A DAY THAT RIPENED TO PERFECTION

We recently noticed a slow loss of air from the front right tire on Scoopy. You can't call AAA to come on over and fix your tire when it weighs a hundred pounds, so we scouted out a Les Schwab shop in Port Townsend where we could get the tire repaired. We folded up Scoopy early Monday morning and headed over. All went smoothly. I even drove Scoopy home (wait a minute... since Scoopy IS home...!), renewing my faith in my ability to drive the big rig.

With that chore kicking off our day, I figured it would not be a particularly memorable one... fix the tire, take a walk, drive over to Costco for some goodies...

Boy, oh boy - did we find goodies! Looking for the wild salmon that they typically carry fresh at the Costcos in the Pacific Northwest, we came upon a 5 pound bag of fresh mussels, locally harvested in Coupeville on Whidby Island. Even though 5 pounds were way more than we could eat, we couldn't (didn't, I should say) resist... we snagged a bag.

Next, cruising the vegetable aisles, the scent of fresh peaches slapped me in the face. It was SO STRONG and delicously sweet that I followed my nose to a stack of flats of white peaches. The regular yellow peaches to the left had no scent at all; the white peaches smelled like ambrosia. TWELVE peaches! Too irresistable. So we left Costco with food for 4-6 people.

I've never cooked mussels, but knew I would steam them in a broth, so we needed sourdough bread for sopping up juices. One last stop at an artisan bakery in Port Townsend and we were set.

As Odel began to wash and clean the mussels, we got a call from our friend Dave from Sacramento. He had been sailing north of here and wanted to stop in to visit us as he began his drive home. Perfect - another willing eater! I mixed up a broth of garlic, tomatoes, wine, and fresh parsley with a bit of homemade pesto stirred in, steamed the mussels, and sliced up the bread. It smelled good, looked good... but the first bite was even better than we anticipated. The mussels were totally, completely, tender - soft, plump seafood pillows.

We picked, slurped and sopped our way through 4 pounds of mussels (I kept one pound for chowder tonight), a loaf of sourdough, and a bottle of wine. Can you believe we even found room for peaches and ice cream for dessert?

Dave hopped back into his Prius to head south, Odel cleaned up the mess... and I made a mental note to do it again, soon!

BACK TO THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA

Here is an unusual photo for the blog: both of us in the same picture!

As we traveled from Portland north to Port Townsend, we stopped in Gig Harbor to meet up with our friends Jim and Diane. As soon as we settled in to the nearby Elks Lodge, we took off with them for an evening walk in town. Dozens of photos were snapped in this beautiful little waterfront town on this perfect afternoon - including this one.




Doesn't this look like a lovely place to spend a few days? Nice level sites, big trees for shade, a cute little Elks Lodge...

When we met Jim and Diane at the Elks Lodge in Gig Harbor, we planned to spend two or three nights there to explore the town and area. It was just as nice at it looks here, with one problem: behind Scoopy, on the other side of a healthy crop of delicious wild blackberries, is a 4-lane highway that carries commuters and semis from Tacoma to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas.

MAJOR traffic and MAJOR noise. Sitting outside for happy hour, we had to raise our voices to be heard, and the commute traffic woke me up by 6 am.




So, after one night in Gig Harbor, we all took off. As soon as we settled in Port Townsend (another Elks Lodge), we had an email from our new friends here, David and Ann, who hosted the wine tasting we enjoyed so much on our earlier stay in Port Townsend. Happy hour at their place at 4:30!

You don't have to convince us to have fun, so off we went. Around the table beginning on the left: Ann, David, Mary, Odel, and Elaine. We had tried to visit Mary and Elaine a week ago, but they left their camp hosting job before we had a chance to visit, so we were happy to lift our glasses with them on a beautiful afternoon near Port Townsend.

NORTH TO GIG HARBOR, WA

Thanks to the magic of the Verizon aircard, I am writing this from the comfort of my passenger seat lounge chair (feet up) as we roll north on Interstate 5 from Portland to Gig Harbor, Washington. We're planning to spend a couple days there visiting with our traveling friends, Jim and Diane.

Due to the noise of jet plans taking off overhead, we didn't care much for our RV park in Portland - except that it had easy access to the metro line to downtown and excellent walking along the levee on the south side of the Columbia River with some great views. We picked it for convenience, anticipating a visit with my friends Becky and Jewel from Sacramento.


What a great time I had with them! Becky flew, Jewel drove, and we all met at the downtown hotel where they were staying. I did a sleep-over with them Tuesday night, and we spent all our time talking, eating, walking, and shopping. Odel got a night to himself.

I can never resist the food shots, and my two days in Portland with Becky and Jewel were no exception. However, instead of photos of our delicous lunch, the bakery window displays, the delightful fresh produce... take a close look at this, the window display of a yarn shop we passed as we walked to dinner (double click on the photo if you want to enlarge it), proof that food is on the minds of everyone in Portland, not just me.