We begin the day by revisiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory, which is now operational on the packaging side. Different types and sizes of cheddar cheese are being packaged. We get to see the industrial side of food production, even for a beloved and local product.
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We sample more types of cheese.
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We eat ice cream at 10:00 in the morning. We indulge in Banana Split, Tilla-Mint, and Sweet Centennial (in honor of Tillamook County Creamery Association's 100 years of operation).
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We drive to the Oregon Zoo to look at meerkats and sea otters and giraffes, elephants and insects and domestic farm animals. The child takes great joy in grooming goats and pretending to be a penguin.
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A train ride around the zoo grounds, as well as in Washington Park, is a disappointment. The route passes some exhibits, but rather quickly, and on the backside of the "displays" where the "junk" is stored. This is getting to peer behind the scenes, to see the foibles of the zoo and its operations. Not only that, but the trains cars are too small to be comfortable. By the end of the half-hour ride, my back is starting to really hurt and I am fearing that I am doing damage to my recently ruptured disc. Fortunately, it seems that I depart the train just in time.
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Dinner is at Hopworks Urban Brewery in East Portland, which is actually marvelous on so many levels. The pub food is excellent. The organic lagers and ales, brewed on site, are likewise. The restaurant is broken into sections for different types of clientele. We are seated in the family friendly section, which allows the child and other kids to play with toys, to scribble on a chalkboard, and to pretend while waiting for food to arrive.
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We wander over to Powell's City of Books after we check into our residence for the evening, the wonderful Mark Spencer Hotel. We wander the stacks of the Orange, Rose, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, and Pearl Rooms. I pick up a couple of books and issue #52 of Cometbus.
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The wife and the child retire "early" and I head back to spend more time in the aisles of Powell's while they sleep.
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