One of the best things about summer is the wealth of fresh and local fruit and vegetables that are available. Today we took a trip out to the farm and got sweet fresh summer peaches straight from the tree. It’s hard to beat fresh fruit that is grown organically and locally. I’ve always felt it is important to support local farmers. If you can get it fresh and local why would anyone want to buy from a far away source. Find a local farmers market near you at Local Harvest (http://www.localharvest.org/)
Woke up this morning and started thinking about the predicted 90 degree weather here in the valley. What do you do when the weather gets hot here? You head for the coast where it’s a bit cooler. So we packed up the car and hit the road. Rather than hit the usual places we’ve been to many times before we decided to head to the north Oregon coast from Newport on north. We headed up Hwy. 99 to Corvallis and then west on Hwy 20 to Newport. The drive was nice despite the constant chatter from the back seat of “Are we there yet?” or “How much farther?” As soon as we hit Newport though we knew the weather would be much different. We could see the fog bank skirting the shoreline and while the wind wasn’t too bad it was definitely cool outside. It was strange to look toward the ocean and see fog and then look inland and see nothing but sunshine. We drove north on Hwy 101 to Agate Beach where we let the kids out to run and play on the beach. They scoured the shore for shells and rocks. We found lots of jellyfish and a sand burrowing crab that we played with. Eventually we put the crab near the water and watched him burrow deep into the sand and disappear. The kids continued to run into the water and let the waves chase them. At one point I wasn’t paying too close attention to the boys and they wandered out a bit toward the waves. A larger wave then they were used to came in and knocked both of them off their feet and tossed them around in the surf a bit. I could see my youngest son floating with a look of pure panic on his face. Keep in mind that the water off the Oregon coast is not a nice warm tropical water. It’s bone chilling icy cold freeze your arse off water and both boys were now soaked by it. I raced into the water myself and hoisted them both out. The older boy wanted to keep playing in it but the youngest was crying and saying he didn’t want to go to the beach any longer. I got them back up to the car and we dried them off and changed clothes. Back on the road we continued north through Depoe Bay to Lincoln City and then further north through Cloverdale, Beaver and Pleasant Valley to Tillamook where we were going to stop at the Air Museum but first stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we got to see the production floor of a large cheese making facility. The place was packed to the hilt but the kids wanted ice cream. To get the ice cream you had to wait in a long line to order and pay. Then once you got your order receipt you had to shuffle over to another line where you had to wait to actually get your ice cream. The problem was that none of the lines was clearly identified so we waited a long time in the wrong line and had to then go to the back of the correct line. By the time we got out of there it was too late to go to the museum as they were closing in 30 minutes. Oh well…I guess we’ll save that for another time. We decided to keep driving north since this was new territory for us and stumbled upon a small town named Garibaldi. This weekend happened to be Garibaldi Days and they had some special trains in town. The first thing you notice when you enter the town is the tall smoke stack which is all that remains of the Whitney Mill built in 1921. The kids also quickly spotted the train which turned out to be the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. They were in the process of moving some engines on the track so the boys really enjoyed that. The engine was a 1910 Heisler Steam Locomotive and we watched them fill it up with water from a fire hydrant. There was also a non-functional Polar Express train engine there which the kids instantly recognized from the movie. We also got to see the Great Northern (pictured) which was exciting. By this time it was getting late in the day so we headed for home. All in all an exciting day with the family. On to the next big adventure.
I’ve recently discovered the falafal. I don’t mean that I “discovered” the falafal but it is new to my menu. After eating one at Casablanca in the 5th Street Public Market (Eugene, Oregon) I had to question what took me so long to discover this incredible food. I mean I had heard of a falafal before but always thought of it as some strange food that would probably taste horrible and never really knew “what” it was. If you don’t know what a falafal is (don’t worry, I didn’t either) it is a fried ball (or patty) of spiced chickpeas (garbonzo) and/or fava beans. Since discovering Casablanca I have tried falafal at a few other places around town as well as up in Portland and I have to say that the falafal that Casablanca serves up are the best I’ve had. My favorite dish at Casablanca is the Falafal Sandwich which is a pita lined with hummus, layered with lettuce, tahini sauce, falafal, cucumber yogurt and a jalapeno relish. Good Lord it is good! I’ve also had the salad with tahini lemon dressing which makes a great combo with the falafal sandwich. Casablanca also makes a tasty drink called Majik which is a refreshing blend of Mediterranean juices (rose water, pomegranate juice). On a 90 degree summer day you can’t find a drink more refreshing than this. But don’t take my word for it. Head on down and try it for yourself. Say hi to Todd and the guys while you are there.
Took the camera out to experiment shooting fireworks. I’ve never shot fireworks before so I was curious how it would all turn out. Below are a few of the better shots. I used a 5D Mark II on a tripod with remote cable release. I shot these at ISO 100, bulb mode, manual focus, f/16. When I heard the canon go off I would activate the shutter, wait until I saw a good burst of firework and then close the shutter. It took a bit of practice to get the timing down just right. Leave the shutter open too long and you end up with too much streaking and not enough definition, close the shutter too soon and you don’t get the full explosion. The tripod and cable release are a must for these kinds of shots. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. Thanks for looking.
More on Flickr
Went to the Tigard Festival of Balloons yesterday. Tigard is about a 2 hour drive from us so in order to get there for the early morning (5:45) launch we had to hit the road no later than 4AM. Having gone to bed late the night before it was quite a chore but we did it and arrived just in time to see the first balloon lift off. There were plenty more balloons laid out on the tarmac with their baskets on their sides. The crew would first roll out the balloon on teh ground and then attach the basket. Then a powerful fan would blow air into the balloon to start inflating it. As more air was pushed into the balloon it would slowly and magically rise into the air and the basket would be pulled to an upright position. This got everyone excited, especially photographers who crowded around the balloon snapping photos like paparazzi. Next the fuel and burner system was checked and a test flame sent up into the balloon. As the air was heated you could see the basket start to pull up from the ground. After a few comments (and probably prayers) the pilot motioned that he was ready for lift-off and everyone stepped back a bit. The pilot then shot a stream of fire that seemed to go halfway up into the balloon. It only took a couple of jets on the throttle to get lift-off. It was just an amazing and peaceful sight to see all these balloons gently soaring into the sky one after another. What a cool experience it would be to go up in a hot air balloon, soaring quietly over the country-side at the mercy of the wind, looking down like a stranger on a foreign land. I overheard one pilot talking about having to adjust altitude to catch different streams of wind in order to change direction of the balloon. What a great analogy of our own lives. We have ups and downs and we seem to labor and stress over the downs. But sometimes you have to go down in order to catch that next stream of wind and change your direction.
Today was another nice day with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. The perfect day to get the garden in. Our garden has in the past been a hit and miss proposition. For example, last year we planted some nice green peppers which we had started indoors but the day after we got them in the ground something ate all of them. We tried watermelon and again something bore a hole in each one and ate the insides out leaving nothing but a hollow shell. Our corn ended up with some kind of fungus and we got maybe 2-3 good ears. We did have good success with cucumbers, spinach and lettuce though. So this year we decided to plant a few different things and see what happens. The lineup is tomatoes (including grape tomatoes, heirloom and yellow cherry tomatoes), cucumbers (banking on last years success), lettuce (romaine as well as leaf), spinach and a newcomer this year…eggplant. It’s all in the ground so now comes the WWW… Waiting…Weeding…Watering. I’ll post some pictures when I get the chance.
Took my boys fishing today. We came home with 8 rainbow trout. Here is a picture of the catch.
Went to the Woodburn Tulip festival this weekend. The tulips were in full bloom with lots of reds and yellows and purples mixed together. Just an incredible sight. The festival goes until May 3rd this year: Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. Here are a few shots taken from my trip there. More photos can be found on my Flickr site.
My youngest sister was heading over to Bend and hit a patch of black ice on Hwy 126 at Clear Lake. She then hit a snow bank and rolled her Jeep 3 times before it landed on its side in the road. She wasn’t able to get the window down or the passenger door open and she was worried that another car would come along, be unable to stop, and slam into her so she scrambled out the back window. Thank God she is ok although understandably shaken up and a bit sore. One of those scary events where your life flashes before your eyes. Below are a few photos taken at the scene.
Just had a fantastic day with family and friends at Hoodoo Ski Bowl on what they call their Autobahn Tube Area. Incredible fun in the snow. The runs were super fast today. So fast in fact that I wasn’t able to take more than 1-2 runs with my son in my lap before they said we couldn’t ride together because we were picking up too much speed. Despite that and the long lines it was a great time. There is a tow rope that will take you to the top if you want to wait in line or you can just walk up. The walk wasn’t too bad although after a few times you can definitely feel the altitude. Once at the top you pick the run you want to go down, plant yourself in your tube (basically and tire inner tube with a nylon cover) and launch yourself downhill. Some people chose to sit while others rode on their bellys. I think the more air that is in your tube teh faster you will go. The top of the run is pretty quick but you really pick up speed when you hit the drop at the midway point. I was pretty happy with my 5 year old son who walked up the hill several times and probably got the most runs of the day in. We’ll be planning more trips throughout the winter.
The Autobahn Tube Area at Hoodoo
Three Finger Jack
Hoodoo Tube Area
Hoodoo Ski Bowl
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