Jay and I are pretty committed to giving experiential gifts to grown-ups these days, since, as previously mentioned, we don't really NEED anything and it's always good to reduce the amount of unneeded, although well-intentioned STUFF that piles up around the house. Plus, who really remembers where that third green sweater came from? But, you're always going to remember the fun day when you went to _______ (fill in the blank) with ________ (fill in the other blank). So, Jay and I went snowshoeing, and I took day trips with Mom and Pops, too.
Mom and I went to Bonneville Hot Springs for a spa day. They were selling $100 gift cards at Costco for $80 a pop, so I stocked up on a few and studied the spa menu. After Christmas, the weather was better than it had been before, but Bonneville is out in the gorge and getting there is a hilly, twisty ride where, on occasion, it's possible to envision your car sliding on black ice and plunging a few hundred feet down the gorge and into the Columbia River. For some reason, I booked us for appointments at something like 9 in the morning on a Sunday, so it was a somewhat rushed trip to get out there, but once we were there, it was really pleasant. The building itself looks a little dated from the outside, but the spa was okay, and the people were super-nice. I have had my share of facials and massages, but never before have I had a private soak in the magical mineral waters of a hot spring. A quick facial plus a luxurious pedicure, and I was feeling pretty good. Mom had a massage and pedicure. We ate a relaxing lunch overlooking the garden and outdoor soaking pool and then headed home. The most stressful part of the visit was choosing the color of polish for our toenails.
Pops and I had a Carleton Watkins day - Portland Art Museum had what proved to be a hugely popular exhibit called Wild Beauty, featuring the history of photography in the Columbia River Gorge. There were alot of photos by Watkins and his contemporaries, but the exhibit went up through more current times including the harnessing of the river's power when the dam was built at The Dalles (and the Native American fishing grounds and many petroglyphs were sunk under the river). We also went to the Oregon Historical Society (quickly), had a great lunch across the park at South Park and watched as a downed tree was removed from a third story window of a nearby building.
And I didn't have to buy a single thing this year from L.L. Bean.
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