Bend: The Desert

When we weren't trying to fit in as much beer and vegan food as possible, we spent time outside. There was really only time to scratch the surface, with parks and disc golf courses; on future trips plan to do more on the water, such as kayaking, and perhaps some more intense hiking. 

On our way from Kah Nee Ta, we stopped at the Coyotes Den disc golf course, about 30 miles north of Bend. While in a beautiful desert setting, that meant a ton of prickly brush and some hilly terrain, so I just went on a hike in following along, rather than throwing. I would definitely call this a more advanced disc golf in terms of difficulty.

After making it to Bend and spending the rest of the day eating and drinking, we started off the next morning with hike up Pilot Butte. A note: google maps directions for Pilot Butte itself will direct you to the road that can be driven to the top; to get to the trailhead and a parking lot you'll want to head towards the Larkspur Trail. From Greenwood Ave, east of Pilot Butte turn north on Arnett Way, then left onto Linnea Dr. There's some signage to show this as you approach.

At the bottom 

It took us 22 minutes (with some brief stops for pictures along the way) to reach the top on the trail that's 0.81 miles long (there's also a less-dirt-trail alternative along the road that also spirals to the top), hung out for a bit, then took the road back down to experience both. There's a nice viewing area at the top, with plaques to explain some history and what you're looking at. There are restrooms at both the top and in the park area at the bottom. 

From the top

Bend: Too Much Beer

(See the food we ate in between breweries here.)

Our goal was not just to experience beer in a place full of beer, but fill out the Bend Ale Trail Passport from the Bend visitor center. We had thoughts that we could perhaps meet the minimum 10 (to get a pint cup) in our short visit, but quickly realized that would be quite the challenge, and instead settled for 5, with plans to hopefully visit Bend again sometime later in the summer.

Technically you don't have to purchase anything, but we felt weird taking up someone's time to stamp our passports if we didn't. Eventually, though, I realized that that the scan for the app (digital version of the passport) was available in a display about the ale trail near the entrance of each place - so if you wanted to do it quickly with just stops to get stamps, I'd recommend using the app so you can scan instead of bothering waitstaff for a stamp on a paper copy of the passport.

After afternoon smoothies at Mother's Juice Cafe shortly after arriving in Bend, we walked a couple blocks to 10 Barrel Brewing. We didn't quite have our act together yet, so we each ordered a full beer. We shared a salad for the first course of dinner.

After going to Next Level Burger, we went to Goodlife Brewing Company tasting room - in the same strip mall complex - for more beers and dessert. To experience the most, we'd now come to the obvious decision to share a flight of beers at each place. I'm really not a beer fan, so it was no surprise that Abe drank more of it than me, though I did enjoy a pineapple cider. We sopped it up with the beer doughnut holes, which were amazing!

Bend: Vegan Food

We didn't put a lot of planning into this trip to Bend (we had it scheduled for a while, but only tentatively until fairly close to the week of), but we intended to focus on three things, essentially the things that make Bend just a version of Portland: being outdoors, drinking beer, and eating vegan food.

The last actually proved the most challenging, simply because drinking beer requires eating some food at the beer establishments, so we basically spent a couple days totally stuffed and didn't go to everywhere we planned. But here's what we did manage to fit in.

Mother's Juice Cafe

This was our first stop after checking into the motel*, and though the food menu looked good (not all veg, but vegetarian options plentiful and clearly marked), we just wanted something to tide us over until the first brewery. Instead, we looked to the smoothies and juices. 

Unlike many places which commonly use a yogurt base for smoothies, the majority here are dairy-free. I had a small Ida Red - cider, berries, apple, banana, mango sorbet. It must have been the sorbet that really made it creamy (especially considering it didn't have dairy). Really very good. I'm kind of picky about smoothies - I don't like "weird" combinations or ingredients, but there were several fruit focused smoothies that sounded good to choose from.

Abe had one of the juices, Fuel - beet, cucumber, spinach, ginger, lime. And wow could you taste the ginger! Even when set on the table, I felt like there were ginger fumes still wafting towards me.

The setting here is a converted house, with lots of cafe style seating options inside. We hung out for a little bit on a comfy couch to plan the rest of the day. 


Next Level Burger

This is a 100% plant-based burger joint! (That's opening a Portland location soon!) The employees made sure we knew this when we walked in and started perusing the menu ("Did you know our menu is all plant-based?" "Yep, that's why we're here!")

I had the original Next Level burger, while Abe tried the Tangy Tempeh burger, along with sharing fries and a fountain drink. I really liked the NL burger - both texture and taste can really vary with veggie burgers, but this one hit the right spot on both counts. The tempeh burger, not so much for me - something weird about the texture - but Abe liked it.

They're all about sustainability here, with compostable and recycling products (I think there wasn't even a "trash" receptacle at all). The fountain drinks are Maine Root natural sodas, plus there are other options like kombucha and raw juices.

Sarah's Raw & Vegan Cafe

While primarily serving smoothies and juices, they had a selection of food, as well as selling other local products (e.g., lip balms, sun screen, etc.). Also in a converted house, it shares space with a chiropractor, and the entrance to both is in the back. We found parking in the somewhat limited space in front, but we then found there is a small parking lot behind the house (entrance on Staats St., I think).

They are beyond sustainable here, with the only disposable item needed a straw (and of course, if we were local we could have brought out own glass straws). They charge a deposit for the glass jars (though we ate in so didn't need to), and even had cloth napkins/towels for use instead of disposals. 

We were helped by Sarah herself when we stopped by for breakfast on our way out of town; I had a strawberry banana (again, anything fruity is usually good with me), and Abe had the Athletic Endurance smoothie. Though I don't love all of the super-alternative health stuff (allegedly medicinal smoothie blends, juice cleanses, etc.), I can definitely support other aspects of their business model like smoothies in general and their dedication to eco-friendliness.


Kababa

Though not as hippie as our other non-brewery meals, I'll throw this in here so it's mentioned. This is a local middle eastern restaurant, with plenty of veg options. We did the mezze for two, choosing: hummous, babaganouj, curried tempeh salad, falafel, karnabeet, and spinach pie. So much food! All very good (I didn't love everything, but that's on my palate-of-a-12-year-old, not the restaurant).


*Side note: We stayed at the Day's Inn, as one of the cheaper options. I'm pretty sure I've stayed at locations of the franchise before without issue. But this one was a little iffy. Felt safe and clean enough if price is the biggest factor, but wouldn't return there myself. 

Kah Nee Ta Resort

We took advantage of Abe's week off between school terms for a short trip to Bend, Oregon (though we still had to be back by Thursday for his weekend of performances in his current show). We started with a little side trip to Kah Nee Ta, a resort on the Warm Springs reservation, where my mother-in-law's family used to visit when she was young.

We stopped along the way for disc golf in Sandy, at Grizzly Acres. This is an unusual course in that it's on privately owned land surrounding a residence (they're usually in city or state parks). The fairways themselves were well maintained, but the surrounding spaces had lots of grasses and thorny stuff, which if you lack skill like I do becomes a problem. I threw for a couple holes, and then just walked the rest of the course while Abe played, and enjoyed the views.

We stopped after for lunch at Ivy Bear Pizzeria. It had caught our eye last month when we went to Ski Bowl to disc golf, and now it was right on our way, at lunchtime. Apparently it's newly re-opened a few years ago, so the ivy bear isn't fully ivy-covered again yet, but it's growing. The pizza is good - we had half and half Goldilocks (4 cheese) and Mama Bear (veggie).

We continued on through the middle of nowhere (but with beautiful mountains in the background) to our destination for the night, Kah Nee Ta. I just now realized I never got a picture of the main resort building from the approach, but this is the side (from our hike; this doesn't show at all how large it is) - you can see it's sort of build into the hillside. It's not necessarily my style, but an intriguing aesthetic.

And a panoramic view from our balcony: 

There's a fair amount to do at Kah Nee Ta, within/coordinated with the resort itself (though otherwise in the middle of nowhere by itself). If we'd arranged for more time there, we definitely would have gone kayaking and perhaps done some spa-ing. As it was, we started with a hike around the grounds. We did a loop that I think was a bit under 2 miles. There was a map on the website and some signs at the trail heads with a few different color-coded trails, but once we got out there navigation was a little trickier. Fortunately we were never too far from the road that we knew would take us back to the lodge, so no worries even for me.

Along the way we crossed paths with some horseback riders, and overlooked the "village" portion of the resort down the road, which has camping, and the pool and some other amenities. (There's also a golf course across from the lodge.) 

After returning from our hike, we had a quick snack to make sure we'd have time to get over over to the pool that evening. It's the part that's the "hot springs" part - although apparently there used to be more natural uses of it for soaking pools or whatnot, it's now just used for heating a more generic pool. It is a nice pool, very large and it has two slides, along with some kiddie pool areas and hot tubs, probably very fun for kids. But definitely not what come to mind in going to a hot springs - the only remnant of that is a small fenced off pool along the road to the modern pool.

After the pool, we played on the nearby mini golf course (where I got a hole in one two times!). The pool was included in our lodge room fee, but otherwise is $15 per day. The website, verbal info when we checked in, and our pass for the pool indicated that access to the slides would nonetheless cost an additional $4 per person, but the person checking us in at the pool said they were included (and gave us the wristbands for access accordingly). Mini golf was $5 per person.

We wrapped up the night with a late dinner at the Warm Springs grill, the casual restaurant on site in the lodge. It had a decent selection of even vegetarian entrees, pretty typical diner type stuff, and good cocktails (largely berry and/or tropical fruit in nature, which are my favorites).

The next morning we started heading in the direction of Bend, with a stop first at the Museum at Warm Springs, in town itself about 10 miles south of the resort. The changing exhibit was currently being changed, but we got to see the permanent exhibit about the history of the three tribes who share the reservation and originally inhabited a large area of central Oregon. 

Traveling in the Modern Age

Warning: This is definitely going to get a bit "in my day, we walked barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways, just to get to the car..."

As many of you likely did, we've been traveling this weekend for Thanksgiving. We went up to spend the holiday with my mom's family in Tacoma - which is fortunately a shorter drive for me now (about 2.5 hours) than it was coming from eastern Washington.

But when I was kid, we'd often travel to relatives' houses - about 6.5 hours across the state to Tacoma for my mom's side, and a couple hours up to Spokane for my dad's side. Our biggest vacation trips were also via car - we drove to California and to Texas on summer trips.

How did my sister and I keep busy on those long drives? We had a lot of books to read (both of us were avid readers from an early age, and eventually were big into Agatha Christie mysteries). We listened to NPR and tapes from NPR shows, specifically Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion. We played car games like the alphabet game, and had Klutz activity books and kits (in particular I remember a travel game one, that included parcheesi with little sticky cubes for the pieces that stuck to the board). 

When traveling today, I'll admit to being a bit too reliant on my phone for entertainment (when not the one driving) (though, smartphones also have some important uses while traveling, too!). But I'm trying to use the time instead to be engaged in conversation with Abe, listen to the radio, and read actual books.

This got me thinking about what we'll do when we have kids. Do kids these days ever not stay occupied with electronics on road trips? I see movies playing in vans virtually all the time! I hear parents talking about ipads for their toddlers. Do these kids even know how to entertain themselves? 

It seems like families focus more on not letting their kids get bored during a road trip - but what better opportunity for several hours in the car than to teach your kids how to occupy themselves and their minds? Easier said than done of course, as I have yet to have to up with a kid in a van for a day! But I'd like to think it can still happen.

Travel Meme

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt from Miss Zoot: 

If you could spend ONE WEEK anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you could spend ONE MONTH anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you could spend ONE YEAR anywhere in the world, where would you go?

(Assume you have unlimited funds to make this year/month/week EXACTLY how you'd want it to be. And when you come back - your job is waiting for you.)

One week: My dad's family's lakehouse. It's out in the middle of nowhere north of Spokane; there's a convenience store down the road for the necessities, but nothing else to distract you from just relaxing and enjoying nature. No internet service, virtually no cell service. Nothing to get done or feel like you have to fit in so you don't miss out.





One month: Australia. Long enough trip to make the long flight worth it; short enough to not be worth learning another language so I'll stick with the English-speaking country that's on the top of my list. 

One year: I think an around-the-world trip, to see as much as possible. Or at least Europe, if not the entire world. Not likely to ever have the time or resources to see each country in depth during my lifetime, so I'd like to at least hit the highlights of each place. 

Alaska Honeymoon: Seward

Earlier in the honeymoon: Washington. Anchorage.

Friday morning we got up super early and took a taxi to the Alaska Railroad train station. 

The train ride was a beautiful scenic route southward from Anchorage to Seward. We saw:

beaches,

mountains,

and glaciers.

We arrived just before lunch time, and luckily the train handles your luggage and checks it on to your cruise ship, so we were free to explore the town for the afternoon before needing to board the ship. Seward is a really cute little town; it actually wouldn't be that difficult to walk end to end, but they also have a free public shuttle making a loop around town during tourist season. 

On the left is Mount Marathon, which has an annual 5k race up and back down it.
The record finishing time, for a mere 5k distance - oh, and 3,000 feet up - is 42 minutes.

For lunch we went into the Ranting Raven for quiches and croissants. Then we took the shuttle to the last shuttle stop at the end of town and walked another mile to so to a disc golf course on the grounds of the middle school. I think this might be one of my favorite courses. Partly because it's only 9 holes :) (instead of the usual 18), but also it has good signage to find the next hole, relatively short fairways, and though some brush to keep things interest, it wasn't too dense so even if you landed in it you could still find our disc.


The disc golf course was on the end of town nearer the port, so after playing we just walked to the ship. We got settled in our stateroom for the remainder of the trip, and after dinner the ship started sailing. We spend the evening exploring the ship and getting a taste of all the available activities - mini golf, daily sheets of puzzles in the library, the gym, and karaoke.

Alaska Honeymoon: Anchorage

Earlier in the honeymoon: Washington

After arriving a few hours later than scheduled, we eventually got picked up by our motel shuttle. We stayed at the Puffin Inn - it was perfectly adequate and safe, and even fairly convenient with a bus stop just across the street, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, other than that it was the most reasonably priced one we found during what I presume is peak tourist season in Anchorage. (Just little things, like only one bedstand next to a queen bed (really, you can't shell out another $20 to have a surface next to both sides of a bed that will likely house two people?), that made it seem a little off and dated. Certainly not a honeymoon-level hotel, at any rate.)

We started our first day in Alaska by taking the bus into downtown to rent bikes (definitely recommend Downtown Bicycle Rental - the employees were quite helpful getting us situated on bikes and pointing out things on the map, and the owner checked us back in and was really nice).

Our bike route

 We started by heading out on the Coastal Trail. We took a brief detour back into town to have lunch at Organic Oasis, a wonderfully hippie place with fresh juices and wheatgrass shots (I had the former, Abe had the latter). It's not all vegetarian, but certainly has plenty of veg options! If I'm remembering correctly I had the Moroccan hummus wrap, and I definitely remember correctly that I enjoyed it.

Coastal Trail

We continued along the trail to Kincaid Park, where there's a disc golf course nestled among the stunning hills and vegetation. There were some spots that seriously more closely resembled what I thought Hawaii looked like than Alaska. I just walked the course while Abe played, as it was super challenging - very hilly, and lots of brush to lose a disc in. Apparently skiing takes place on these hills in the winter, which sounds absolutely terrifying to me, with all the trees around, but I'm sure it's just as lovely to look at in the winter.

Kincaid Park

We then continued biking through the park and back towards town. Anchorage is a fairly bike-friendly town, but in a different way than Portland. It seems that the culture expects bikes to act like pedestrians, and share the paved paths alongside the roads with them, rather than be on the road with cars. Fortunately there are lots of those paved paths and it was easy to get around. Along one such path, maybe a mile or two out of the park, next to a fairly busy road, we saw a moose! He meandered onto the path, hung around for a couple minutes, then headed back into the woods. 

After giving the moose some space, we biked on to Moose's Tooth for dinner. Moose's Tooth is known for its pizza and beer brewing; it was ridiculously crowded, even on a weeknight. Obviously, I liked the pizza, but surprisingly I also liked the beer that Abe got! We ended up buying a growler of an apple ale. 

We returned the bikes to the shop lateish in the evening, having gone a total of 27 miles for the day. (When getting the bikes, we were told the shop was open til 10, but we could return them after that and just lock them up outside. "What time does it get dark", I asked. Um, not until after midnight. Dusk wasn't a factor in when to get back!). A few blocks walk took us to a bus stop to get back to the motel.

This was at 9:30 pm!

The next morning, we were exhausted from the past couple days, and after breakfast went back to our room for a nap. We eventually headed out for lunch, this time trying out Middle Way Cafe. Similar mission as Organic Oasis, tons of veg options, but felt a bit more commercialized (in fact, while we were eating there, the manager was having a meeting at the table next to us with representatives of a beverage company about the possibility of having bottle drinks available, including some more mainstream brands). 

We spent the afternoon at the Anchorage Museum. I was particularly intrigued by the Five Gyres plastic trash display; we also checked out the hands on science, native history, and oil pipe exhibits. 

Five Gyres exhibit

Fireweed

Dinner was at the Spenard Roadhouse, another place that was highly recommended, where we met up with a friend of Abe's who was spending the summer in Alaska working as a railroad guide. Though having more of a conventional pub-style menu, we still found a few veg items to enjoy. There were also some great housemade drinks.

We took advantage of the well-lit evening with a stop by Westchester Lagoon Park, which was supposed to have a disc golf course, but unfortunately it wasn't set up for the summer yet; we found the tee pads but not baskets. We took the bus back to the motel and prepared for an early morning the next day to catch the train.

Alaska Honeymoon: Washington

Our Alaska honeymoon actually began in Washington. After spending the morning the day after our wedding packing and running a few last minute errands, we drove up to the west side of the Puget Sound. We stopped along the way to play disc golf in Shelton, then for for dinner in Belfair at the Rice Bowl. The Rice Bowl was a tiny bit sketchy looking, but turned out to have really good food, and an extensive menu with a variety of Asian cuisines.

Seems like a lovely backdrop for starting a honeymoon.

Our destination for the night was the Cedar Cove Inn in Port Orchard. This is a beautiful B&B with a lovely view of the sound.

One note: there isn't AC, but airing our the room with windows and french doors (which open onto a balcony that if I recall correctly goes all the way around the house) through the evening and a fan going kept it reasonable. A minor lack of modern conveniences can be easily forgiven, though, with all of the old fashioned features and charm.

Seriously the prettiest toilet I've ever seen.

After checking in we headed out to the local high school pool for some laps (we were still tri training at this point). The pool was set on "long course" (50 meters, compared to 25 yards or meters), which was the first time I'd experienced that. Despite having swam more than that in one stretch, there's a mental challenge to it when you don't have a wall touch at smaller intervals.

Port Orchard, WA

The next morning we got up early for a sightseeing run of Port Orchards. After quick showers we joined the other guests for breakfast, which was a crepe-type dish, the name of which I can't remember. But it was airy and delicious! We enjoyed the landscaping on the grounds for a bit, then headed towards Seattle.

On the grounds of the Cedar Cove Inn.

Along the way we fit in some more disc golf, in Bremerton and Auburn, and had lunch at Tony's Pizzeria. Eventually we made it to SeaTac, where we checked in and had dinner with plenty of time to spare. And then even more time to spare, as our flight was delighted an hour, then two, then two and half. We ended up leaving at almost the time we should have been landing in Anchorage! Fortunately, for our troubles we each got a $100 voucher from Alaska Airlines, but we ended up not arriving until after midnight. 

Seattle: Chihuly and Space Needle

At the end of August, Abe and I had our now-annual trip to Seattle to meet up with my parents for a Mariners game. This was a Wednesday when they lost terribly to the Rangers. I already shared the sightseeing run we did Thursday morning, but wanted to share a few pictures from Wednesday!

As last time, I had a veggie dog for lunch; Abe had some teriyaki noodle dish from a place also near Section 132 (other veg options at the stadium for actual meal food would primarily just be cheese pizza, I think). After the game we continued chatting with my parents at a froyo place, then checked into our hotel and took a nap. 

We were staying at the Quality Inn near Seattle Center, about a quarter mile away from the Space Needle. Once we got up from our nap, it was near dusk (hence putting off the run til the next morning), but we felt safe enough walking short distances around there. We first walked to have dinner at Ti22, a cute little Thai restaurant. I had my usual, pad see ew, and regretted not getting a specialty housemade drink after trying Abe's lemongrass soda. Super sweet, but good.

Then we headed over to Seattle Center and started at the Chihuly Glass and Garden. (Note: there's a slight discount for buying tickets to both at the same time.) My previous exposure to Chihuly's work was in Vegas (there's a ceiling of glass flowers by him at the Bellagio), but he is from Tacoma, where my mom grew up, so I've been intrigued to see more.

The exhibits are in darkened rooms, with directed lighting on the pieces. There's also the greenhouse and outside garden, which I'm sure are stunning in the sunlight, though beautiful at night when we saw them, too.

After making our way through the all the glass exhibits, we headed next door to the Space Needle. I'd been before, though it's been a long time (it may have been on an eighth grade math team trip?), but this was Abe's first time. I definitely recommend going at night (I think we got there about 9:30 pm) - not only does it make for an amazing view, but there was virtually no line.

Thursday morning we headed out for our sightseeing run - early enough to still shower at the motel afterward, but sadly early enough that some of the sights we wanted to go into weren't open yet for the day (the Central Library, Smith Tower). We had also brought our bikes on the trip, hoping to get a broader tour of the area that way, but ended up not fitting it in. Hopefully on a future visit, though!

On our way back to Portland, we stopped for lunch at Stink, a sandwich shop in Tacoma. We both had the veggie sandwich. If I ate meat any of the other sandwiches would also have looked good, unique yet appealing combinations!

Sightseeing Run: Seattle

Abe and I have done a fair amount of traveling this summer, and had to balance it with triathlon training. Swimming and biking can be a little more challenging to fit in, but running is easy to do anywhere! I've particularly enjoyed the runs where we've made it a sightseeing experience. We did this in Port Orchard, WA at the start of our honeymoon, and in Icy Strait Point, AK along the cruise. Most recently, we worked a sightseeing run into a quick trip to Seattle last week.

We were staying a couple blocks away from the Space Needle, and then took the monorail into downtown, but you could also run that section to make it a complete loop and add on about another mile. As we ran it, this route is about 3.5 miles, depending on how much you run into/around the parks you pass by.

START: Westlake Center monorail station, at the corner of 5th Ave and Pine St.
 Go SW on Pine St for 1 block, then turn L on 4th Ave. On your left will be Westlake Park (really a square, rather than a park).
1 At 4th Ave and Spring St is the Seattle Public Library - Central branch. Sadly, it wasn't yet open for the day when we passed, but the cool thing (in addition to the exterior) to check out here is a 4-floor continuous spiral of bookcases. 
2 Two blocks later at 4th Ave and Marion St is the Rainier Club.
 Turn R on Dilling Way, cutting through City Hall Park, then turn R on Yesler Way. 
3 At the corner of Yesler Way and 2nd Ave Ext is Smith Tower. Also unfortunately closed at the time we were running, but this has an observation deck to see the city (not as tall as the Space Needle, but was the tallest building on the West Coast when it was built). 
 Turn L on 2nd Ave Ext, then slight R on 2nd Ave.
 One block later turn R on Main St.
4 At the corner of 2nd Ave and Main St is Waterfall Garden Park, followed a block later by Occidental Park (another "park" that's really a square).
 Turn R on 1st Ave.
5 At the corner of Main St and 1st Ave is Grand Central Arcade. NOTE: Public bathrooms available inside.
6 At the corner of 1st Ave and Yesler Way is Pioneer Square.. 
 Turn L on Madison St, then R onto Post Ave. 
7 After two blocks, take the stairs to continue on Post Alley.
8 Along Post Alley is the Gum Wall.
9 You're now in Pike Place Market.
10 If you go up to street level at 1st Ave and Pike St, you'll see the original Starbucks location.
 From Level 3 in the market near Pike St, take the Pike Street Hillclimb (a combo of skyway, stairs, and sidewalk) towards the waterfront.
 Turn R on Alaskan Way.
11 This section is along the waterfront, starting at the aquarium.
 Turn R on Clay St, L on Elliot Ave, then R on Broad St.
12 Head into Olympic Sculpture Park.
 Continue heading NE on Broad St.
FINISH: Seattle Center. Check out the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden & Glass. 

Parental Guidance: Vegas

In my family, "parental guidance" doesn't mean parents making sure something is appropriate for their kids, but rather us kids making sure something is appropriate for our parents - specifically our mom. Any movie over a PG rating (and some at a PG rating) is probably too violent or risque for her standards.

Despite this, she was interested in going to Las Vegas after hearing about my trip there a couple years ago. Although I strongly disagree with the city's marketing as a "family" destination (largely due to the pervasive smoke and lack of child-appropriate activities), I thought there was enough there for my mom to appreciate, even while avoiding the more cliche Vegas fare. My dad wasn't interested in going, so I planned a trip for me and my mom.

Presenting: a belated pictorial recap of our trip to Vegas last May.

Garlic Fries

It only took a week and a half to post about our trip to the coast (am I such an impressive blogger, or what :) ); now working backwards to recap the rest of the summer. At the beginning of August, Abe and I met up with my parents in Seattle (they live in eastern Washington) for a Mariners game. 

In looking up driving directions to Safeco Field the day before (we were going to take Amtrak, but I procrastinated buying tickets and at the last minute they were absurdly expensive), I realized that google had some interesting priorities:

Crowdsourcing the issue, I found out that the fries are, indeed, an important part of the experience. I'd been there before, but not for at least ten or twelve years, and I don't recall trying them before. My dad is a long-time Mariners fan, and we have relatives in the area, so we did go to several games over the course of my childhood. (More importantly, we would always visit the Elliot Bay Book Company before the game - they used to be walking distance from the stadium).

It turned out my friend Karey was also attending the game, so we met up briefly before the game, and I introduced her to my parents and Abe. As both a Mariners fan and a fellow vegetarian, she was able to point out the veggie foods corner by section 132 (near the home plate gate). The veg-leaning members of our group all had veggie dogs for lunch. 

We were lucky that Felix was pitching that day, and the Mariners won 2-0! I have to admit, I don't really follow them in general (I did for a while in fifth grade - when Ken Griffey Jr and Randy Johnson were around - but then they traded all the players I was familiar with and I lost interest), but knew they weren't having the best season, so that was a pleasant surprise.

My mom enjoyed having company - she goes along with my dad to see the Mariners about once a year now, but often spends the time texting her daughters, rather than following the game. Baseball is one of the few sports I actually know the basic rules to, so I had fun watching the game in addition to spending time with family. Abe explained some of the stats I was unfamiliar with; I thought the SLG is pretty interesting, the way it weights efficiency for scoring versus just hits.

And yes, I did make sure to try the garlic fries! I'd say they live up to the hype. Sooooo much garlic on them! I swear it seemed like an entire bulb chopped up on the one serving. Still not sure what the purpose of the apple slice that comes with it is though. Anyone know?

Oregon Coast Weekend

All summer, Abe and I talked about going to the beach for a weekend, and it kept not working out. Finally, just before his summer break ended, we made it happen!

Since the trip ended with a family event in southern Oregon, we just headed southward in the first place to Newport. Along the way, we stopped in Carlton for a jam tasting at the Republic of Jam. A friend had told me about their great tastings of items made with the product - but I didn't realize until we got there that it was free! You can also just try samples of whatever flavor you jam you want, but the official tasting plate has two savory items, two sweet items, and a drink, each made with a different jam. That day it included a stromboli, a spinach salad with dressing, a shortbread cookie with apple beer jam filling, a blueberry lime cheesecake, and a ginger iced tea. I wish I'd thought to get a picture of the plate - lovely presentation.

Abe's purchases on the left and my choices on the right - very indicative of our general preferences!
Spicy or savory for him - cherry blackpepper, apricot ginger, marionberry espresso.
Sweet and just a little tart for me - blueberry lime, rhubarb current, cherry cola.

While at the jam shop, a tour of some sort came in, and the guide recommended we visit their wine shop around the corner. At Carlton Cellars we tried three whites and three reds (they have a $10 tasting fee, but it's waived if you buy at least $30 worth of wine). We ended up buying a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir. We also stopped by the Honest Chocolates store (it's combined with a wine shop) on the way back to the car.

Continuing on towards the coast, we stopped for a late lunch at the Wildflower Grill in Lincoln City. They didn't have a lot of vegetarian options (the google "at a glance" included french toast and omelets so I had assumed they served breakfast all day, but that turned out to not be the case), but the veggie burger I had was actually one of the best I've ever tried. Abe (a flexitarian - or perhaps flegan - his choices at home are quite close to vegan) had fish and chips for his one seafood meal of the trip. The restaurant is in a house - it looks like the owners might live in the downstairs, while the restaurant is in the upstairs, and the part of the dining room we sat in was a cute little sunroom overlooking a marshy forest area. 

(How did people travel without smartphones?! Not just for maps and GPS functions, but also to find restaurants near your location that are open at the moment. I can't imagine not having that ability to plan the trip as we go.)