Washington, D.C.

We leave soon for Washington, D.C. I have a conference for work that will take up a lot of my time but we are going to try to hit a couple of sites. Most of the museums are free and we are within walking distance from our hotel.

Here is the plan:

• Georgetown Cupcake (Wednesday for carrot, lemon berry, and a boston creme)
  
• Hello Cupcake (on Thursday for chococo and peppermint penny)
• National Air and Space Museum
• National Zoo (a new baby gorilla)
  
• Museum of Natural History
  
• National Geographic Museum
• The National Mall and the Parks Tour (consists of Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Ford's Theater, FDR Memorial, Veteran's Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery)
• Ben's Chili Bowl for a chili dog and milkshake
  
• Spy Museum
• The Capital
• The Arboretum (on Saturday for the Orchid Show)
• The White House - well, we would like to go but they still are not offering tours... grrrr...
  

Newport Seafood and Wine Festival

We ventured to the coast this last weekend for a romantic getaway. We stayed at the Anchor Pier Lodge in the Ocean's Edge room. The room was excellent, right on the bayfront (Yaquina Bay). They just have a few rooms and the place was just built 3 years ago. The place is very clean and they do not allow smoking. It was a package deal with a boat ride across the bay to the festival. The room had a guestbook which was full of glowing comments from people staying in the room on their anniversaries and honeymoons.

It's a working bay, so there's a bit of noise (boats, seagulls, sea lions). When we checked into the room, the lady pointed out sound control near the bathroom. We laughed when we figured out that 'sound control' consists of a small hook with bags of earplugs.

We didn't know what to expect from the festival itself. But I think we both agree that we'll give it a miss in years to come. Wall to wall people, not that much seafood, and not much fresh air. Even though food was obviously not the focus of the festival, we found some good local oysters, crab, bay shrimp, and sushi.

From the deck attached to our room, we watched a wonderful sunrise (wasn't too cloudy). Evenings after the festival were busy along the bayfront, but we managed to secure a reservation at the Saffron Salmon, a lovely and quiet local restaurant. Thanks for the recommendation Shannon, you were spot on! For appetizers, we had a crab salad, shoestring fries, and the best clam chowder either of us had ever had. For main courses, Misty had the risotto with shrimp (creamy risotto with butternut squash, dried cherries, sage, goat cheese and fried prosciutto), and I had a seafood soup (a spicy seafood stew with mussels, white prawns, white fish and dungeness crab in a stock with saffron, tomato, and root vegetables). We also couldn't resist the creme brulee for dessert.

Rather than stick with the masses, we walked along the boardwalk and tried our hands at some night photography with long exposure times.

Sunday morning breakfast at 'Arr Place was much better than Saturday's at the Whale Tail on the bayfront (avoid if you like food). 'Arr Place has the most friendly folks running the place and a salt and pepper shaker collection adorning the walls that they let people pick from and use. We used a cute set of lemon shakers.

We drove back Sunday, first by heading north and visiting the beach during low tide. Taking the scenic route, we ended up at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We even drove right by Camp Meriwether, where I visited as a young boy scout. The cheese factory is a fun place to visit, but there's not much work going on during the weekend. We bought some cheese, had a nice lunch (they make great cheeseburgers), and got some fantastic ice cream. The rest of the drive home through Portland was uneventful.

All in all, a wonderful weekend trip.

Tucson or bust

Well... We made a quick trip south and basked in the sun. We were there a brief Friday - Monday but managed to cram in some really fun stuff.

Scott picked us up from the airport. We ate a quick lunch of burgers with seasoned fries at Brooklyn's Beer & Burgers. I think the ranch seasoned fries are the best. We stopped off to see Scott and Paula's place before we drove to see Paula at work. She is a teacher at a terrific charter school. They have the most amazing grounds. A courtyard, a pool with a view, and the friendliest kids... Here is a picture of the pool.

After we tried to help Paula with her crazy amount of paperwork (She is great with those kids!) we hiked Sweetwater and enjoyed some really great views of the sunset and cactus.

For dinner, a little local place called Rosa's. I enjoyed a green-corn tamale, a avocado enchilada, and a chile relleno. Alan enjoyed his cheese enchilada and taco. We all shared a plate of sopaipilla. Mmmmmm....

Breakfast... One word. Bobo's. I am a huge breakfast fan. I eat breakfast as often as I can, even breakfast for dinner. I am always hoping to enjoy a new breakfast place when traveling and now, I will compare every place to Bobo's. Apple pancakes, bacon, biscuits and gravy, chocolate milk with whipped cream, home fries, eggs... all cooked perfect and all very tasty. Bobo's is breakfast.

After Bobo's we headed to the Tucson Convention Center for a small taste of the Tucson Gem Shows. There are apparently 'shows' all over town for a couple of weeks and we were hitting the tail end. We decided to go to the convention center because it had a nice long list of exhibitors. We were not disappointed. A beautiful layout. Those folks know how to display rocks. I have never seen so many shiny, beautiful things. The four of us even got to pick geodes at one booth and they split them open right there for us. We each got a different rock. I think mine was called Angel Wing Calcite.

Dinner that night was a couple of tasty pie from Brooklyn Pizza. Solar powered and satisfying. They have coupons on their website that get you free garlic knots and free Italian ice.

The next morning Paula got in some work while we (Scott, Alan, and me) biked over to the Tucson Botanical Gardens to check out the butterfly exhibit and the cactus garden. I rode the 'Free Spirit' bike. I have never ridden a commuter style bike and I am sorry I waited so long. It was super comfortable and such a classic bike. I love that bike!

The butterflies were a flutter and the room they were in was very humid. All of our cameras fogged up and it took about 3-5 minutes before the lens adjusted. There were a lot of people there but they limit how many are in the space at one time. Such colorful creatures! I had a blue butterfly land on my camera bag and hang out with me for a while. I also found a green butterfly that matched my shoes perfectly (Alan snapped some great shots). The best find though was the Atlas Moth. They have what look like snakes on the top tips of the wings. Wow. Huge. The orange body was as big as my pinky finger.

The cactus garden was amazing and I think I need to go back just to make sure I see it all. Fuzzy, pokey, tall, short, layered, crested, are just a few words that come to mind when thinking about the cactus. My favorite has to be the Mexican Old Man Cactus.

Sunday night, Alan and I headed over to my Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob's for dinner. They live in SE Tucson and have a lovely view of the Santa Ritas in the distance and they live close to the Rincons and Saguaro National Park East. My cousin Paul and his family live in Tucson also so they came over for dinner too. I never really had the chance to hang out with my Aunt and Uncle and I had never met Paul's family so it was a great experience. Paul's wife, Diane, is lovely and his girls are crazy smart.

Monday was our last day in Tucson. Alan and Scott headed out for an exciting ride (read more about the ride here) and I got to reading Fiesta or as it is known in the United States, The Sun Also Rises. I picked this book up in Paris at the Shakespeare & Co Bookshop after I finished A Moveable Feast. (A Moveable Feast is very dear to me now, thanks Carey.) I also have a great print from a local Eugene artist, Noelle Dass, that references The Sun Also Rises so I knew I had to read it. Sorry, side notes...

After the guys returned from their ride, we headed to the Desert Museum. It was sunny, warm, and full of critters and cactus. We got the chance to see javelinas, coyote, and some big cats. The hummingbirds were hilarious, the aviary colorful, and the lemonade very refreshing.

After the museum, Scott drove us to the airport for the flight home. Thanks for the awesome weekend Scott and Paula. Come visit us and meet the cats soon!

Oh, and another side note... I brought home a lemon from Scott and Paula's lemon tree. I used it to make broiled butter, lemon asparagus. O so tasty.

For a look at some photos from the trip, visit my flickr account. We will be adding more photos from the trip soon.