Coos Bay

Staying in the Coos Bay area for a couple of days; nice, blue collar, working class area on the southern Oregon coast. These unpretentious areas appeal to me and I love the cool, coastal summers but don't think I could survive the winters:)

From Astoria to Coos Bay, locals tell me it is a fabulous salmon season but one wouldn't know it by prices. Smoked salmon filets were $44/pound in Astoria but Coos Bay beat that with $12.99 per 1/4 pound of smoke salmon collars (these are the fin and bone areas - what I call scraps) - unbelievable! Like most things, it pays to be local and after much searching I was fortunate to find where they shop for seafood - Chucks Seafoods (http://chucksseafood.com) in the nearby town of Charleston. Freshly smoked Chinook (King) salmon filets for $24.99/pound - delicious!  Fresh smoked Albacore Tuna is $13.99/pound but I like salmon better (more moist). They also have fresh fish, oysters, and much more. Evidently, Chucks has a long-standing reputation as the best seafood in the region; they also ship! It was busy both days I visited; the price differential and top quality says it all.

Nice but very short boardwalk along the Bay; not many places to walk along the Bay.

The boardwalk.

Tourists can purchase smoke salmon collars for $12.99 per 1/4 pound here.

Float plane rides for tourists.

Thought this sign says it all for the Coos Bay economy.

Checkerberry's is an interesting store combining a florist and various gifts in Coos Bay.

Downtown

Fresh (September 4th) smoked salmon from Chuck's.

Chuck's

In addition to the smoked variety, one can also purchase fresh salmon and other seafood at Chuck's.

Crabby Cakes Bakery

Staying in the Coos Bay area for a couple of days; there are several neighboring towns including Charleston and North Bend; they call the are the Bay Area. Appears to be a blue collar working area mostly reliant on fishing. Of course I sought out local bakeries and found the Crabby Crakes Bakery in Charleston; a small bakery run by a husband and wife. They largely make sweets like turnovers, scones, cupcakes etc. but also bake sourdough bread; I had a cherry turnover and cup of tea - delicious!

Scones

Loved the design of these cupcakes - octopus on top served on a fish platter:)

Turnovers

Salem's Minto-Brown Island Park

Back in Salem, OR for a couple of days; heading to the coast tomorrow. Staying at the same RV park as last time (Premier RV Resort) but this time I found a nice park (Minto-Brown Island Park) with lots of trails to run/jog. Adjacent to the Willamette River, the trails are level (easy running:) and there are lots of them! The setting is beautiful with lots of trees and water. The Salem area seems like a place where I could live awhile:)

Trails next to Willamette River slough.

Hard and soft trails abound.

Book Review -The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI by Betty Medsger

The title of this book sparked my interest; however, after reading it, I can't recommend; in all my reviews this year, this is the first book I can't recommend. First, the book is much longer than necessary to tell the story of the FBI Media burglary; second, and more importantly, much of the book includes self-serving information, and biased narrative not directly relevant to the burglary (e.g., the book has an entire chapter on the NSA).

While the book does include important facts about the burglary, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between fact and opinion; in general, it appears one-sided and includes a surprising amount of the author's opinion.  After reading the wonderful book - Lawrence in Arabia by journalist Scott Anderson, I expected the subject book by another reporter (Ms. Medsger is a former reporter for the Washington Post) to be equally objective; presenting all sides and facts for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Don't get me wrong, from the little I know about the subject, Mr. Hoover and "his" secret FBI represent a scary and embarrassing period in American history; however, one doesn't need a biased narrative to come to that conclusion.

Given their power, it is sad and a bit frightening to witness the biased output of "journalists". Maybe it has always been this way but it is difficult these days for me to believe anything written/articulated by "journalists"; whether they lean left or right, many seem bent on pushing their agenda. Maybe I'm being too hard on journalists; after all, they are human too:). As I write this, my criticism sounds a bit like what some people say about consultants (my former career) - they are biased. As with consultants, I suspect journalists are similar - a few bad apples taint the entire lot.

Steamed Lentils

A quick post to share this new product I found at Trader Joe's today; steamed lentils from France! No fat, 9g of protein, and 8g of fiber! It can be eaten cold or hot; I added some to scrambled eggs - great taste! I don't typically buy processed foods and scrupulously review labels, especially the fat, protein, sugar content; just happened to see on the shelf when looking for protein to added to my salads. Unfortunately, I returned today to buy more but they were out! At only $1.99 for a 16oz package I guess it was too good to be true:) I love lentils but they require time to prepare; this product makes eating healthy food (and getting my protein without the fat) easy:) Could do without the 2g of sugar but that isn't much.

Mt. Hood

Flying back to Portland yesterday provided a good view of Mt. Hood and brought back memories of climbing the Sunshine Route on the north side of Hood with my buddy Paul on the 4th of July 2011.  A four-day climb, we spent the first 3 days hiking to base camp and brushing up on technique. After an alpine start (1am) on the 4th day, we summited around sunrise.

Mt. Hood from the airplane.

The famous Timberline Lodge at the base of Hood on the South side of the mountain. The white on the bottom of this photo is snow! http://www.timberlinelodge.com 

Me and my buddy Paul on the summit.

On the summit above the clouds:) 

Ascended on the north side and descended on the south side where the year round ski area is located; says how much snow they get!

What I did over the Labor Day weekend

Returned to Oregon yesterday from a quick trip to Tucson. This was my first flight since November 2013; had hoped to get through 2014 without flying:) Not having flown in 10 months, I lost my 1K status in United's frequent flier system levels; no big deal since I don't plan to fly much anymore. Traveling by air after this long break made be realize how stressful flying can be. My initial flight plan was PDX to PHX via SFO; however, the first leg was delayed which would have caused me to miss my connection so UA rebooked me to TUC (instead of PHX) via LAX. The second leg of this new itinerary was also delayed so I didn't arrive at my Tucson hotel until midnight; having  started the day at 9am at PDX. I don't miss these frustrating delays but given my trip was leisure, I didn't stress out.

The primary purpose of my trip was to check out a potential job as part-time chef at a B&B south of Tucson. It was a nice opportunity to meet with the owner and discuss the opportunity with the owner. This opportunity would be a long-term decision so I'm taking this week to seriously consider it.

B&B

B&B

Breakfast - scrambled eggs, potatoes, and cacti:)