An Empty Nest and No Plans! Woowhoo!

With a promise of sunny skies and warm temperatures, my husband and I headed out on one of our newly minted “empty nest adventures”.  The idea here is that no advance planning takes place, as opposed to our twenty plus child rearing years, when EVERYTHING had to be planned out in advance.  Ah….what a luxury….pure spontaneity! 

After breakfast, my husband pulled out his beloved convertible, I grabbed a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen and off we went.  Where were we headed?  The possibilities were endless!  We knew that we wanted a day trip…no reservation hassle, or cost of a hotel, just a day filled with fun and adventure.  We zipped through Portland and arrived at the I-5 corridor.  North or South???  Wow, what fun!  We chose North since the weather was great and going toward Seattle usually means cooler temperatures, making it not always the best option in often cool temperatures.  We conclude that we should seize the chance to enjoy sunny, warm temperatures while they were offered.  North, we headed!  How far North?  Seattle, Mt. Rainier, Gig Harbor?  Our minds were buzzing.  No planning….just go! 

We popped in Katy Perry’s CD and headed North, big smiles on our faces, our hair flying everywhere!  Along the route, about an hour and a half north of Portland, we saw a sign for Mt. Saint Helens.  That was it!  We had been your typical Mt. Saint Helen’s tourists a few times since moving to the Northwest, but this time would be different…no kids…no timeline…no educational moment.  A whole new perspective to see something familiar, would it be as fun?

In a word – YES!  A lot of fun!  It’s a beautiful route, full of mountain views, clear lakes, and waterfalls, rushing streams and one amazing vista after another.  Seeing it from a convertible for the first time was eye opening.  We actually saw an eagle gliding over our heads!  That’s one of our favorite Northwest sights.  It never stops being awe inspiring to see our national bird in its natural setting.

We grabbed some sandwiches at a small sandwich shop along the route and vowed not to eat them until the right setting presented itself.  Twenty minutes later, we saw a sign for a state park.  That was our lunch destination.  After satisfying our hungry stomachs in a fun forested setting, we headed off again for the mountain.  Along our route, we saw a sign for Coldwater Lake, a scenic picnic spot with restrooms and trails to enjoy.  A small hike sounded fun, so we turned in.  The lake wasn’t very deep, but was amazingly clear.  Dragonflies were dancing off the water everywhere.  In the background was Mt. Saint Helens.  Why did I leave my camera at home?  I did shoot off a few pictures with my phone at least.  After walking the easy loop beside the lake, we jumped back in the car headed towards the Johnson Visitor Center.  Upon arriving, we took in the beauty that the high elevation unveiled, and headed to the Visitor Center.  Then it struck us, we didn’t need to make this a learning moment.  We didn’t have to learn about the process of regrowth after a major eruption; we were empty nesters!  No learning moments required!  We giggled, turned around and didn’t even enter the visitor’s center!  That was not our plan for today….maybe next time…we’ll see.  No plans, remember?

Live life! Pam

Field Trip to Sokol Blosser Winery, July 12, 2009

Sokol Blosser Wine Hike!

Sokol Blosser is one of the 5 founding wine families in Oregon. Today we joined the hiking tour of the vineyard and explored the many different fields and valleys for 3 hours. As we hiked up to the higher levels of the vineyard, we stopped at the neighboring Red Ridge Herb Garden and enjoyed their Lavender, which was part of the Lavender tour this weekend. After each hour of hiking through the grapes, we would find a couple bottles of special wine and the custom Pinot glasses for us to taste and refuel. Although the weather was cool and overcast, it could not have been more perfect for our hike! By the time we hiked, or was it staggered, back to the main building, there was a gorgeous lunch set up for us on the crush dock over looking the beautiful vineyards!















































































Sokol Blosser is an organic vineyard that is sensitive to the natural habitats of the wild life in the area. You can see Blue Bird boxes every where for one of the local commoners. Also over 1/3 of their energy needs are met with the help of their solar panels.

The day was relaxing and inspiring. The wine was amazing and after the large gourmet spread it was time for a nap! No wonder the French and Italians are such healthy people...they know how to breathe!

For a moment today I actually felt my lung fill all the way.

~ MJ
Copyright 2009 MJ's Table Talk

Field Trip Portland Chocolate Walking Tour, June 18, 2009

Chocolate Tour of the Pearl in Downtown Portland...Oh My!

What a wonderful day! A four hour walking tour of the Pearl and discovering nooks and crannies I had never noticed before! Savina of Portland Chocolate Walking and Tasting Tours took our group of merry makers and shared all her passion about chocolate and the wonderful things of Portland in this village.

We started at Sweet Masterpiece, where Crystal and Derek gave us the lessons on detecting the finer notes of Chocolate and then showered us with samples. This is a fun haunt to grab lunch as well. Some very unique dishes to explore: pulled pork sandwiches with chocolate mole sauce anyone?!

As we walked along a few more blocks, smells of cinnamon and dough wafted up to us as we came to a halt in front of Nuvrei Pastries. This hidden gem now has a retail bakery to explore. We went down into below sidewalk level patisserie to poke around. The owner Marius had bags of scones, cookies and croissants for us to take home! The smell alone was enough to keep us there all day!


Verdun was our next stop. This Lebanese chocolate shop truly was a gem. All the chocolates hand wrapped and glittered in the bowl as we struggled to pick out our samples. The Jordon Almond is a prized item for weddings. Savina shared a wonderful poem with us that explained why 5 almonds are always given in the favors at weddings. I will work on getting that from her. (Here it is...thank you Savina!) Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat
To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.
Five wishes for the new husband and wife --
Health, wealth, happiness, children, and a long life!

















Next we headed down the street where Savina unfolded some local history for us. One favorite stop was the pony rings where I tied up a pony at one of the many old horse rings that line the streets in the Pearl. This is called the Portland Pony Project.

The Portland Pony Project "It seems that we gallop through life in a haze
And don't notice the things we race by every day
Until a time comes when a change will occur
That will cause us to notice, stop and confer
We talk to our neighbors; ask "was that always there?"
"I never saw it before", the neighbors declare.
So it was with the horse rings 'til Scott came along
Thinking "I've an idea that could gather a throng!"
He found some toy horses and tied them up tight
Then sat back to watch and see if they might
Cause people to notice what was always around;
What they had been missing – now they had found.
Now many people will pause for awhile
And others will notice, and they also smile
To see these small horses tied up to the rings
Where once their much bigger brothers had been
And maybe they'll even see a lot more
Of what they've been missing; it's happened before!
His project is spreading and now there's a herd
Of horse-loving folks who've also been spurred
To add some small horses to places near you
Hoping they’ll catch you smiling too.
Watch over our ponies, maybe bring them a rider
And we can make Portland a little bit brighter."
Then Just when we thought we could not fit one more thing, we popped into Cup Cake Jones, a darling shop dedicated to the best in cupcakes! We enjoyed a sample of Downtown Chocolate while Peter explained how it all started. Make sure to check in for the daily special flavors. They publish a calendar for the month so you can make a plan to taste your favorite! Take Fido with you to try the custom baked doggy cupcakes!
On our final sprint to the finish line we dashed into Cacao and took a tour of the World's Chocolate and then made our way to Caffe Umbria where we sat and enjoyed coffees and a beautiful tour of Italian chocolate desserts! Come to Caffe Unmbria during the week and enjoy some Italian lessons!
Winding through the streets of the Pearl we discovered many wonderful places. Lawrence Gallery, 10,000 Villages, and Ghost signs to name just a few! Thank you Savina for being our guide in our own fabulous Portland and sharing your favorite chocolate table locations!

~ MJ
Copyright 2010 MJ's Table Talk