HOW TO BUSY SATURDAY AUGUST 8, 2026

Focus on a busy Saturday starts Friday night.

I’m looking at you, baby boomer: Go to bed early Friday night and get up refreshed and enthusiastic, instead of hungover and droopy.

No one needs to see that beyond the mirror, and your spouse.

Get up early, hustle through the routine, and get out the door.

First stop? Swim lessons.

From Gold Fish Swim School:

 

Why Families Choose Goldfish Swim School in West Linn

We’re proud to have been voted Best Swim Instruction by PDX Parent, and here’s why:

• Small class sizes ensure each child receives the individual attention they need.

• A warm, 90-degree pool helps kids feel comfortable in the water year-round.

• Certified instructors create a positive, supportive learning environment.

• Flexible scheduling and classes designed for all ages.

• Conveniently located swim school within West Linn.

 

Swim Programs for Every Age and Skill Level

We offer swim lessons tailored to each child’s age and skill level:

• Mini (4–35 months): Helping babies get comfortable in the water while learning early water safety skills.

• Junior (3–4 years): Building water independence and coordination in a fun, supportive environment.

• Glider (4–12 years): Refining strokes, building confidence, and improving swimming techniques.

• Pro (4–12 years): For children who want to take their swimming skills to the next level.

The place was packed with kids, parents, and grandparents, which I was proud to represent.

 

Next Stop Right Next Door

What’s next door to the pool school?

West Linn McMenamins, which rolls off the tongue like a thanksgiving turkey sandwich and a beer.

Saturday afternoon off the clock with my growing family? That’s what I signed up for.

We hear about what’s not signed up for, “I didn’t sign up for this,” but not this time.

This is exactly what I signed up for.

Then old baby walked around the table and looked in the brew room and thought she saw a picture of me in there.

 

Cute kid.

This is why busy Saturday starts Friday night, or you might look like that.

 

From West Linn we took the back roads to Wilsonville to check in with a friend in motion and do a short inventory of ‘what’s in the tall kitchen cabinets?’

From there, more backroads, to Sherwood and Langers.

If you drive these roads all the time it all looks like a normal, everyday, drive, but out of state people see the land and feel something more, something beautiful, in the rolling hills.

Oregon is like that with all of the different terrains, from mountain and beaches to rolling plains.

The parking lot behind Langers held an art show, a craft show, and a bandstand.

My favorite wildlife photographer was also there.

 

Busy Times For An Off The Clock Busy Saturday

Like travelers on the rolling hills of Oregon having a revelation, this photographer has taken it across the planet and back.

He’s just returned from Africa and his pictures show his Oregon eye as strong there as it is here.

When you hear about people who attract animals to them, he is one of them.

And I’m not talking about mosquitoes.

Whether it’s a coincidence of timing, or something else, he gets shots you don’t see from other cameras.

 

From late afternoon to early evening we listened to bands, and in between set-ups they called out winners for the lottery tickets sold all day.

Our little girl won. They called her name and she went to the front for her prize, an African spotted dog stuffy.

We were all excited at the table. Who ever wins a lottery at an art event?

The spotted dog was very excited, so excited it knocked my beer over on the perforated table so it poured through, soaked my crotch, legs, and feet.

Then it was time to go.

That last part of a damn near perfect busy Saturday?

The parents got invited to a meteor watch party after dark; we got to spend the night with our own little star.

 

PS:

With football season coming up you need to get these kind of days out of the way? Or . . .

 

PSS:

Grandkid season is all year.

Yesterday felt like a moment. Two families, two locations, twice the fun.

Sign up for that if you get the chance and you’ll feel like a winner.

If part of the win includes an African spotted dog, keep them away from full glasses.