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Linda Quest What does a wanderer hope to gain by wandering? "Not all wanderers are lost," so I read on a bumper sticker. Now I don't rely on bumper stickers for my ideas but this one made me pause and think. I guess I can call myself a wanderer, but by choice. Curious about what lies ahead around the next corner, under that rock, down that trail, over that hill. I want to see it, experience it all, taste it all...live life to its fullest! How does one make the most of everything? Simple, just open your eyes and mind. Put one foot on the ground and begin the journey of discovery. Step out of your comfort zone and begin being thrilled by all of the absolutely lovely things on this planet earth....Your Aarde Moeder says so. Taking my own advice, I rounded up several of my travel-loving children and we headed out to the Pacific Northwest. I discovered Midwest Airlines has a direct flight from Milwaukee to Seattle. Left Milwaukee at 10:30 AM and we were in Seattle at 12:30 pacific time. Half a day to head out to the ocean crossing from Washington State to Oregon at Astoria, Oregon; crossing the Columbia River which enters the ocean there. To obtain a sense of the size of the Columbia River, ocean-going ships travel to Portland sixty miles upriver. How exciting it must have been for Lewis and Clark to be camped on the mountain side. We visited the Lewis & Clark state park where they camped. I went to the visitor center and watched an excellent presentation about the winter Lewis & Clark and their crew spent there, how they survived the cold and the rain. Jeff and April ran off down the trail where Lewis & Clark had landed their boats. History relived.... Seaside, Oregon was home for two nights. I could open my window and hear the roar of the ocean. I could sit by the window and watch the waves crash against the shore; sea gulls being tossed by the stiff winds, people walking their dogs on hard packed sandy beaches. I like to think of the sound of the waves as a scrubbing of my soul. The sounds are restorative and air so fresh & cool. Sweet... My single goal was to eat only fresh seafood and I did just that. Pan-fried oysters, fresh halibut fish & chips, Dungeness crab, Dungeness crab cakes, fresh wild caught salmon. Everything else was just for fun and good times. I just truly enjoyed the five days I spent with Jeff and April. I had been to some the areas we visited and not others. Jeff is a professional photographer and he had so many options for photos. April likes to hike and she did lots of short hikes. I managed to poke about, take some photos, and just enjoy it all. Many years ago the state of Oregon decided to limit the development of the coastline and created state parks. This was after a whole town vanished into the ocean during a huge storm. What a treasure that is today. Respect for the power of nature is really important....today we can see photos from space about the size and scope of the storms coming off the oceans. While in Seaside, April and I discovered there was an orchid show at the Middle School. Jeff went off in search of a Radio Shack to buy batteries. April and I went to the flower show and to our surprise it was a find. April took all kinds of photos with her digital camera and I didn't take any. We found orchids we have never seen before even though we usually attend the Midwest orchid show in Madison every year. Fun... That is my report about flowers for this article.
With fresh batteries and a batch of sandwiches, we headed to Cannon Beach, which is just 10 miles south of Seaside. The much photographed Haystack rocks are at Cannon Beach. The wind picked up and it wasn't as pleasant as earlier. We discovered a cove that was protected from the wind. Surf up dudes...here were a whole lot of people surfing in the wind whipped waves. Fun.... To continue writing about cook books and authors, I have been seeing Alice Waters making the rounds to promote a new book. I own four of her cook books; Chez Panisse Cafe, Chez Panisse Vegetable, Chez Panisse Fruit, and Chez Pannise Pasta, Pizza and Calzone. Chez Panisse is Alice Waters restaurant in Berkeley California. With a passion for fresh, healthy foods, the doors where thrown open to the public to bring divine dishes, becoming one of the best of its kind. If you go to Amazon.com you will find all of her books and reviews by fans and users. It is from her I learned to roast beets in the oven. When I need inspiration for something new and fresh, I turn to Alice Waters or Martha Stewart. Information + inspiration = good eats.
I am going to leave you dreaming of surfing and seeing wind swept ocean beaches.
Your Aarde Moeder wants to remind you to eat good food, be kind and speak the truth. Dateline October 30, 2007
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