The Dynamic Duo

I’m sure taking my sweet time writing about this family vacation, aren’t I? Third episode and we haven’t even got to Portland yet! I’ll try to pick it up a little. If you aren’t quite sure where we are, you may need to go back and review episodes 1 and 2.
I just reviewed episode 2 myself. I talked about the hardships on the oregon trail, and said something to the effect that I wasn’t going to complain so much; then I proceeded pretty much to whine the whole rest of the post about my messed up motel reservation. Is it just me, or does that seem a little hypocritical?
SO, getting back to the vacation, we had reservations in Yachats for the next two nights. It is a small town a bit south of Newport on the Oregon coast (in about the middle). Johnny had Powell’s bookstore on his agenda, and I wanted to see the Japanese Gardens and Portland Zoo, so we decided to do a bit of Portland that day, a beautiful, warm spring Sunday. After a bit of meandering, consulting and perhaps finally asking for directions, we found this most magnificent bookstore of your dreams. Many of you are familiar with Powell’s, but in case you aren’t, it would not be too difficult to spend an entire day there. It is very attractively laid out, with different rooms color coded by subject matter; the rose room for, say, philosophy and religion, the green room, say, for science, etc. There is also a coffee shop and reading room. So, armed with bookstore maps and with helpful attendants at our beck and call, we set out, randomly meeting each other over the course of the next several hours as we browsed to our hearts’ content.
We all bought books, as it turned out. When we reached the car, we showed off our selections. Jim had some knot tying cards, complete with rope for practice. He had selected a book by Washington Irving and one by Mark Twain. I can’t remember what all Johnny had, but I remember he had a book about Caligula he kept reading us parts of. I selected an afghan crocheting book for my sister-in law, who is a new crocheter, and is taking care of my cats. I got a book called “Tell me What to Eat if I have Diabetes”. I also got an intriguing book by Lee Strobel called “A Case for Faith”. It sems like I had one more; I can’t remember…............. Anyway, UltraDad then revealed his purchases. He had three books. Everyone of them was about…............BEAR ATTACKS! Not one, not two, but THREE books about BEAR ATTACKS! ANyway, it was kind of funny, and we gave him a bit of a bad time about it. We have learned some interesting facts about bears; if a black bear attacks you, for instance, do NOT play dead. The black probably plans to eat you, and if you are dead, so much the better. The Grizzly is probably only trying to get rid of you and may lose interest if he thinks you are dead. MAY lose interest….......I don’t think the bears read the manuals, however. And the smart eskimos like to wait to kill the polar bear AFTER he catches the seal, cause then they have the seal too. Pretty smart, huh? Well, I seem to remember more about his books than my own…..
We thought about eating next, but suddenly found ourselves in the vicinity of the Japanese Gardens, so I suggested we have a look at them next. It took a bit of time to find a place to park and actually locate the Gardens, but finally we were at the entrance looking at a sign stating the price of admission: $6.50 apiece. Well, UltraDad stated that he was not going to pay that much and would sit on the bench and wait for whoever did to return. The boys really didn’t have a strong opinion about it, but iI turned out that their student I.D. would save them a dollar or two. I told the family that I thought we should see the Japenese Gardens for Bob and Tomoko, for which they teased me endlessly the rest of the trip. Because there are some people in Japan of whom I am rather fond, I am always looking for new insights into the culture and people of Japan. Anyway, the upshot was that Johnny and I went in, and Dad and Jim waited on the bench. I was glad we got to see it; the gardens were beautiful. Sometime I will post my pictures. There was also an exhibit of Japenese dolls, which was quite interesting. I probably would have taken more time if it weren’t for the bench sitters. Johnny mentioned that the sand garden didn’t seem to be very well kept though. The patterns were kind of messed up, and there was a bit of garbage in the sand.
Be sure to come back tomorrow to read about the Portland Zoo! It just keeps getting more and more exciting, doesn’t it?
signed,
Your Vacation Chronicler Ultra Mom