We spent a lot of time the next day in the Washington Park area of Portland. There were trails all through the massive park. It felt like we were alone in a big forest a lot of the time, yet there was civilization not far from us all the time. That made me happy.
I have always been afraid of getting lost in a forest--and especially more afraid of that happening after it really happened to my friend Kelley and me when we went to girls' camp one year in the Uinta Mountains.
We weren't lost for long. Our leaders realized we had kept walking around the lake instead of turning off at the trail leading to the parking lot and they soon came to find us. But it was terrifying while it lasted and I have tried to avoid getting lost in the woods ever since.
There were different memorials and statues all throughout the park.
The Rose Garden was very popular with the tourists.
A sign informed us "the public rose test garden is the oldest continuously operated test garden in the United States. The garden boasts a collection of over 8,000 rose plants and almost 600 varieties."
We continued on our walk through the trails of Washington Park until we came to the Portland Japanese Garden.
Inside the building was a unique staircase. We later saw it being used as seating for a presentation some Japanese women were doing about serving tea to guests. I guess it was preparing the people for their experience going to an authentic Tea House located further inside the Japanese Garden.
The Portland Japanese Garden has been proclaimed to be "the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan" (according to their brochure).
Another quote from the brochure: "Three primary elements are used in every Japanese garden design: stone, the 'bones' of the landscape; water, the life-giving force; and plants, the tapestry of the four seasons."
My favorite quote from the brochure: "Upon entering a Japanese garden the hope is to realize a sense of peace, harmony, and tranquility."
LOOK!! This is proof the statement is correct!!
Nothing like a little nap in the peaceful, harmonious and tranquil Japanese Garden to revive a man for the rest of the day.
On we went to see more memorials.
Then back into the forest we went. Off to find our next point of interest.
This time it was the Redwood part of the forest we concentrated our attention upon.
Just consulting the map to see how much more we wanted to do and see.
We were STARVING by the time we finished spending most of the day in Washington Park. I insisted we not eat anywhere in the downtown area because I did not want another culture shock experience.
So we went back over by the mall and ate at California Pizza Kitchen. It was perfect in the fact we had pizza leftovers to eat for breakfast the next morning.
We headed next to Yakima, Washington. We were going to spend the weekend with Mark and Michelle's family as Caleb had recently returned home from his mission to Honduras and was speaking in church.
Their family was finishing up Michelle's family reunion and so we had some time to kill until we were hooking up with them for dinner that evening.
We stopped at a grocery store to buy us a snack for our lunch. MMMMmmm!! Miniature Magnum bars! So delicious!! So glad I had some lactaid pills in my purse so I could indulge!
We decided to visit the Yakima Area Arboretum and get in some exercise walking around there.
As was wont to happen on this trip, I began to feel uneasy. Glen was walking us toward the path by the water on the other side of the fence. It was looking a little sketchy and I was sure we were off the Arboretum property at that point.
I held my breath and moved clear off the path when a man on a bicycle approached us wielding what looked like a weapon of some sort. At least I conjured up how he could use that round metal thing as a weapon.
The words of the popular game "Clue" came to my mind as I imagined the journalist report of our untimely death. "Glen and Kim Thomas killed by biker dude with a lead pipe in the Arboretum."
The man passed us by without incident, I regained my composure and we walked on. Glen soon found a sign board by that far fence showing proof we were still on actual Arboretum grounds.
We walked a little way along the path by the river.
I felt better when we walked away from the path and found legitimate Arboretum signage.
Then we were into the fir tree part of the Arboretum.
On our self-guided tour, we decided to stop for a rest on a bench and watched what was going on around us.
There was a big quinceañera celebration set up in the yard by the building.
The 15-year-old guest of honor was walking all around the grounds with her photographer getting different poses.
This one was my favorite!!! There she was flat on the ground as her photographer climbed a tree to capture the moment.
More of the garden area.
Our self-guided tour was complete once we got to the nut collection.
Meanwhile, Dad, Mom, Nani, Andy, Amanda and Maggie were on their way to Yakima that day. They stopped in Zillah to sightsee/see this site.
The Teapot Dome Service Station is a former gas station built in the shape of a teapot located in Zillah, Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (This information brought to you by Wikipedia.)
The station was built in 1922 on what later became U.S. Route 12. Many such novelties were constructed as roadside attractions as the national highway system in the United States expanded during the 1920s and 1930s. The unique service station continued in operation as a full-service gas station for some years.
It was relocated in 1978 and again in 2012 where it now serves as Zillah's visitors' center.
The group got situated in their hotel and we took a look at the view from their balcony and decided that path needed to be walked upon. There is safety in numbers and I didn't see any suspicious characters lurking about, and it turned out to be a lovely little walk for us.
We also went on a little drive to see the Apple Valley Eye Center where Mark will be working at a future date. It will be a much closer commute than where he's working now.
As we were walking around the building and probably looking like we were suspicious characters, the owner arrived on the scene. He had stopped to get something and it happened to be at the exact same time we were there and we got to meet him.
He invited us in and took us on a tour of the vision center. It was much better than peering in through the windows. We could en"vision" Mark there at work and that was a nice thing.
We finally got the word from Mark that their family had arrived in town and we planned to meet up for dinner at Old Country Buffet.
Rachel, Preston and his girlfriend Danielle came in a later carload. We were happy they got there before we left the restaurant so they could get something to eat and visit with the group.
Caleb came home from his mission to his younger brother towering over him. How did Thad get so tall???
Michelle's brother had retrieved the much-anticipated box of my clothes that had gotten delivered to Mark and Michelle's address and handed it to me after dinner. Everyone shared in my happiness that I hadn't lost all those clothes!!
On the Sabbath day we joined in worship services at the ward Mark presides over as bishop. It was wonderful hearing Caleb speaking about his mission and his love for the people and his love for our Savior.
Hailey and Elijah weren't able to be there for Sunday, but they had been there when Caleb arrived home from his mission and got to spend some time with him then.
Caleb showed us the lining of the suit coat that was specially made for him. It looks like the Honduras flag.
We admired some other souvenirs he had brought home with him.
While we were there, we got news Mike's daughter Cheryl was in labor. She labored for hours which turned into days. Then she gave birth by Cesarean section to baby girl Charlotte weighing in at nearly 10 lbs. What is it with such huge babies these days (i.e. Magnus, Kade and now Charlotte)??
We were unable to attend the baby blessing of Charlotte Zaetell and I was glad Nani sent me photos of the baby all dressed up in her white outfit.
It is interesting that the younger generation loves the name Zaetell. Jacob and Laurie used Zaetell for Natalie's middle name and now Cheryl is using it for her baby's middle name.
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