Food

Being On Vacation Is Hard Work

Room With A ViewThis the view out of our window tonight in the Silver Cloud Inn Tacoma. We almost stayed at the one in Mukilteo, but opted for the B & B instead. Tonight was the Inn’s weekly hosted wine & cheese reception, so Donna and I went down and noshed with some other guests before walking over to the Harbor Lights restaurant for dinner. If you ever find yourself in Tacoma’s Old Town section don’t bother eating there. Service was not that good and the food was just OK, definitely not worth what we paid.

The drive up from Cannon Beach was not as interesting as the drive down, even though we managed to get on a dead end road and had to back track again. It was a cloud and misty day, so when we stopped at the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitor’s Center I didn’t even take a picture of the famous volcano as it looked a lot like any other mountain off in the mist. Getting just about tired of driving, we also opted out of driving the 47 miles (one way) to get to a closer vantage point.

Tomorrow, the thought is to try and see the Museum of Glass on the way to the airport, but they don’t open until 10:00 AM and with our flight leaving at 1:00 PM it might be cutting it close. We may just drive to the airport and wait on a plane and that would be a shame, but missing the flight would be a bigger one (unless the Oregon or Washington lottery tickets hit on Wednesday night.)

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 18

Title With A Four In It

Ocean LodgeI just noticed I inadvertently had a streak going and in a lame attempt to keep it going…

Nice drive from Mukilteo to Cannon Beach. We took a side trip that resulted in running into a sign that said “No Outlet” on the Kitsap Peninsula, but did result in a great breakfast at Auntie Barb’s Cafe in Seabeck. I didn’t get to further test out my Moon=Good Food theory in Astoria, OR because the Wombat Moon Cafe was closed on Sunday. We ended up at the Silver Salmon instead and while it was not bad, it isn’t worth a special trip. After lunch we climbed the 164 spiral steps of the Astoria Column for great views of the mouth of the Columbia River area.

We actually made it to our home for the next two days, The Ocean Lodge (the photo above), in time for an afternoon nap. We did manage to wake up in time for a nice little sunset behind Haystack Rock and “The Needles.”

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down again, up again, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 14

Two Lunch Day

Hogland HouseOur home for the next two nights, the Hogland House B & B built in 1906. Off the back porch we can watch the Whidbey Island Ferry running back and forth across Pugent Sound.

All righty then, it is around 10:30 PM here in Multikeo, WA and that is around 1:30 AM by my Aiken internal clock. Since we landed and picked up the car we have been driving around, back and forth, both on purpose and accidentally, all over north of Seattle. I’ve got lots of stories to tell, but I’m too tuckered out to type them.

You can’t complain about the airline food in steerage on US Air, ’cause there ain’t any (unless you want to pay five dollars for it. Donna and I bought a Quizno’s sub at the terminal for our lunch. We ate it after the movie, about halfway through the flight and approximately noon EDT. When we landed we set our clocks back three hours, so that after about an hour after landing it was 1:00 PM PDT and time for lunch again. We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint and each ordered a slice and a small garden salad.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, still up.
Sebring Top Transitions since 09/29/06: 4

Going To Puerto Rico?

Donna spent 2 years in Puerto Rico as a kid and has fond memories of that time. Going back there to visit has always been thought in her mind.

Well, a couple days ago her friend Sally (of State Department fame) emailed to say that once she is done with her tour of duty in Namibia next February she was going to be in the states for a few months before heading off to her next assignment. First she will be spending some time in Louisiana with family and then a fellow embassy friend was lending her their condo in Puerto Rico for a week. A plan was hatched to kill two birds with one stone, a visit to PR and get to see Sally at the same time.

We weren’t planning on spending a whole week with Sally just maybe an afternoon and an evening meal. Sally was going to be spending time with her mom and her daughter. Donna and I would spend a couple days in Fajardo were she spent her early teens when her father was a sea plane pilot flying a Gumann Goose for Antilles Air Boats. Donna actually studied Algebra in Spanish, which explains why she asks me to solve all the quadratic equations we run into in our daily lives. A visit to the only rainforest in the National Park system and a bioluminescent bay were also on the schedule. The next three or four days would be spent exploring the central mountains and the quieter south & west of the island. Saturday while out shopping we bought a book called “Let’s Go Puerto Rico on a Budget.”

That $15 may save us a lot of money.
Driving:

Traffic is heavy; many people disregard speed limits, neglect to use turn signals, and cut off other cars. Markers such as stop signs are treated more like suggestions than rules. – Carjackings are common in Puerto Rico, especially in big cities. To avoid nighttime carjackings they have passed a law that drivers do not have to stop at red lights from midnight to 6AM. Central mountain roads tend to be narrow with sharp curves, poor visibility and frequent one lane washouts. The greatest danger is not the roads, but rather the local drivers who often use the whole road in narrow spots and drive at high speeds around sharp turns.

Health:

There are no required inoculations to visti Puerto Rico, but travelers should have the following vacines up to date; MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), DTaP or Td (diphtheria, tetnus and pertussis), IPV (polio), Hib (haemophilus influenza B), HepB (hepatitis B). Make sure the food you eat is fully cooked and the water is clean for drinking.

Time:

Puerto Ricans have a much more laid back sense of time than most Europeans and North Americans. Things get done when they get done. Restaurants do not maintain strict closing hours and will stay open as long as people are still around. If an establishment is empty, it will likely close early. Museums and stores frequently change opening hours and will close if someone who is supposed to work happens to be sick or unavailable.

After reading all that and reading a bunch of web reviews of tours, tourist spots and accomodations we have pretty much talked ourselves out of going.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 390

Automobile Enabled Insect Extermination

Bug Splat Line UpWe had a great turn out for last night’s MMC Bug Splat Rally. Nine cars and eighteen people. When we all gathered at the Mexican restaurant for the pre-drive meal we exceeded the number we had called in for, so he nice folks there just added another table.

When Donna and I arrived at the eatery we parked in the back row. The one car that was already there backed out of his spot and came over and parked next to me. The four of us went inside to make sure our table was ready. As the rest of the folks showed up, they, in typical Club fashion, parked one after another in the back row creating a long line of Miatas. Unbeknownst to me about halfway down they left one spot open because there was some glass in it.

After eating and before the drive I always go out with my Meguiar’s Quik Detailer and clean off the noses of the cars, so I could tell the new from the old bug splats. Some folks even go so far as to not wash off their cars just to have a little fun with me. Last year’s “winner” pointed out the mark that was still left on the nose of his car that no amount of bug remover or cleaning could completely erase. I started with my car, hey it was right there after I got the Detailer and towel out of the trunk. As I worked my way down the line of cars I came to a green ’99 with a lip spoiler, hmmmm, I don’t recognize this car. By now most everyone was done inside and was out standing around chatting. I finished the green car and moved on to the next and then the next. It was about then that two fellows walked out of the restaurant and wandered over to our group, seems that they had just come out to get some Mexican food. Seeing the line of Miatas with one open spot in the line was too tempting to pass up, so they parked right in the middle. In spite of our best efforts, they wouldn’t join us on the rally, some sort of work conflict, but we did give them an old newsletter as a Club come-on. Plus they did get a cleaner nose out of it.

Even though we had a good amount of people come out, too bad the bugs didn’t cooperate. The Biggest Bug trophy was won by Dave & Bobbie Winkler for a moth with a 3/4″ wingspan. John & Carol Haff were almost the winners, but when we pulled the remnants of a decent sized dragon fly out of the mouth of their car it was too badly dessicated to have been recent. But they did take home a prize for Closest To The Dot with what is a Bug Splat first by having a spot right dead center of their green one inch diameter Avery dot. The Nicholls won for the most bugs, although most of them may have been on there from the beginning because their nose was the dirtiest to begin with. Rudy & Patti had the cleanest nose to begin with and finished the same way, the front of their car marred only by a long narrow string of insect “blood.” Everyone who participated was awarded a prize of their choosing from a selection Mazda/Miata goodies supplied by Mazda.

We then literally took over the Sweet Cow Creamery in downtown Aiken for dessert and post drive storytelling.

The Wedding Photographers

The Wedding PhotographersIt rained. A lot. It rained hard from early morning ’til midday, cancelling our plans for walking or rollerblading.

It didn’t cancel plans for the MMC’s Pool Party. Mainly because the food was already bought and side dishes were already made and lucky for us the people who have the pool also have a house where we could eat said food. The rain finally quit, but the unseasonal cool temperatures kept all but 3 out of the pool. Most stayed on the porch playing Scrabble or just yakking away.

This evening’s wedding of a co-worker was indoors so it didn’t matter whether it was still raining, but it wasn’t. After overeating grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and desserts at lunch, the thought of another food extravaganza quite literally turned our stomachs, so we skipped the reception and went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. As luck would have it we saw a couple people we knew in the restaurant and when they asked about our natty attire, we replied, “We always dress up on Saturday night and go out to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.”

Started up, went down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 324

The Purina Diet

A friend of mine has a huge dog that eats a lot and last night we went to the store to buy his weekly jumbo bag of dog food. We were in line to check out and a woman behind him asked if he had a dog.

He told her that no, he was starting The Purina Diet again although he probably shouldn’t — he said he had ended up in the hospital last time, but that he’d lost 50 pounds before he awakened in intensive care with tubes coming out of most of his orifices and IVs in both arms.

He told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. He said that the food is nutritionally complete so he was going to try it again.

Horrified, she asked why he ended up in the hospital — had the Purina made him sick? He told her no; he’d been sitting in the middle of the street licking his balls and a car hit him.