Audubon Society of Portland

The Audubon Society of Portland has educational resources, performs animal rescue, and has a large amount of hiking trails.

The hiking trails were kind of a bust. Their location on a steep hillside means that while we might have gotten our mother down these trails, we would never have gotten her back up. Those kinds of trails do work for some people, but they can definitely not be considered all access.

Other aspects are better. Rescued birds can often be seen - sometimes up close with handlers. We got to learn more about their raven, Aristophanes.

Having never seen a raven around here (lots of crows, though), it was a good reminder that there are more local species than what you see: habitats and fauna change, even in relatively small areas.

Because of that, one of my favorite features is the bird-watching window, something that had stuck in my mind from a school field trip long ago.

It is just a large picture window with multiple bird feeders outside to attract birds, but that can create a lively scene.

Unfortunately that day, two of the feeders were empty and one was broken. We only saw a handful of dark-eyed juncos, two Steller's jays, and two rats.

Still, I appreciated the book of pictures underneath the window to help identify the frequent species. One of my hopes was to identify a new visitor to our yard, and the book showed me that it was a Wilson's Warbler.

(But not this. This is a Steller's Jay.)

Ultimately, that particular visit might have been disappointing, but there were good things about it, and I know that the work they do is good, both for the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation and for the educational programs that are frequently run. We can find good walking trails in other places. Also, it was free.

The did have a really good gift store, full of fun and educational options.  But ideally they would keep the feeders full and in good repair.

https://audubonportland.org/

Tigard, Oregon - Bannings Restaurant & Pie House

When you enter Bannings you encounter a sign...

This is sage advice, reinforced by the tempting display cases showing cakes and pies.

However, we did order food first.

That was okay. It certainly wasn't terrible, but also the food wasn't great.

Oddly, the best part was the bread, including my toast and my sister's English muffins.

It's like when we went to Cracker Barrel. Yes, those were the best baby carrots I'd ever had, but I wouldn't pick a restaurant based on the baby carrots.

But that doesn't, matter, because there are cakes, and pies.

Those are really good.

Embrace their strengths.

https://www.banningsrestaurant.com/

Portland Rose Festival CityFair (on the Waterfront)

 CityFair is too expensive. Serioualy. That was my main takeaway.

The average ride takes 9 tickets, but this extra cool ride where you lie on your stomach like you are hang gliding is 10.

To some extent you expect this kind of thing to be overpriced, but when I compare it to the Washington County Fair, for example, where you could at least get in free, then it seems like a bad bargain.

The fair does have some bands sectioned off, where there is extra admission, and here all of the entertainment is included, so that is one thing, but it also means different nights have different admission fees based on who is playing.

However, it is still an important part of the Portland year, and you may want to participate. Therefore, it is important to look for the bargains.

Most of that involves buying a pin at Fred Meyer for unlimited entry, and then a wristband on line for unlimited rides and three games.

 (I admit to being impressed that the wristband includes any games.)

That will not help you with food. Turkey legs were $13. They are less at Disneyland. (Though park entry is more, but it also covers more.) The $8.50 jumbo elephant ears truly were jumbo, though that made for some really crispy sections.

The biggest entertainment bargain was probably this video game and pinball arcade, where it was only 25 cents per game. Yes, you can get that at Ground Kontrol, but there was no Crystal Castles here to distract me from every other games while I tried fruitlessly to reach the end. (That's a personal problem.)

My personal favorite was Summer's Cotton Candy Art, where you could have cotton candy spun into various characters and creations. Also, they have steamed buns and fried ice cream.

I was not able to find more information, although it appears they did have a booth at the Bite of Bend.

One warning, though, cotton candy art is ephemeral. I carried this duck carefully, with no squishing, and by the time I got home he had shrunk down into a parakeet/lovebird, something like that.

Perhaps that makes it most emblematic of summer fun.

Or maybe the most emblematic part was when two little boys came off of a ride and asked their mother if they could go yet. She pointed and told them to go on another ride, and the oldest asked, "Then can we go?"

Outings don't always work out the way you want. That's one more good reason to look for discounts.

http://www.rosefestival.org/waterfront/city-fair

Portland - Cookie Dough Cafe

Everyone knows the deliciousness of cookie dough, and how that has to be balanced against the dangers of eating uncooked eggs.

The Cookie Dough Cafe provides a way to enjoy your cookie dough; with ice cream if you want, but not merely as an ingredient in ice cream.

I appreciate the philosophy, and the do a good job of illustrating the theme with wall decor and invented language.

You can get scoops of just dough or batter, or combine those scoops with scoops of ice cream, with the usual available syrups and toppings.

They also have little truffles.

I suspect that we would have been happier trying the truffles, because it is easy for the pure dough to be too much of a good thing. Most of us did not finish our portions, though the vegan brownie batter went down a little easier. (But honestly, you can eat more brownie batter than cookie dough in general, can't you?)

There are also take-out options available, allowing you to have just a little bit at a time over an extended period of time.

https://www.thecookiedoughcafe.com/

Portland - The Peculiarium

We recently visited The Peculiarium, perhaps the place that best encapsulates Portland's desire to be kept weird.

We should remember, though, that Terry Currier didn't make "Keep Portland Weird" an official slogan until 2003. The Peculiarium has been around much longer, born the same year as me.

I'm don't know if this is supposed to be Samara from the ring or not, but I'm not going to take any film recommendations from her.

The Peculiarium is reasonably priced: only $5.00, or free with a decent costume. I am not sure how stringent the definition of "decent" is, but the people we talked to were all pretty nice.

I especially appreciated their understanding of consent, because that desire to be edgy and cool can really bring out the worst in some people.

This went beyond reminders not to force people to enter or look at things or get close to things, and included a reminder to not force your kids to sit on Krampus' lap!

That being said, it is pretty awesome that we have a place where you can sit on the lap of Krampus and... do you tell him what you want if you have been naughty? I'm not sure how that part works. Wrong time of year anyway.

Much of the collection were cases of collectibles, like Star Wars contraband seized at Comic-Con, or models of these memorable cars.

Also, it is nice to know where there is a vampire killing kit available, just in case.

Sadly, The Peculiarium was one of those venues where I seemed to get a lot of photographic interference, making many of the photos come out blurred. Bad lighting? or something more sinister?

The Peculiarium has its weaknesses. One is some difficulty in nailing things down. The sign says they were founded in 1972, the web page 1967. The map mentions ghostly bongos, but doesn't give any other details, and web searching doesn't reveal any other references. I want to know where the ghostly bongos are!

In addition, maybe sometimes they don't trust in their own horror. For example, if the dollhouse is really haunted, it shouldn't need all the ghastly room decor, right? So there is some - if you will pardon the expression - overkill, which tends toward silliness.

But it is only $5, and that will allow you time in a coffin, plus pictures with Krampus, Sasquatch, and as part of an alien autopsy.

If the pictures come out.

https://www.peculiarium.com/