The Rowes in the Rose City: Old Friends

The great thing about old friends is the ease at which you can always re-connect. After living all over the western US & Canada, and now with Gariann in Japan for the past 4 years, it still feels like we haven't missed a beat each time we get together.

Last week, while on a long summer break from her teaching position at a US base in Sasebo, Japan, Gariann, her husband John, her sister Deina, and Deina's son JR came for a visit. Gariann and Deina were 2 of the first people I met when when I moved to Twisp in the Methow Valley, Washington, as a freshman in high school in 1987.

Among a few great dinners & lots of visiting, we managed to sneak in a trip to the Oregon Zoo as well. JR is a polar bear fanatic, so that was the focus of our trip -- and well worth it (as you will see below). We took a train ride through Forest Park & saw many other animals, and of course a (gigantic) ice cream snack was necessary to keep us going in the middle of the hot afternoon. What a great day!

Off to see the new display "The Great Northwest"

Off to see the highlight of the day -- the polar bears

She was having more fun than a winning volleyball team with that ball!

So much fun I even remembered to grab the Flip & video some of it.

After the ball she decided to play with a drum for awhile, which was pretty good fun, too.

(see entry below for the second polar bear video)

Yikes, those are BIG bears!

Time for a traditional afternoon ice cream break. Those were the most gigantic "kids" scoops we'd ever seen. Avery had to get hers in a bowl since it was so big & melting so fast.

Time for a ride on the train through Portland's Forest Park. It takes 35 minutes round trip, and if you want you can get off half way through and go play at Washington Park or the Rose Garden. We decided the zoo was enough for one day, so we stayed on for the round trip.

Deina, Avery & JR

Here Avery was scolding me for having my hands out of the train to hold the camera -- the sign says not to put your hands out of the train. Forget that her head was hanging out. . . .

Some of the other animals we saw

A Malaysian Sun Bear -- one of the smaller of the species

And of course, like everything else in Portland these days, there has to be a dinosaur display!

Avery wanted to see lions all day long, but the Oregon Zoo won't have any lions until the summer of 2009. She was disappointed. We did find this display telling about how the lions are coming next summer, but because of the roaring recording behind this cardboard lion, she wouldn't go near it. JR was brave, though!