Epic Adventure 2013 - Day 8 - Auntie Mary Has Arrived!

Auntie Mary has arrived!
with my lovely nieces, Merehuka, Te Ruihi and Rangitau
and my great nephew baby Iyumni!

The 90 miles to Portland from Corvallis didn't seem so bad...except I got completely lost in Merehuka's vast apartment complex -- they live right outside Portland, Oregon. I found the apartment complex just fine! the iPhone GPS saved the day yet again! finally I found them with Merehuka standing outside in the parking lot waving madly!!!

It was so good to see my nieces...the twins -- oh my gosh I hardly recognized them. they were just young girls it seemed the last time I saw them and now they're taller than me!!! Merehuka is quite the "Mom" now with her baby boy and Cecilio the quiet, mellow guy. Hey at least he's not completely outnumbered with a baby boy right?

Me and the girls and baby Iyumni

Merehuka said I could sleep in the baby's bedroom upstairs -- they had an air mattress for me. their townhouse has three bathrooms which I'm sure comes in handy! The twins are staying with Merehuka, Cecilio and the baby while their Mom and Dad walk across the United States on the "Longest Walk 4" with the Native Americans. they're supposed to get to San Francisco in December!

Merehuka had to work for a few hours the next day, so me, Cecilio, baby Iyumni and the twins set out on our own adventure into Portland -- believe it or not, even though I lived in Oregon for 11 years, I don't really know Portland that well -- we never lived there and basically only passed through. So I relied on Cecelio and the girls to help me out as we all crammed into my car. We strapped baby Iyumni into the carseat -- which definitely comes in handy for this sort of thing.

So where's our first stop? Voodoo Doughnuts, the twins tell me! Okay, here we go.

Portland, OR

standing in line at Voodoo Doughnuts. Yes that chick really is holding her pet cat!

Cecilio and Baby Iyumni

I definitely didn't need a Voodoo doughnut but it was kind of entertaining to stand in line waiting to get the coveted, sugar filled things... they're supposed to be famous -- worldwide! We finally got up to the front and the twins each ordered Captain Crunch doughnuts, and Cecilio ordered an oreo doughnut...and another one for Merehuka...! all I needed was two bites to know how yummy they were, feeling that sugar rush!

check out these doughnuts! wow! 

the menu at Voodoo Doughnuts!

Our next stop was Powell's Books! I was super excited because I'd always wanted to go to the biggest bookstore in the world located right in Portland!! believe it or not, in all the years I lived in Oregon, I had never actually been there.

Yay, we are here! Powell's books!!!

you really do need a map at this massive book store which spans several floors -- all the rooms named, like the Green Room and the Purple room. I knew there wouldn't be time to explore the whole place, especially with an antsy not quite one-year-old with Cecilio in the children's section! so I got a map and me and one of the twins traveled to the third floor to find the music section -- and of course check out all the Beatles books!

what? no Ringo! hehe! but this is cool!!!!

I found a Ukulele book written by a member of our Santa Cruz Uke Club with bios of some of my uke playing friends! at Powell's books in Portland! had to get it!

some ukulele songbooks!

wow! 

$11,000 for a book from 1542! gotta admit that is pretty cool but what would one do with this book even if they had the money to buy it? put it into glass and stare at it I suppose? you'd be afraid to touch it or turn the pages cuz everything could just fall apart!

these buskers were REALLY fabulous! they sang perfect harmony...and I dug them! they're in front of Powell's Books. If you're gonna play music in the street, at least make it be good -- they did!

We were all getting pretty hungry and the baby a little antsy -- doughnuts just don't cut it. so we drove back to where Merehuka works and waited for her to get off work so that we could find a place to eat lunch. Then we went over to what's called the "Alberta" District and walked down a quaint street...kind of dead in the late afternoon but charming and quirky nonetheless. We almost stopped at an ice cream/doughnut shop for sandwiches but I decided against it... somehow sandwiches from an ice cream place didn't appeal to me! Finally we found this "Healthy" thai restaurant. The twins were a little dubious, but I convinced them it would be good...I would help them order something they'd like! We were practically the only ones in the restaurant! and the food there turned out to be fantastic and more than we would even expect! everyone was quiet when the food came, just munching away! even the twins...the baby calmed down and all was well with the world.

We made our way back to the townhouse and I did get to play ukulele for the baby a while before having to head out yet again -- this time on a journey to Tacoma, Washington to Heidi's house. Again, it was further than I thought -- over 100 miles. Why did these places not seem as far before?

I said good-bye to Baby Iyumni, Cecilio, Merehuka, Te Rui Hui and Rangitau and continued my journey north...

we had a fabulous visit!!! see you again soon!