Portland, September 2010: Day Two

Thursday, September 2, 2010

I couldn't believe it - my kid went to bed at 11:15 the night before (1:15 a.m. our time), and here he was, acting all "good morning, sunshine!" at what felt like the crack of dawn - the sky was still dark outside. I squinted and double-checked the clock on the microwave in our room (no, we were not sleeping in a kitchen - my brother put us up in his super-swank giant massage room, with a huge, comfy, double-futon bed and lots of lovely blankets. Masseuses like having a microwave handy to warm up heating pads and other massage-y stuff) and it was, indeed, not quite even 7 a.m. yet.

YAWN!

But on the plus side, Ayize was a dang cute sight to wake up to.

I was still in disbelief over his lack of sleep. "Aren't you super tired, honey?" I asked him hopefully. No answer. I tried again. "How tired are you, sweets?"

"Dis much," was his answer.

A good while later (I first had to overcome a nasty bout of nausea brought on by the turbulent flight the evening before and some weird neck pains), we were cleaned up and ready to roll. We said goodbye to Bahar who was headed off to work; then Jo Jo and I set out for a stroll with Ayize. Destination: La Petite Provence, my fave breakfast spot in all of Portland.

Luckily, there's one within walking distance of Jo Jo's house.

It was a lovely, leisurely stroll. Ayize and I stopped to smell the roses...and just about every other growing thing we encountered - along our meandering route.

I told him that we called these "silver dollars" when I was a kid...

...cuz they shine like coins in a purse when the sun hits 'em just right.

Our beloved Chihuahua mix, Weeman, was missed (as always), so faithful "Scary Spider" was being walked in his stead.

Ayize paused to gape at this cool sight...

...an old roof being ripped off, unceremoniously, by a crew of workmen. Shingles rained down on the sidewalk below, as we watched from our safe spot across the street. Very cool.

A block later, Little Man spotted this feline friend. He was very concerned that she was outside - outdoor kitties are a rarity in our hometown - and even more concerned, I guess, that she was under this car ("Danger!"). So he squatted down and began to call repeatedly with great consternation, "Kitty, come on!" despite the fact that she blatantly ignored him, no matter how high his volume.

Finally, we convinced him to move on, but as he stood up to walk away, he stabbed a finger at her stubbornly, then gestured towards the house with great dramatic flair, and shouted a parting, "Kitty, GO IN HOUSE!" as I scooped him up and lugged him away, half-laughing, and half-terrified that the resident inside would come storming out, demanding to know why we were harassing his poor cat.

Scary Spider (and his athletic master) continued to hold up admirably, all the long way to La Petite Provence.

Breakfast was THE BIZZ-NOMB. I ordered an egg-and-cheddar-cheese croissant with a side of butternut squash soup off the kid's menu, and the portion was so generous that I was grateful I'd only ordered a coffee for myself! Ayize ate about 90% of the huge helping of cheesy eggs, and he even worked on the croissant a bit - this was in addition to the many snacks he'd devoured on the way over and at our table as we waited for food to arrive. But he turned his nose up at the giant bowl of soup, so between my two coffees, the soup, and much of the croissant, I was happily sated as well.

Man. I miss that place already.

Afterwards, we headed down the street to a secondhand clothes store. I needed a jacket because while the days were warm, the evenings were cooling off considerably, and we had a lot of nighttime shindigs ahead of us.

Jo Jo got an awesome lightweight "Italia" jacket that had us laughing (but I still love it!) and I only regret that I have no photo here to share. I found a brown Aeropostale collared jacket and a cute halter top with a funky print that I fell in love with accidentally; it presented itself to me as I was hunting for jackets, and I couldn't resist. Everything in the store was five bucks or under so I splurged and got both.

As we left, I spotted this dress in the window which I also loved, but I felt guilty enough about the unnecessary-but-cute halter top, that I regretfully forced myself to walk away.

I did so love the dress though...

...but I can't say I had the same feelings for the creepy mannequin. LOL

On the stroll home, Uncle Jo Jo did some cool stroller tricks that had Ayize smiling.

He saw another cat and tried to admonish it back towards the nearest house, just as he had before - then changed tactics abruptly, and hollered at it, "I am Ayize!" To further prove this point, he poked himself hard in the cheek several times, accenting each word.

Man, he was a goner. A nap could not be far behind.

We paused to note the neat edges of a lawn. The edger had done more than just beautify the landscape, however...

...it had also apparently cleanly decapitated this big, beautiful beetle.

Oh, dear! I was, predictably, totally saddened by this, which led to a discussion about perspective (and my lack of it - no argument there! ha ha ha), and when we looked down at Little Man a moment later, he was snoozing hard.

Zzzzzz.

And yet, he never let go of his Mighty Morphin Power Ranger power coins (yes, another awesome tiny treasure from our post-garage sale haul), even in his deep slumber. Now that's dedication!

I stopped to snap a photo of this lovely lawn decor. Keep Portland weird!

Almost to Jo Jo's house. We were stepping up our walk a bit because Ayize was really sleeping deep now, and I didn't want to miss the little window I get in which to transfer him successfully from stroller (or car seat) to bed. But I did pause for a moment to note this unusual street name.

I had been really excited to see our friend Elin, who was coming to town the next day to spend the night and hang out. So much so, in fact, that as we passed this curb (in Portland, many street names are imprinted on corner curbs), I shouted out that we were on "Elin-Colin Street", and what a weird street name it was, but how cool, and especially, how coincidental that it had the name "Elin" in it. My brother eyed me coolly, as if I'd had a few too many mimosas with my breakfast. "It's 'East Lincoln', dude."

Oh. Oh yeah. Now that ya mention it...

One block down, along the same stretch of street, I excitedly pointed to the next corner curb. My brother eyed the letters I was pointing to warily, perhaps thinking I'd hallucinated more proper names...but then he had to laugh along with me. Somebody in the Portland Streets department apparently had a sense of humor about spelling.

Serious snoozing going on. The sun was so strong that I stuck his beloved Thomas ball cap over his face to shield him from the rays.

Just a couple blocks more to go. This sunflower was glorious in the morning light.

A half a block from Jo Jo's house, we passed this amazing flower. It looked like a bursting firework.

Home, we arrived, and the transfer was a smashing success. Ayize ended up napping almost three hours more. Score!

Then, with a loud, "Mama," he was up. And very cheerful!

He lugged this giant tin of fancy Belgian chocolate-wafer cookies over to Jo Jo and started begging, "Cookie, please!" I set him down to eat lunch first, but afterwards, Jo Jo gifted him with a "cookie". His eyes gleamed. That kid has some classy taste!

Then he scoped out Jo's computer as I packed our diaper bag for the afternoon.

Out we headed, to Oaks Park, an amazing and antiquated amusement park. Along the way, we drove behind this car for a stretch. This person, Jo Jo explained, was probably a realtor who had simply thrown this sign into his car after pulling it off a "FOR SALE" sign; still, it brought me much joyous mirth.

We arrived at the park and somehow got the absolute primo most A-#1 rock star spot available, despite the place being extremely full. Woo hoo!

We headed in through the main gates. After a short wrestling bout with Ayize (he was not at all into wearing the adhesive wristband, yikes), we headed to our first stop...

...predictably, the choo-choo train. All aboard!

Next, we rode the hot-air balloons, which took us way up in the sky. This is actually a photo Jo Jo took later, from the top of the Ferris wheel, to show just how high they go. Lots of fun for Ayize - though a little scary for me, because I'm a dork, and have never truly conquered my big-time vertigo.

Then we went on Big Pink, a giant gunny-sack slide. Here's another of Jo's Ferris wheel pics to show it from afar...

...and here it is, up close. A horrid name, I know, I know. But an awesome slide-ride - definitely one of the fastest around!

Ayize actually went down between us, on his own sack, holding one of each of our hands. He was thrilled to go "big boy" style for the first time in his life. It was really neat to see how happy and excited he was.

He liked these up-and-down submarine ships, which started off with a pretty crazy jerk, but I was a bit bummed that they had fake guns attached. He, on the other hand, thought they were pretty cool. Of course.

This amusement park is super old - the oldest continually-running one in the nation, I believe - so lots of the rides are super-campy and antiquated. Kind of cool, actually, in a way, cuz you'd never find something like this at a Disneyland or Six Flags anymore.

Next, Ayize went on his first roller coaster ride. Which is, fittingly, named the Zoom. Ha ha ha, too perfect!

This thing is pretty old and rickety, but it was a great introductory ride because it only has one big climb-and-drop (which isn't even all that big - think midway between the Jetsons and the Whizzer, if you're a Great America fan), and then a series of smaller drops, plus some real head-rattling (but fun) bumps and twists. Also, it does two circuits, the first one being a bit slower, so it kind of "builds up" to the big final ride.

Anyway, I worried that he would freak out, but he LOVED it. He screamed "wheeee!" happily alongside me and the other passengers, and afterwards, he kept talking about the exciting "choo-choo" ride we'd just done. I shielded his head really well with my free arm so he didn't jostle too much or bump his head.

Anyway, mucho funno. The Whizzer is next on our list now!

Jo Jo took this shot of us as we rode; he was sitting right behind us.

I hoped the buggies wouldn't be too much of a letdown, but he loved them, too - they had loud, obnoxious, funny buzzers that he could operate with a button, and he liked the steering wheel. The cars bumped up and down gently along a track and had funny faces, which he appreciated.

I like this shot because I happened to catch Jo Jo in it too, smiling in the background, as we watched Ayize goofily enjoy his little car ride.

Next, we did the Rockin' Tug. I actually got a bit nervous just before it started up, remembering how pukey and sick I was all morning, but the ride was fine, and lots of fun.

Round and round he went, next, on the...

..."moter cycles."

(Sorry, the English major in me was crying tears of pain at the sight of this.)

Next, the Lewis and Clark Adventure, which is one of those goofy rides where you get on a creaky old mining-car type of thing, and ride through the dark with stuff popping out at you.

A snippet of old video for Jo Jo from a year and a half ago - too bad it cannot fully capture the campy, set-from-a-grade-school-play, awesomeness of this ride.

Then, the merry-go-round. This ancient carousel is covered in quaint, odd, old paintings - Jo Jo and I particularly noticed one of a girl carrying a little doll that looked a bit like a baby corpse, yikes - and the animals are all unique. Ayize chose to ride the pig, and made great grunting sounds as he galloped round and round on his porcine steed. I also saw cats, dogs, frogs, a giraffe, a white tiger, ostriches, a zebra, and a host of other cool animals to choose from.

We made our way towards the Ferris wheel, but just as we were about to board, Ayize bolted and ran to the fence surrounding the nearby go-cart track. Jo Jo headed on alone, and I snapped this photo of him from way down below. Note his camera - he was snapping the photos I posted a little earlier.

And he, in turn, snapped this shot of us from way up above.

A serious need for speed.

Another of Jo Jo's photos, this one of the same rack from his perch high above.

Our next ride was a clear-cut choice, given Little Man's unbridled eagerness.

Gentlemen (and mamas), start your engines!

Ayize was mega-hyped about his go-carting debut. I had a hard time figuring out this crazy harness though.

* Sigh *

Again, with the English major bullshit. Sorry, guys. But I mean, this sign was super Eats, Shoots & Leaves, if ya know what I mean. Breaking versus braking. And all that other good stuff.

Somebody had a crash or ran out of gas or some other crisis, and Jo Jo managed to angle his cart right alongside ours while we were all forced to stop for a few minutes. I got this shot of him...

...and he got this one of me. Ayize was slunk super low in his seat, but I asked him if he was scared, and he shouted, "I happy, Mama!"

Mmmm-kay.

As we walked away from the go-cart course, we passed this shooting gallery. Somebody was very eager to try his hand at it! I gave him two quarters (see foreground)...

...and he popped them in their appropriate slots with a quickness!

Bobby & Clyde.

Every time I snapped a photo, all the various people/animals/watering cans/pianos/hotel lights/etc. would go insane and jump into motion, lights would flash, and a happy siren would holler out. Jo Jo realized that the guns emitted a little bit of light; the flash from my camera was making every single target think it was being hit simultaneously.

We flashed them shits a bunch more times, delighting Ayize with all the cacaphony and chaos, until an amusement park employee walked up and sternly informed us that there was no flash photography allowed. Busted!

We passed the entrance to the choo-choo train and decided that there's no such thing as too much of a good thing - so round the park we rode once more.

"Tugga-tugga-tugga-tugga, tugga-tugga-tugga-tugga, toot toot!" It was his jolly refrain all week.

Little legs were getting tired. Big arms came to his aid.

The Tilt-a-Whirl was next.

This one had some super spins in certain corners. I was dizzy as all get-out when we got off the ride, and we walked all the way around its border one and a half times before we found the exit. Luckily, I remained not nauseous - amazingly!

Last ride of the day was another spin on the old carousel, located right by the exit. Jo Jo jumped on this ... rooster?? ...

...and snapped a shot of me and Ayize in out little carousel teacup.

I ran to use the washroom and when I returned, I covertly snapped this shot of Jo Jo and Ayize squatting together in front of the Candy Crane. Ayize was eagerly fumbling around in the flip-open slot...

...before pulling out his stash, and turning to face me. Caught in the act! Too too funny.

He actually doesn't like candy (crazy, I know) but he loves collecting cute little things, so he reveled in his treasure trove, exclaiming over it exultantly, king of his candy castle.

Jo Jo still had a couple quarters left over, so he let Ayize do the chicken machine as well:

Awesome.

The prize, by the way, was a cheapo plastic coin that said, "I got caught being good!" Jo Jo let Ayize have his last quarter so he could try one more time, in hopes of winning a better prize. Instead, we ended up with a second plastic coin. I'm guessing the machine was filled with them bad boys.

It was already 7:30 p.m. Driving home, Ayize enjoyed the big breeze that blew his hair around while he chatted to us about his exciting day.

Sunset view of the city along the drive.

Back at home, we unwound and cleaned up. Not long after, our delish "Zoom's Special" (i.e. modified Chicken Oriente) pizza arrived. I was in heaven; I'd been waiting for this moment since our last trip to Portland in June.

Clearly, I wasn't the only one, though - I'm psyched to report that I have a budding Rovente Pizzeria fan on my hands. What can I say?? The kid has great taste!

Awwwwwww. Newlyweds!

After a gynormous, delicious, belt-busting meal of pizza, leftover curry, and cheesy garlic bread, I snoozed in semi-repose on my dining room chair, hardly able to move due to my food coma. Ayize had no such issues, however - he dashed around like a hyper blur, and began to hop up and down in front of the large-screen TV where Jo Jo's housemate Bill was playing Full Metal Jacket on his Xbox.

Man! It was almost 10:30 at night (past midnight, home time) and this kid was still going strong. He was crazy for Bill's game, which entertained him for over a half-hour while I roused myself, downloaded photos, washed dishes, checked email, hunted down our pajamas, and readied our bed. Finally, I retrieved him from where he sat in the big reclining chair in front of the TV.

We were both soooo severely busted.

It was finally time to head to bed.