Passing Ships

We went on another great escape this weekend...trying to outrun our crazy lives before it all catches up with us as we realize that we are exhausted. At sunrise, we grabbed our coats and camera and slipped out of the house before our work and worries could convince us to stay. We jumped in the 'wagon and headed to the beach. Alex navigated us through the fall leaves on an amazing scenic route through the mountains (that's what they call their hills here in Oregon)--across the river--around an island--over beautiful bridges--and on to the beach (Long Beach, WA). It was a great day.

Nothing that is can pause or stay; The moon will wax, the moon will wane, The mist and cloud will turn to rain, The rain to mist and cloud again, Tomorrow be today.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Instead of using the main bridges that cross the Columbia River, we went through the mountains to Clatskanie, Oregon and took the ferry across to Puget Island. While on the ferry, we had to stop and wait for these ships to pass. The Sternwheeler ("The Empress of the North") was coming in from the ocean--she is from Juneau, Alaska! The other ship ("Keystone State") looks less impressive in the pictures--but in life it was impossibly large. The ferry dropped us of on Puget Island--an rather large island in the Columbia river. We drove around the perimeter and dreamed about life suspended on an island--then took the bridge from the other side to Cathlamet Washington.

Destination: Long Beach, WA. It was ridiculously warm and wonderful for being the week of Halloween. We walked on the beach with no coats and it was great! There wasn't too much to do (it certainly wasn't warm enough to play IN the water...and Long Beach is too flat for tide pools), so we played a little and then went back to the main street to bum the stores.






We stopped by Marsh's Free Museum--an eclectic collection of taxidermy, antiques, seashells, peepshows from the late 1800s, nickelodeons (player pianos and music boxes from sternwheelers and circuses), shrunken heads, and Jake the Alligator man (seriously--look him up!). We spent some time saying hello to the residents there:
























We headed back home on the main roads--trying to keep a few miles ahead of our sleepiness--and watched the sunset over the wide mouth of the Columbia river...trying to imagine what it was like for Lewis and Clark to choose on which side of the river they would winter.

Golden Crab Chowder--YUM!

• Saute sweet onion, garlic, and celery (seasoned with salt, ground black pepper and curry powder) in a little butter--(thicken with a little flour)
• Boiled cubed Yukon Gold Potatoes until mushy
• Add chicken broth (~2 c.), milk (~1 c), and a little cream (I used 1/2 pint of whipping cream)--for thicker soup add some of the starchy water drained from the potatoes
• Add Crab (or Krab--I used one package of immitation stuff)
• Add the Potatoes (you could add more veggies--steamed cauliflour or corn would be good)
• Simmer over low heat until flavors are mixed and veggies are very mushy

Yum. This experiment was a huge success. I was shopping hungry on a cold drizzly northwestern evening--stressed beyond belief and needing something warm and comforting. Yukon golds and Krab were on sale--so I quick thought up a soothing solution for my comfort cravings. The creamy curry flavor fit the bill. This soup is great for nights when you are ready to curl up after dinner in your pjs and read a book!

Utah Pictures

Me and Alex at the Malad Gorge in Idaho. I don't know who started the tradition, but every time Danita (Pappas), Alex or I go to Utah, we always stop at Malad Gorge. I'm certain that millions of people have driven that stretch of I84, looking at the flat plateau all around them, never realizing there is a huge ravine with a violent waterfall just a few feet away. Crazy.

Shadows on a bridge--suspended 250 feet above Devil's Washbowl in Malad Gorge

Left to Right: Danita Pappas, Jada Pappas, Jen Carmichael, Alex Carmichael.

Ontario & Meggan Britton (2 days before Meggan's due date) and Alex & Jen

Having too much fun way past our bedtimes. When did we get so old?

Road Trip!

Portland to SLC--7:30 pm to 8:00 am

SLC to Portland--3:00 pm to 3:30 am

My Morning Commute

suspended mid-intersection
waiting for your turn (a grey dusty morning)
encapsulated in your colorless car

flashing hues from passing cars behind
illuminate your profile

--like a runway model on changing background--

your face (disregarding the gay colors) remains
unperturbable;
unexcitable;
uninteresting.

800 miles

Last week Danita Pappas, her sister Jada (spelling?), Alex, and I jumped in our Passat (which we own 100% as of yesterday!) and drove. And drove. And bought gas. And drove. Actually, Alex and Jada drove most of the way. I went to sleep in Boardman, OR about 10:00 p.m. and awoke at 7:30 a.m. in Salt Lake City. Alex and I dropped the girls off in SLC and headed down to Spanish Fork to stay with my folks. We had a great time at the GREAT UTAH PROVO MISSION reunion. Pres. Greggson announced that he still loved Alex...even though he has long hair. He also assured everyone that Alex is not really rebellious...he just looks that way. After the reunion (which was unstructured chaos: 7-10 years post-mission and the room was spinning with dizzying toddlers), a bunch of the old group (affectionately identified as "The Goonies") hung out at Ontario and Meggan's apartment. Meggan was a great hostess...never mind that Meggan was supposed to birth their first child in less than 72 hours.

For some reason we didn't think to go to conference. But, we did enjoy watching it with my family. We got to meet all the new significant others (significant figures? I should really be doing my Chemistry homework). Peter is dating Tayva. We really like her. I need to call him and tell him how much I like his girlfriend. She is an Creative Writing Major, and really cute and nice. Stef is dating Darron this week (sorry for that sis.) He seems nice, but I didn't really get to know him. He was too interested in cuddlin' with my sister to talk to us very much.... Ryan has a new girlfriend this week to, but we didn't get to meet her. Long, long ago and far, far away, it was just me and my brothers and my sis. No sig. figs. We went everywhere together. We stayed behind in the car while mom and dad went into the store. We played radio ("I'm the radio!"), the silent game, and hit each other. Now we're all grown up. I kind of miss it.


p.s. I never mentioned that we hung out with my old room-roommate Julie Black and her hubby Josh and two cute cute boys--SO FUN! All I can say: Themed Mad-Libs? Brilliant.