Wagner Butte

August 30

I have been walking and hiking for weeks so I am ready for a challenge. My plan, along with Russ, was to take on Mt. McLaughlin. A perfect cone of a mountain rising to 9200 feet just to the northeast of Ashland.

But nature intervened and we decided to take a pass today on Mt. McLaughlin due to the heat and the exposure to the sun. The last 1000 feet of McLaughlin is mostly climbing over rocks and boulders ..not fun in the sun and heat. So instead we took off early this morning for Wagner Butte which is supposedly "easier" (Ha! 10.5 miles climbing 3,000 feet is not EASIER!). But the Wagner trip is in the trees for most of the hike so the sun and heat was never a problem. The last 100 feet or so were a bit hairy climbing over large boulders with a severe drop below. I did not look down and Russ was a very good guide. I never would have done this by myself.

I really felt a high getting to the top and the view was incredible. I can really get into this! We could see for miles, Snow covered Mt. Shasta to the south,Mt Ashland along side us and McLaughlin to the north. Russ tells me that this mountain range is and "active" range with Mt. Saint Helens being the latest one to erupt.

I am back in Ashland now and ready to take a nap..and SOOO Hungry. I just ate half a jar of peanut butter ....it was great. I would eat more but it is all gone. More adventure to come next week I hope.

Bambi and friends in Ashland

August 26th

I like deer as much as anyone else. They are so cute and graceful and animating a doe with her fawn made lots of parents and their kids big fans of Walt Disney. But this is ridiculous! There are more deer roaming the streets of Ashland than Toyotas.

Yesterday afternoon as we were relaxing on the patio up strolls a buck the size of a small horse. Palua freaks out and runs for cover. Brave King Arthur (moi) defends the damsel and tries to chase him away. Without a weapon on any type to fend him off I resort to yelling "get out of here" LOUD. He totally ignores me for a few seconds and then decides to move on and slowly strolls to the next neighbors yard. I am so brave and will now be immortalized as the defender of damsels with my voice alone. Take that Mel Gibson and "Braveheart".

The pic is a friend this morning, not the menacing buck of yesterday.

Grizzly Peak with Russ and Dallas

Tuesday August 25

I love to start my day with a 6AM conference call with a client in NYC..good for the soul. But really if this allows me to get up to Grizzly Summit without compromising my business responsibilities, then I will do it.

My call ends around 6:45 and then Russ, Dallas (his dog) and I are off for breakfast at Brothers Cafe. Dallas passes on breakfast and sleeps in the car preparing for her climb. Dallas is a older Corgi, but Russ and Erin keep her fit by hiking with her on the dozen of great trails in the nearby mountains. Her short legs work hard to get her up and back but she loves it..way to go Dallas!

The Grizzly trail starts about 20 minutes out of town in a densely wooded area, much of the trees are old growth and several hundred years old. The summit is at 6000 feet and you climb about 1500 feet from the trail head. Not too difficult to climb and since you are in the trees the climate is perfect. Only the last part of the hike is exposed and much of that caused by a fire in 2002 which was started by an arcing power line touching a tree. It burned about 3 square miles but the forest is recovering and in another hundred years you will hardly know there was a fire.

I could easily give up golf if I could hike these trails several times a week and there are dozens, if not hundreds of well maintained trails either starting in or just outside Ashland! (Well maybe I would play once a week to keep my game fresh to take some money from friends John, Dennis and Sam on our annual trip to Sandhills Nebraska). And by the way, on such a beautiful day..we saw NO ONE ELSE on the trail!!

Tim & Kati Case Gelato King and Queen of Ashland

Monday August 24th

After a nice morning walk exploring new Ashland neighborhoods, we drove a few miles to the Bass outlet in Phoenix (the other one in OR). Scored some really nice shirts at 70% off and a beautiful wheeled back pack for $25. Following the Bass sale it was on to at a local produce market for some great organic, locally grown, cantaloupe and peaches. This sounds really boring does it not? , but I am loving every moment of the pace and the Oregon weather.

On the way home took a detour to our building lot which sits high above the University in the trees (see the pic above with me in it.) The view from the lot is breathtaking but we decided a few years ago that eventually it would be sold and the $$ used to buy a cute little place closer to town. No longer need, or can afford, a palace on the hill with a driveway that was going to cost $150,000 alone!

Afternoon gelato time was approaching and we read about this little place across the street from Southern Oregon University. We decided to try it. Pretty good, although not nearly as good as "That's Amore" near our home in Scottsdale.

But the real story about the place "Case//Coffee" is its owners. Tim and Kati Case look like high school students, which they were until they graduated in 2003. I did not tell her this, but Kati is a dead ringer for Tori Spelling, only younger and prettier. Tim and Kati told me that from their days in high school as boyfriend and girlfriend, they always wanted to own a business together, a coffee shop. Well they did it! And after they spent a couple of weeks touring Italy together they decided to add gelato to their coffee shop menu. Good decision!

In spite what you hear from the foul spewing talking heads on Fox news, you can succeed in this country if you show a little creativity and are willing to work hard. Tim and Kati are fine examples.

Beer and Ice Cream

Beer and Ice Cream sounds like a combination that is best left in the recipe book. When I was in Vancouver I read a review about Black Butte Porter XXI that raved about the beer. It is a really strong beer (11% alcohol) brewed with a hint of chocolate. In Portland I found it at a specialty beer and wine store and bought a large bottle. The owner of the store told me that if i drank it all by myself it would be like drinking a whole bottle of Chardonnay. He said, "find some friends to share it with after a fine dinner. And if you really want to do something special, pour it over good vanilla ice cream!"

We got to Ashland, and a couple of nights later shared dinner with our friends and owners of the cottage we are renting, Russ and Erin Page. Russ and Erin are Chicago transplants who made Ashland their home several years ago. They seem perfectly content trading the big city for living the Oregon/Ashland lifestyle.

Back to the dinner. I bought some beautiful fresh Alaskan King Salmon and slow cooked it on the grill on cedar planks seasoned only with brown sugar and butter. Started the meal with fresh gazpacho soup with melon. The salmon was complimented with Erin's great salad and grilled veggies.

This time of year in Southern Oregon fruits and vegetables are in abundance and so tasty. The grapes in the surrounding vineyards are beginning to ripen for the harvest about a month away. Russ had an arbor above his patio and I enjoyed picking them right off the vine.

At the end of the meal comes the grand event. After some difficulty removing the wax sealing the Black Butte XXI Erin brings it to the table along with the vanilla bean ice cream. The ice cream goes in our bowls and then covered by the beer....sensational!! Russ and I have seconds and there is enough left for a couple of drinks straight up. If you can find the stuff and you don't mind paying $15 for a bottle of beer the size of a wine bottle...buy it! Be sure to share it with good friends.

Macbeth

Saturday August 22, 2009

I have seen Macbeth performed many times. This had to be one of the better ones, maybe the best.
The lead was played flawlessly by Peter Macon, a dead ringer for Samuel L Jackson, who did such an amazing job as Othello last year. The concluding fight scene between Macbeth and Macduff was incredibly real with blood and all. When the performance ended the whole place stood up and cheered even hoots and howls. Will Shakespeare would have enjoyed this performance.
What I learned this time around was the history around Shakespeare’s writing of this play and its relevance to the times. King James I had just succeeded Elizabeth I to the throne in 1603 and the play was written and performed in front of the king only a few years after that. Like Macbeth, James I was a Scot, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, who had been executed by Elizabeth about 15 years earlier. His father was also assassinated and James I had just escaped an assassination attempt (the “gunpowder plot”, Guy Fawkes etc.). Understandably, Jimmy the King was probably fearful of someone knocking him off.

If WS wanted to get the King’s attention with a play, this was the one! Imagine the look on Jimmy's face when King Duncan gets a knife put in his chest by Macbeth right at the start. WS sure had balls to write a play like this and perform it in front of a king with a lot of “baggage”.

For more on The Oregon Shakespeare Company www.osfashland.org

Music Man Ashland Style

August 20th Thursday night.

Meredith Wilson’s “Music Man” opened on Broadway in 1957 and has appeared on stages around the world for more than 50 years. It has been a popular production for high schools and amateur production companies. The movie was a big hit in 1962. I have seen the show several times, as recently as a few years ago when I watched an abysmal production on Broadway for $100 a ticket.

I am happy to say, last night’s performance was the best I have ever seen. The director’s interpretation of the Musical, set in 1912 Iowa, was amazing.

The Oregon Shakespeare Company has always been extremely liberal when it comes to its casting, asking the audiences to be “color blind” and accept all sorts of actors in roles that have been traditionally stereotyped. Sometimes it really falls flat, like casting a skinny white kid as the “son” in Raisin in the Sun, a story of prejudice and conflict within a black family. Or casting Aeriel, the Tinkerbell-like fairy in The Tempest, with a tall Asian, or the traditionally virile and adventurous Prospero cast as a woman.

So, when I read that Professor Harold Hill’s love interest, Marion Purdue, in the musical was being played by a black woman (right!, lots of interracial couples in Iowa in 1912 and maybe there we three blacks in the whole state then!) I was less than thrilled. But, it worked and after a short while, it was easy to accept Marion as an Iowa librarian.

Having said all that, the thing that really was truly amazing to me about this Music Man was the fact that the director used a deaf actor in a key supporting role. the actor signed throughout production as other members in the cast signed back spoke and fed back what the deaf actor was "saying". The dialog on stage was total seamless and flowed as though signing was perfectly natural. The cast made it look easy, I am sure it took lots of work.

Also, with ASL(American Sign Language) such a visual part of the show, the director decided to use another visual, color, to express how Harold Hill “lifts” the town as a musical Pied Piper. When the play opens, all the cast (Iowans) are dressed in grey. Even the American flag on the set is grey. Harold Hill, a slick travelling salesman, comes to River City Iowa dressed in a bright red and white jacket and pants.. and is the only color on the set. But as the show progresses and time passes and Hill’s idea of creating a marching band for the children of the town begins to take hold, color is introduced to the costumes and the grey begins to dissappear.. By the end of the musical, all the costumes are brilliant colors, the kids are wearing their sparkling band uniforms and the American Flag is the traditional red, white and blue.

Bravo OSF!!!

Shel is not a fan of B&B but this one is fine

Late afternoon Wednesday August 20th

We arrive in Ashland without a place to stay and sleeping in the car is not an option since we have piled in most of our personal possessions into the Prius on this 5 week car trip. Russ has been kind enough to find us a room at the Coolidge Inn, just down the street from the cottage we will occupy tomorrow for two weeks. Thanks mucho Russ..really.

The Inn is quite charming and the room had its own bath and designer toilet paper.

We arrive at the Inn just in time for happy hour. Nice cheeses and wines, but when I tell the owner that Paula is really into Black Butte Porter Beer, off to the frig he goes and brings out a local IPA (India Pale Ale) from Deschutes, nearby Black Butte. Wow! What a great beer..I will take a case back to AZ and share it with only my best friends.
We met some nice people during happy hour but we gravitated to a couple from Carmel/Big Sur California. He was Belgium but grew up in SoCal and looked a bit like an old surfer dude. Gaston Georis, his name.

We start talking and I ask him what he does. He owns a restaurant, he tells us. It’s not just any restaurant I find out but “Casanova”, one of the best in the state. www.casanovarestaurant.com/ In a understated way, he tells me about the famous people who have dined in his place including Julia Child, who gave him only one suggestion. ‘Serve tea the way it is meant to be served. Pour the hot water over the tea, never place the tea bag directly into the water. " Got to love Julia!

We do some more talking and Gaston tells us he started his career as a professor at UCLA but always had a liking for music. He had written some scores that were used by advertisers and Hollywood. “Really”, I ask, “like what”. Gaston casually replies,“My best one was the score for “Endless Summer”.
Whoa! The ENDLESS SUMMER! The Bruce Brown mid-sixties flick that followed surfers around the world. The ultimate surfer movie that has been watched by generations ever since. Yup, that movie. Check out this Utube clip. Gaston is the guywith the hat playing the guitar and some kind of accordian you blow into. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH1K23rAYOQ

Underground in Newberg Oregon

Wesnesday August 20th

We decided to take the scenic wine route from Portland to Ashland. Well worth the trip.

I remember several years ago there were bumper stickers on cars in Oregon saying “Don’t Californicate Oregon”, meaning for Californians --- stay out. Of course, Oregonians would always make exceptions for really good football players who were willing to play for the Oregon Ducks. (We LOVE Duck football!! Go Ducks!)

It now seems Oregon is on a mission to take as much of the wine market away from California as possible. For my money the Oregon wines are every bit as good as those in California, and at much less the price. They may lack the snob appeal, but for me they are fine.

The Willamette Valley south of Portland is where much of the state’s wines are grown. The landscape consists of rolling hills with the mountains in the distance. Vineyards appear for miles on either side of the road and every few miles or so, up pops another little town. We decided to stop in one of these towns,Newburg, for breakfast.

So what’s so significant about Newberg? Nothing except that we discovered our new “best breakfast place of all time” , the Underground Cafe and Restaurant. Underground has now replaced the Ponderosa in Dolores Colorado which held the top spot for over 20 years.

When you think of Miami you think of the beaches, Sunshine, the Miami Hurricanes and lots of Cubans. Well a couple of chefs escaped from there and returned home to Oregon to open up “Underground” last February. They are the caterers for lots of vineyards as well as owning this Oregon-trendy (boy that’s an oxymoron!) little restaurant. The Underground is a friendly place with lots of boutique Oregon wines and beers available. We passed on beer and wine with breakfast and went with the PMS smoothie(peach/mango/strawberry) and two amazing breakfast sandwiches. Paula’s sandwich was a creation that one would never think of, bacon, lettuce, tomato and cream cheese topped with local marion berry jam. All this is sandwiched between two waffles. Simply the Best!

Fellow travelers, if you are ever anywhere near Portland, take the trip south have some great wines and enjoy the breakfast at Underground. I expect that dinners and lunch will not disappoint you as well.

Shauna and Anthony in Portland

We met Shauna and Anthony at La Finca Anita in Guanacoste Costa Rico last Feburary and have stayed in touch ever since. What a great pair. Explored the Rose Test Garden in the afternoon and then back to the house they are remodeling for a great dinner. Anthony is quite the chef even though he relies on his banking career to help pay the bills. Shauna is a true partner in the remodel project as they have done virtually everything themselves. Nothing makes a woman more attractive to a man than if she can put up drywall! If she can wire, then she is off the charts and I think I heard her say that she loves to wire. No wonder Anthony smiles so much around her. Shauna also helps pay the bills as a director of the Oregon food program for the needy. Hard to believe they are just 25 and 29.

Curb your dog..please. AND pick up the mess

Tuesday August 18th

Ready to head out from Seattle to Portland from Seattle having spent the evening with Karen and Howard L on Mercer Island. So out I go to pack up the car on a beautiful clear morning. Having made one trip to the car, I return for more items to pack (endless items on this trip!!) and as I am walking downstairs, Karen says “you have something messy on your shoes and it’s now on the white carpet”. Then Paula says, “and it really stinks”. Well guess what I brought in on my waffle soled hiking boots…dog excrement otherwise known as dog turds, dog dew and most commonly dog shit! Some friendly neighbor was kind enough to have his dog take a dump right behind my car and as I was packing up and not looking at the ground, I stepped into it..yuck! I clean up the mess with some chemical agent that Karen gave me and will probably make my hair fall out in a year. Then I take a brush to the boots and try cleaning them in the laundry sink. Oops, the bristles on the brush move the smelly little pieces not into the sink as I intended but rather on to my clean (formerly clean that is) white shirt. What a great way to start my day.
I don’t believe in capital punishment, but if I could find the dog’s owner, I would have he/she buried up to their head in sand and then pasted with their dog’s mess daily for at least a week.

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting

Monday August 17th
President Obama please, please send some stimulus money to the Canadian border crossing. Waiting 2-3 hours to cross from Canada back the USA really sucks! I was easier for me to get into West Berlin when the communists were still in the East! I hope they fix this before the 2010 Olympics but security will be even tighter then. Too bad.

The Dean of Blackberries

How about picking fresh blackberries right in the middle of a city. Here we are walking in the park and we meet Dean. Dean is from a place near Kamloops and now lives in Vancouver and manages the best hamburger place in Vancouver (according to the local magazine). He is picking blackberries to make into brandy and bring to his mom for jam. The blackberries are everywhere and he assures us they are safe to eat right off the bush. Canadians never lie, so we try them. Wow! Like nothing we ever get in the store, so fresh, so juicy. Thanks Dean!

Sunday in the Park with Lord Stanley

Mention Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, or Lord Stanley, to me and I think of Hockey. Stanley was an avid hockey fan and his sons played the game in the late 1800s. In 1892, Derby gave Canada its most treasured sports treasured national icon, besides Wayne Gretzky — the Stanley Cup.
Stanley Park also honors the 16th Earl of Derby and strolling along its beautiful sea wall or walking the tranquil paths of it's green gardens and forests one is hardly thinking about slap shots and bodies slamming into the boards with rabid fans screaming for more.
Without a doubt this is the most beautiful city park I have ever been in. Today, with sunshine beaming on us, the whole city seems alive and in the park. What a beautiful day! Tomorrow we end our week here and then on to Seattle. Although this is the fourth time for me in the city, I have a much better feel for the place having explored more neighborhoods and talking to more of the locals. This will not be my last time here.

A Sad Day in the Cathedral of the Trees

Paula awoke yesterday morning around 2AM and could not fall back to sleep until about 6. Shortly after eight, she opened her e-mail and received a message that a dear friend of hers and her family, had succumbed to leukemia. Elisa Lanes was in her early forties and left behind three young children and a husband. We found out later, after Paula had called her mom on the East Coast, that Elisa had died around 2AM, around the same time that Paula woke up in the middle of the night.

None of us are spared from the death of a young family member, friend and even spouse. It hurts and we all ask why? But when the dust finally settles and the grief subsides we are left with memories, and in the case of Elisa, I am sure there will be lots of warm memories left for all of those whom she touched. It's not always what you accumulate in your life that matters but what you leave behind.

Fitting that yesterday we headed off to West Vancouver and Lighthouse Park. The park sits at the end of a peninsula and is an old growth forest that is largely the same as it was when George Vancouver explored the Puget Sound in the mid-eighteenth century. Some of the trees are over 500 years old! What a peaceful place! Paula renamed it "The Cathedral of the Trees". Being here was quite soothing for her. It was hard to believe, we were barely 10 miles from the heart of downtown Vancouver.

I could easily move to this part of the world. The locals here appear to care little about the rain, it's what makes this place so green and beautiful. And with nature at your doorstep, it's hard to find a place like this if you like the outdoors. As one local said to me this week. 'We all work to play in Vancouver!" I can't wait to see the Vancouver Olympics this winter. I am sure the city and the people will be sparkling as they welcome the world for two weeks!! BUT...I will still pull for TEAM USA...

Stop two yesterday was just down the coast from Lighthouse Park. Horseshoe Bay Village. The town is tucked away between the sound and the mountains and the spot where cars and people board the BC Ferries for places North and West. Many of the ferries head up the "Sunshine Coast", but there is still no sunshine with me today. Had a picnic lunch in the park overlooking the happenings around two ferry departures. Park was filled with kids and dogs..seems like they are everywhere!

About the dogs here. It must be a provincial law they are not allowed to misbehave or bark and must be friendly. Really, maybe it's something about the air up here but the dogs are amazing. If I do move to BC, the first thing I will get will be a dog, make that two dogs.

Matt came up from Seattle yesterday afternoon. We did a little walking around the neighborhood and then pigged-out last night at Hon's ...Peking Duck.. the real deal. We are becoming addicted to Hon's ..been there three times already. Today it's off to North Vancouver and Lynn Canyon. Matt wants to visit some crazy-mountain climbing store to find a special harness. He learned rock climbing during his NOLS days and has gotten back into it. He tells me he and a group of experienced climbers are planning an ascent of Mt. Rainer next summer. Hope his medical and life policies have been paid! LOL.

Food for Everyone

Vancouver is very culturally diverse city, but it is clearly has a strong Asian influence, particularly when it comes to dining. Our friends the Fellers recommended we try Hon's for an authentic Chinese Noodle restaurant. Thanks Daniel, it was great. Hon's is a very large place with rows of simple tables surrounded by various cooking stations. The place was full of Chinese, definitely a good sign to start.

For my vegetarian friends out there, Hon's has a separate vegan kitchen and a multi-page menu to boot. It is Vegan nirvana.

Not being a vegan, however, I opted only for the vegan sweet corn soup as a starter and then went right for the barbecue pork with bean curd and chicken pot stickers. What a treat! And best of all, the bill was $25 including 2 beers.

We will be back to Hon's later in the week with Matt.

Eagles, Eagles and more Eagles

Years ago we were in London and happened to see all these big colorful, almost life-size cows everywhere at Canary Wharf. So this turns out to be a project on tour to raise some money for some charity ("Save the Cows", "Milk for the Masses"? 'Make a Dairyman Happy and Stop Breast-Feeding"?) Who knows, but the theme caught on and now we have "Pigs" in Seattle and "Ponies" in Scottsdale (REALLY TACKY).

But here in Vancouver the Eagles seem to really work. They are not too large, but colorful enough and big enough to be noticed. I don't thing these are going on tour and next year they will be auctioned off. I am think one would look really cool in my back yard and if i can buy one for less than $300 (LOL) I will put in a bid. Again I am not sure of the charity here, but I am happy to say the eagles don't need saving. They are thriving here in Canada and Alaska!!! We have seen several on our trip up to the NW in the past few years. Even saw a fat one that looked like it could hardly take off (it did).

It's not Ivy League but it is Yaletown

Right down the street from our condo is Yaletown, a very trendy neighborhood with lots of cool shops and restaurants. It was a warehouse district twenty years ago and many of the shops are elavated about five feet above the street on what t was formerly loading docks. Visually very unique. Stop one was the Marimekko shop, women's fashion with a Finnish flare. Big sale going on so, of course, Paula did her best to help move the merchandise. The manager of the store, Calin Banks, a very attractive late 20ish young lady, was extraordinarily knowledgeable and helpful. something about attractive young Canadian women! The town is teeming with them and they all seem so happy..no cold detached look in this town. Paula bought an incredible amount of stuff for slightly more than $200. Regular price it would have cost three times that. Thanks Calin and enjoy the Grand Canyon in the fall,

Vancouver BC Good Morning Sunshine!..

After three days in Bellingham WA we arrived yesterday on a typical NW day..grey and drizzling. But who cares! Our place here in downtown is on the 22nd floor of a high rise on Hornby street. the condo has windows everywhere and overlooks the city and the mountains in the distance.
At 7 Am today I am sipping my coffee and watching the sun burn away the clouds..looks like a nice day today!

The three days in Bellingham were planned to be spent with Paula's friend Sharona and her
husband Daniel. But unexpectedly, one of Sharona's friends from Phoenix died the day before and she had to return to Phoenix to officiate at her funeral (Sharona is the former Cantor at Temple Chai). So instead of exploring the Puget sound on their boat we made the best of it enjoying the cute little villages in the area and hiking in the local forests. Did get to spend some time with Jonathan, their youngest a 20 year old UDUB (Washington) senior in Seattle. Nice young man, but with two older brilliant siblings (one a Rhodes Scholar), he has some tough acts to follow.

Yesterday we arrived at around 11AM and we had some time to kill and, with the rain and all, we decided to take in a movie, Julia and Julie. I loved the movie. Have you ever watched a flick where you are totally transformed into the time and place in which it takes place? This was one for me. The "Julie' part, taking place in NYC around 2002 was nice and Amy Adams plays a sweet and charming young woman (very different from the book according to Paula). Ms. Adams is very talented (she played the young nun in "Doubt") and she does not disappoint in this role as well.
But for me the stars of the show are Merrell Streep (Julia Child) and Stanley Tucci, her husband. What a performance by the two of them! It did not hurt that their part of the movie took place in Paris in the 50's. What a remarkable woman and personality Julia Child must have been and the love between the two of them was evident throughout the film. "You are the butter on my bread, the breath to my life" his words to her repeated. They also showed a classic Saturday night Live scene with Dan Ackroyd playing Julia. It was the one where he/she cuts herself and blood is everywhere..a classic. Everyone in the theater was howling! Its good to know Canadians appreciate humor as much as we do.
I will not be surprised if Ms Streep gets nominated for an Academy Award again..she is so versatile and gets better with age. She seems to have no boundaries with respect to her talent. As far as Stanley Tucci goes, I love the guy. Add this one to"The Terminal' and
"Big Night" as my favorites. By the way, he must have had fun with this movie. He is a food nut. We have his family cookbook.

Mary Ann and the Wedge Mountain Winery

The key to a successful road trip is to always keep in mind "the journey is the destination". Oftentimes I find myself too goal oriented to reach a specific destination and miss the fun and experience that can happen along the way. Today we let the day come to us. We made a quick detour off WA Route #2 to the Wedge Mountain Winery. What we found was a tiny winery (1200 cases a year) with a delightfully interesting owner, MaryAnn McKee, who reminded us so much of the famous Ellen Waldman of Morrisville Vermont. Most of you know Ellen W, the inventor of the cold- thwarting Wamu.

We drank some wine, we talked. The discussion led to our sharing our common travel experiences and then to Paula's work as a photographer. Naturally, the portfolio came out and MaryAnn admired her work. An hour and a half went by quickly. Life moves at its own pace in such a quiet pristine place surrounded by apple trees and vineyards. I could get used to this life.

Young Men and Fire

Fires in the summer are a common occurrence in the dense forests of Washington. This summer is no exception. There was a really big one, raging just outside Yakima and started by lightening.
I got up early this morning to get a cup of coffee in the hotel breakfast area. As I usually do on these trips I will start up conversations with strangers at a drop of a hat. No exception today. Started talking to a tattooed man in his early 30s . Turns out he fixes the helicopters that are used by "smoke jumpers", the men and women who make a career of fighting forest fires. Not exactly the safest and best paying job in the world but one that can be exciting and rewarding, that is if you like working in 150 degree heat with your life in constant danger.
I read a book a few years ago "Young Men and Fire" by Norman Mclean which chronicled the events surrounding a forest fire in Montana that took the life of 15 volunteer smoke jumpers in 1949. It was an amazing story, reading like fiction, (he also wrote "A River Runs Through It). Back then" smoke jumpers" were largely untrained college students trying to make a buck in the summer.
Today, fortunately, the smoke jumpers are mostly professionals. But the risks are still there.

I love Washington, I love Laura Pausini

Day three headed for Bellingham with a stop in Eastern Washington wine Country. So why the title Shel?

George Washington never made it to the state, probably never got as far west as Saratoga New York, but if he did, he would be very happy they named this state after him. Fitting that a state as beautiful as this should be named after our first President. Seattle, Puget Sound. Mt. Ranier are all familiar sights but the eastern side of the state with its rolling hills, canyons, acres of vineyards and orchards are all sights to behold.

And, you ask who is Laura Pausini? Her music accompanied us today. Laura is an Italian singer songwriter who we have followed since she was cute little girl in her early twenties. Now at 35 she is the most popular female vocalist in all Italia. She is electric, she fills stadiums with tens of thousands of fans who all sing along with her. She is so sexy with a smile that can melt 70,000 fans in the San Siro soccer stadium. she sings mostly in Italian , but also in French, Spanish and Portuguese. We listened to her for a couple of hours and when we finally turned her off our cheeks were hurting from smiling ...the scenery of Eastern Washington with Laura's music made for a very enjoyable trip. check out laura here... www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V3txYc_M4U

Searching for Perkins Pancakes..Finding Twin Falls Idaho

So here we are cruising down highway 84 in Idaho and we see a sign for Perkins Pancake house next exit. Paula is in the mood, so off the interstate we go, searching for Perkins. Oddly enough we never found the Perkins...but we did find Twin Falls Idaho.

The town sits at the top of the Snake River canyon and until 150 years ago or so, it was a wasteland. Then some smart engineer figured out how to get water out of the river below and presto! a town was born. In 1925 they built a bridge (see pic) and named it after the guy. The bridge still stands, like the town, in all its glory.

Now its a destination for Japanese tours, as dozens walk on the path above the canyon staring at the river below and majestic canyon walls. Yes, it is "touristy" but the beauty of the place is undeniable. If you ever are in Idaho (not Iowa for geography novices) don't miss it!!!

By the way, the pancakes at the IHOP were pretty good also.

On to Yakima with Barack

Out bright and early to today's destination, Yakima Washington. As the sun was rising we were treated to a lightening display over the mountains and then over the highway, quite a show.. and then a rainbow! Our "guest" in the car was Mr. Pres. who read us his book "The Audacity of Hope". I had read it soon after we met him at a book signing and just before he announced his decision to run. But listening to the book, in his own voice, and with the perspective of what has transpired since 2006 put a whole different spin on the book.

One chapter was particularly interesting when he talked about his first time as a Senator using a private jet. He tells the story of how cool it was with all its exclusive trappings. But he also warns of how perks like this makes it easy to loose sight of you constituency below. (I guess he has no choice when it comes to using Air Force One) . I could not help to think about all the times I have criss- crossed this country at 40,000 feet without ever getting the perspective of places and people that you get on a road trip like this one. Take the couple in the pic...not likely to find in first class on Delta or even in New York..but just go to Twin Falls Idaho..and there they are!! America!

Day 1 North of Brigham Young Town

Loaded up the Prius and departed the furnace known as Scottsdale. No Bobcats or Rattlers stand by to say good-by as we left. It's too hot for them as well! Twelve delightful hours later we arrive north of SLC an its 75 degrees with a nice breeze. Pura Vida, its all good!

So you ask "how can anyone stand 12 hours in a car?" Easy, drive through Northern Arizona and Southern Utah and you will understand. When the Spaniards came to this part of the world it is said that Cortez' general exclaimed over and over "something must have happened here!" It did, but it took millions of years for mother nature to do her job.

We have lost count of the times we have taken this drive, but every time it amazes us with the beauty that surrounds us. So here we are at the luxurious Best Western with complimentary wireless Internet and Bath and Body Works Lotions and Potions.

Besides the Mother Nature Show, nothing more eventful to report. Oh yeah, I almost bought a rock the size of a basketball at a shop with a real T-Rex in front (see above). So maybe it was not real, but the rocks were..lots of them in all shapes, colors and sizes. Really needed a mineralogist interpreter with me. Don't know the difference between the "ites", or "zites" or "tites" and had no way of knowing if the 50% off sale was 50% off of something that was not worth nothing!

Anyway, the rock I liked weighed more than a truck tire!

So its zz time and off to Yakima Washington tomorrow, through the rest of UT and Idaho and Oregon ...lots of good wine and tons of apples to sample there.

Stay well all