Slappycakes and Ways to Pay For It

Food, glorious food- so many yummy things to eat, so many calories to burn. Upon recom-
mendation from an old Open Classroom family, who has given us many wonderful local tips, we hit up their favorite eating establishment for Sunday morning breakfast- Slappycakes. The wait was long, the food was wonderful and the experience super-fun. We ordered our batter (it's Portland, so you know they had a vegan option), our mix-ins (I went savory, the others sweet) and went to town making them just perfect on the griddle in front of us.


Romney checked out a lot of Yotsuba graphic novels from the library and is on a kick with her. He made is pancake resemble Yotsuba and her bicycle.




In order to work off that wonderful breakfast-
brunch (by the time we got there and got a table), we made our way to Forest park. Forest park is an urban oasis. Tucked within the limits of this metropolis, planners saved a natural green space that transports you hundreds of miles away and through time, when no human sprawl existed. We figured out a lovely trail (Maple trail) and were all excited to get outside. Problem: Romney fell asleep in the car on the way there from Slappycakes. He was grouchy and whiney for 3/4 of the hike. Moaning "I'm tired" while grabbing onto my arm and hanging his body weight off of me. Not our best hike, but it was beautiful.


Forest park is close proximity to a neigh-
borhood guidebooks and friends have been telling us was worth a peek, so we drove through the NW 21st and 23rd area. It was a mix of local shops and big chain stores with cozy restaurants and bars tucked in between. It was hopping on a Sunday afternoon. Best sight never seen before of the day: The "brew cycle" where people drank and pedaled off those beer calories all at the same time.


Luckily, there was a designated brewcycle driver to prevent any drunk brewcycling accidents. I am sure we looked almost equally strange following it around in our car with me and my phone hanging out the window to get this photo.


Bill's last day off before going back to work on Tuesday. We needed something fabulous to do. With a whole days' time and well rested children, we packed up our lunches and our camelbacks and drove up the gorge to do some hiking. First trail on our to-do list was Multnomah Falls. BIll had poked around the night before and found a great hike that had views of 10 different falls and was 5 miles long (just about what our little monkeys can do before they poop out on us.) The trail looped from the Multnomah Falls lodge up around the back, up 1600 feet and then back down to the lodge.


We got up part way and had spectacular views of the gorge from above. Having never seen it from anywhere but the I-84 we were all awestruck at just how magnificent it is. But that view comes at a steep price. "Steep" being the operative word in that sentence. The trail worked a pretty steep incline. The trick is it kept working it with no respite for 2.5 miles. Bill, William and I were challenged. Romney acted like it was nothing.


Romney bolted up each and every switchback well ahead of the rest of us. Taunting us about how much higher he was than the rest of us chumps. Telling us he was first to each and every one of the 10 falls we saw today. I wondered where this guy was yesterday. You know, the one I was complaining about leaning on me moaning for an hour yesterday. I guess he woke up.


Or we bribed him. Well sort of. He didn't have to finish first, just finish. We told him that we could hit the gift shop for as long as he wanted at the end of the hike and get a treat to boot. Whatever, it must have worked. I bet he will sleep well tonight, well as soon as his sugar rush wears off.