9/13/07-9/20/07 Keep Portland Weird!!

Our first day in Portland, we raced from Lincoln City to make a homeschooler park day in Hillsboro just west of Portland. We met 6 or so really nice families and i was so glad for this network to hook up with folks across the country who are so warm and welcoming. I shared about our travels and that inspiring book "The Four Hour Work Week". And it just so happened that a few of their husbands had recently been laid off and were looking for something new..

After a few hours we headed to our RV park and checked ourselves in. Early the next morning we went to the OMSI
the local Science Museum and spent the whole day. The Body Works exhibit is there and although I saw it in LA, Steve
had not seen it nor had the boys, they all liked it. Your can see all the organs of the body, skin, bones, muscles, nerves, it
is really amazing. They have a huge Discovery center area with hands on play for kids and lots of art projects too.

Over the next week we really did this town. We attended a street fair that was 16 some blocks long with lots of live music, hands on art for the kids and shopping of course. We brought our hoops and hooped to the music. I would swear at the street fair that we were at Burning Man, there were 10 or more art cars, fully decorated and painted, everyone was dressed funky and very individual. They have a motto here in Portland, Keep Portland Weird, it is meant to honor small business and individual efforts and expression, to keep the walmarts out. It really captures the feel here, it is a very different vibe from Southern California where hip is expensive and there is a look and an attitude seperating the have's and have nots.

Here in Portland, every look is hip, funky is hip, everything is cool, diversity is really in and there does not seem to be a line between the haves and have nots. There are a lot of Burners here in Oregon, i met one at a homeschooler park day we attended, she had purple dreds, so i had to ask.. were you at burning man this year?? not this year she said, but many years prior, she was pregnant with #4 and had done Burning man pregnant before and it wasn't the best time, maybe next year..

We had a blast playing in the Salmon Street Fountain, 8 giant firehoses aimed at the middle and Reese ran right through it! ok, i dared him. Luc chickened out, what are you a man or a mouse i asked, a mouse he replied laughing.. The day before, he started saying randomly "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".. we laughed for an hour over this one, i guess he heard it on a Scooby movie.

We spent a whole day at the Childrens Museum they had awesome water play, clay sculpting, huge random art scupture, theater with stage and costumes (Luc and Reese were rock stars and jammed to guitars and sang for 90 minutes like Mick Jagger while mom laughed hystericaly), tons of magnet balls, squares, Kapla building blocks, and on and on..

We also spent a whole day at the Discovery Museum Forestry Center where they offered a real river raft simulation ride, a parachute jumping simulation, tractors to climb on and best of all 4 different jungles to visit around the world from riding the trans siberian train in Russia to being on the canopy in Brazils rainforest to a jungle jeep ride through Africa to China, very educational and fun the best combination.

Yes we rested a little but not much, we were busy going to Lazer tag, park days and hit a few indoor play places and parks too. I also got to visit my Great Aunt and her daughter an old friend from high school and a friend from the South Bay who lives here now. It was so nice to reconnect, i feel that whereever i go, there are family and friends new and old and warm houses to welcome us.