day seven friday, may 9, 2008
today is our last day for the three of us to hang out together...mona flies back to kansas city tomorrow; sherri and I head south. we slept in a little this morning and checked out of the condo, and drove south to fairhaven; one of mona's favorite places she's visited over the past 17 years of trips out here for work. we all had heard mona talk about the "Calaphon Cafe's" triple-berry cobbler; and when I came out 7 years ago, mona brought me here to indulge in this wonderful dessert. so, we got an order to go, and did a little shopping in a few of the funky stores
this area hosts movies in the summer time; there's these really cool murals painted on the brick building on either side of the movie "screen"
so here's a long story.....when I went to crested butte, colorado, in February and met Jodee (you'll have to check out the crested butte trip for details) she showed me one of the product lines she reps called "Baabaazuzu" mittens....they were the neatest, most cool mittens I'd ever seen; super warm, fleece lined made from vintage sweaters with really neat buttons and they're one of a kind. I'd checked out the store in CB to see if they had any, but they were sold out. each pair is so unique, even though you can order online, it's so much fun to pick out the pair that just suits you perfectly...and makes you smile
yesterday, when the three of us went to whistler, I kept asking the merchants if they carried this brand of mitten...no was the only answer I got. so today, before we left fairhaven, I called the Baabaazuzu headquarters and asked them if they had a retailer in the seattle area....and they told me about a store called "Firecracker". I then called "Firecracker" and they said they had already shipped the mittens to the warehouse (for the summer), but they would be glad to pull them out if I wanted to come to the warehouse to shop. there was some discussion in the car, because this trip would take us quite away out of the way and put off the plans we'd already made.....but we decided to go the extra miles and time and check out the mittens. as was the case with the place I wanted to shop yesterday...we found ourselves going down a back street in the industrial district, not a typical shopping area. but Janet, the woman inside who greeted us, was so nice. I felt kind of intrusive, but she made us all feel welcome, and efficiently laid out 15 pairs of Baabaazuzu mittens.....I was thrilled! it only took a few minutes to find the pair I loved...(or did they pick me?), paid the bill, said goodbye and thanked them....it was very cool (both getting the mittens and the friendly people I visited with at Baabaazuzu and Firecracker.) AND I JUST LOVE THESE MITTENS!
we were in a big hurry to get on with our plans, but we drove by this building that had this giant Starbuck sign on it....wow....it's the Starbucks headquarters! it would have been fun to go in and see whatever there was to see, but we needed to go, and my trip to Firecracker had postponed us long enough....so off we went to woodinville. as we flew by downtown seattle, I snapped a quick pic from the car of the space needle
mona had been in this area last year, and suggested going to visit some vineyards. this is a big wine making area....and we all love wine....it's/its one of the basic ingredients in our "fruit marinade". there was also Red Hook Brewery in this town; and they also had a restaurant. we headed there first for some lunch and a beer
cornball picture #10....sherri imitating the man in the Red Hook sign
the food and beer were excellent. I had a porter and it tasted just great. we all decided to buy a beer glass, but the name of the town was not printed on the glass....(and it should be, in my humble glass-collecting opinion) so, patrick, one of the brew-tour dudes, gladly agreed to write the town name on my glass (and sherri and mona's too)....and autographed it too!
we left the brewery on our way to tour some wineries. the first one we stopped in was Silver Lake...but it just wasn't working for us...so we passed on the $15 wine tasting
and drove on to the Chateau Ste Michelle Winery that had beautiful grounds, however.....we passed on the wine tasting here too
there was this really cool squiggly tree on the grounds of the winery. we drove around the area some more, but couldn't really find any neat wineries to check out, so we decided to go and check into our hotel
after lugging all our stuff up to the room, we decided to go to this shopping area mona suggested. it had been great weather today, chilly, but sunny, and we all felt like being outside and doing some walking
earlier today, sherri admitted, to mona, that perhaps minnie the gps would be a good thing to have while driving alone. I couldn't believe my ears! was minnie growing on sherri? well, sherri's "acceptance" of minnie didn't last long...because when we got in the car to drive to the shops, sherri threatened to throw it out the window! I just sat in the backseat (ohh...sooo my seat of choice) and smiled...mona on the other hand, gently took minnie into the safety of her hands. sherri and I decided that we would remain quiet on the drive...therefore giving the impression that mona was alone in the car and then minnie might behave....and she did
the shopping was nice and we had a good, kind of quiet, time
we shopped for a couple of hours, had some tea and coffee, then drove back to the hotel. sherri and I still needed to make some plans for the next few days....and we all had our triple berry cobbler to eat!
it was delicious!
SHOPPING LOG--FOR DAY SEVEN
vicki---my wonderful, fantastic, super one of a kind Baabaazuzu mittens; a new ring (didn't I say I couldn't buy any more rings?) and my autographed brew glass
sherri bought another postcard, a carly simon cd, and her glass from Red Hook and two secret items (hiding)
she finished knitting her scarf in the car today; and she bought this beautiful very detailed silver ring
this is her mug purchased from the "original" Starbucks store
mona bought this really neat black and white polka dot thermos (jill---I can just hear your envy!) and these egg poaching things as a gift; she also bought a glass...different than mine and sherri's, but it was already packed away
my two fellow travelers are fast asleep...it's after 1:30 am. nothing terribly exciting happened today (except that I found my mittens), but it was a nice way to end our trip with mona....just a relaxing day, with beautiful weather, some good food and drink and a sleep filled night...well I hope for the sleep part....I'd better get to bed if that sentiment is going to come true!
tomorrow begins the second journey to this trip....including lots and lots of driving, but I'm so excited to get to our destination.....I can't wait to see what's on the other end
day eight saturday, may 10, 2008
this morning we got up early....it was time to say good bye to mona and head south. mona is in the middle of a huge kitchen remodel and was flying back to kc this afternoon. she dropped sherri and I at our car rental lot and said goodbye. we'll sure miss her (but not her gps) on the next leg of our trip! the three of us have had such a great time together and logged a total of 1214 miles.....but that's no surprise; we have traveled alot/a lot together throughout the country and it's/its always been so much fun.....see you back in kc soon mona!
sherri and I pointed our car south and took off for portland. sherri had never been here before (this is my 3rd time) and we had planned to spend the afternoon exploring the "city of roses" (unfortunately, the roses aren't in bloom at this time!)
portland is sometimes known as "the bridge city"...there are 8 bridges leading into their downtown....this was one of several we crossed
we stopped at the visitors center and was greeted by a really cool young girl working there...she was very knowledgeable and excited about all there was to see and do in portland. when we told her we were big brew fans, she told us about a brand new restaurant that only opened a week ago in downtown portland...her boyfriend was one of the bakers that worked there. the Deschutes Brewery is actually in bend oregon, but they have opened this second restaurant in portland. this was our first stop in downtown to try some beer and eat some lunch. WOW! sherri and I each had an Obsidian Stout...and it was one of the BEST stouts we'd ever had....and the food was super-good. we ordered the appetizer of "sweet potato fries"...umm, umm, good! the restaurant is beautiful, with big open spaces, and these wonderful carved arches. I would definitely recommend this place and can't wait, on my next visit, to return....I'll be dreaming of that stout it was soooo goood!
if you love beer, oregon is the state to be in....I think they are the winners for most brew pubs of any state....71 throughout the state with 26 of those being in portland....what a statistic to brag about
our next stop was to walk to "Powell's City of Books"...this is one HUGE bookstore...they were the first bookstore to buy used books...and the really cool thing is that they stock the used books on the same shelves with the new ones...makes it great for the customer. I can't believe it, but sherri didn't make a purchase at the bookstore...."slacker-shopper"...I certainly stepped up to the plate and did my part!
must be nice to have an entire roomed named after you (sherri's last name is rose)
here are some pics of downtown portland
we were on a mission to find a place I'd read about on the internet a couple of years ago..."Saint Cupcake"...we walked for several blocks to find it, and it was the cutest little cupcake shop!
it's/its painted pink inside with polkadots everywhere...including on the sidewalk and in the outdoor patio area. when you walk inside, there is the "story" of saint cupcake.....which is really "sweet"....(I know, you're rolling your eyes right now)...I tried to find a copy of it on their web site, but didn't find it. they sell regular sized cupcakes and also tiny-sized cupcakes. we ordered three of the tiny ones: chocolate fudge, toasted coconut and red velvet. we took them outside on the patio....and indulged! really cute and fun place to visit
on our walk back towards the car, we stopped at one of the local Starbucks. the young woman behind the counter was super friendly. she asked where we were from...and when we said "kansas", she smiled and said, "oh I've been there before and I really liked it!"....well, those of you who know me well, know that I am the WORST ambassador for the state of kansas.....I'm so bad, I think I ought to be permanently kicked out...banned for life...but that's another story. anyway....back to the Starbucks girl....I was so surprised at what she was saying...."a friend of mine's grandfather was a farmer, and he told me so many INTERESTING things about farming; I visited the little town of TOPEKA, and it was so cute (is there more than one topeka in kansas and where is the cute one?), and she kept going on and on about how nice it all was...I asked her if she wanted to trade places with me....then she said "oh, I could NEVER LIVE THERE" (I knew that one was coming). she said she thought that there weren't very many Starbucks in kansas; and we agreed, that compared to the big cities that have one in each block and on every corner, we are missing a few. but seriously, she was so nice and fun to talk with, and we all laughed and smiled...it was a treat. this Starbucks is getting ready for a remodel...so they invited the customers to write on the walls...and I couldn't resist
more sites of downtown
