Carrick

Life is a cabaret, old chum.

“The Presbyterian.” That was the name of my drink. The menu said it was from c. 1890 and pervasive in drinking establishments across America. Scotch, water, ginger beer, and some fancy kind of bitters. Vessel is way into bitters. I have no idea what bitters are.

It was worth trying once but I don’t think I’d ever order a “Presbyterian” again, despite my Scottish heritage.

As for the venue… chic, modern, cold, weird. The three of us sat in the window like mannequins on display. Not comfortable. Too expensive. Not to my taste. Give me a straight up Sapphire martini with an olive any old day and I’m a happy guy.

The food is excellent although very short on options for vegetarians. We sated ourselves on starters and salads and gelato.

The place is comfortable and friendly. We were seated next to the play area, however, which made us feel as though we were dining at a preschool with uncommonly good food. Our kids were a bit old for the play area scene (ages 5.5 & 7.7) so it was wasted on us. Next time I’d ask to be seated near the front of the restaurant.

This is likely the nicest bit of civilization in the greater Leavenworth area, the irony being it is meant to be a retreat from civilization.

It’s really a marvelous place. Everything is very well done. It’s so comfortable that you can’t believe how uncomfortable most of the places you’ve stayed in before now seem.

The one downside is the cost. It’s expensive. I think it’s the perfect place for smallish groups to get away together, like corporate retreats, or training seminars, or those types of meetings where your rich company or benefactor is footing the bill. Indeed, the place seems to cater to that type of thing.

It was mid-July and 100 degrees. We spent most of our time in the pool just to keep from melting.

I’m sure this is a fine location from which to set off on river rafting, skiing, and hiking adventures, but as a town, destination, attraction, etc. it leaves much to be desired. I don’t understand the appeal of the mock Bavarian village motif. And shouldn’t there be a mock Bavarian castle to go with?

Highlights: big public pool right in town; nice public park along the river; small, compact, walkable “village”. (A village in which only the tourists live.)

Lowlights: tourist traps galore; everything is fake; not so good restaurants; scant parking; really hot in the summer; did I mention the fakery?

the proprietor was blasting Tapes ‘n Tapes from his computer speakers. Cool toys, good tunes, good stuff.

And they are moving in a couple of months to 12th and Pike, to the same building that houses La Spiga. They’ll have a lot more space and, presumably, a better sound system.

We suddenly realized just how distracting the huge televisions are. The kids were positively hypnotized. Our kids never see commercial TV, so they were defenseless in the glow of the giant plasma screens playing Nickelodeon. It was a little sickening. Please, turn them off, or tune them into the sports channels so my kids won’t become zombies during dinner.

The pizza still rocks, though. We may just stick to delivery.

We were in Portland for the long weekend looking for things to do with the kids when our friend, who has a niece the same age as our oldest, suggested ice skating at Lloyd Center. We acquiesced hesitantly, feeling a little vulnerable after a couple of beers.

The next morning we awoke, had some breakfast, went for a swim in the hotel pool, dressed, and went for lunch and a stroll along NW 23rd. Then it was time to rendezvous at the ice rink. About the time we pulled into the parking garage I started getting a queasy feeling in my stomach. I knew my body was more aware of the coming situation than my conscience mind was. I started to think that I had been deluding myself into believing this would be no big deal. I conferred with Susan and she acknowledged the same feelings of WTF? Each of us had only been ice skating once before in our lives, 20+ years ago. Neither of our kids, ages 6 and 4, had ever skated or even seen an ice rink in person. The only skating they had ever seen was Olympic skating on TV, and one can only imagine what they expected.

Lloyd Center is a sprawling shopping mall across the river from Downtown and the ice rink is in the center of the mall, a major aspect of this adventure that I had neglected to foresee. It meant that potentially thousands of people would witness my every stumble, slip, and butt-bruising fall, while proud mothers, fathers, and grandparents, watching from beyond the rink walls with more sense than to move about ice on two very narrow steel blades, would capture it all on their video cameras. When this realization came to me in full, I balked. I must have asked both kids 10 times, “are you sure you want to do this?” hoping against hope that they were as fearful as I after seeing the huge crowd. They are often deterred by the most basic things which keeps them in a persistent state of wishy-washyness, but not this time. They were both determined. And so with their confidence my confidence rose a notch and we got in line for tickets and skates.

It was a madhouse getting the skates, then putting them on, then getting to the rink. Some sadistic twit must have thought it brilliant fun to put the skate rental downstairs from the rink so as to humble everyone as they attempt to climb upstairs in the most foreign footwear imaginable. Somehow my daughters were completely unphased, as if they had spent their entire lives walking like penguins on blades the width of a pencil. Then there was the slow shuffle to the rink entrance, where I hovered for a moment in solemn prayer (the agnostic’s version, where I shout obscenities in my mind at no one in particular), followed by the “what the hell” first step onto the ice. But I was was completely unprepared for what happened next.

I didn’t fall. I held my four-year-old’s hands, and occasionally gripped the wall, but as for my balance, I seemed to find it quite quickly and naturally. Concentrating on my kid’s experience kept me from freaking about what I was doing. It was amazing. It was fun. We spent two hours going around and around. The kids fell a few times, but neither I nor Susan fell. Incredible. We’re planning to go ice skating again.

You should try it, too.

We went here today to soak up some of that good metronatural feeling. Mmm mmm.

I’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately, and in the spirit of breaking routine and trying things a little differently, we went to All Purpose Pizza tonight instead of calling in for delivery. At first it seemed to be the more difficult option, dragging the kids at 7pm to a new, unknown place. But as it turned out, it was delightfully easy. They have a little “kid’s kitchen” where the wee ones can roll pizza dough to their heart’s content, and while ours were fully engaged in that activity, Susan and I were able to have an enjoyable adult conversation. It seemed like a little miracle.

And the pizza is pretty good but, yes, it is a tad expensive. We found the service to be excellent and the atmosphere comfortable. And of course there’s ale on tap.