Sweeter

It was love at first sight - meeting Chendra the elephant

Last Sunday my photography club met at the Oregon Zoo at 8:00 am (who knew they opened that early) to take photos of the animals.  Unfortunately, many of the animals weren't on display since their enclosures were being cleaned.  Bob, one of the elephant keepers at the zoo saw our group and asked if we'd be interested in a backstage tour of the elephant area so we could meet one of the elephants up close and personal...ummm...heck yeah!

Bob led our group behind the elephant barn and lined us all up against a fence.  He asked us to stay there while he went to get Chendra.  Chendra was found orphaned at a palm oil plant in Malaysia.  She had a gunshot wound to her left eye, which left her blind in that eye, and a badly infected foot.  Unable to return her to the wild, the Malyasian government allowed the Oregon Zoo to transport her here where she would be safe.

 
Chendra comes out of the elephant barn to meet us.  Bob prepares the hose to give her a little wash.

First she lifted each one of her feet to get the bottom washed.  I was amazed at how well she understood Bob's commands.  "Left up", "Right up"...and up went her feet one at a time.  He proceeded to wash her all over while she turned and then laid down.

 
Next she got an undercarriage wash.  Bob then had her do a few more tricks like turning in a circle and lifting two feet at a time.

This was her "trunk up" trick.  Bob didn't even have to say a word, just give her the signal.

Then she took a bow to her audience for her performance of excellent tricks.

Then she opened her mouth wide for her reward....a marshmellow.

Bob then told us we could get closer to her if we wanted.  Everyone in my group stayed back.  But I couldn't resist...she was so sweet.  So I stepped forward.  I was a little nervous...she's a very large animal.  But she just stood there and let me approach her.  And then I looked in her eye (the one that wasn't blind).  I was amazed at what I saw.  She looked back at me with as sweet a look as my dog gives me.  I was hooked...yes, I fell in love with Chendra.

I asked Bob if I could touch her, and to my surprise he said yes.  I reached out and rested my hand on her trunk.  It was rough, and thick with coarse wirey hairs.  I talked to her and she reached her trunk up to me and after blowing warm air in my face, gently touched the end of her trunk to my cheek.

At this point, a few of the others in my group approached her to pet her as well.  I crouched down on the ground to take more pictures and to my surprise she again approached me with her trunk extended, blowing warm air in my face and touching her trunk to me.

Bob then let us all feed her carrots and apples.  She took them gently from our outstretched hands and after each treat, she waited to be patted on her trunk before moving on to get the next treat.

Bob then told her to "go play" and she moved to a corner with some sticks and branches and began tossing them around and pulling the leaves off the branches to eat them.

Bob told us she was one of the smaller elephants in the herd, and probably the most well behaved.  Because of this, sometimes after hours they let her walk around the zoo (with a human escort of course).  I asked what she liked to look at....."the sealions, they're her favorite to watch".  Chendra and I have something in common....I could watch sealions for hours too.

I always knew elephants were intelligent.  But I wasn't prepared to be able to feel a connection to this large creature.  It was as if I could feel her emotions...I could sense her soul.  I know, I know...that sounds a little far-fetched, and if someone else had told me this I would be skeptical too...it took me by surprise.  It was an experience I'll never forget.  And next time I'm at the zoo...the first place I'm going is to the elephant barn to see if my friend Chendra is around...maybe she'll remember me and extend a trunk in greeting.

The street was deserted, but the burger joint was jumping!

Eric was looking through the blog the other day and asked, "Honey, why don't you blog about our dates anymore?  People are going to think I don't take you out."  Good question.  We'd certainly been on dates.  Lots of dates.  After giving it some thought, I decided it was because, a) a lot of our dates, while fun for us, were probably not too interesting for people to read about; b) there were other topics to write about that I found more interesting to blog on; and c) I had gotten a little lazy.  So, last Saturday we went on a date and I was determined to blog about it. 

 
The famous Helvetia Tavern.  (They only serve RC Cola...who knew they even still make that stuff?)

Eric has been telling me for years that he'd like to go to the Helvetia Tavern with me.  The HT is a "Portland Must-do" according to many, and I had never done.  Since we were going to be driving all the way out to Helvetia from the 'Couv, we decided we'd go a little further to visit the "Street of Affordable Homes" in Forest Grove as well.

I had to laugh at the name of the event.  I've been to the Street of Dreams....I guess this was the Street of  "c'mon, get real you can never afford those luxury homes...you my friend need a dose of reality."  We arrived about 5:00 pm, since we had read they were doing wine tastings from local wineries from 4 to 6.  We bought our tickets passed through the gates and saw....not a soul (except for the wine people and food vendors).  I guess reality isn't a big draw these days.

Oh, well, we walked to the end of the street and sat down to sample wines from Ardiri vineyards.  They just opened this year, and have a beautiful tasting room.  The wine was pretty good, but the appetizers promised in the ads were no where to be found, so we bought a couple bags of frito's from the food vendors.  Wine and Frito's...not a bad combination.

Wine and Frito's...now that's class!

Next we toured the homes.  Nice, but nothing too outstanding (reality check again).  Two of the homes had casitas -  detached guest suites for guests, elderly parents, or those grown children who keep coming back to the nest.  Great idea, and one was even wheelchair accessible.

One house had a really cool fireplace in the great room.  It was backed with glass on both sides and opened to the covered patio in back...loved it. 

 
See through fireplace from the inside....

 
  ....And on the outside.  Cool, no?

Our favorite home was the "Imagine"  The largest of the group, I loved the open floor plan and the multiple "flex" spaces to use however you wanted (for us one area would be a wine cellar and the other would be a reading room).  It was in this home that we met Neil Frederickson owner of Provincial Vineyards.  He was sampling his wine and since the place was deserted, I took the opportunity to talk with him about his vineyard.  Although he works in the technology field, his passion is growing grapes.  When I asked him if growing grapes was more art or science, he pondered it for a few seconds and said...science.  He went on to explain about the soil, the climate (and micro-climates), irrigation (or not..."the vines must suffer to produce the beautiful grape"...in other words, no water!), pruning...and much more.  He's looking to retire in a few years at which time he'll be able to grow grapes full-time.  A neighboring winery crushes his grapes and makes the wine for him..as Neil is a vine-man only, not a wine maker.  We sampled his Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir...both were outstanding, and affordable.

Neil Frederickson from Provincial Vineyards.

After working up an appetite, we headed out to Helvetia Tavern for one of their world famous burgers.  I had read they were the closest thing Portland has to the flavor of In-and-Out Burgers (which are my very favorite), so I had high hopes.

At the HT bar.  Check out all the baseball caps on the ceiling.

We arrived to a parking lot full of cars, both fancy and otherwise.  The HT is truly a roadside beer and burger joint...nothing fancy here, but lots to look at.  Since all the tables were full we bellied up to the bar, checking out the hundreds of baseball caps stuck to the ceiling, the funny signs and odd decor, and the super small menu.  We both ordered the "small" cheeseburger and decided we'd split a half order of the onion rings.  Good choice, the portions were more than sufficient. 

 
  Not much of a menu, but really, do you need any more than that?

We watched the guys behind the grill cook up our burgers (along with about 60 more).  They were served up hot with melting cheese, "special" sauce, lettuce (iceberg, the classic), onions and tomatoes.  The pickles were served on the side (thank you!  I hate pickles or eating anything a pickle has even touched).  The burgers, were, as promised...outstanding.  And, I'm sorry In-and-Out, but these burgers were even better than yours!  We munched down the sloppy burgers, relishing every delicious bite.

 
Burger heaven!

So, now, I have experienced the Helvetia Burger, and it was great!  Only problem is HT is a good 45 min. drive from our house.  I don't imagine I'd make a special trip out there again, just for the burger, but if I'm in the area...clear off a barstool boys, I'm coming in! 

Riding the Cape Cod Rail Trail

Day two of our Cape Cod vacation, we rented bicycles and rode along the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  Vacationers ain the late 1800's rode the train from Boston to the Cape, but as automobile's gained popularity, the rail service was discontinued.  In 1978 the rails were paved and became a 25-mile bike and pedistrian path.

Eric riding along the smooth sun-dappled Cape Cod Rail Trail.

 

The trail takes you through forests, salt marshes and quaint little towns on a relatively flat smooth service - perfect for a novice bicyclist like me.  We picked up the trail in the town of Brewster and rode about 6 miles before our first stop in Orleans for ice cream at the Chocolate Sparrow, which sits behind an old train station right along the trail. 

The Chocolate Sparrow was a great place to stop and rest and re-fuel with a double-scoop cone.

 

We rode past First Encounter Beach, where in 1620 an exploring band of Mayflower passengers met the Nauset tribe...the first encounter between the Mayflower cruisers and the native people.

Continuing on we came across Three Sisters Lights (they call lighthouses "lights" on the East Coast).  These three squat wooden lights were moved to a park about 1/2 mile inland after the bluff they were on started to erode in the sea.  The land of the Cape, being mostly sand and gravel is slowly eroding away, so many of the lights have been moved off their original cliffside locations further inland to sturdier ground.

One of the Three Sisters Lights sitting in a park about 1/2 mile inland. 

 

Next we visited Nauset Light, also moved back 350-feet from it's orginial location.

Beautiful Nauset Light.  A light keeper still lives in the house.

 

We took a beach break, changing into our suits and enjoying the sand and sea for an hour or so.

Eric and Piper coming in from at dip at Nauset Light Beach.

 

Something we noticed about Cape Cod (most of it), is it is not particularly dog-friendly.  There were "No Dogs" signs at most all of the beaches.  Now, the Cape's beaches do get exceptionally crowded with people sunbathing, swimming and picnicing for the entire day (something pretty hard to to on our cold Pacific NW beaches).  So I understand if everyone brought their dogs, and didn't clean up after them, it would be quite the mess.  But, my dogs love playing on the beach more than anything, so I was feeling a little sad for all the East Coast dogs missing out on beach time.  :-)

 Unlike the Pacific NW, most of the Cape is not dog friendly.

 

 Eric and Piper at one of the beautiful white sand beaches along the Cape Code Rail Trail.

 

After Nauset light, we turned around and headed back to Brewster to return our bikes, stopping at one more beach along the way.  Round trip we ended up riding 22 miles....which is nothing compared to what bicyclists around here do.  But having broken my tailbone just the month before, I was pretty sore by this point, so was glad to turn in the bike and hobble, Festus Parker style, back to the car, to head to the resort for a quiet, relaxing evening.

 

 

The Other Side of the Story - I hear from the artists

A few weeks ago I blogged about an art exhibit at PDX Contemporary Art.  It was an exhibit that baffled me.  I knew what the artists were trying to communicate, but the exhibit looked like ordinary objects at high-end art prices.  Well, to my surprise the artists read my blog, and despite my critique, took the time to write me and shed further light on their exhibit.

I'm still a bit baffled by the whole exhibit, but at least now I am aware of the precision and time it took to create the pieces.  The lesson I've learned, is next time I'm confused about an exhibit I think I'll ask questions of the artist.  There may be more than meets the eye.    Below is  what the artists sent....

We appreciate that you took the time to go see our exhibition at PDX Contemporary Art, and we appreciate all the thought that you put into writing about it, but we wish that you would have taken a bit more time looking at the work itself. If you had, you would have noticed a few things about some of the works you mentioned, like that the #2 pencils each have hand-carved text on them, or that the textual works (like the one reading 'READ WRITE EAT SLEEP') is a painting not a print, or that the notebook paper you wrote of is all hand-drawn with ball-point pen. But, the main thing that we want to clarify is that we are not in any way attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of would-be collectors. We put a great deal of time, effort and thought into the things we make. And, we definitely aren't 'laughing all the way to the bank,' because the sales of our art (which is pretty reasonable priced as these things go) barely cover our costs. We consider collectors to be the ones making it possible for us to continue doing what we do, and for that matter, they also are the ones who make it possible for you to go out and have something to write about.

And that my friends, is the other side of the story.

We're pregnant!

 

Now, don't get excited...no, Eric and I aren't having a mid-life addition to our family...it's just that I hear this phrase a lot in the last 5 years or so.  I hear couple after couple announce "We're pregnant", or just recently a man told me he was going to be out of the office for a week because "He's having a baby".  Really?

Now, I appreciate the enthusiasm of a couple who achieves conception, and I find it sweet that the couple is trying to be in the whole thing together....but having been a woman, who's been pregnant (and given birth) three times, it just sort of baffles me...and it irks me a little that the man is taking some credit for all the hard work a woman's body does to bring life into this world.

So if "we're" pregnant, exactly what part of the pregnancy is the man taking?  The morning sickness?  How about the stretchmarks or the heartburn?  Maybe he's taking the sore breasts?  Is he taking the labor or the epsiotomy?  No?  Oh, wait a minute, maybe he gets all the good parts of pregnancy...the "eating for two", people holding open doors for you, the "glow" to his complexion.

Maybe I should just go with the trend.  Yes, then maybe my husband can do more fun woman things as a "we" with me.  Can't wait for Eric to take my next mammogram or gyn appointment.  Whew!  It will be such a relief to not have to do those things anymore.

Of seashells and soda bread - Cape Cod vacation day one

Eric, Piper and I took our family vacation to Cape Cod and Boston this year.  When we told people where we were going many asked, "Why are you going there?"  I could have replied, "the history", "the beautiful scenery", "the lobster"...and all of those would have been true, but the main reason was it was available through our timeshare on short notice.  That being said, it more than lived up to it's reputation as a favorite vacation spot for families for over 100 years.

We took the red-eye flight from Portland and arrived at Boston Logan at 5:30 am, where we sleepily made our way to the rental car agency, got our car, plugged in the GPS and began our hour and half drive toYarmouth where we were staying.  Along the way we kept looking for a Starbuck's with no luck....however there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner.  Seriously, if I lived here I'd weigh a ton...I can't resist their delicious double chocolate donut....mmmmmmm!

Anyways, after fueling our stomachs at Dunkin Donuts we arrived at the resortin Yarmouth around 7:30 am...ummm, just a few hours before check-in.  The guy at the front desk gave us a recommendation for breakfast and some daily beach passes to kill some time before check in.  Unlike the beaches here in the Northwest, you have to pay to use the beaches on much of the East Coast.  In Cape Cod, it doesn't cost to use the beach, but it costs to park in the parking lot...and most of the beaches are not within walking distance to town.

Off we went to the Keltic Kitchenfor an Irish breakfast. I don't know how long this place has been around...but it looks like awhile.  The hostess, a middle-aged woman with rosy cheeks and red hair haphazardly thrown in a bun, greeted us like we were family and showed us to our table.  The kitchen is open, with counter seating in front, where the locals sit and eat and chat with the cook while he works his magic.  Eric ordered a cornbeef hash (the best he's had) and Piper and I, being opted for eggs, Irish bacon (a bit thicker and meatier than American bacon) and soda bread toast.  The mean revived us enough to venture off down to Seagull Beach while we waited for our room to be ready.

The Keltic Kitchen.  That's Dublin born, Dave Dempsey in the kitchen cooking up hearty Irish fare.  He says, "The french live to eat, but the Irish eat to live."

 

We arrived to an empty parking lot (except the attendant) who looked at our pass and flagged us in.  We changed our clothes in the bath house and walked out on the beach.  We had the place to ourselves at this early our.  The sand was white, the sky blue, the dune grass green and lovely cottages dotted the shore...yes, just what I had expected of a Cape Cod beach.  We walked across the sand to the surf line and noticed the beach was covered with seashells.  Now, I'm not talking broken bits and pieces or chunks of seaweed covered mussels...but beautiful white, pink, and translucent yellow shells.  Piper and I couldn't believe our eyes and began scooping them up...handing them to Eric until his pockets were full. 

 Not a soul on the beach at 10:00 am.  Seagull beach in Yarmouth.

 

All those pink and white spots on the sand....those are perfect, beautiful seashells!

We found a place to lay down our towels with a little bit of shade from the dunes.  Eric and I laid down and took a short cat-nap, while Piper went straight for the water...her first time in the Atlantic Ocean.

Piper takes a dip in the Atlantic.

 

After the beach got too hot, we drove to Yarmouth Port to get ice cream at Hallet's Drugstore.  Built in 1889 by Thatcher Hallet, and today owned by his great-grandson, the family obviously never felt the need to do much remodeling...the place is amazingly preserved.  With the exception of the addition of electricity, a new ice cream counter, and the portable tv in the corner, it looked like it must have looked when it opened it's doors.  We ordered our ice cream and cooled off under the ceiling fans.

 

 Eric and Piper enjoy their ice cream at Hallets drugstore. 

Next we decided to explore the town of Dennis, wandering along Route 6A (the old King's Highway) past one charming old sea captain's house after another.  We stopped at a charming white steepled church next to the town park and cemetery (there seemed to be a lot of that on the Cape).

This bell next to the church used to be in the schoolhouse that was right next to the church, but is since gone, the bell being all that is left.

 

Beautiful white steepled churches are everywhere.

Exhausted we finally headed back to the resort where we were able to check-in.  We schlepped our luggage to our room, opened the door, threw down our bags, turned up the a/c and finally got a good sleep.  Much needed rest to get us through the rest of our week. 

A high flying Fourth of July!

The family spent the day at Fort Vancouver for the Fourth of July this year.  Eric had volunteered his time (and his staff's time) to run the computer systems for the day.  Although the weather was a bit (an understatement here) chilly, it was fun to walk around and see all the families enjoying the day.

We bought tickets to be in the "prime viewing area" at the Pearson Airfield, and right next to where we were seated, they were selling rides on vintage bi-planes.  We were watching them take off with me thinking..."that looks too scary for me", so I looked over at Jessica and said, "Is that something you'd want to do?".  To my surprise she said "Yes!".  So...Jessica strapped on an old-fashioned pilot's leather cap, climbed in the front seat and took a high-flying spin around Vancouver.

Looking like Amelia Earhart.

 

In the plane and ready to go.

Starting the engine and ready for take-off.

And away she goes!

 
Flying high.
  
 
 
 

C'mon...Are you serious? A head-shaking night at the gallery.

Eric and I went to First Thursday in the Pearl last week.  Eric was having dinner with his daughter first, so I started the evening by myself, stopping at some of my favorite galleries, such as Black Fish, which never disappoints. This week I particularly loved Tony Kordosky's work.  A student from Linfield College, he had taken large cross sections of logs, leaving the bark and moss on the outside, but carving and painting the inside in abstract patterns.  I loved the juxtiposition of the natural and the contemporary.

Next I visited the Augen Gallery and the Froelick Gallery...both had beautiful and inspiring pieces of art, most of it for sale...and I guess reasonably priced for the unique and intricate works presented.

After Eric joined up with me we stopped for a glass of wine and then headed over to PDX Contemporary Art where they were featuring an exhibit called "The Classroom."  The exhibit featured various "tools of learning" in which the artists were making a statement about the educational system.  Their website, in part, says about the exhibit,

 "With the current inflation of people pursuing higher education, despite its mounting cost, increased privatization and decreased rigor, it seems particularly appropriate to portray the classroom transparently as a place of commerce. "

Hmmm?  Interesting, no?  Come with me while we explore this exhibit a bit more closely.

First is this desk with a pillow attached to the writing area.  It made me smile...yes, there were many times in high school and college that I wished there were a pillow on my desk.  So what is the artist trying to communicate?  Education has become boring.  The passion of learning no longer exists for these students.  Ok...I guess I can make the leap from the "sculpture" to that statment.

 

 

Next was this very simple print.  Again, the artists make the statement....students blindly following the perscribed program of classes designed to make the university money, but not neccessarily inspiring the student..and this print says so in black and white.

 

 

We circled the room and then came across this "sculpture" on a pedestal.

 

It's two packs of lined notebook paper stacked, just so.  I did a double take.  Did someone just leave some paper accidentally on this pedestal?  No, there was an exhibit sign, "Paper" with a price tag on it.  Hmmm....I looked more closely.  Was it perhaps a clay or ceramic sculpture so well done that it looked incredibly realistic?  No....it was just as it appeared to be.  Two packs of ruled notebook paper.  And what was the price for this statement piece?  Only $600!   So, I'm wondering, if you buy this, how would you display it?  Would you constantly worry that your 7th grader was going to grab it and use it for their homework assignment or that the wife would remove it from it's pedestal and put it in a drawer "where it belongs"?

Shaking our heads we went to view another "sculpture".  This one a pack of the ubiquitous #10 yellow pencils.  I always loved cracking open a new pack of pencils at the start of each school year.  I loved the smooth feel of the yellow paint, the pristine unused pink eraser top, and the smell of the cedar wood surrounding the lead.  Yes, this sculpture stirred up some happy school time memories for me.  The pencils were neatly arranged in a pencil box.  How much would this bit of elementary school nostalgia set me back if I wanted to buy it?  Only $850...what a bargain!  (I'm being sarcastic, can you tell).

 

I can appreciate using ordinary objects, arranged artistically, as a way to make a statement....I get that.  And when I first walked into this exhibit, I was going with that...going with what statement the artists were trying to make.  But then, when I saw the prices for these ordinary objects (arranged in ordinary ways)....it seemed like a joke.  Perhaps it was.  Perhaps the artists were trying to make the statement that they felt their own educations were as ridiculously overpriced as the art they were presenting for sale.  Hmmm....maybe that's it.  Maybe even the prices were a statement that the artist was trying to make.  They weren't really for sale.  Yes, that's it, I told myself.  Then I looked to my left.  I saw four blocks, about 5" wide, covered in blackboard paint.  Each block had a letter written on it in chalk.  The letters were, R - E - A - D.  The price?  $500 per block.  Another sly statement by the artists, I think.  But, no, on the price label was a small red dot, indicating that someone had purchased the exhibit, for the whopping price of $2000.  I'll bet the artists are laughing all the way to the bank to pay off their student loans.

Disclaimer:  The views of the artist are not necessarily the views of the writer.