My pals Stephanie and Cheryl took me to their house on Camano Island, a rural, gorgeous isle that’s part of the San Juans. The island is green, and is home to a lot of agriculture, its own fair trade organic coffee roaster and amazing views of the Sound. The gals have to leave this paradise for economic reasons, but I got to drive a bit into the Cascades, watch the Indians shoot off fireworks from La Conner, and walk across part of the Deception Pass bridge. I also ate a meal where most of the ingredients had either in been in a garden or an ocean only hours before being consumed. Artichokes, tomatos, Dungeness crab, strawberry rhubarb pie and some amazing corn that Cheryl coated with mayo and Mexican cheese. I had more soy chai lattes and diet Coke with Splenda, which is kind of hilarious considering everything else I ate. Fireworks in Washington are numerous and often fire off from back yards, riverbanks, you name it. It’s amazing more houses don’t burn down. Stephanie and Cheryl were doing the relocation stress dance, and I hope they haven’t spontaneously combusted since I left. Between here, Seattle and Idaho, just about all of my holiday shopping is done.
Archive for April, 2008
Seattle 1.0
April 27, 2008Seattle was about 20 degrees cooler than Idaho in temperature and temperament. I liked the fact that even the drugstores in Seattle have espresso bars. I had soy chai lattes at a variety of places. My main reason for being in Seattle was the Society for American Baseball Research annual convention. I’ve been a SABR member since 1987, and we lovers of baseball history number crunching need a place to share our rantings and stories with the like-minded. I like to think of the convention as a public service for our friends and families who can’t stand another minute of our talk about the game. I did break from the diamond babbling to worship at a retail temple, the Nordstrom flagship store in downtown Seattle. I also had dinner with old friends at the Dahlia Lounge. Crab, more crab and delicious beignet-like homemade doughnuts.
A trip to Safeco Field for a Mariners-Rockies game was delightful. I ate some massive hot link pork BBQ smothered thing that could easily have fed a family of four. The game featured the starters going nine innings and the Rockies hurler pitching an imperfect perfect game. He faced 27 batters, gave up two hits but the hitters both were erased on double plays.
The next night we saw the Tacoma Rainiers, the M’s AAA club, take on the Fresno Grizzlies. The Rainiers ate the Grizzlies relievers alive, with a six-run rally highlighted by a 3-run inside-the-park home run. 6-2, and the Giants have some serious worries if this is all they have at AAA.
The featured guest at the convention was Ball Four author Jim Bouton, who quipped and preached to the choir on baseball’s ills and spills. Bouton has made a career out of being Jim Bouton. I like to make a career out of being me, but the offers have been limited to nonexistent.
Anyway, off to Camano Island, which is quiet, pretty and houses old friends who will be leaving it soon.
The rest of the potato state
April 27, 2008When we last checked in, we hadn’t gotten soaking wet and tanned on the Payette River, which has a couple of very tricky rapids and some lovely stretches of brown water punctuated by eagles, golden and bald, and ospreys flying overhead. If you’re not out soaking up the wilderness, there are some spots worth stopping at in the town of McCall, including Keep Me in Stitches, a great knitting store run by Linda. If you like quilts and Idaho stuff, there are stores in the same center that sell huckleberry jam and tree ornaments with Santa on mooseback. I also saw the Salmon from its banks and tried buffalo and elk. Thumbs up to both. In Donnelly, about 12 miles from McCall, there is restaurant called Buffalo Gal with first rate sushi, smoked pork with a to-die-for cilantro sauce. Anyway, Idaho was worth the driving and getting lost in Boise before getting on a plane to Seattle.
Never thought this would happen (Pacific Northwest 2006)
April 27, 2008I am on an epic trip through the Pacific Northwest and thought some people might be interested in how it’s going. This trip was something of a reward for two years of hellish health issues. After braving the usual mayhem at Newark Airport (I’ll skip the Liberty for now), I landed in Seattle and tried to make an hour connection to Boise, Idaho. It didn’t happen so I missed a croquet banquet in greater McCall. It was sorted out and I did finally arrive in McCall after an eye-popping drive up 3,000 feet in a goofy rental. Whitewater rafting and bush piloting are in the near future.
There are not a lot of Negresses in Idaho. However, instead of those jaw-dropping stares I have gotten in small places, so far only some little kids have gazed at me with a look that say more, “Cool. That’s different” rather than “Call the Aryan Nation.”
After a buffalo burger and catching up with a pal from the Apple who moved here to love and marry, sleep called. I answered very quickly.
