UMTravels

Odd day today… thrift shopping for a basket, helmet, lock… found the helmet ($3.99), and the basket ($1.99) – plus a board game for a friend ($5.99) at Goodwill. Salvation Army only yielded a bunch of marked down wine glasses for the shop. For the lock I had to go to Home Depot and get a combination cable lock ($5.99), and ordered the drink holder off of Amazon for under $10. Now, of course, I need to figure out how to mount the basket (another trip to Home Depot, no doubt). Also swung by the apartment to grab last night’s roasting pot for the braised lamb shanks.

President Obama is flying into Seattle this afternoon…. And I’m there to watch Air Force One touchdown.

Shot number one is of me waiting for touch down with a ton of motorcycle cops:

And a great shot after the plane landed to the north (where the crowds were waiting because there is parking) which meant it came in from the south, so no fly over…

Yes, that would be Mount Rainier in the background. Too bad we have had several days of warm weather which means you can see the pollution that we get in the Puget Sound.

Here is a short video of the entourage headed towards the East Side for a fundraiser ($1.75 million according to the nightly news):

Or maybe you want the cops peeling out before the entourage arrived:

But the fun doesn’t end there… after dinner Tony shows up with the kick-plate for the stove. It still needs to be painted and the aluminum backing installed, but we are almost there:

Upside down and backward, but here’s what it looks like leaned into place:

Still needs the matt black and the aluminum backing. More pictures next week.

Late night, early morning, going to bed.

[207.7]

Everyone slept in this morning… and by the time I got breakfast fixed for the crew they didn’t get packed up and out the door until noon.

Here is the final shot:

For the rest of the shots of the visit, try this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zd63jf1cx4kk7ux/c48DNvC5HR?m

A quick trip to the store for soda, mark down stuff, and most importantly, one stalk of celery for tonight’s braised lamb shanks that I’m taking to dinner at Swanda’s place.

First order of business at the apartment is to pick up a large (62lbs.) package in the office…

That would be my new electric scooter. $199 plus tax. Half off since they have a newer model. Interesting: I just checked the link and now it’s $2376.75. Now all I need is a helmet, lock, basket, and drink holder. That and I have to assemble it. The plan is to use it for neighborhood shopping, and to sew a case for it for trips to Victoria to use to get around the city (like to the store).

Started dinner with a shrimp cocktail, and here is how the braised lamb shanks came out:

Home by eight and into the job of assembling the scooter – looks like I’ll need a fatter seat for my fatter ass.

Took it for a spin then put it on the charger for the evening (4-6 hour charge time). Max speed: 15 mph. Max weight 240 lbs. In theory, 8 mile range, depending on hills and fat asses.

And you’d think it would be early to bed for me, but alas, not.

[207.7]

A slight correction… 20, 20 and 24. The Germans ages that is.

And OK day at the shop which is good because Wednesday, Thursday, Friday weren’t so good.

The boys were waiting for me on the porch when I got home from the office. Jim and Suze are showing up for dinner as well, so it’s going to be a full house – luckily the weather has cleared up a bit so we can eat outside.

The crew assembled for dinner.

Ribs and country style, fresh bread, salad, sparkling wine, red wine, beer, we had it all.

And after dinner a little playing around…

Needless to say, to bed way late – sleeping in tomorrow is the plan.

[210.8]

The morning was a bit overcast – Jim even wore his jacket to open the shop fearing a repeat of Friday’s morning downpour. By the time I arrived at 1:30 the sun was out and it stayed out.

Slow morning at the shop for Jim, just $130 or so in sales – luckily when the tasting kicked in bottles started flying off the shelf (not literally, it wasn’t an earthquake). Finished the day respectably.

I closed so it was a late dinner – was just finished up as a vanload of German Couch Surfers showed up. One 18, one 19, and the driver, 23 – all buddies from summer camp who are wandering the US and Canada. I guess I should have gotten a shot of them to use as today’s picture. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

[211.8]

Great – a morning downpour of rain – just what the lawn needs to get growing again when I was hoping that it would just turn brown.

Today’s humorous photo from today:

Children’s sized toilets at EarthWise Salvage, my second set of kids toilets spotted this year. Only $65.

By the afternoon the rain had gone, to be replaced by humid, muggy air.

The evening saw the gnawing of one steak and the booking of a one-way from Victoria to Seattle on Kenmore Air –floatplane trip here I come.

[210.5]

The day of errands.

Got new bolts and lock-tite for the portable picnic table – it seems that with all the travelling it’s done (flying from Santa Fe and then strapped to the back rack of the Miata) seems nuts and bolts were working themselves loose.

One chore down before starting the next one… tackling the yard.

By the end of the day, all three chunks of the lawn (front, back, alley) were mowed and weed-whacked, and the Madrone (Arbutus in Canadian) was trimmed back – still need strap it to the Princess tree (so it will start growing straight rather than trying to get out from other the canopy).

Now what I need to do is spend several days in the garage cleaning and organizing. Another day.

I was going to do steak for dinner, but when it came time it turned into a Chef’s Salad and broccoli in a cheese sauce. The steak will hold for tomorrow.

[210.3]

Today I actually made it to the dentist with so much time to spare that I started exploring Redmond – stopped at Safeway to see what non-perishables were on the shelves (sewing machine needles and iron-on patch material), then found a Trader Joe’s so I thought I’d see if they were carrying liquor yet (yes) and then to the AAA for Victoria, BC brochures for Swanda and I’s early August overnight. Looks like we are driving one way with Swanda, then I’ll either fly home ($150, and earns 250 Alaska miles) or take the clipper ($89 but I could use my 50% off coupon but better to save that for a round-trip), or via Alaska Airlines for $200 (earns 500 miles).

The plan was for Swanda to come to dinner and delivery some cheap California booze. Well, the later happened, the former stalled by a lack of hunger on Swanda’s part – probably from driving all day.

The delivery:

One down, four to go (though one is for Jimmy). Apparently he dropped $770 at the liquor store in Hilt, CA, just over the Oregon border.

So it was just me for dinner. Didn’t cook the steaks and broccoli that I’d planned, instead went with a moose steak salad (a.k.a. leftovers):

Not every day that you have leftover moose.

[211.8]

I can’t believe I screwed up and didn’t get the notice for my dentist appointment until 15 minutes before – totally thought it was Wednesday – which it is now that I cancelled to tell them no way could I make the appointment since they are a minimum of 45 minutes away. Reset for tomorrow at 3pm (meaning I return in the middle of rush hour) as they had a cancellation.

Early afternoon found me at the UW Surplus Sale… and scored a bunch of toner for the HP4500 Color LaserJet along with the even rarer fuser, and imaging drums – all marked at $10. Retail is more like $500 for the lot. I like the $60 better.

And combined with what I already have in stock…. I think I have enough for a while. Luckily, Wonderfool also has the same model (and one for parts).

I rewarded myself with a nice steak dinner and a couple of glasses of wine.

And no, still haven’t mowed the lawn. May not, may just let it die in the heat.

[210.8]

The morning picture – why, yes, that is the Wall Street Journal on my front walk, now approaching the two month mark since my subscription ended:

Yes, the lawn needs mowing. And two shots while running errands:

Humorous shot from the apartment parking lot (above), and Seattle’s newest attraction, a London Eye-style Ferris Wheel below:

Made a giant loop around the city today. Two stops on Beacon Hill, one stop in the International District, massive Zinfandel tasting in the University District, a stop in Ballard, then one in Georgetown before coming home to start the prep work for dinner.

The guests? Timmy, Annie, Jeffie, and Mindy.

The menu? Fresh homemade baguettes with paté, brie & Roquefort as the appetizer, and the main was a mixed grill of beef bratwurst, country style pork, and two moose hindquarter steaks. Yes, I said moose, and it was tasty. The steaks were a gift from my friends in Juneau. Add a salad and wine and you have a damn fine dinner.

So, that was the day.

[209.9]

Slow day at the shop. It gave me time to standardize all the Ch. into Château on the wine cards (and finish Popular Mechanics and Out Magazine’s Olympics issue which I’ll pass onto Swanda). I would have rather been selling wine.

Swung by Safeway for staples (toilet paper, dish detergent, laundry detergent) and a couple of steaks, one for the freezer, one for tonight.

Got bored watching TV and ended up booking a 2-bedroom presidential unit at the WorldMark Victoria – a rarity to find it available, and only for one night. Now whether to use my 50% off letter or 15,000 miles and fly up on Kenmore Air. Decisions, decisions.

Speaking of WorldMark reservations, tonight is the deadline to decide whether I’m keeping the two nights in a two bedroom at Whistler/Creekside. That decision = yes.

And today’s humor shot… all the wine boxes in my personal recycling:

Errands and ZAP (Zinfandel Aficionados and Producers) Tasting tomorrow at WinoWorld – I haven’t been there since they expanded and now stock liquor.

[212.0]

Opened the shop today for a fairly slow “odd-weather” day. By the end of the day the sales were OK, and yesterday’s good as well so it wasn’t a total bust.

Stopped at Safeway to hit the bargain racks – scored some marked down cans of Asian vegetables, then off to the bank. Bad day to do that because:

• Mercer Street Exit closed
• SR-520 across the lake closed
• Mariners Game
• Bastille Day celebration at Seattle Center
• Dragon Days in the International District.

Basically the entire city was in gridlock. I was so happy by the time I got to the apartment to pick up a package. Happy because it was my last stop and I knew it would be clear sailing home.

Tonight’s dinner is a little grilled salmon over a bed of greens. Not sure that the blue cheese dressing was the best choice, but short of making a new salad I’m going to eat it.

Looks pretty, though.

[213.0] Damn those carbs on the trip.

Happy Friday the 13th. I wonder if Bowman still holds his parties every Friday the 13th in the Haight (at Ashby) in San Francisco.

Noon finds me at “the office” unlocking the front door and preparing for a day of receiving shipments from our distributors, pricing bottles and finding places for them in the racks – sometimes a challenge. I did get bored at one point and actually count the number of “facing bottles” that we have. Answer 442. Not bad for a shop that is only a little over 500 sq. ft.

Locked up the shop a little after 7pm owing to a last minute panicked customer who sent her daughter to keep me open while she parked the car. The panic? She needed 4 bottles (one cold) of the Gilbert Cellars Rosé for some sort of alley party.

2011 Gilbert Cellars Rosé of Mourvèdre ($13)

A dry local pink that actually does a great job of imitating the French. Nicely layered floral notes and good acidity.

Nice little wine for the price. I had a bottle Tuesday afternoon with Solus+ camping at American Ridge.

After work swung by the house, dropped off the car and walked over to Gnarlene’s place for his 50^th birthday. Stayed too long, drank too much of his whiskey.

Late night to bed.

[212.5]

Having looked at the map, I’ve located a couple of more wineries that the shop carries (Milbrandt and Airfield Estates). Prosser is a 50 minute drive east from Yakima which had me arriving at a little after ten after not having a real map and just wandering around Prosser.

Airfield Estates didn’t open until 11 so it was Milbrandt first. I was surprised that there was a tasting fee for folks in the trade (but they did discount it), but it did give me access to more than just the standard five as long as they were open. They’ve gotten so big and are available everywhere, which is why we don’t stock them anymore. With only 400 facing bottles, you have to pick and choose carefully. Their wine is good, just not unique enough for us.

I still had fifteen minutes before Airfield Estates opened so I just hung around in the shade:

And then a funny thing happened… doors opened and I’m greeted my Mike Miller, the grape grower and owner of Airfield Estates:

This visit I hadn’t set up in advance so it was an unexpected pleasure to have him give up 45 minutes of his day to talk about his wines, including his secondary label Lone Birch. His son is the winemaker (Marcus) who I briefly met (he was in the middle of wine experiments). Funny that all the winemaker’s I’ve met this trip have been men in their 30’s. And attractive.

By noon I was headed back to Seattle with the top up because it was already in the upper 90’s. I didn’t put the top back down until I was in Cle Elum for gas.

Home, dump the stuff, put away the stuff in the cooler than off to Safeway for dinner fixings.

Had just gotten home with Drew stopped by on his way home from work for a cocktail – that pushed my dinner out until 8, but it was good so see him. Hopefully he will make it a regular event.

Off to bed as tomorrow is my once a month Friday workday.

[? ? ?]

Broke camp at 10 this morning with Magnatrocia in tow. We are “convoying” from camp to cellars. He is along for the ride (and he has GPS) as we decamp from American Ridge to Yakima.

First stop is Whistling Jacks for breakfast. Not much on the menu that is carb-free friendly, but the omelet of bacon, spinach and feta with a hollandaise sauce is OK, except for the rye toast and hash browns. The toast didn’t get much action, but I’m afraid that the house-made hash browns fell off the plate and landed in my stomach. It’s hard to keep to a low-carb diet on the road in the land of temptation.

The first winery of the day is Southard, where we are meeting up with Scott Southard, the winemaker:

We carry Scott’s “Columbia Valley White” which is a big-bodied Rhône style white blend of 65% Viognier and 35% Rousanne. He sources all his grapes from off property with the exception of the Riesling which grows on the estate.

After tasting a hand-full of wines that had been open for a day or two, he popped open a couple of his Syrahs to try – tasty, but even the “tired” (his phrase) bottles open for a day or two were tasting good.

Over some more hills and dales to get to Yakima and check into the “Honeymoon Suite” at the Days Inn. On the website it was listed as a one-bedroom suite, but on the fire escape exit plan on the door it was labeled “Honeymoon Suite”. Trust me, the Days Inn in Yakima is not where you want to spend your honeymoon. They are in the middle of remodeling and it looked like our room had been done, but the air-conditioner in the bedroom wasn’t cooling and the lower portion of the fridge seemed a little warm, but it’s one night and it was $68 for a large suite with a hide-a-bed couch in the living room for Mags to sleep on.

A light lunch was had at a taco shack, another load of carbs from the tortillas. Damn.

Next winery up is Gilbert Cellars. I shared a bottle of their rosé with Solus+ last night since they share a common surname. Here I am with Justin Neufeld, their winemaker:

They had just finished a bottling run (which is a mostly mechanical process), but he still had enough energy to take us down into the cave to barrel sample half a dozen of his 2011 wines, including a Tempranillo-based Port that he is working on. Really fun to taste young wines like his Chardonnay that was still cloudy.

Justin recommended that we stop by Treveri Cellars to try their sparkling wines. We tried seven or eight of their sparklers, my favorite (of which I bought a bottle) was their Mueller-Thurgau-based sparkler. If Jim and I can ever find an evening to get together for dinner, I’ll bring that along with the 2006 Recess Red from L-Ecole that I picked up in Kansas City months ago.

In need of shorts to take advantage of the swimming pool at the motel, Sarah at Treveri pointed us in the direction of the Goodwill. Here is my $3.99 bargain priced Ralph Loren madras find. It also helped cool the room down while I was trying to dry them after the swim:

Yep, a real madras (little stitched squares).

Dinner at Bob’s Keg and Cork downtown. Small place (49 people max), good food, but oddly served on thick paper plates. Yes, I had the burger, more carbs, but at least I went for the salad rather than the fries. And super cheap – cheap enough that Mags picked up the whole tab, something he is not known to do.

[? ? ?]

I realized that I didn’t give you any pictures of the lodge yesterday, so, here they are:

Sorry that I don’t have a shot of the 20-hole outhouse (which was re-painted inside in neutral white with gray trim on both sides [men/women]). Here is a wonderful shot of what one of the boys set up – a zip-line from two trees stretching some 650 feet …

And, no, this is not a Forest Service approved installation, but no trees were bruised (blankets) in the hooking up of this “ride”. But all the components were rated for 1000 pounds….

Just remember this lodge had no running water (a spring at the bottom of the hill with giardia – we have a filter), no power (we have tons of propane cookers, including an oven made from a galvanized trash can, we are roughing it except for all the espresso pots, frothers, generator for scanners for archiving old photos and charging e-cigarettes and cell phones. Pack it in and pack it out is the motto – and actually we pick up cigarette butts, 22 shells, broken glass. We leave it better.

Here is a random shot of people’s camps on the mountain (other than mine):

Life is hard in the woods. And the weather was good – a little heat lightening tonight and a little patter of rain, but not enough to really get the “Tent-Cot” wet.

Nothing to write home about with the food other than:

• Filling
• Didn’t have to cook

This will be one of the first times I’ve spent two nights here camping (rather than “van-ing” or “rv-ing”).

[? ? ?]

Packing…

Maybe paring down to one car wasn’t the right decision… shot of cloud cover Mt. Rainier while driving…

And my lunch stop at Lake Tipso which is still under snow.

Leftovers: wine, slaw, pork.

Off to American Ridge (here is the link to the description of the place. But here is the brief one:

In the 1930s, the Yakima Valley Ski Club worked with the U.S. Forest Service to construct the American River Ski Bowl, one of the first downhill ski areas in Washington State. The rustic ski lodge and unique 20-seater outhouse were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in connection with the ski area, which was operated into the 1950s.

And here is my own personal camp all set up – amazing that this fit into a Mazda MX-5 (Miata):

Please note my morning shower water warming on the hood (and the propane powered 10-cup coffee maker).

Lots of fun with the boys tonight, but I’m sure my clothes will smell of campfire smoke.

[210.3]

Sunday at the shop and it was an OK sales day “for a Sunday”.

Evening finds me firming up plans for what was a “Faerie Campout” which has turned into that, and a visit to a couple of our suppliers from Eastern Washington. Suddenly there are more stops:

So the plan now is:

• Monday night = camping
• Tuesday night = camping (unless I flake out)
• Wednesday = Southard Vineyards (noon), Gilbert Vineyards (3pm), King Bed Suite in something downtown
• Thursday = undefined, could hit a couple more of the wineries we stock.
• Friday = work (my once a month Friday).

A little pork loin tonight with Cole Slaw and some left-over wine.

[211.2]

Saturday at the shop… well, when I arrived at 1:30 since I’m closing today.

A good tasting of four Gilbert Cellars products. The daughter of the vineyard owner was our rep for this tasting. Wish I had her job – road warrior meeting with all the distributors around the country to plug the wine. Her advantage is that her last name is Gilbert.

Or maybe it’s the time to take South Seattle’s Wine Marketing Certificate program… or just hit the road.

Looks like I will be taking Gilbert Cellars up on their private barrel tasting at their production facility (rather than their public tasting room in downtown Yakima). Looks like Wednesday, but just in case I’ve booked a motel in Yakima for Wednesday night if it has to be Thursday. What a nice add-on to my couple of days camping at American Ridge.

Here’s what the trip is looking like:

Leaving Monday mid-day, coming back Thursday sometime as I have to work on Friday.

Broke into the low four digits for sales today. Lots of cold bottles of rosè and whites leaving the refrigerator with the 80 degree day.

Home for a dinner not unlike last nights with Swanda. But with the 7pm close that means dinner at 9.

Unpacking and doing laundry… in preparation of packing tomorrow night.

[212.1]

Slept in until 10 which isn’t actually good since we need to leave for the airport at 11-11:30 for last night’s houseguests flight who leave 30 minutes before us. Only one run for the airport for three folks flying out. Not bad.

I got upgraded to First (1C) and by putting Bliss’s reservation on my profile I got him moved to seat 6C from 21D – much quicker off the plane at the other end.

Had lunch at the airport, and then I had a snack of very dry chicken (had one slice) and some orzo. The Cobb Salad at Chili’s for lunch was much better, but still too big in the portion department. We both ended up having salads.

Flights on time, light-rail to the apartment, strap everything to the car, take Bliss home and then head to Swanda’s for dinner. And dinner was:

A meal that has turned into one of Swanda’s staples for dinner (and FYI, the only thing I did was put it in the oven and take it out, all the prep work was Swanda) which is asparagus floating in Alfredo Sauce with some chicken breast on the top. Cook for 50 minutes, turn it up to broil for the last ten minutes. Oh, and Cole Slaw.

And for those following the Swanda health news, he is healthy enough to be picking up a timeshare from the Colonels, and is now down to 447 (if I remember correctly). He is driving, oxygen is about to be returned, he is back to going to the office for a few hours, and I think it’s about the end of the walker as he only uses it half-time.

Stopped by Stacey’s Funky Finds on 4^th Avenue – and had an odd experience. I inquired about the price of two items which she promptly said, “Oh take them, I’m trying to clean out this section.” The items:

• 12×36 jigsaw puzzle of the Oregon Coast for Swanda or his mother
• 45rpm of an early 80’s QuarterFlash (think QuarterFlash in the pan)

On the way out stumbled across this interesting OPEN sign and inquired about the price and she said, “I’m not ready to part with that yet since I use it, but you are welcome to borrow it.” I’d given her my card previously and invited her to the wine tastings on Saturday, but the offer to “borrow” the sign for a while struck me as odd as the gifts of the other two items. I guess there are some advantages to stopping in every couple of weeks to see what she has.

The rest of the evening trying to unpack and not getting far.

[213.5]

Today’s big errand is a liquor run to fill the 6-pack shipper that came down with wine. The list:

• Light Rum (Appleton)
• Dark Rum (Appleton)
• Grappa (2, one for tonight, one for the road)
• Lismore Scotch (2, one for the house, one for the road)
• 1.75 of Evan Williams for $15 (half Seattle cost)
• Brandy (Mexican)
• Vodka (potato-based)

Plus I have to pack a bottle of Fantasia from the Castle Winery for Bliss so he doesn’t have to pay $20 to pack a bag.

Three photos for today’s spread… four boys on the bed:

And lovely a flowering cactus on the back deck:

Dinner tonight was sausages, vermouthed kraut and steamed asparagus with a hollandaise (thanks Onyx, master of the sauce).

Another late evening of late chatting.

[214.0]