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Chuckin' it in Manzanita

Oliver is an ocean dog, no doubt about it.

He absolutely loves to head to the hills and swim in the lakes and romp along the rivers. But I think if he had his choice, he'd take wide open, sandy expanses bordered by crashing white surf and golden brown cliffs any day.

Add a whippin' tennis ball in there — for hours and hours — and the dog is simply in paradise.

One big plane

Since we've lived in Oregon — almost 12 years now — I've come to develop an informal, certainly unofficial list of things that I think that anyone who really wants to claim Oregonian status should do: climb Mt. Hood, hike the Timberline Trail, visit Crater Lake, taste a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, swim in Oregon's cold and humbling slice of the Pacific Ocean, enjoy the Oregon Symphony along the banks of the Willamette River, and so on.

One of these feats that's eluded me thus far has been visiting the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville,OR, home of the Spruce Goose, the world's largest seaplane, with the largest wingspan and height of any aircraft in history.

While it doesn't take as much effort as climbing to the top of Mt. Hood, taking in the Spruce Goose is truly an amazing sight. I've been to the Smithsonian, flown on a B-17, and seen my share of impressive airplanes, but there is something to say about gazing at this airplane with your own two eyes. Granted, Howard Hughes only got the thing airborne for a minute or so, but just the magnitude of this beast is enough to drop your jaw. 

The museum itself is an interesting menagerie of old war planes, experimental aircraft, and, well, the Spruce Goose, which completely dominates and overwhelms the whole scene. It's also got a great little area for kids, a fully stocked gift shop, and a pleasant wine-tasting bar for grownups, courtesy of Evergreen Vineyards, part of which surrounds the museum in wine grape glory. 

A must not only for Oregonians, but for anyone. 

More real snow

This snow has been unbelievable. A few more images from it . . .

Real snow

We've lived in Oregon for 12 years now, and though we've gotten the occasional snow, it usually comes just once or twice a year, cripples the city for a day or two, and then melts away. 

But right now, we're in the midst of a good old snow storm that would maybe rival a mild Midwest bout: close to a foot of snow capped by a half-inch of ice, 20-degree temperatures, and freezing rain. Throw in a ton of Oregon drivers who have no idea what to do when the roads are anything but dry, some towering Douglas Firs groaning under the weight of the past week's icy party favors and shedding massive branches at will, and a power outage, and you've got the storm of the decade for the Portland metro region. 

And we're right in the middle of it. 

It's festive, it's fun — had a fire going all day today — but it's good to know that it's not here to stay . . . forever.

P.S. It's snowing like crazy right now. 

Only in Portland . . .

Would you run into a bagpiper, playing Christmas carols, dressed in a Santa suit — and riding a unicycle.

And he was actually quite good. 

Madeline and I headed downtown today after recycling some old Christmas lights at Far West Fibers and before recycling an old toilet at Environmentally Conscious Recycling — more Portland flair for you — and ran into this guy blowing his pipes just outside Pioneer Square. It definitely added to all the festivity and hustle going on downtown today, what with the Salvation Army band filling the air, the Portland cops trotting about on their horses, and the huge but unlit Christmas tree filling the square. 

We grabbed a coffee and a paper and paused on a bench in the square to take it all in for a bit. It's really a must when the weather is relatively pleasant, work's been put on hold for a day, and you're spending time with someone who appreciates every little joy there is to be had. 

The latest vino . . .

The 2007 Merlot/Cab blends, complete with arty labels.

After nearly a year of fairly close attention and prolonged aging, we finally bottled the 07 Merlot blends: a 50-50 cab/Merlot, and a 90-10 of the same breakdown. It's tasting quite nice at this point, but the hope is it rounds out a bit in the bottle before we crack them. 

We currently have our 08 going as well. Though it's supposed to be a stellar year for pinot noir — the founder of Willamette Valley Vineyards told me it was the best vintage he's seen in his 25 years in the business — what we got this year was about three gallons of Merlot and three gallons of Cabernet that Stewart snagged from McMenamins. He also nabbed a bunch of chardonnay grapes, which we pressed back in October, so we've got those fermenting away. We shall see how it all matures . . .