BEST GIRL, BEST DAY, BEST BEER STOP: TAPPHORIA

The first ‘best life/best day’ of the year to hit seventy degrees feels like being a tourist in a familiar town.

The leaves on the trees are greener, I noticed little flowers of many colors. Even the plants my wife bought and left in the garage darkness look like they want to come back to life.

Living the best life means anything is possible, especially on the warmest day of the year.

I wanted to do something special, like cruise the river in a rented kayak, but that’ll have to wait until May.

Instead, my girl and I took a river walk in the woods of Cook Park, a suburban oasis along the Tualatin River. It’s why people move to Tigard, so their kids can roam.

My kids roamed there as tots, toddlers, through grade school, dragging their parents out to roam with them. It was … the time of our lives.

So we talked and talked and walked and remembered. Elaine saw a flower and stopped to look while I picked up a stick and tapped the back of her leg to make her jump.

Snake Bite. She didn’t jump. We walked a paved path and I jumped when I turned a corner and saw a snake sunning.

“What was that sound? Is there a little girl squealing near by?” she asked.

“Just me and my snake alert,” I said.

“Snake? Where? Oh, there it is in the grass. That’s what you squealed about?” she said.

I’ve had a lifelong thing about snakes that I’ve mostly worked through.

If I don’t have to cuddle another anaconda I ought to get there, but little snakes are still a surprise.

We followed the path, crossed the bridge, watched a commuter train pass on the elevated tracks.

On the return we took the wood trail, found a tent set up, nearly got side swiped by a trail bike, and crossed the playground to the parking lot.

The big parking lots were closed for sewer work, a new five foot pipe replacing a three footer.

“That’s a lot of sewage,” I said.

“A lot of sewage that won’t end up in Fanno Creek, the Tualatin River, Willamette River, Columbia River, and …”

“The ocean,” I said in the cutoff.

“Saving the ocean,” she said. “One five foot pipe at a time. This is the infrastructure work we hear so much about, the stuff on our house bills like water, sewage, electricity. Call Flint and ask how it’s been for them.”

“Look at these guys, big guys, strong guys, doing hard stuff. Woman can do anything men can do, but these look like football guys strong enough to change direction when something goes wrong and it’s either move fast or get squashed,” I said.

“They look like they could take the squashing where smaller people might be crushed,” she said. “Men doing manly work on a beautiful day couldn’t get any better.”

We found the car and drove out of the park.

“We did good,” I said. “Walked it out, stretched it out, on the best life/best day of the year.”

“The what?”

“Best life/best day?”

“What’s that?”

“Something I made up to pump a day that doesn’t need the pump. You know, best life? Is this one of the best days of our life? Why not. Warmest day of the year, no clouds, gentle breeze,” I said.

“Perfect human weather,” she said, and rolled the window down.

“That’s us. This is the best weather to be outside and we did it. Almost makes me want to keep it going,” I said.

“Me, too,” she said.

“Okay, then it’s settled. We’ll stop by Tapphoria for their perfect Tapphoria IPA on this best life/best day,” I said.

“Will this make a best life/best day even better?” she said.

“Science says yes, drinking a beer with my best girl after a grueling death march with no water break pumps up a best life/best day moment,” I said.

“How would you know, you just made it up.”

“Are you my best girl ever?”

“Of course.”

“Did you just make that up?”

“I don’t need to make that up.”

“Look, agreeing again. Best girl/best life/best day/best beer.”

“Sounds pretty good when you say it like that.”

“So I’m your best guy ever?”

“Today? Yes, for today.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“We’ll see about tomorrow when it comes,” she said.

“That’s what best life/best day/ best girls/ say best.”

“I think stopping for a beer sounds good.”

“Best girls say that, too.”