We headed from Washington to Oregon at a reasonable time with two planned stops on the way to PDX (Portland’s Airport). The first was at the Columbia Factory Employee store. Some of the information in the store’s name is true. The parent company is Columbia and they have one of their factories near by. But since Columbia owns (and has for a while) both Mountain Hardware & Prana those brands are also prominently featured. Not sure the connection to Sorrel boots, but sure there is one.
Anyway, the store just on the outskirts of Portland is probably double the size of the Mountain Hardware Employee store in Richmond or more and it was crowded. I behaved myself and picked up only one things (fox all-in-one suit for Lev).
Then it was on to Acorns & Threads which has to be one of my all time favorite cross-stitch stores. It is open, bright, well organized and staff by incredibly friendly and knowledgeable people. I picked up my two patterns one in a raffle back at the beginning of the month then picked on an extra pattern or two plus some specialty hand-dyed floss (since I was there….)
Tucking away my treasures, Kris and I grabbed lunch prior to her dropping me at the airport.
And that was where my fun began.
Several years ago while still living in Germany I had a plane change in Chicago (ORD if it matters). Opting out of the whole body scanner, I proceeded to fail the “wipe test” after being hand screened. It upset the poor TSA screener who found zero of concern in my luggage. Completely stumped, she called EOD. The particular person had been ready to leave the airport after an exercise. I recognized him from years prior when we both served on one of Army Material Command’s Surety Inspection Teams. After a good laugh and a reassurance that I wasn’t a terrorist, a recheck pinpointed the problem to my shoes. The lesson learned? Don’t walk through fresh grass if there is any chance of recent fertilizer being applied.
So I am careful about not walking through grass on my way to the airport. But there was another lesson learned which I had forgotten. A block of cheese has a nice density. Viewed through a security belt scanner, it might just be confused for another substance. I am not a cindercorn (fire breathing unicorn) and I don’t eat C4.
As it turns out, fudge also triggers concern as it appears as a nice, fairly dense block.
Next time I will just triple wrap the fudge and take my chances with it surviving in my checked luggage…
