Off to Farmers’ Market on a city block of the downtown PSU campus. Chilly morning. Spent hours there, sampling cheeses, pastries, juices, unidentifiables, you name it. Had the best tart, ever. Great signage, plenty of people watching, lots of music. Rampant color, gurgling with activity. Came back with cheese, sprouts, other stuff, as much as we could carry. Ivi says that she and her friends often go there for an a la carte walking breakfast.
Stocking Ivi’s kitchen from home and Trader Joe’s. Exploring around campus; Ivi shows us secret areas and paths. Hanging out and plotting the next move. Everywhere is green and lush and as private as you want.
Ivi finds a prospective eating venue in southeast Portland. This turns out to be an highly-rated though somewhat obscure Ethiopian restaurant occupying the second floor of a building that seems to be above a garage on a side street. Small, intimate, utensil-free, seems to be popular with people of all stripes. Ethiopian beer must be an acquired taste. After eating, we check out a lot full of food carts representing several nationalities and ethnicities. On the way back, Dad surveys the traffic from the back seat, spotting a 370Z as the highlight.
So we decide to connect with Ivi for Lewis & Clark’s Homecoming/Parents Weekend, leaving in early morning on October 4th for Portland (via Walla Walla). We find Ivi, check into a nearby motel, the ladies shop while Dad naps, then we plan our evening dinner. Ivi suggests ethnic food and begins an online search. Can you handle the drama and excitement?
And, by the way, this is the first time we have seen Ivi since her burn accident and ER visit less than a week ago. Happily, all is progressing well beneath that left hand bandage.
Back to school for Ivi. We depart late morning Saturday, check into a motel, hit Trader Joe’s to stock up Ivi’s kitchen. Dorm move-in is Sunday morning, and then it is homeward bound, first stopping at another T.J.’s to equip our own larder, driving until late afternoon.
First it’s off at the crack of dawn to Walla Walla to catch Jason and retrieve the P-Car. Then it’s on to Richland where we offroad through orchards, mud and dust and finally arrive at the U-Pick peach farm. Leaving the Gatherers to do what they do best, Nik and Dad buzz home, sunroof off through the rolling hills and mountains, having discharged their Hunter role and duties. A few hours later, Ivi and Mom arrive with the bounty and furiously throw themselves into cooking and canning exploits.
These two friends have been seen together frequently this summer … from camping trips to kitchen cooking shenanigans. Olivia is one of our favorite visitors.
Last week, Ivi accompanied her friends Marina and Olivia on a two-day camping trip somewhere around Catherine Creek. No bears were encountered. But they did find a flurry of huckleberry growth. So on Sunday the girls got together and transformed their pickings into an absolutely succulent pie.
Nik takes a break during the 5:30am – 8:00am photo shoot this morning.
This afternoon we take a brief two-hour family hike to 3 R Trail, off Igo Road in the shadow of Mt. Emily, sort of.
