It may be true that the third time is a charm. Last Saturday was our third trip to Hagg Lake to go fishing. The last 2 times were on “free fishing” days. Maybe, because we paid for a license this time It did not take long before Marcel hooked a 16″ trout using a worm. Live bait almost never fails. The day started slow since we were a group of 8 people trying to have a picnic with little planning. Joanna organized it but the last time we were together was back in April when we had a BBQ potluck at our home. We got to the lake at around 2pm and as expected all the good spots were taken. The three guys Marcel, Greg and John scoped out the other areas and finally found a shaded picnic table. Shortly after, we were cooking. We had hamburgers, turkey burgers, turkey and pork hot dogs (not to be confused with Mulder, the Dog) and even Vegan hot dogs! Of course, we had the usual condiments – chips, fruit, salad and beverages. Of the 10 years I’ve lived in the States, I’ve only gone to a picnic once and this is the second time. This is not counting the company picnics. It was really fun, although, I personally would have opted for a different menu, I went with the all American theme and still had fun. Mulder had fun swimming too or so we thought. At first, he was scared so Marcel tried to throw him in the water. Later on, he started swimming. I was glad to see that he could swim. I guess all dogs can swim but I wanted to make sure he had the skills. Nobody had more fun that day than Mulder. We’re so glad he could experience all these activities.

Marcel’s mom Kathy, came to visit on July 4th weekend. In barely 3 days, we managed to show her a lot of sights, sounds, smells and tastes in Portland and the Coast. On Friday, we took the scenic route from Bethany through Forest Park to Nob Hill. We also stopped to smell the roses at the International Rose Test Garden. The roses were in full bloom and looked fabulous! Looking back, I don’t recall visiting the garden in the summer. The last few times were in the spring or fall so it was a treat for me as well. Lunch was at the newly-opened Deschutes Brewery. The place was hopping (no pun intended) and the food was delicious. The Beer – awesome! Marcel thinks that every beer Deschutes makes is good. We also had time to see Mt. Tabor Park, Hawthorne District and most of downtown Portland. We did not make it to the Blues Festival to see the fireworks but instead, we walked down the street to see the Oak Hills version. It was nice to see fireworks so close to home.

A visit to Portland is not complete without a trip to the coast. It rained most of the day but we still managed to see Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria on Saturday. Being that it is a holiday weekend, both Cannon Beach and Seaside were very crowded. Even then, I was pleasantly surprised by the historic downtown at Cannon Beach. I have never seen it before, just the beach so I instantly declared that it is one of my favorites. Lunch was fantastic at the Sweet Basil Cafe. I hope to come back soon for the crab melt, yummy.

On the day that Kathy was leaving, we decided to leave early for the airport to go see Multnomah Falls. Our first stop was at Hot Lips Pizza. This place has mixed reviews in Portland but in our opinion it is good pizza and soda, not to mention that we admire their sustainable practices. It only took about an hour to get to Multnomah Falls but it was again very crowded. Marcel dropped us off but eventually had to call us back to the car since there were no parking spots available. Anyway, it was still worth the trip. I always enjoy driving through the Columbia Gorge.