technology: iPhone
Something happened this week that is going to change our daily lives. No, I’m not pregnant… yet. It is something seemingly less dramatic, but something that nonetheless will change our lives.
We bought new mobile phones. For me, it was the new iPhone 3G. For Tom, it was the Samsung Blackjack, which is admittedly very much like my old Motorola Q. There is no denying that my phone is cooler, but we are both taking it one step at a time, immersing ourselves in a new culture, a culture we were both reluctant to join and surely will come to embrace.
Welcome to the Connected Masses
As soon as Tom set up e-mail on his Samsung, as soon has he began to put bookmarks into his mobile browser, I knew it was all over for him. He had entered into the world of the always connected. No longer would there be online time and offline time. With internet and e-mail always at your side, the lines blur, the worlds collide. You are always connected.
This is a world that I have been part of for quite some time, but only truly embraced about a year ago. I had worn down the keys of my Motorola Q. It had become an appendage. But I had outgrow it. I needed more… more efficiency… more applications. I was already connected, I wanted a cultural revolution. I didn’t want the internet all the time, I wanted it infused into my lifestream.
Forced into the iCult
When I had first decided that it was time to get a new phone, I had all but decided on the Google Android. I had ruled the iPhone out, because I have never felt part of Apple culture and had figured that many of the perks of the phone would only benefit those already immersed in the iCult.
But, several months went by and the reports of the iPhone App Store awesomeness grew, while the launch date of Android pushed further and further into the distance. I couldn’t wait any longer. So on Wednesday of this week, my husband spent an excruciatingly long time at Best Buy purchasing and setting up our new phones.
As he walked through the door with my phone, I wasn’t like a giddy child on Christmas day. It was like an alien object. I kept blogging, I kept working, while the black monolith sat there on the desk waiting to be played with.
Once I started, I got into the hang of it pretty easy. I immediately went to the App Store and began downloading all of the apps I had been reading about for the past many months. As the screens began to fill up with icons, I realized how easy and addicting it was, this could become trouble.
I Shalt Not Act Like a Douche
It had been sitting in the back of my mind for weeks, and now it was reality. I was marked as part of a culture with this phone, would this be something I would come to love or hate? I’m not sure even now. But, when I walked through the doors of my work the next day, I can tell you one thing… I was definitely iPhone shy.
I didn’t want to whip it out and show it off. I didn’t even really want to talk about it. It still was that foreign object, friendly but foreign. But, like it or not… the comments came. “Oh, so you got the new iPhone.” “Wait, I thought you were going to get the Android.” “Hey, since when do you have an iPhone?”
It’s nothing bad, it’s nothing even meaningful. But I was now one of those iPhone people.
Our New “Connected” Lives
The change in our lives was never so apparent as when Tom and I had dinner together yesterday. We were on the road and decided to take a detour by 6 mile to see if there were any new restaurants. We didn’t see any, but when I pulled up my Urban Spoon application and found a highly rated restaurant hidden in the back of the strip.
We sat down, enjoyed some snacks, ordered our drinks, and then… the phones came back onto the tables. Off and on during the dinner the phones served as discussion points. Places to look up information, and places to even record information about the wines we were drinking. I wouldn’t say there was ever a moment where my husband and I were distracted from each others company. It was almost like there was another presence at the table. Like we were not eating alone.
At the end of the meal, my husband told the waiter/sommelier how we had almost missed coming here. I toyed with the idea of showing him my phone, until the urge was just too strong. I had to pull it out and show him the Urbanspoon and how well rated the restaurant was. He had thought it was cool, but didn’t really grasp what I was trying to show. Without being “always connected”, my husband and I would not have even dined there tonight, we would have had a total different experience.
And so that is why I say that it is just that… Something happened this week that is going to change our daily lives. It’s going to change vacations, it’s going to change just sitting around our house in our pajamas. It’s going to change the way we have dinners. It’s going to change the way my husband and I connect to each other.
Don’t believe me, just read this awesome New York Times article, Brave New World of Digital Intimacy - I’m So Totally, Digitally Close To You.
vacation: Seattle, Washington
We grabbed some crepes to go from Cafe Crepe, before making the “two hour” trip to Seattle. I put two hours in quotes, because the wait at the border crossing added over an hour to the length of the journey, putting us into Seattle at around 1pm and very very hungry for lunch. Luckily, our hotel was only a block away from Pike’s Market, where we were sure to get something interesting and tasty.
Pike’s Place Market can only be described as overwhelming. On a blue sky, dry weather, hot Saturday afternoon, it was crawling with locals and tourists. There were flower sellers and local artisans, none of which we were interested in. We wanted the food, and we wanted it now. Still, it was hard to pass up the local shops offering free samples. We ended up buying chocolate covered cherries and fresh pasta, before making it to lunch.
Lunch was some fresh and peppery clam chowder and a searing hot lamb sausage on a bun covered in wine Dijon mustard. Sounds gourmet, and it was, but it was cheap, a combination we always appreciate. I was reminded of our adventures in the Nouveau Beaujolais fair out in France, where you could get a fresh sausage skewered in a baguette or a platter of fresh goat cheese for only a few Euro. It was fair food the way fair food should be.
The market was getting too crowded and too overwhelming. I wanted to make my way down to Spanish Table, but we kept getting lost, having to fight our way through people taking pictures of guys throwing fish.
We love feeling part of something amazing, like the sunset over Vancouver bay, but there is definitely a point when you feel the ratio of tourists to locals have tipped the scales and that is when we just want to get as far away as possible. This was a feeling that had actually brought me to tears in Rome, something that pushed us into the back alleys, skipping from wine bar to wine bar until we felt back immersed in a world we could love.
Our moment of love for Seattle came again in the back alleys. We happened accidentally upon the best spice shop in the city, one that offered anything you could imagine whole and fresh, one that supplied every restaurant in the city. I skipped around ordering the weirdest stuff that smelled awesome and I had never seen before, and best of all I was ordering it whole, because Tom had bought me a spice grinder for my birthday.
The guy behind the counter looked at our list, pondered my question about the location of the Spanish Table, and assumed we were from Seattle. When we informed him we were from “out of town”, it was hard for him to accept. He just kept repeating, but the way you ordered the spices, and you asked about the Spanish Table, how do you know about the good places? The way the guy was inquiring, Tom admitted, well, we do some normal stuff too. “Have you seen them throwing fish?” the guy asks. Tom and I look at each other and laugh, yeah, we got away from there as quickly as possible.
Tom and I like to go off the beaten path more often than not. And we did go up in the Space Needle in Seattle, but only after the Sci-Fi museum closed early for winter hours (perhaps the saddest miscalculation on my point). Some famous things cannot and should not be avoided, like a boat ride in Venice or the view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, but some of the most moments of all of our vacations come off the beaten path.
Things may change, someday, when we have children. But I still like to think that I will find those strange things, those unique experiences only now for my kids to enjoy.
We snacked before dinner at a pintxo bar called Txori. The offer mini tapas from Basque country, sardines in goat cheese cones and stuffed squid in its own ink. The stop was motivated slightly by a growing desire to visit Spain and Portugal. I figure if I get him excited enough, it might be our next trip 
For dinner we taxied out to Lark, sharing plates of various foods, but most memorable was our first taste of Sweetbreads, which when fried up and covered in sauce tasted like super fatty and chewy sweet and sour pork.
We ended our journey there in Seattle, having drinks at the bar in Pike’s Market, talking about our experiences with the bartender. We had come from the highest mountains and desolate forests to packed cities brimming with nightlife and community. It was an amazing adventure.
The End… tomorrow we return home.
vacation: Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia
Yesterday, we ate at a French bistro and a sushi restaurant. Today it was time to eat and drink more locally, a theme of this trip, something I had become even more excited to explore after reading Omnivore’s Dilemma. Sure places like New York and San Francisco have greatly varied food scenes, but isn’t the best way to measure the quality of a city by the way they cook their own foods… from their own backyards, using the traditions and styles of the area.
We started by visiting Granville Island and their public market. The whole island is like an outdoor shopping mall, its own little city under the highway overpass. We were quite full from our breakfast of pancakes covered in authentic Canadian maple syrup and Canadian bacon. So, we just soaked in the view of the delicious fruits and meats and cheeses. We picked up some local spices at the spice shop.
We decided to take a boat ride around the island via the Aquabus, and then stop off at the Granville Island Brewery to try out some decent Canadian beer, which Tom was skeptical even existed. Tom’s favorite was the Maple Lager. Of course, if there is one thing the Canadians certainly know, its how to do maple syrup right. Later in the day we would visit a maple syrup store, and have a tasting of several different varieties. The sugar rush would leave us buzzing until dinner.
Next, we visited Gastown, a brick-lined street section of Vancouver. It’s a cute part of town with quaint shops and a famous steam powered clock. Unfortunately, it is also right next to what Tom and I would refer to as Bum City. It’s probably a wise thing, but the city of Vancouver placed all the shelters, bottle return depots, community centers, and pawn shops all together on Hastings Street. The result is crowds of homeless, the drug-addicted, and the flat out insane.
We went to lunch at a hidden cheese bar in the back alleys of Gastown, actually down Blood Alley. You wouldn’t even know it existed except for a chalk arrow written on the wall of the alley. The menu featured various meats and cheeses from the area. Tom had a Merlot from BC that smelled like a dessert wine, but tasted smoky and bold.
This entry will end up being mostly about food and wine, because that was, after all, the theme of the day. For dinner, we went to the Zagat top-rated restaurant of the entire city, West Restaurant. We don’t usually go to very top places, but I managed to hear that if you went between 5:30 and 6:00 they served a special tasting menu for half the cost. You would think that would cause a mad rush, but turns out we were the only diners lucky enough to score the special menu.
The food ranged from unusual to mind-blowing. Everything, again, was local. From our smoky, delicious Sandhill Syrah to the meats and produce used to make the food. We had a strange duck terrine which was cold and filled with foie gras and pistachios. Tom had a neon green soup made from fennel and spinach with some crunchy wax beans. It’s great when you get the feeling that the chef things out the way all the flavors and textures will play together for the diner.
The main courses and the deserts were where it really shined. We got a free salmon appetizer because the chef wasn’t pleased with my chicken and decided to remake it. I’m sure whatever it was before would have been fine, but when I got the remade chicken I didn’t regret having to wait. It melted in your mouth in a way I had no idea chicken could do. I even liked chicken livers which were incredibly mild. Finally, we finished with a frozen creme brulee soaked in grapefruit and Port, and some chocolate cake that Tom kept rightly calling a gourmet ding-dong.
We ended the night watching the sun set over the appropriately called Sunset beach with all the other people from the city. This is where couples came for romantic evenings. This is where high school kids came to socialize. It was incredibly easy to forget that you were a tourist.
vacation: Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia
While the best thing about B&B’s is their breakfast, today it caused a little bit of panic as a lengthy and delicious meal made us late for our ferry into Vancouver. Luckily with a foot on the gas we just made it.
The drive into Vancouver wasn’t particularly beautiful. The ferry took us through forested islands, but dumped us out in farm country. The midday haze hid the mountains in the distance, so it wasn’t until we crossed the bridge over the Granville Market that we got into blue skies and mountains over the cityscape. If you took the mountains out, you could almost feel like you were in Miami with a few oddly placed palm trees and towering condos.
We checked into our hotel and then walked down the sushi shop lined Denham street to get some lunch. I had planned for us to visit the Cafe de Paris for some cheap soups and sandwiches with a Parisian flair. Cheap was miscalculation on my part, some poor internet research which usually serves me so well. Instead we got a fairly pricey lunch, but it was undeniably delicious and definitely, definitely full of Parisian flair. We’d need to find a cheaper dinner option.
With our bellies full of wine and heavy cheeses, we rented some bicycles for touring Stanley Park. The park is laid out as a giant peninsula off of the Vancouver downtown with a 5 mile seawall that outlines the circumference. Even with stopping for pictures, we managed to fly around the park in no time at all. So, next we ventured into the center. The gravel paths lined with huge pines made it easy to forget you were even in a city at all. This put us right back in Olympic National mode.
We made our way up to Prospect Point for a rest and some ice cream. The view wasn’t as incredible as we had hoped, especially for the amount of gravelly uphill we endured. But, it was fun to watch the raccoons chase down the tourists.
We returned our bikes and set out on foot towards a recommended sushi restaurant. We stopped off at Delilah’s, who claim to have invented the flavored martini. Whether fact or fiction, their infused vodkas made for some tasty drinks. I especially loved my vanilla infused vodka with pear liqueur and fresh lime.
Kadoya was a unique sushi experience. Based on the recommendation, we were expecting something perhaps a little too fancy or maybe a little too authentic. We got neither. This was a hole in the wall, packed with people, and a menu that was even a little too bastardized for me, bacon bits, chicken sausage, pop rocks? We floated in the middle, ordering some more traditional rolls with only a little bit of “creativity” in the form of tempura-fried anything. It was yummy!!
We finished the night watching the sunset at The Boathouse, as a bartender who kept calling me “love”, poured us more unusual cocktails. We wandered back to our hotel, talking about or adventures for the next day, while I tried to convince Tom that we just might have enough room in our suitcase for that bottle of awesome lychee liqueur.
Tomorrow: Granville Island
vacation: Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington and Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
The very best thing about B&B’s is, of course, the free gourmet breakfast. What would have cost $20 a person in a normal hotel was being served to us for free: fresh fruit, yogurt, tea, coffee, French toast, juice, and sausage.
We packed up the rest of our cheese and freshly picked blackberries and headed out towards Hurricane Ridge. First, we stopped at Lake Crescent. The waters were completely transparent amongst the mountain peaks. You could see the stony bottom of the entire lake. We would have loved to go for a boat ride, but unfortunately there was not a huge amount of time before our ferry today.
We did decide that there was enough time to stop at a local winery along the way. We were totally ready to taste some of the worst wine we had on our trip. I had even looked at their website in route and decided we could get away with just buying chocolate if the wine sucked, and not seeming like dead beats that just wanted some free wine. But, the wine was actually very tasty and we ended up walking away with a bottle of the house white.
The ride up to Hurricane Ridge was excruciatingly painful. At 3 stops along the 12 mile stretch it was down to one lane. You would wait 20 minutes for the stop sign holder to turn their sign to slow as you followed a pilot vehicle up the mountain. A twenty minute journey quickly turned into an hour and a half, which just kept counting down the amount of time we’d actually get to spend on the top of the mountain before coming down.
It was all worth it though. The view from Hurricane Ridge was spectacular. Snow capped mountains and lush meadows. Tom accidentally spilled our chili dipping oil while preparing our picnic on the side of the mountain, which attracted the local wildlife. There I was, eating a tasting bit of cheese and cracker, and Tom started going “Oh my God! Stay still, stay still, stay still.” Either the largest bug in existence was sitting on my head or a deer had wandered up over my shoulder. Luckily it was the later.
The deer stuck around, even though her two babies waited on the hill in the distance, and sampled our crackers and various bites of fruit. Just as Tom was complaining that he hadn’t seen any wildlife all trip, there was wildlife as real and approachable as anything we had ever experienced. This was completely worth the long ride up and the eventual long ride down.
When we got ready to board the ferry, we took a little detour into downtown Port Angeles to kill the wait. Surprisingly enough, we found a local wine bar serving tasty jasmine flavored IPA and bubbly local Syrah. The waitress, who had gone to University in Victoria, recommended some great spots for us to visit that night.
Victoria is awfully quaint. It’s like a Canadian version of Charlevoix or Mackinaw, except quite a bit bigger. We walked along the water, passing by sailboats and hanging gardens, passed the capital building and the moss covered Empress. We arrived at Pagliacci’s, an Italian restaurant recommended by the wine bar waitress. The lines was out to door and around the corner, so after smelling the delicious smells for a few minutes, we decided to walk a little bit further to Cafe Brio.
Expensive, yes. Amazing, doubly yes. We had amazing agnolotti filled with fresh fish and crispy duck covered in wine sauce. I discovered the incredible candy flavor of Elysian Black Muscat. Everything tasted exquisite.
On the walk back Victoria was lit up like a Christmas tree. This was a magical city.
Tomorrow: Vancouver, British Columbia
vacation: Olympic National Park, Washington
We spent our last meal in Portland back at Ken’s Bakery. Tom had a craving for a fruity tart, and I was just happy to sit and watch the bakers make fresh bread while sipping cappuccino. We left feeling like we hadn’t scratched the surface of this city, but it was time to venture into the great natural expanse that is Olympic National Park.
Immediately upon entering Washington, we were greeted by mountains in the distance, Mt. St. Helen and then Mt. Rainer. There were rolling hills covered in hugely tall pine trees as far as the eye could see. Most of them were covered anyway; some had been shaved bald by the local lumber industry, leaving a stubbly hill of stumps. We saw truck after truck pass by us carrying massive logs which was a little terrifying… although not as terrifying as the backwoods local Star Wars memorabilia shop.
It was a long journey to get to our first destination, Hoh Rain Forest. We kept stopping for pictures along the way, pine covered mountains and crystal clear lakes, which slowed our overall progress down. We looked for spots to picnic but ended up finding none. After a while, we just gave up on the picnic idea and snacked on our goodies in the car on route. We did, however, a large bush of wild blackberries ripe for picking.
It was about 4:00 pm when we finally arrived at the rain forest. The road that leads back to the park was crowned by hundred foot tall pine giants, many of which were hung with gorgeous green moss. These were all signs of the temperate rain forest environment. Lots of moss and lots of ferns.
We took the trail called “Hall of Mosses” which featured, as you might guess, giant regal ancient trees covered in thick moss. We spent about an hour wandering the trail, which can’t be described, only experienced. Words don’t really do it justice, neither do pictures. Tom kept saying how much if felt like a theme park, and by that I imagine he meant that it just all seemed very surreal.
Next stop, after a quick drop off of luggage at our B&B, was Rialto Beach. This was my planned sunset view for the evening, but a co-worker of mine had forewarned me that it might not be as romantic as I had anticipated… in fact, I might have to beware of dangerous flying trees. It was an unusual warning, but after visiting the beach I understood more of what he meant.
The whole beach was covered in dead wood. While the winds were not very strong that day, I can imagine how dangerous the loose branches could be in stronger winds. Tom and I had fun climbing up and down over the fallen trees and taking a million photos.
We ended the evening at a non-memorable restaurant along the river, before heading back to the B&B for some wine and relaxation. We lit the fireplace and reflected on the days adventures.
Tomorrow: Hurricane Ridge and Vancouver Island
vacation: Forest Park, Portland, Oregon
We woke up bright and early and packed a delicious picnic lunch. Fresh bubblegum prosciutto di parma, creamy sheeps milk “etoki” cheese, and chewy fresh bread topped off with a strange sweet orange chili mustard we got at the Farmer’s Market. Mmmmmm, this was going to be a great day.
The air was chilly, it wasn’t exactly the warmest weather in Portland. That didn’t stop us from taking a venture out into the wilderness today. But first though, we wanted to pick up some breakfast, so it was time for the Flavour Spot, a waffle cart located at various industrial corners of North Portland. Tom had Nutella and raspberry jam and I had Black Forest ham and smoked gouda. It was heaven in waffle form.
We then proceeded to spend the next 2 hours trying to find the “entrance” to Forest Park. We went up and up hills and found random gates with pictures of hikers, but no real entrance, no information huts. Finally we gave up and just pushed our excursion into the wilderness, something we would not regret. Official entrances were not the point of this park. Exploration was key.
The pathway curved around deep valleys of lush ferns and mossy trees. It felt like we were exploring Jurassic Park. The scenery was quiet and amazingly green. I don’t know if I can do this description justice, but Forest Park was probably the most amazing hike we have ever been on. I think we took forty pictures of trees before deciding it was time to stop and picnic.
Picnicking was not the easiest feat. There were no meadows, no flat and dry spaces. Just forest and cliffs. Tom carefully flipped over a piece of a rotten log and we made ourselves a custom park bench.
Finally it was time to head back. We took a short detour to the McMeniman’s St. John’s Pub. Sipping rose and beer in their sunny courtyard, before venturing to the Rose Garden. The wide variety of roses in bloom inspired picnic lunches with families and couples kissing on park benches.
Dinner at Navarre was probably the most unique dinner we will have all vacation. We walked in to the hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen and a crowded communal dining space. Every wine was available via carafe and the menu, which featured small plates or family platters of three dozen or so items, took some major decoding to understand.
We were not in Portland, we were right back in Europe.
Even after ordering via sushi chit style, checking off the samples we wanted, we had no idea what was coming our way or how much. Our tiny streetside table began to fill up with unusual plates of things, many delicious and some just strange.
We ended our night sipping beers in the movie theater lobby next store, which with 8 microbrews on tap was the best bar on the street. We watched as patron after patron grabbed a large slice of gourmet pizza and an entire pitcher of beer before entering their feature film of the night. A novelty for us, but for them it was natural, it was the way you are supposed to watch movies,¦ and why shouldn’t it be?
Tomorrow: Olympic National Park
vacation: Willamette Valley
Actually, I’d call it our France and Tuscany away from France and Tuscany. If you are in the right sections of Portland and the surrounding Willamette Valley area, looking in the right direction, you can easily trick yourself into thinking you are in a foreign land. Take, for instance, Ken’s Artisan Bakery. While the aesthetic of the baked goods might be a little more rugged and a little more oversized than their French counterparts, if you close your eyes the flaky chocolate croissants and the colorful macarons will send you straight back to the streets of Paris.
We spent the bulk of today exploring the Willamette Valley, Oregon’s famous region for Pinot Noir. We thought it fitting seeing as though last November we had spent a few days in the Burgundy region.
However, the rolling hills of the landscape with the bright green grape leaves reminded us much more of Tuscany, and the wine seemed to follow suit. Sure, they smelled like Pinots and were undeniably rustic in flavor. Even some of the wineries had a location in France. But, these wines were dark and bold and full of a richness that we had not experienced while in Burgundy. This is one area of the wine competition that I feel the New World has a leg up on the Old.
We ventured back to the hotel, happy and hungry. A quick stop at the City Market for picnic supplies was only a teaser. We tasted various cheeses, while our tummies grumbled. It was time to leave the wine behind and immerse ourselves in Portland’s beer culture.
I had a fear that we’d be walking into something touristy at McMeniman’s Kennedy School. I always want to find that hole in the wall, something not in the city guide books. To be honest, after we went there, I think I’d be pressed to find anything “touristy” at all in the Portland area. Everything has been authentic, local, low-key, and enjoyable. Kennedy School was no exception.
The McMeniman’s have made it their business pursuit to take dilapidated buildings and turn them into brew pubs and brew theaters. Kennedy School is an old Elementary school that has been transformed into a hotel, theater, restaurant, fireplace courtyard, and several bars. You are allowed to wander the halls with drinks in hand, but we decided to stay for several hours comfortably seated at the Courtyard Restaurant.
We tried burgers and beer, which weren’t necessarily the best we’ve ever had, but everything tasted better in the ambience. As we stared at the wall of liquor, Tom decided he had never had a cocktail with Hot Damn in it before. We decided to be adventurous and make up our own drinks.
Tom’s Hot Tamale
2 parts Hot Damn and Gin
1 part Rose’s Lime and Triple Sec
Dash of Grenadine
Serve over ice
Marti’s Fudgesicle
2 parts Chambord, Frangelico, and milk
1 part Crema de Cacao
Serve in a martini glass topped with cocoa powder
Tomorrow is Labor Day. We will wake up and have our first wine and cheese picnic in Forest Park. I can already tell this will be a vacation to remember.
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