Angie Windheim

Heat wave?! Are you serious? Good grief! Oregonians do not know how to handle this above 100 degrees stuff 🙂  So, if you’ve got kids and are bored with staying indoors in the air conditioning, I do have a few recommendations…

Murase Plaza at Memorial Park in Wilsonville: One of my favorite places to take the kids for some water fun is the “waterwall” in Wilsonville.  It’s also one of my favorite places to get great pics. Major photo op. There are mini-fountains in one area and a block-long rock wall with waterfalls and a concrete stream running in front. I recommend parking at the library across the street. The park parking is a bother of a walk on hot days and more appropriate if you want to play on the slides and such, but the library lines up nicely with the water. There is a public restroom…yay…but very little shade…boo. So, bring an umbrella if you are one of those parents that doesn’t want to join in the fun.

Wilson Pool: I make the trek out to Wilson Pool at least once a summer. Why don’t we have any outdoor public pools out near Sherwood/Tualatin/Newberg/Wilsonvillle/Tigard I have no idea?  My friends and I complain about it every year.  That said, Wilson Pool is worth the drive. It’s got a great slide, a diving board and the lazy river into the crazy, spinning whirlpool. So fun. It’s always busy, but we all seem to make our way through the crowds with ease.  Tuesdays are 2-for-1 which is great, but it’s extra crowded on those days.

Tualatin Commons Fountain and Salmon Street Springs: These are fun, too. Not as exciting, but a great stop on a hot day if you are nearby.  We had the kids run through Salmon Street Springs after visiting Saturday Market and the Brew Fest.  Tualatin Commons is very convenient for us after soccer practice.

Portland Fountains Next on My List: Lovejoy Fountain Park and Keller Fountain.

Dave Mathews Band moves me. Whether the lyrics bring emotion or the music behind them gets me dancing…I’m moved. With their latest release, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, they did it again. I can’t get enough of “Funny the Way it is” or “You and Me” or “Grux” and my kids love “Alligator Pie.”   I wasn’t sure what to expect with this release, but is a wonderful tribute to their fallen band mate, Leroi Moore.  We were at one of the first concerts they played after he died (in fact, we were worried they’d cancel the show at the Gorge because they had cancelled several before that). It was an amazing show. They played their hearts out.  I’m disappointed to not be making the trek to the Gorge this year. I would love to hear the new stuff live. But, we go every other year to their annual 3-day stop for Labor Day Weekend and this isn’t the year to go. It’s such a good time. One of the best parties you’ll ever go to.  Just make sure you plan to camp in the big field, get to the show in time for an amazing sunset, and be ready to stay up all night 🙂  Here are a few pics to give you an idea of the setting.

Imagine the stress of having Coldplay tickets in your hand, but not knowing if you can actually make it the concert…  Two of my boys were in district play-off baseball games Friday night and were putting our night out at serious risk. We even tried to sell the tickets, but luckily no one took us up on that spectacular opportunity.  And, luckily, both boys won their games in timely fashion and we were off to the concert.

We are big Coldplay fans. We have all of their CDs. We know all of their songs (and probably all of the words).  The concert was fantastic. Coldplay puts on an excellent, very engaging show. Lots of audience interaction, including a fantastic acoustic set where they came out and visited us poor folks in the general admission lawn seating.  That set included a tribute to Michael Jackson with a cover of Billy Jean.  Very well done. Chris Martin can hit those high notes 🙂  Not sure what my favorite song was. I have too many. Their closing set included “The Scientist” which I LOVE!!!

So, being such huge fans, the concert couldn’t disappoint. That being said, I think the Clark County Amphitheater is my absolute least favorite place to see a concert. We’ve had stellar seats in the reserved section before and it that was pretty good, but then why be in an amphitheater when you are under a cover and can’t see beyond the stage. Sitting in the lawn is a totally lame experience. The sounds is not good, not loud enough, and you can’t see a dang thing. We couldn’t even see the big screens until it got really dark and you could easily hold a conversation during the conert. That’s just wrong! I joked with my friend that if you took the binoculars and focused on the big screen, it was like you were really at a concert.  I’ll never be excited to go that venue, but now I know that I will absolutely not sit in the lawn. Pay the money, honey.  You’ve either gotta be close or not go.  It’s such a different experience than the Gorge Amphitheater. That one rocks no matter wear you sit.