Summer visit to Washington

We had a lovely summer visit to the Pacific Northwest.

It is a long flight from Cleveland to Seattle, but we are fortunate that there is a non-stop to take us there directly.

It's exciting to see the water.

Grandma made several costumes for the lad.  Here is Doctor Sam.

Buzz Lightyear: To infinity... and beyond!

And the good knight, Sir Sam. Like all good knights, he wears jammies under his armor.

We got out in the kayaks- such a peaceful way to travel on the water!

We had a day adventure to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.  We took the long route via ferry to Vashon Island, then another ferry to Point Defiance.  Boys love boats.  The touch pool at the aquarium was fascinating.

Fun in the pedal go kart on the driveway.

Picking apples with the help of Grandpa's tractor.

Hard work deserves a treat.

Bill and Kim had some grown-up time in Seattle.  One fun adventure was learning how to blow glass.

A day trip to Mount Rainier National Park, where Kim and Bill enjoyed the glorious weather with a hike among the meadows.

Beautiful scenery.  Pretty nice mountains and flowers too.

Kim and Sam visit with Kim's friend Sara and her two boys on Whidbey Island.

Learning from the expert how to perfectly roast marshmallows.

 What a fun time we had!

Colorado Reunion Trip

Here are a handful of photos from our recent trip to beautiful Colorado.  We had two aims for this trip: a few days in Boulder with my friend Dennis, and then a few days at the YMCA of the Rockies for a Claspy Clan family reunion.  We had great success in both!

First up was Boulder.  Sam enjoyed the kid-friendly Pearl Street pedestrian mall, which has several play areas for small ones.  Here he is with big sister Anna and a great big bunny.

Right across the street from the historic Hotel Boulderado (where we were fortunate to stay) was a rank of rental bicycles, very reminiscent of Paris Velib stations.  Boulder is a bike-friendly city!

Bill and Dennis, catching up over brunch at the restaurant Snooze.

Dennis explaining the fine points of pea gravel to Sammy.  Not for eating, for concrete sublayers!

Day two we took a short hike in one of the many Boulder green space parks, this time the Chautauqua park.

The Veseys arrived on Thursday and stayed in Boulder overnight.  We initiated Gabi to the playground and ate delicious pizza at Pizzaria Locale.

Friday found us in Estes Park at the YMCA of the Rockies.  It is directly adjacent to the Rocky Mountain National Park and couldn't be in a more beautiful setting.

Sammy gets his first popsicle.

 The Claspy Clan!

We found refuge in the shade where and when we could- here in the evening on the patio above the dining hall.

Sunday we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park.  This lobo greeted us shortly after we entered the park.

At- or near- the summit of Trail Ridge Road, we stopped for a break at the Alpine visitor center.

At about 11,000 feet, these elk could relax in the cool mountain air.

It was a great trip!

Seattle getaway

Just a couple of photos from our 36 hour long date night in Seattle this week.


Sadly it was lashing rain on Monday night, so I did not get photos of our supper meal at Le Pichet.  The bourguinonne sauce on the root vegetable main dish Kim had was life changingly good.  I had a super tasty selection of charcuterie as a starter and ling cod main dish with pistou sauce that was very tasty.  And wine, most notably a chewy red from Bergerac.  Super dinner.  No pictures.


I did take a few photos on Tuesday.  Mostly food.


Our lunch at Serious Pie was a no brainer.  Their yukon gold/rosemary pizza is to die for.  That's a 3.14 Ale next to it, a joint project between Serious Pie and Elliot Bay Brewery.  3.14?  Pie?  Get it?

We strolled through Pike Place Market- how couldn't we?- and just had to stop at Beecher's Cheese.  Here's just one portion of their selection.  You might notice a dark, grape ash Tomme (goat's milk, soft cheese) in the middle there made by Quillisascut in Oregon, and redolent of some that I enjoyed in France with Anna last summer.  Yep, that's the one we got.  Very delicious.

And here is a festive holiday arrangement of peppers by another vendor.

We did non-food things too: strolled the massive REI flagship store, and even popped across to Feathered Friends, from whom I bought my down sleeping bag some 15 years ago.  Took in a movie at the fantastic Cinerama Theater.  Our favorite Hotel Ändra kept us comfortable overnight.  Cool and modern stationer Paperhaus had some tempting wares.  And we saw the new (to us) location of Elliott Bay Books, no longer in Pioneer Square but near Broadway now.  Finally, coffee with Kim former schoolmate, house mate and dear friend Sara before catching the ferry back to Bremerton.

We had a super time!

Summer's Twilight

August has a bittersweet feel here at our house- plenty of summer left to enjoy yet the vague sense that it will all soon come to an end, as we return to the more steady routine of the school year and work.  Here are a few photos of what we've been doing to enjoy the end of summer.

Sam and Kim patiently await yummy food and drink at Great Lakes Brewing Company, where we celebrated friend Daniel's birthday.

Maggie and her friend Maria enjoyed Laurel School's Shakespeare Rocks! camp.  The final performance was scenes from Twelfth Night.

On Friday our friends Mark and Jen and their nearly-two-year-old Caroline came over for supper.  Sam and Caroline very much enjoyed each other's company!

Saturday we spent the afternoon at Stan Hywet Hall gardens in Akron.  The grounds were lovely! Here we are inside the walled English garden.

The girls and Sam enjoying one of the many park benches on the property.

The girls couldn't resist the enormous chess set in the garden.

I liked these enormous irises, taller than Kim! (but not as beautiful!)

These beautiful red blooms set off nicely the house in the background.

Weisswurstfest!

Gesundheit!

Social media really is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing.  Unexpected connections can come when you least expect them.

A facebook friend of mine, David, recently said that a cucumber salad he'd prepared gave him gastronomic flashbacks to eating the same salad at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, during the year he spent there working on his dissertation.  I commented on his post, to the effect that I too had spent a fair bit of time in that beautiful city while my father was on sabbatical.  I suggested that we get together and share a meal of Bavarian specialties- his cucumber salad and some Weisswurst with Lowensenf and Weißbier  So we did!

This past Sunday David and Liz came over and we enjoyed a tasty plate of boiled sausage and much conversation and sharing of pictures from Bavaria.  We had a great time and ate altogether too much.

This post wouldn't be complete without a picture of Sam, who also enjoyed the Bavarian repast.  Here he is enjoying his favorite pastime- emptying and sorting the tupperware drawer in the kitchen.  This fascination keeps him happily busy for... minutes on end.

France, part two: FOOD

For part two of my pictures from France, I thought I would highlight some of the food we enjoyed.

In general, meal time- lunch and dinner- were enjoyed at a relaxed pace, at least an hour for lunch, more like two or three for dinner.  Much of the conversation centered on, naturally enough, food and wine.  Anna's host dad said to me that other than eating food, the Frenchman enjoys talking about food.  What we are eating, what we have eaten, what we will eat.  And of course many other topics!

So here is a taste of France!  Once again, feel free to click on the pictures to see them at a more mouth-watering size.

Part one featured a photo of the cheese plate.  Here it is again.  Coming at the end of the meal, it was usually accompanied by fruit and/or a fresh salad with vinaigrette and, of course, bread.  Here in addition to a Menetou-Salon red, Denis had a treat for me- a bottle of 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from his cellar.  Duskier and smokier than the newer local wine, both were delicious.

Our favorite dinner during our week in Aix-en-Provence.  In the evening we would stroll the streets of the old town, looking at menus and deciding on a whim what looked like the best choice for dinner.  Cafe Terminus we really stumbled on.  It was a lurker- I normally wouldn't pause at a restaurant in France that had a Ben & Jerry's ice cream menu- but the clientele looked like they were enjoying the place, the tabled food looked good, so we gave it a try.  We were delightfully surprised.  Here I'm having the chef's daily special of roast lamb chops with fig/honey sauce, ratatouille, potato and salad.  Anna had gnocchi with pistou (pesto) sauce.  (She also had the Ben & Jerry's!)  We only returned to one restaurant during our week in Aix: Le Terminus. (for canard magret [Anna] and flank steak [me])

Not a meal, but a scene from a street market.  Sausage!

My favorite meal from the trip was with Anna's family at the cozy traditional village restaurant in Menetou-Salon, C'heu L'Zib.  Anna's family is well known by the owners of this place, which is now in the third generation.  When we arrived, in the company of another family who dined with us, bisous were warmly exchanged all around.

At the long table in the cozy dining room, as we wait for our aperitif.

My starter course was delicate smoked salmon, served simply with lemon.  Anna had melon.  (And some of my salmon!)  Wine was a local white from Domaine Jean Tellier.

The courses were served family style.  This is the fish course, which I believe is a house specialty.  It is poached pike served in a cream sauce.  The fish was perfectly firm/tender and the sauce smooth.  I was trying to pace myself, but I went back for a small helping of seconds on this one.  Anna warned me about this dish, and she was right.  Heavenly.

The fish course plated.

The meat course was roast lamb, served with small potatoes and ratatouille veg.  The roast was thinly sliced and nicely medium rare.   The potatoes were parboiled then deep fried with a crispy exterior.  The ratatouille was simple and delicious.

Mid-meal conversation.

Next was salad and cheese.  My plate here is starting with the important stuff.

This large cheese, which Jean-Jacques is holding up for the picture, was left on the table for us to enjoy.

I did not photograph the dessert, a baked Charlotte cake. The food coma must have already set in.  We arrived at the restaurant at 8pm and said goodbye to walk home at midnight- four hours of good company and good food.