Visitor's Log (The conclusion)

(*Note to self- NEVER gloat about the weather.. To do so jinxes it. The heat that you all have been dealing with has finally found it's way up here.. It'll be 90 today and over 100 tomorrow and Saturday. Of course, by next weekend it'll be back into the 70's so I guess I can suffer for a couple days.. And even when it gets to be 100 here, it still gets down in the upper 60's at night so at least it cools off..)

Anyway.. Back to the recount of Todd's visit..

Tuesday was to be another driving day. We did the mandatory stop at Multnomah Falls before heading to Hood River where we had lunch at Big Horse Brew Pub (only so I could send CAT a text message and make him jealous. Oh, and they do have excellent sweet potato fries). Lunch was great and there were many kite boarders out on the river for entertainment while we were eating.

After lunch we went up to The Dalles, and made a stop at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center where we were both unbelievably bored. I usually love museums, but the only interesting thing that I learned that day was that each member of the Lewis and Clark expedition had a daily ration of whisky. In that exhibit there were barrels of "whisky" and a one ounce shot glass along with a display that explained that each man had a daily ration of 1/10th of an ounce of whisky.. Seriously! What's the point of even drinking that????

From The Dalles, we headed south and made the loop around Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful day for a drive..

Wednesday we did nothing. Remember, I was having to work at night so by this time I was wearing out.. I must be getting old.. Actually, we did go shopping so Todd could buy a computer. He really needed to get one and I convinced him to buy it here where he wouldn't have to pay sales tax, and I could help him find a great deal.. Then it was time for a nap.. Besides, it was raining so it was a lovely, cool day to relax..

On Thursday we went back to the day center for lunch duty, and then we went to OMSI, The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It is always fun there. There are dozens of hands on exhibits and so many things to learn. We watched a young volunteer do a magic trick with something similar to what they put in disposable diapers to absorb liquid. Did you know the reason all the liquid isn't absorbed (which results in leaks) is due to the amount of sodium. Therefore the more sodium in the babies diet, the more likely the diaper is to leak??

We'd bought the combo ticket which included admission to the museum, a seat to watch the IMAX film on Greece, and a tour of the submarine. (You could go to the planetarium instead, but Todd chose the sub).. We did the sub tour and then it was time to go on the Willamette Jetboat excursion, which we had reservations for Wednesday but it had been cancelled due to the rain. It was a one hour tour down the river, where we heard about the many bridges in Portland along with getting slightly wet as we spun donuts and all those crazy tricks a jetboat can do. It was a lot of fun.. We also saw the sister ship to the Exxon Valdez. It's currently docked in Portland because it, like all single hulled oil tankers, can't be used any more due to environmental concerns. They're going to cut it up into scrap metal, but like any good US oil company, Exxon is going to tow it to some 3rd world country where the labor is cheaper and they won't have to clean up the environmental mess that they're going to make..

On Friday we went back to OMSI to watch the IMAX film that we hadn't had time to watch the day before and then I drug Todd out shopping. We were going to dinner at my friend's apartment, and I insisted that Todd buy a decent shirt if he was going out with me. He is so comfortable in his khaki pants and colored t-shirt that I started to refer to it as his "uniform".. I picked out a nice shirt for him and one for my self.

My friend Carl (AKA "HIM" from the day center) and his boyfriend, Donny, had made pasta with homemade sauce for Todd and I. Dinner was lovely, and we all had so much fun that we went out for drinks and then dancing afterwards. It was a wonderful way to end Todd's trip. He left the next afternoon. A busy, busy week.. But I am certain that he had a great time..

So, who's next to visit??