We spent the Labor Day holiday with the next generation in Providence RI. It was a relaxing and enjoyable time, filled with conversation, jokes, excellent meals and long walks throughout central Providence. We took a historical tour of Providence and Brown University, visited the Roger Williams National Memorial, reviewed the work at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, and took a lap around the state house. And we all played snatch-the-squeaky-toy with Cinder.
Tomo, Dan and Dave: Which One Is The Perp?
News & Notes
Our friend Jan Cuny invited us to watch the 2017 Solar Eclipse at her cabin in central Oregon. She surrounded this awe-inspiring event with quite a party. Check out our pics of the eclipse celebration.
L and Jan At Breakfast Al Fresco
In August we spent a delightful weekend in Vancouver with Melissa. Vancouver's Mural Festival was on, so we covered that to our great delight. Looking for another beautiful but less frenetic display, we stopped by the Stanley Park Rose Garden - the fragrances were overwhelming - and also reviewed their other plantings. (The cedar trees are doing just fine!) We even had time for a quick trip to Lonsdale Quay for lunch at the Market. The weekend's three word summary: "relaxing" and "very enjoyable."
L and Melissa Chill with a Stanley Park Cedar
It was Vancouver's Second Annual Mural Festival. Not only were there murals to check out, but also live music, food trucks and children's activities like spraypainting their own art on a "practice wall." The artists covered 60 blank walls on or near Main St with new work to add to the 53 murals from last year. (In a decade Vancouver will be spectacular!) Among the murals, some were vegetable loaded, some attempted to show both sides of a situation and some were just plain out there. Some artists weren't done, some had just started and others (from Emily Carr Art School) were just sitting.
Swimming with Traffic Notifications
At long last we visited the Chamberlain Family's "Lake Cottage," which has been a focal point for their extended family for seventy years. Brad Chamberlain is L's former student, and his parents, Anne and Mike, have become our friends. In addition to Anne, Mike, Brad, Kathy his wife, and their daughters Ella and Jessica, there was a throng of other family members including Brad's sister. Though the cottage is on the shore of spectacular Priest Lake and has a white sand beach, we headed inland for a hike to an unnamed waterfall. The visit was extremely enjoyable.
Kathy & Brad Amid Family, Including Ella (turquoise) and Jessica (yellow)
After our stop in Priest Lake ID, we drove on to Libby MT to see Jim and Julie. It was another good visit that included kokanee fishing, a trip to Kalispell and plenty of socializing. Our friends the Jones were back from a Canadian fishing trip, and Alvira landed a "Coho Masters" hat for catching the biggest Coho salmon. Congratulations, Alvira!
On our way to partying in Providence, we stopped in NYC to pick up Dave. When we arrived, he was manning his Thursday afternoon Farmer's Market, a neighborhood amenity sponsored by his restaurant, Pisticci. It's a pretty good gig -- the restaurant's bartender brings him a beer, and he snacks on delicious tomatoes!
Dave And Stuff He Grows
Those tomatoes he was snacking on come from this hoop house in his farm plot. After starting the tomatoes, he grafted robust root stock to his preferred slicing tomato variety. Yes, he grafted the spindly little tomato seedlings! The result is huge plants which would be 12' or more tall, but he trains them on twine, and as they reach the roof of the hoop house he lowers the string, the plants' bases, which are finished fruiting, sag into a circle on the ground. Very smart.
Tomatoes Standing Tall
One photo that was to be in the last posting is our cool shot of a container ship sneaking under Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge to rendezvous with two tugs. A story claims that certain ships must go under the bridge during low tide to avoid hitting it. This ship seemed to have about 3 meters of head room, but then, it's fully loaded.
Could It Pass If It Were Empty?
