Oregon Zoo

Today we took a quick trip down to Portland with Missi & Jade for $2 Tuesday at the Oregon Zoo. It was raining when we left Olympia and then we hit fog and as we approached the Oregon border the sun broke out. It was a lovely fall day in the low 70s. We parked at Lloyd Center and took MAX to the Zoo. MAX was $4/round-trip for the two adults and free for the kids. Taking MAX saved us $1.50 (each) on admission so we paid $1.50 for all five us to get in to the zoo (the two little girls were free). $5 (our family's share) wasn't bad.

MAX: I had to sigh at the pro-Obama health plan rally they were attempting at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was dinky, but a few protesters jumped on MAX and started trying to enlist the support of 50-ish man walking with a cane. He kept staring straight ahead and telling them he wasn't educated enough to take sides. The man across from us walked down and then started asking questions of the protesters like, "So you really don't want a choice in health care?" It was funny really. On the way back, the moms heaved a sigh of relief when the drunk guy sitting next to our kids wanted to "give them something" but didn't have enough for all three. Whew! My kids loved the MAX train and became adept at standing when it was crowded on the way home.

Zoo: Ben and Kyri loved the zoo. Kyri showed strong signs of being my daughter by not wanting to pass a single exhibit. And Ben likes to read all the signs. We enjoyed seeing the baby elephant and polar bear swimming in the water most.

We ended the day exhausted and all three kids were passed out asleep by the time we were out of Vancouver. Probably the MAX ride wasn't necessary but they did enjoy it. And we would have had to pay $2 to park at the zoo and not gotten the $4.50 in discounts. Right?