Fun Weekend in Portland

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.~~Gilda Radner

(Left photo: St. Helena ahead covered in snow) It was probably mid-70s over the weekend. I spent a quiet afternoon at the water park, in downtown Portland on Willamette River, with our kids and their two friends from Newberg on Saturday.

Everyone including their grandmothers were out...young and old, different nationalities. There were cyclists,

dog-walkers

artists

musician-wanna-bes

those tossing frisbee around,

a family kicking soccer ball and showing off their talent,

OC-lookalikes arrived in stretch limos,

jet-skiiers, boat cruisers,

families with baby strollers or joggers, hellicopter riders, runners, those on rollerblades, nursing moms, dancers, readers...then there was me, a knitter addict, people and bird watcher with no judgement, no expectation...delving inward to observe and be in the presence, on my path to more self-discovery.

We dropped off the kids at the zoo around 5 pm for their sleepover with Campfire kids. Tom, from our homeschooled group, was most gracious to chaperone our troop so the rest of us parents may be free for an evening. THANK YOU, Tom--you're an angel!

Hubby took me to Bush Garden for dinner--my favorite Sushi! It was the best, freshiest I've had for years...rewinding the clock back to the days when we lived/worked in San Francisco! Walking around downtown/Pioneer Square reminded me of San Francisco–a clone literally. How I miss the Bay Area (not the traffic congestion like driving to/in Portland and the 50-cent panhandlers everywhere)...

Here we were stuck on Morrison Bridge on the way back to OMSI yesterday afternoon

Hubby said we can come here as often as I'd like. He even bought us a family membership at OMSI! That’s promising...

It's exhausting after a tour of the Zoo in the morning and OMSI in the afternoon yesterday, but in all seriousness, a great birthday celebration week for sure.

My only regret was I didn’t get to Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks or Knit Purl in Portland. A spa treat for my feet while shopping at Abundant Yarn, soak or nap in bubbly bliss, or gathering with friends around the Ashiyu foot spa for a knit would have made this a perfect weekend excursion! My friend, Kristin got herself a skein of Colinette Jitterbug at Knit Purl on Saturday–she is a very happy gal!