways.
8. One of Beverly Cleary’s Childhood Homes
9. Klickitat Street
1. Hollywood Library
The library was open. The girls went inside to check out the selection. I had to remind Saige we couldn’t check out any books since it’s a different library system than we have up here. The kid is a bookworm and would probably have preferred to stay in the library instead of continuing the walking tour. And a biking goat! I’m not sure if this is sanctioned art but I love that someone put a goat with a cape on the bike lane marker. Real life needs more fun.
2. Rite Aid Store
3. Old Hollywood Library
Not only did we find the old library, we also found a little free library. It was near #4; I think next door actually?!
4. One of Beverly Cleary’s Childhood Homes
5. Beverely Cleary School, Fernwood Campus and QFC
Combining these two because full-size pictures look funny on a browser window. And I’m not 100% certain the QFC is actually the right site. I think we were getting tired and hot by now, and went with this as the tour stop. If it’s not 100% correct, it’s 99% close enough.
A few notes from the tour. THIS house. I’m not even a Tudor house fan but man, this house was stunning. Perhaps it’s because it’s up on a hill, and the landscaping is on point. Of course I went on Redfin to be a Nosey Rosey. I was surprised the houses weren’t as pricey as I would have guessed. The neighborhood was absolutely beautiful. It kind of reminded me of Old Sacramento, as a point of reference from my world.
Walking back to Grant Park, we passed more beautiful homes. One family was out front talking with another family in a car. The woman asked if we were doing some kind of scavenger hunt. I told her we were doing the Ramona walking tour and she was like ooohhhh. Clearly (or Cleary, haha) we caught the attention of local residents as we nosed about their ‘hood.
Back in the car parked along Grant Park, it was time to hit up GPS to get us back to the 5 north. It was time to head back to Washington. The plan heading home was to stop for pedicures and lunch.
We settled on Longview because they had like 12 nail salons on the map. More like 20 looking at a map now. I randomly picked one that was a bit off the freeway but it worked out well. For not having appointments, they were able to fit all five of us in without much of a wait. Sure, a few had to wait with their feet in the spa but it was better than waiting in the lobby area. The girls are so cute! And they were this day also. They seemed to love the experience and each picked out pretty colors for their tootsies. We finished up there and went on a hunt for lunch in Longview.
Whenever we are in Longview—usually driving through to get to Cannon Beach—I always think of the first time we stopped there back in 2012, when we made our inaugural trip to Cannon Beach. Blaise and Laine were one and two, and we stopped at a park in Longview to stretch their legs. A cute kid, about eight, came up to me and started chatting. He told me his dad was in jail and that his favorite song was Low by Flo Rida. That is my Longview reference, haha. I cannot not think of that kiddo whenever we’re in Longview. Hopefully he broke the jail tradition because he’s probably in his early 20s by now.
Chipotle for lunch. I’m starting to really like middle-aged women as service workers. Not that I haven’t loved them in the past. But a younger me always went to guys because, well, you tend to get special treatment if they find you attractive. But now as a 44-year-old, the women are by far the best. At Costco, I only go to checkout lanes where women are the cart loaders. The men are AWFUL at loading carts. Like bread and fruit on the bottom, and items placed randomly back in the cart. The women, they KNOW how to load a cart. I’ve had okay men in the past, but never a terrible woman loader.
Same goes with my choice of workers at Chipotle. I get chicken and cheese, two things. (I’m back to being non-vegetarian for now. And still boring.) Most young workers abide by the small amount of meat, despite me having nothing else other than cheese. And cheese, they put the most minuscule amount of cheese on the pathetic amount of chicken. Not middle-aged women. They load on the meat and cheese, because they get it. And they’re probably sick of being told how to do things at their point in life.
At the Longview Chipotle, the middle-aged woman hooked me up. I had double the amount of chicken and cheese, and it actually filled out the tortilla like any other taco with all the fixings. I’ll now add this wonderful Chipotle worker to my Longview references, with the young kid.
Back on the road for the looooong drive home. Traffic galore. Of course, Sunday afternoon. We eventually made it home around 6pm, and Brian had a tri-tip dinner waiting, with mashed potatoes and broccoli. We all ate and said our goodbyes to Saige’s buddies and the one younger brother who stayed at our house.
Man, It felt good to be home. I love going places and having experiences, but I am a homebody at heart. And score for finally checking off the walking tour! It was worth going back down to Portland for the sucker.
jumpingraccoons.com 