opal creek

If you're looking for a mellow hike, with some stunning swimming holes along the way, Opal Creek is a great option. Not only are those swimming holes stunningly beautiful and crystal clear, but they are shockingly cold, so this is a good hike for a very warm day. When I was there on Saturday, the air along most of the trail was hot, dry, and filled with the smell of smoke from the wildfires burning to the east, but down by the creek the air was noticeably cooler and crisper. Early on in the hike (near the abandoned logging post), Matt and I opted for only a waist-deep dip since the water was so darn cold, and we just weren't warm enough yet to find that refreshing. We hiked on to Opal Pool, which is probably the deepest of the swimming holes, and also incredibly cold. It's a great place to stop for lunch, and if you're feeling up for a thrill you can jump in from the large surrounding rocks.

Check out the awesome font on this sign!

Opal Pool.

Opal Pool from up top.

After Opal Pool, we looped back past Jawbone Flats, an old mining outpost that still has a few rusty remnants of the old inhabitants. The trail is much more exposed here, and we certainly felt the heat, but soon enough we were back on the shaded trail headed downstream to our first swimming hole.

Rusty remnants at Jawbone Flats.

Matt was slightly more brave and tested the waters first. I opted for the brain freezing dive-in method over the prolonged wade-in process that seemed more like torture than refreshment! The water was freaking cold, but I have to say I felt pretty awesome once I got out!

The falls along Opal Creek.

mike & tracy tie the knot

One year and one day after getting engaged, two of my wonderful friends, Mike and Tracy, tied the knot here in Portland over Labor Day weekend. The wedding was beautiful, and the event brought together some of my closest friends, as well as a group of folks that I really wish I got to see more often. And Katy, you are so lucky... for some reason I can't get that video of you dancing to upload... damn you Blogger!

Sarah, Me and Kate enjoying cocktail hour.

Beth and Tracy (the bride)... that dress was stunning!

My athletic move yielded the bouquet... wearing 3 inch heels must have
helped because all I did was raise my hand in the air.!

Andy, Sean and Ben.

Mer and Duke... just 2 weeks from their 1st anniversary.

Daren and Becky... one of most fun couples I know.

The married people dance. The floor was packed!

dahlia show

This past weekend I drove down to Canby with my mom to check out the Swan Island Dahlia Show. Dahlias are in full bloom right now (and most will continue to flower well into October if the weather cooperates), so the fields of flowers were really gorgeous. Below are some of my favorites.

 

 

trillium lake

Perfect mirror image of Mt. Hood and Trillium Lake.

 Spent the weekend at Trillium Lake with my mom, sister and brother-in-law (and our three dogs), and it was a trip full of "firsts" for many of us. It was my first trip to Trillium Lake, and it was a memorable one. Gus, my darling energetic dog, decided to take me very literally when I told him to "Go get that duck!". He jumped in and and like a guided missile he locked in on that duck and just kept swimming, and swimming and swimming... even after the duck took off and landed about half way down the lake. I tried to call him back, but at that point he either couldn't hear me, or was so dialed in he didn't care. So what started as me calmly calling, "Gus, come here." turned into me insanely shouting, "GGGGGUUUUUSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!", all to no avail. At that point it was time to take off running the trail around the lake until I caught up with him about a 1/4 mile away. By that point he was about 100 yards off shore, still dialed in on the stupid duck, and was obviously getting a little tired. I called his name, but instead of turning towards me he circled around and started to swim towards the other shore. I think I probably said something like, "Oh, F*&%! No! No! No!",  and then took my shoes and socks off and dove in. I honestly can't remember the last time I swan so fast, but I finally caught up to him, grabbed his collar and guided him back to shore. At that point I scolded him with a few choice words, and he looked very sorry. That is until I turned around to put my shoes back on and the little devil caught sight of the duck again and jumped right back in!!! He only made it about 30 yards until I caught up with him and dragged him back to shore with me... and this time I didn't let go of him until we got back to the campsite. Note to self, get Gus a life jacket.

Gus starting his marathon swim (see duck taking flight).

On a calmer note, this was my mom's first camping trip in Oregon (and her first camping trip in 18 years) and it was her first time kayaking, ever! it was so much fun to have her out there with us and she did a great job in the kayak.

Me and Mom on her maiden kayaking voyage.

Mom's first Oregon adventure, camping, kayaking, hiking... she did great!

Mom and me kayaking on Trillium Lake with Mt. Hood behind us.

It was also Bodhi's (Mer's 4 month old pup) first kayaking outing. Merrill got him a little life jacket so he'd be easy to retrieve if he went overboard, but he was cool as a cucumber out there!

Merrill takes Bodhi on his first ride in a kayak... he was so good!

And last but not least it was Spot's (my mom's dog) first camping trip. She loved being outside all day, and she did great in the tent, but come morning she still looked a little groggy... but adorable.

Spot is not so sure how she feel about this whole camping thing.

making the pilgramage to nyc

I just got back from NYC, where I was at a huge trade show, the New York International Gift Fair, buying for Red Sail. After two days of walking the show I had some free time, so I headed out to Brooklyn to visit my friend Sheila, owner of POP, a clothing boutique in Williamsburg, and then over to Carroll Gardens for my annual pilgrimage to Court Pastry Shop. My family has eaten cookies from Court Pastries for as long as I can remember. My dad grew up down the street from the shop, and my grandmother used to bring the iconic boxes filled with cookies to every holiday gathering. When she passed away, my whole extended family mobbed the place right after her funeral at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and for my mom, dad, sister and me the smell of the bakery brings back some really powerful memories.

My cookie mecca.

Just a few of my favorites.

The way they tie up the box makes it nearly impossible to sneak a cookie out!

Those cookies were a great treat after a really tiring two days at the show. The NYIGF is massive, with 35000 buyers walking (and sometimes shoving) their way through nearly 3000 vendor stalls laid out over more than 800000 SF of exhibit space at the Javits Center and Piers 92 and 94. The first year I went I was totally overwhelmed, but now I have it down to a science to minimize sore feet, knees, and shoulders (you end up carrying A LOT of catalogs) at the end of the day. I ordered some really great merchandise for Red Sail that should be arriving over then next three months, so be sure to check the website out for all the goodies this fall!

This is image shows maybe 1/20 of the entire show...

charlton farm

Thanks to an invitation from my lovely friends Katie and Joe, I got to spend Thursday evening out at Charlton Farm, a private duck club on Sauvie Island. We had twelve people and six dogs (I love that ratio) out there for a picnic and few hours of escape from the city, amazingly only 20 minutes away. It was great to catch up with friends, and the dogs were in absolute heaven being able to roam the farm and swim in the lake... at least until sundown when we had to reel them after hearing a pack of coyotes howling it up in the nearby fields. Gus is still totally pooped from all the spastic running, swimming, and wrestling he did out there. Thanks Joe and Katie!

Gus taking in all the new smells at Charlton Farm

Perfect summer evening on Sauvie Island

Catching up lake-side at Charlton Farm

Laea pauses for a quick photo before some more retrieving in the pond.

Sunset on Sauvie Island

Sunset on Sauvie Island

Beautiful end to a nearly perfect evening

getting lucky at le pigeon

After two plus years I finally made it back to Le Pigeon, the hot spot on East Burnside here in Portland. My first visit there, which was probably right after they opened, was pretty unremarkable. I went back a  year after that and I remember it being better, but still not deserving of all the praise it regularly receives. This week, I was thoroughly satisfied. Maybe it was my company, but the whole experience seemed better, with the menu selections more appealing, the wait less long, and the food just tasting better. We started with the rabbit over salami risotto, gouda and fennel, which was excellent... I easily could have eaten the entire dish myself. Then we moved onto the pork with latke, green beans and almonds. It was a decent sized portion (as it should be for $23), the pork was super tender, the latke has a nice crust and beans were well dressed.  We also had the corn spoonbread with squash, oyster mushrooms, and tomato vinaigrette, which I liked even more than the pork. For dessert we wrapped things up with a blueberry apricot crisp with a basil popsicle, which was good, but not not great in my opinion. I also make A LOT of berry crisps so I'm fairly picky about them. I felt theirs was a little too tart for me, there wasn't enough topping, and that the crisp part lacked in texture and "crispiness".  All in all, it can be an expensive outing, but fun to try for a special occasion. I didn't whip out the camera at dinner, so no pics this time, sorry.

From the Le Pigeon website.