An Oregon Halloween

Portland smells like my childhood. It must be the weather. The pungency of recently-soaked sidewalks, the crispness of an autumn night......ahhhhhh. I just got home after a glorious four days visiting my friends Ted and Lori and their sweet little 2-year-old muffin, Abe. Their house even smelled familiar to me and my initial thought was, "Maybe it's a sign. I'm supposed to move to Portland." Then I realized they just had the same plug-in air freshener I did in one of my first apartments. So yes, it did smell like home. Portland is definitely somewhere I could live, though. I was enthralled with their idyllic neighborhood and street after street filled with beautiful craftsman homes. It kills me that I could probably afford one. Maybe not in their neighborhood, but certainly somewhere nearby.

I started the trip with an easy flight from Burbank. I had hoped to read and zone out on sudoku, but I could tell immediately that my seatmate wasn't going to allow that. Sam from Simi Valley was a commercial real estate entrepreneur in his 50's with a knack for the gab. He was one of those people who gets familiar right quick. Within 10 minutes he was calling me "Stac" and I swear he touched my leg at certain junctures in the conversation to fortify his point no less than thirty times. He told me about his wife and kids and then at one point asked me if I was married. I simply replied no, nothing more. He looked me square in the face and delivered what seemed like a message meant specifically for me from the big guy. "Don't think for a second that there's something wrong with you or that you did something wrong. You'll make a wonderful wife and mother. And I know it will happen. I know it." I was speechless. How did this stranger know the thoughts I've had?

Here's the weekend rundown:

Friday - Wandered around T & L's neighborhood and the little shops down the road and stopped by the beautiful rose garden at Peninsula Park. Portland is known for its rose gardens, which I didn't know. I didn't know jack about Portland, frankly. Everything I knew about Portland came from "Hello, Larry", a cruddy sitcom in the late 70's/early 80's. Found out that Lori, like me, also likes visiting cemeteries, so we stole away and strolled through Lone Fir Cemetery, filled with lumberjacks and pioneers. Lori told me that a group of musicians got together and did an album called Dearly Departed. They each wrote a song about one of the people buried in the cemetery. A lot of the current headstones had pictures of the deceased. I liked this one on a late drag racer's headstone:

On the base it says "Gone Home to Horse Power Heaven"

Saturday - We took the Max down to the Portland Saturday Market, a cool open-air market full of neat artists' stalls and food carts. Portland is known for its food carts scattered throughout the city. On the advice of Kirsten, we stopped by Voodoo Doughnuts. I'm not a doughnut person, but the wait was worth it for the delicious chocolate coconut masterpiece I had. They are known for their more strange concoctions, one of them being a voodoo doll doughnut. A handful of their offerings are a little naughty. I don't think I would eat them in public.

After our little jaunt downtown, we headed back to the house to get ready for trick or treating with Abe. Abe was Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Ted, Lori and I dressed up as a polygamist and his two wives. We hung a sign around Ted's neck that said "Prophet, Priest and King" to make sure people knew who we were. On the other side the sign read "Pioneer Family" to ward off questions from curious kids. Their neighborhood was the most picturesque place to spend Halloween. Tons of kids, parents all dressed up, most houses decorated, including the well-known "Holiday House".

Sunday - We drove out to Multnomah Falls, probably one of the prettiest waterfalls I've ever seen. Stunning. And another sunny day!

Monday - Ted went off to film a movie near Mt. Hood, so Lori and I went to Pittock Mansion (great views of the city and a good place to tour), the Japanese Gardens, Nob Hill, and Powell's (where we saw our friend Susan's book prominently displayed.) A busy day, especially for a toddler, but Abe took it all in stride.

Speaking of Abe, he is one of the most delightful children I've ever had the pleasure to spend time with. Ted and Lori are really excellent parents. Abe is funny, joyful, sweet, obedient, curious and kind-hearted. He also asks a lot of questions.

What's that?
A train.
What kind of train?
A choo-choo train.
What kind of choo-choo-train?

Once I realized this line of questioning could go on indefinitely, I discovered that if I just piled on the adjectives so that he couldn't repeat my answer, he was satisfied.

What's that?
A train.
What kind of train?
A super-duper fast, old-fashioned, black, wacky, downhome, nutty, wild, rootin-tootin' choo choo train.
Oh.

Last night he and I cuddled on the couch in our jammies and watched an episode of The Muppet Show together. Oh, the sweetness. Look at this irresistable boy: