I think the name was just coincidental not related to the Pride Parade but I am not sure. In any event, Fairy Floss is organic, all natural cotton candy. I have to say, it tastes a lot like plain ole carnival cotton candy. It was a fun flavor though, strawberry daiquiri.

The Pride Parade crisscrossed downtown Portland for hours yesterday and our paths crossed theirs several times. It seems Portlanders have a lot of things to be proud of. It also seems that many are not familiar with the concept of “in the privacy of your own home”. Generally, it was a joyous celebration of the individual. There were wild costumes and even the occasional birthday suit. Kent’s favorite was the electrical tape nipple covers. But, one group blasted right through my comfort zone. They strutted and rolled their way down city streets in their bondage leathers including the harnesses, costumes, and toys of their most recent fantasy for us all to share. For this old lady…TMI.

A huge, manicured, yet inviting garden filled with thousands of roses including 200 new candidates each year that are tested for a bunch of attributes like fragrance, how long blooms last, how hardy the plant is, how well the plant itself behaves etc. One is awarded a medal each year. A whole section of the garden is filled with past medal winners, one each year since 1940. An amazing variety or color and shape to please the eye and a wonderful trip for the sense of smell as we walked along the paths passing from one cloud of fragrance to another.

It was a little different than I expected. Carts are parked in a ring around a parking lot, facing outward and you just wonder around the block looking for what sounds good. It was Sunday so the Alder Ave. food cart Pod was mostly quiet/closed but we still had to scope it out. We found a gyro and falafel stand that served up some passable lunch. We made our way to Cartopia across town. It claims to be open late night and weekends and indeed was. They have a pizza vender, crepes, Mexican, Whiffies fried pies, and French fries. We might drag Mom and Carol there when they are in town in a week or so.

PB&J fries from Potato Champion
I just couldn’t resist. They are not as gross as one might think based on the name. It is actually fries with spicy peanut satay sauce and raspberry chipotle. Messy and heartburn promoting but a fun, delicious experience. There are many variations to try….another time.

Voodoo Doughnut 24/7
A garish pink building that looks to be a bit of a dive. A long line snaking out into the parking lot. Tatoo-covered, multi pierced (very friendly and polite) counter staff.
Doughnuts topped with about anything. I had a butterfinger ring (a cake doughnut frosted and sprinkled with, you guessed it, crushed butterfinger bar) and a maple bacon bar (a yeast doughnut bar with maple icing and two pieces of very crisp bacon). Both were decadently tasty. Kent went for the voodoo doughnut guy (glazed “doll shaped” with raspberry jelly “blood” filling and a Portland crème which was sort of like Boston crème only better of course. We shared an apple fritter too. Well worth the 45 minute wait in line!

It is cool and too rainy to get out and do anything fun. That pretty much eliminates my last excuse for not doing laundry. Kent is down to one pair of clean socks so it has to happen soon! The other to-do for the day was baking chocolate chip cookies for Fathers Day. There is some “housework” to do but I can postpone that a while longer….hope tomorrow is nicer. The weatherman says it is supposed to be. We plan to head into Portland and check out the highlights.

We got our first glimpse of snow capped Mt. Hood with its perfect, symmetrical shape. Impressive. To the west, or north sort of, was a lower but still snow capped Mt. St Helens.
Camp has little lakes all around and we are relaxing to a serenade from the bull frogs. There are many red wing black birds and robins too. Very peaceful and only occasionally punctuated by the sound of jet engines! We are nearly under some military installation flight path.

Bald Eagles at the Eagle sanctuary and the mouth of the Columbia River. A fox just hanging out along a trail through the back dunes. Seals conked out on the beach, they really checked us out when we inadvertently came up on the group as we were strolling the beach.

Ft Stevens …1942 Japanese submarine shelling…there are bunkers all along the coast. This is a continuation of the theme we heard further south, the forest fires from incendiary bombs dropped by the Japanese. Now I better understand the mindset (not that I necessarily agree with it) that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during that time.
Lewis and Clark had a big dog (Newfoundland) named Seaman with them on their journey. The Canadians had explored from Montreal all the way to the Pacific in the 1700s, long before Lewis and Clark. Clark adopted Sacajawea’s first born. The trip cost over $38,000 instead of the $2,500 Lewis estimated beforehand.

The Astoria column rises on a bluff high above the Columbia River. There is a great view of that river, the Lewis and Clark River, plus Young’s Bay. The outside is entirely covered with engravings depicting 1872 through the 1880s. It is one of 12 markers built across the nation commemorating explorers. Pretty cool.