Dad and the Lady visit PDX

Well, Mom (aka 'Lady', properly said with a Jerrry Lewis-like nasally whine: "Hey, Laaaaady!") and Dad left for home this morning. They had to leave the most perfect, beautiful Oregon summer weather for muggy, thunderstormy Vermont. Actually, I quite like those summer thunder & lightning storms in New England. But they can keep the black flies, ticks and mosquitoes, thank-you-very-much.

We had a great visit. Lots of dining, sightseeing, cocktailing, weed whacking, Ikea-ing... There were few tense moments and a lot of laughs. When installing a solar sensor light, only 2 items crashed to the ground from the roof- and neither of them was Dad. Copious amounts of alcohol were served and consumed and not one tear was knowingly shed. Such a jovial mood ensued that soon we were able to joke that we had to say everything twice because "Dad can't hear and Lady can't listen." Unfortunately for me, I had deliberately left the refrigerator rather skanky to distract Lady from conducting a full-on health inspection of my entire house. But though she complained about the fridge, she was not stirred to clean it. Darn.

Before their arrival we 3 sisters discussed what activities to plan for them for 10 days. This is what we actually did:

Saturday:
Arrival. Picnic and cocktails on my deck. Dad expressed interest in attending a Timbers game with A and L. Mom and I had dinner at The Country Cat restaurant nearby. We had a very good dinner sitting at the bar. A & L returned Dad, none the worse for wear at midnight.
Sunday:
Father's Day. We actually all went back to The Country Cat for brunch. I ordered the house-made roast beef hash. The peices of beef were a perfect combination of chewy and tender and the potatoes were crispy-browned and it sat upon of braised collard greens accompanied by 2 poached eggs. I left my plate absolutely clean. We then hiked around Powell Butte. I'm embarassed to admit I'd never been there. It was like an alpine meadow, covered in daisies and purple grasses. Afterwards, Dad said he could go for a cold one, so it was drinks at the Moon & Sixpence patio. I, as well my parents, can only go there if the patio is available because it is sooooo smokey. But I do love the place and hope to go there frequently this summer. Later, it was dinner @ Wild Abandon. The restaurant surpassed all my expectations. Dad wanted Bouillabaise, but didn't want to go back into downtown. I knew Wild Abandon was in the area and specialized in seafood but had never been there. Their online menu said they had cioppino which is Italian-American and Dad wanted French, but it is close enough. The food was good, the service was kind and friendly and all-in-all I could not come up with anything negative. It wasn't the most innovative, flavorful food I've ever eaten, but they don't advertise themselves as such. It was tasty, relaxing, fun reasonable and so very Portland- in a good way. The patio looks very inviting and I'd like to check out their happy hour. I will definitely go there again.