It's Not About The Bike...

This weekend was one of those "Life is what happens when you're busy planning other things" kind of a time. I had wanted to take some time and think about a couple of the things I've been watching or following lately: The Tour de France, our current political and economic meltdown over health care and financial policy, the hearings to decide who is wiser, a wise Latina or a wise-ass white guy.

But instead, we got all busy and did tons of fun family things, starting Saturday with a bike ride down to the little puppet theatre near Cathedral Park.It was sponsored by the City's Office of Transportation - more about them later, and was just the sort of goofy, crunchy-granola, whole-grain thing that Portland does so well. Hip urban moms with henna tats on their Teva'd feet, natural-fiber-wearing schoolkids with names like Ronan and Sarita, Hip urban dads dragging the trailabike behind their soulpatch and bike mug of fair trade coffee.Of course, our two didn't care anything about this. They just liked the ride, and the silly puppet show, and then the treats at the little cafe afterwards. But they were sweet, and had fun, so we did, too.Little Miss had no idea what was going on, but she had it figured out; Mommy and Daddy were going to cuddle her and play with her, and even......hang her upside down until she squealed. And that worked for her.Big Peep was a more discriminating puppet voyeur; he liked the silly show, and was more than gracious to accept a chocolate chip cookie afterwards, but the ride back up the hill wasn't quite to his liking. He did, however, enjoy building his first plastic model. And here it is: USS Lionfish, a Balao-class fleet sub from WW2.

Very different from MY first, God knows at this point what THAT was, but I recall that whatever it was was nearly indistinguishable underneath the model glue. Peep and I did a little better job.After a lazy afternoon and a good nap (by Little Miss) we got dressed up and went out to eat at Lorenzo's, in the Mississippi district.

Damn good meal, and, more to the point, the kids were fun and friendly and happy - no meltdowns, tantrums or difficulty listening to mom and dad. So WE got to enjoy our meal with relative grace. Always a plus. And everyone got to pat the little "David" statue on the wiener on the way out. Score!On the way home we stopped at Albina Park to cool off in the fountain. The Peep splashed and had a great time, Mojo and I enjoyed the peaceful evening amid the roses, and...Maxine did her delightful little "Star Dance"...The bonus was the bridal party that tripped on down to take pictures. Hopefully somewhere in their wedding album is a shot with the fat, tattooed Northeast Portland woman shin-deep in the dirty fountain water while industriously scratching her ass. Happy anniversary, honey!Sunday we got out early because we wanted to take "Aunt Kristi" (our friend Kristi, the athletic, blonde teacher whose was one of the Peeper's early crushes) on the "Sunday Parkway" ride around her neighborhood.

These things, also sponsored by the City's DOT, are a terrific idea which I understand was imported from Colombia, where the City of Bogotá closes down streets for people to walk, run, cycle, skate...whatever, just not involving a motor.So we went, and we rode, and everyone had Big Fun, whether just riding through the northeast Portland neighborhoods on a gorgeous, perfect sunny morning...or trying the Bike Obstacle Course......or exploring new ideas and new places in the parks, full of booths, vendors, and bike-, walking- and other alternative-transportation organizations......or just enjoying the time spent together and with our friend...After the ride we stopped at our own North Portland "Beaterville" Cafe' for a slap-up lunch, home for some playing, napping and light housekeeping. We left a much more relaxed and happy Aunt Kristi, who had no idea that her northeast Portland home was so much fun. Mind you, it helps when you and your gal pal Mojo are smokin' hot!Then it was on to the pool, where much splashing fun was had by Dad and the grunions. Little Miss, of course, was adorable.And here we are; not exactly Tour material, but happy and having enjoyed a great day. Hope you weekend was as pleasant.So...I have another one of those damn "days off without pay" tomorrow, and I'll try to post the original post I had in mind for thise weekend then. Ciao.