Travel & Leisure Archives - Lust For Life at Last

Category: Travel & Leisure

28
Nov
2016

Weekend at Tyee Lodge… Part trois (three) – Trivia?

categories: Keeping it easy, Travel & Leisure

We spent well into the afternoon soaking up the marvelous sights of the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. This left us both hungry for a bite to eat. One option was to drive back the way we came and stop at one of the restaurants along the way. Or we could continue our adventure southward and see what we could find. The discussion of those two options lasted about ten seconds as we said to each other – “what the hell! – let’s just keep heading down the road!” The next town along the 101 that our travels would take us through would be Florence, Oregon. Neither one of us had been to Florence for a very long time and we had never visited there together. We decided that would be our destination for a late lunch and off we went.

Driving along the 101 Nancy and I both reminisced of family trips we had taken as kids in this area. In particular we both recounted our visits to one of the Oregon Coasts most famous attractions The Sea Lion Caves. My childhood memory of the Sea Lion Caves was one where I was terrified that I would be blown out to sea by what seemed at the time to be 500 mile per hour wind gusts. Nancy’s childhood memory of The Sea Lion Caves could be summed up in one word, “stinky”. She also mentioned that she mistakenly wandered off hand in hand with the wrong mom while in the darkness of the cave! Who says precious moments can’t last a lifetime?!? Not to knock The Sea Lion Caves but we prefer the Newport’s Historic Bayfront to view these masters of lounging about.

Soon we spotted sand dunes along the highway and we knew that Florence would not be far beyond. Florence lies at the Northern edge of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. A place where people from far and wide come to play in the sand. Personally, I marvel at this part of Oregon because it doesn’t really look like Oregon at all, but rather a landscape right out of some far away desert with some lovely fir trees at its edges.

By this time we had worked up quite an appetite so the hunt was on for a nice place to stop into for lunch. I remembered there was a section of Florence called “Old Town” on the South end of town so I suggested we check that out. Have you ever noticed that if there is an “Old Town” section of a town that the most interesting things can be found there?? Well, Florence, Oregon is no exception! Go figure!

There is ample parking in Old Town Florence so we were soon out and about exploring the area. At this point we were famished so our first mission was to find a place to have lunch. When I visit the coast I always try to find a seafood spot somewhere in my travels and on this day we found a good one. Sitting next to one of the more over-rated seafood restaurants on the Oregon coast we spotted the “The ICM Restaurant”. ICM stands for International C-food Market. With an interesting name and a great location ICM sounded like just the ticket. I’m happy to report we picked a winner. This large restaurant is locally owned and operated and is situated on the beautiful Siuslaw River. I enjoyed a sumptuous Salmon Caesar Salad and Nancy opted for a lovely Halibut fish and chips which we accompanied with a nice buttery Chardonnay. Just what the doctor ordered! The food and service were wonderful and it was a nice chance to recharge our batteries so we could explore town with renewed energy.

With such a gorgeous day at hand and feeling re-energized from our wonderful lunch we decided to go for a walkabout and explore the area. We discovered galleries, more restaurants, coffee shops, a couple of antique shops and even a great ice cream place! If your ever in Florence be sure and check out this kitchy cool part of town for sure. By now it was nearing late afternoon and we had aspirations of heading out that night so we decided to bid farewell to Old Town Florence and head on back to the comfy confines of Tyee Lodge. We were so relaxed at this point that I don’t think we had a care in the world on the drive back. Sharing all of the wonderful experiences of the day with my best friend and partner made the day even more memorable and romantic. The scenery, the relaxing music, the discoveries that we made together, and some good food and wine ta-boot. We were two happy campers as we made our way back toward Newport and it showed as we held hands and gave each other loving caresses as we motored along. It should come as no surprise then that when we got back to the Tyee Lodge we decided to round out the wonderful day we had with a lovely enhanced snuggle and some down time before heading out for the evening later on.

The plan that I put forth for the evening was to head on down to Newport’s famous Bay Front District and catch Mr. Bill’s Traveling Trivia Show down at the Rogue Ales Public House. You see… not only is Nancy beautiful, she’s also super smart, and on many occasions we have talked about going to a trivia contest because both of our heads are chock full of useless yet interesting facts i.e. trivia. Having decided that we would indeed unleash upon the world the awesome combined trivia power of our collective brains we made our way down to the Rogue a bit early to fuel up with some pizza and bevvies. As we sat there enjoying our fare we were sizing up the trivia worthiness of our competitors nearby. Thinking rather highly of ourselves (and for good reason) we did not see too many outwardly stereotypical trivia buffs nearby. However, one table seemed to contain a good mixture of people that looked as though they might be worthy competitors for us

At the appointed hour Mr. Bill took to the mic and started his explanation of the format and rules of the contest ahead. Like true trivia geeks we were now giddy with anticipation! The first round started and surprisingly we seemed to be a tad rusty out of the gate. If we have a trivia Achilles heel it would definitely be country music trivia. Each round of trivia took quite some time and by the end of the first round Nancy and I were finally finding our trivia stride.

We owned the second round of questions. In fact, at one point during the answer reveals some of the other teams gave Nancy a “we’re not worthy” bow for a particularly obscure answer that she knew. By the time the third round was to start our cocktails and pizza were making us long for our cozy bed back at the lodge. We decided to call it a night and head back to the Tyee Lodge for some lovely evening downtime after an absolutely perfect day of fun and adventure, By the way… we were tied for first place in the trivia contest when we left. We still got it!

Each of us had enjoyed another blissful night of cozy slumber and were stirring just a bit in the morning light. From our bed we could see the early morning sunshine filtering through the trees and awakening the bluest hues of the ocean before us. Pair that sight with the consistent melody of the waves crashing upon the sandy beach beyond and we couldn’t help but slip softly into a wonderful snuggle. For the time being the outside world ceased to exist. At moments like this the love we share fills us with a peace that is truly rejuvenating. We’ve said repeatedly that if we could package that feeling it would sell better than hotcakes and surely remedy all of the worlds ills. Speaking of hotcakes, soon we would be treated to another fantastic Tyee Lodge breakfast. Life can be most difficult indeed!

We managed to leave our nest of snuggletude and make ourselves presentable, none too soon as a knock came at our door soon afterward. It was Dee, of course, with this mornings sumptuous breakfast. On today’s menu a delightful crustless smoked salmon quiche was the main attraction. The supporting cast was made up of a savory, slightly fennel flavored breakfast sausage (we heart fennel), another appearance of those made to perfection home fries, and a local fruit assortment with berries and melon! Some fresh OJ and some super delish coffee rounded out the mornings feast. I would highly recommend the “breakfast in your room” option at the Tyee Lodge as it is such an intimate and romantic setting to have a lovely breakfast with the one you love. After such a satisfying breakfast we had to gather our will and start thinking about checking out of our weekend love nest. We finally managed to do so and made our way downstairs to say our good byes to Dee. However, we had a plan for this day as well.

–Mike

28
Sep
2016

October Sunday Parkways???

categories: Health & Fitness, Travel & Leisure

Well, the lazy days of summer have now given way to the beginning of a new school year. My how time flies! But luckily we still have one last Portland Sunday Parkways this year before the days grow shorter and the rains begin to fall. Ordinarily there is a “September Sunday Parkways” but not this year. A rift in the time-space continuum has allowed for a rare “October Sunday Parkways” and its happening this coming weekend!

Sunday October 2nd will be the last Sunday Parkways for 2016. The ride has been dubbed the Sellwood-Milwaukee Sunday Parkways and this will be the first time ever that a Parkways is held in Milwaukee. So I guess, in fact, we could call this ride the Milwaukee Sunday Parkways…hmmmm. Anyhoo, the planned route takes folks through many beautiful areas such as Westmoreland Park and also toodles through the Milwaukee Farmers Market. It promises to be a hoot! As a special bonus the route will also take bikers onto the brand new Sellwood Bridge for a close look at the bridge that replaced the old, and somewhat shaky, Sellwood Bridge. It looks like the organizershave put a great route together so we hope to see you out there. Oh, a bit of an update on the biking goal Nancy and I set for ourselves seemingly so long ago. We are thrilled to report that on the lovely, sunny, Sunday afternoon of September 4th we surpassed our goal of biking 700 miles for the season! Though the days are shortening and the weather will soon make it too icky for us to go biking we have continued to add miles to our total. Check out the graphic as proof of our greatness!! We have both made a lot of progress in our “bike conditioning” this year. The trick will be to maintain that conditioning over the winter. We have a secret weapon to achieve that so stay tuned for our post about maintaining conditioning during our rainy months.

–Mike

09
Aug
2016

August Biking Fun In The Sun…

categories: Health & Fitness, Travel & Leisure

Holy schnikee its August already! It has been a little while since we have updated the progress we have made toward our goal of biking 700 miles this season. Well, I am happy to report that we really had some great weather during July so we piled on quite a few miles. At the time I am writing this, we have a total of 529 miles under our belts! Woot!! If you recall, Nancy and I are kind of fair weather bikers so our biking season wraps up toward the end of September for the most part. So I’m thinking we are indeed going to make that 700 miles nooooo problema. Interested in one of our favorite Oregon biking routes? Send us a route request via comment and we’ll give you a sure fire winner of a route to go out and enjoy.

For one thing we are guaranteed to rack up another 40 miles of blissful biking this coming weekend (August 14, 2016) at the Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour or CBBT. Remember wayyyyy back in the spring when we signed up for that? Well, in what seems like a blink of an eye the time has come to strap our bikes to the family truckster and head on down to Albany, Oregon for what will surely be a beautiful countryside ride. Hope to see you there!

For another thing, August Sunday Parkways is coming up fast on the 21^st. August’s Parkways features a lovely route throughout the southeast part of Portland and activity stops at several parks including one of our favorites Laurelhurst Park. Laurelhurst Park can trace its design roots back to the Olmsted Brothers whose father designed New York’s Central Park. The park was designed by Emanuel Mische who was also a longtime horticultural expert with the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm. Super cool factoids! Anyhoo, we hope you’ll come on out and join us for this ride too!

-Mike

06
Jul
2016

Weekend at Tyee Lodge… Part deux (two) – Cape Perpetua

categories: Keeping it easy, Travel & Leisure

With the sun shining upon us and the weather forecast calling for an absolutely perfect day on the Oregon Coast we hopped in the car and began to head South toward… well… whatever adventure we could find. We had a loose plan that would take us to the Cape Perpetua area but with such a gorgeous day at hand we would end up exploring much more than we had intended. It was early enough in the day that we had US Highway 101 nearly to ourselves! This was such a wonderful treat after experiencing the hell that was Interstate 5 the afternoon before. The drive South would take us along what has to be some of the most beautiful coastline in the country. Sandy beaches, rocky coves, tidal areas, and lush forests sprinkled with freshly blooming wild Rhododendron. Taking in all the coastal beauty to the music of Gregory Alan Isakov was making us sigh with relaxation and contentment at regular intervals as we buzzed down the highway.

The first little town we would come upon on our adventure was Waldport, Oregon. Waldport is a charming little town that offers up a wide variety of recreational activities for explorers of the Oregon coast. Excited to get to Cape Perpetua and having only been in the car for a short while, however, we continued on while noting places that we might want to come back to in the future. Soon we were passing through another great little Oregon coast getaway spot the town of Yachats, Oregon. We spotted a couple of intriguing antique stores while passing through town and hoped to perhaps go treasure hunting on our return trip through town. But once again the lure of only being minutes from our goal of Cape Perpetua made us press on. We both agreed treasure hunting could wait for a bit because we wanted to savor the beauty of such a rare warm Spring day on the Oregon coast.

Just a couple of miles past Yachats we entered the Siuslaw National Forest and were soon in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. Almost immediately we came upon the Devil’s Churn Day Area so we pulled on into the parking lot to check things out. After looking around for a bit we found a hiking trail to go explore called the Restless Water Trail. We paid the totally worth it $5 day use pass fee for the entire scenic area (I HEART big government!!) and our adventure began. The trail is an easy peezy paved trail that hugs the coastline offering views of crashing waters, volcanic terraced tide pools and wind sculpted spruce. The trail also offers up great views of the Devil’s Churn itself which is a deep chasm formed over many thousands of years under the constant pounding force of ocean waves. One could stand over Devil’s Churn for hours just mezmorized by the waves crashing in time and time again and at the same time be zen’ed out by the repeated sound of the pounding surf as it breaks against the ancient lava stone. Truly a feast for the senses…oohhmmm. As we continued down the hiking trail we would find lovely little flowers and shrubs of which we could take endless pictures. At the end of the trail there were tidal rocks to explore from which we spied other structures that were within the scenic area. Bonus!! It was decided to go seek out these other attractions so we made our way back up the trail hand in hand thoroughly enjoying the scenery and the romance of the location we had discovered.

In a short while we were back up at the parking lot of Devil’s Churn which houses a structure with a little café in it of all things! I got a map at the café where I found our next destination to explore-The Whispering Spruce Trail-and what would arguably be one of the top highlights of this day the Stone Shelter at Cape Perpetua. If you are a very hearty soul you can hike your way up to the Whispering Spruce Trail via the mountainside trail but it has an elevation gain of close to 800 feet over the course of a very short distance. Translation… we would be driving the leisurely winding road up to the trail and the utterly gorgeous views it offers. Once at the top of Cape Perpetua the trail that leads to the Stone Shelter is only feet away! Like I said, the trail offers stunning views but if you are not fond of heights you might not want to make the trek as there are no guardrails along its path. I happen to be a little heights averse but I made it just fine. On the National Register of Historic Places, the Stone Shelter at Cape Perpetua was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The West Shelter, as it is sometimes called, was used as an observation post during World War II and a coastal defense gun was installed here. On a clear day, (like the day we were there) the shelter offers a 70-mile view up and down the central Oregon coast and the horizon some 40 miles out on the Pacific Ocean. Observation indeed! It was difficult to pull ourselves away from such natural magnificence but we manged to and found our next area to explore by sitting on a bench drenched in sunshine overlooking the vast expanse of the central Oregon coast at our feet. Literally!

Our next adventure on this day would be to go check out the Giant Spruce Trail. On occasion we also like to go glamping (glamour-camping) so we decided to pick up the trail at the back of the campground which would allow us to check that out too. We found it quite easily and drove through the campground on our way to the point where we wanted to access the Giant Spruce Trail. A bit rustic for our taste but I’m absolutely sure heartier souls would find it a great place to set up camp. We found the section of the Giant Spruce Trail that we wanted to explore and set off not knowing quite what to expect. What we found was a beautifully maintained trail in the midst of an old growth forest. A babbling brook provided background music as we took in all the sights before us. Lovely Ferns, moss formations, wild flowers, and lucky shamrocks were but a few of the sights to be had along the trail which was spotlighted by a beam of warm sunshine that penetrated the dense forest canopy every so often. Such a romantic stroll through the woods with my honey by my side to share it with! At the end of the trail we came upon the trails namesake the Giant Spruce of Cape Perpetua Heritage Tree. What a behemoth! We’d never seen anything quite like it. The tree, which is said to be nearly 600 years old, stands in at 185 feet tall and has a trunk circumference of 40 feet! We marveled at this natural wonder for a time, craning our necks skyward barely being able to make out the upper reaches of the tree, laid our hands on the ancient bark but stopped short of giving it an actual hug. It was too big! After enjoying this magnificent tree it was decided to make our way back down the trail as it was time to check out the main visitors center of the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area which again was a short drive down the highway.

A hop, skip, and a jump later and we had arrived at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center. The Cape Perpetua Visitor Center has an incredible view of the ocean from inside and a deck that surrounds the center. The center is lucky enough to have enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff on hand for visitors to ask questions of. In addition, daily programs and activities are offered at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center that include films and guided hikes. For our final activity at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area we decided to explore the rocks and tide pools across the highway from the visitor center. The Cape Perpetua Special Interest Area is a short walk brings you right up to the rocky shores of the Pacific Ocean where tide pools, crashing waves and an abundance of ocean driftwood await you. Be sure and find Thor’s Well while there. Thor’s Well is a cavern where waves will crash into and their energy will be channeled up through a large hole in the rock formations. If you don’t mind ocean spray lightly misting you its a perfect spot to hold hands and perhaps get some photos taken.

The Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is a truly hidden gem along the Oregon Coast and a must see if you happen to be in the area. We were awe struck by the sights, sounds, and feelings that we experienced on this day and we made memories as a couple that will never be forgotten. Thank you US Forest Service and the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area for providing a day that we will look back on with delight and a contented sigh and say… “I’d like to go back to there now”.

-to be continued

–Mike

07
Jun
2016

Weekend at Tyee Lodge… Part un (one)

categories: Keeping it easy, Travel & Leisure

Way back in February when Winter was still going strong Nancy and I started talking about how much we love the Oregon coast and the town of Newport in particular. We had not taken a trip to coast in a while so we decided on a weekend to go then got on the interwebs and made a reservation. Our destination would be a little bed and breakfast that we had been to before but had not visited for wayyyy too long – the Tyee Lodge. Little did we know at the time that in a few short weeks we would have one of the best beach weekends ever! April and May are very busy months in our household for various reasons so as the weekend at the beach approached it became a welcome if not an almost forgotten break in the hubub.

When our lovely beach getaway weekend arrived at last we decided to leave work a bit early in order to beat the Friday afternoon traffic out of town. However, our window of opportunity to do this quickly closed as there seemed to be accidents on every freeway and interstate that led out of town. The weekend was starting out on anything but a relaxing note. It soon became apparent that we were not going to make it to our destination by the time the lodges check in time had passed so Nancy rang up Tyee Lodge’s owner / inn-keeper Dee Nebert in order to tell her that we were going to be later than we had thought. Dee was super understanding and said that our arrival time would be no problem at all. She even suggested that we stop off somewhere for a bite to eat in the hopes that traffic would thin out a bit in the meantime. This was wonderful to hear and really took the pressure off us to get to Newport as soon as possible. We chose to drive on so we could get to Tyee and settle in anyway but the fact that Dee was so understanding already started to make us feel relaxed and we had not even arrived at the B&B yet!

At last we made it to our destination on NW Woody Way (insert innuendo here)… late but basically in good spirits. Dee helped us check in and gave us the lay of the land. Although we had been past guests of Tyee Lodge is was great to be welcomed in such a manner. She also offered up some warm cookies and mentioned that there was wine at the ready if we wanted (which we took her up on). The key to our room in hand, along with cookies and wine, we made our way upstairs to the Chinook room. Upon entering our suite I immediately opened our window so that we could hear the symphony of crashing waves on the beach below while at the same time the sun was making its way toward touching the horizon for sunset. Both of us could feel tension and stress melting away and the traffic we had encountered on the way there was seeming like an increasingly fading memory.

After a bit our need for some sort of dinner made itself present like a subtle tap on the shoulder so we went out for a quick bite to eat. Nothing fancy, but it hit the spot. What we really wanted was to get back to the loveliness of our room with perhaps another glass of wine, a cozy fire in the fireplace, the sound of the surf, and the enjoyment of each others company. Each of those factors combined into an atmosphere free from all the distractions of the outside world which is a wonderful feeling to share with someone you love. I don’t think there is any way that we could resist the overwhelming feelings of romance and relaxation in the air It wasn’t long before we shared a wonderful romantic time together by firelight and then collapsed into a sensational perfectly fitting cuddle that sent us both off to sleep for the night with happy grins on our faces.

The next morning we stirred rather early for us as we did not want to waste any part of what looked to be a gorgeous day in the making. Waking up to an “enhanced snuggle” was the perfect start to what will long be remembered as one of the best beach days ever. Now the details of our reservation at Tyee Lodge were so the last thing on my mind when we checked in that I had completely forgotten about choosing the option to have our breakfast brought up to our room for a nominal fee when I made our reservation. Dee had reminded us of this, however, when we checked in and said breakfast would be up at 8:30. Right on time came a knock at our door with a gorgeous breakfast cart and all the trimmings. I had chosen wisely! Today’s breakfast included Creme Brulee French Toast (to die for!), bacon cooked to perfection, golden brown home fries that were a tad crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, a fresh (and I mean fresh) fruit assortment of Strawberries, Melon, and Blueberries and if that weren’t enough some scrumptious OJ and some wonderful coffee to wash it all down with! Whew! I’m hungry all over again just writing about it! Add to such a wonderful meal one of the most perfect views of the Oregon Coast to be found and you, my friend, have the best beach breakfast around!

Now that we were fueled up and ready for the day we made plans that included a drive south of Newport to go explore the Cape Perpetua area. Neither Nancy or I had been to this area before and so were excited to explore new territory together. Dee gave us a heads up that there would be a parade going through town that day that would clog the main highway for hours so our early start seemed the smart thing to do and we were right.

-To be continued

–Mike

16
May
2016

The “Big Apple”…Manhattan

categories: Eating In, Travel & Leisure

A few weeks back, if you recall, we paid a visit to Spiritopia just outside of Corvallis, Oregon. While we were there we picked up some Bourbon Style Apple Brandy and have been tinkering with different ways to enjoy this wonderful liqueur. Now, on occasion Nancy and I like to enjoy the classic cocktail known as a Manhattan. A friend of ours introduced us to the Manhattan a couple of years ago at our Christmas get together. We were quite smitten with the drinks complex flavors and the warm afterglow it provided after sipping through it. We use Bourbon in our Manhattans so I thought–hey with the flavor of the Bourbon Style Apple Brandy–they just might go well together. Well I’m happy to report they did! We tweeked our standard Manhattan recipe and came up with a cocktail that we called a winner, the “Big Apple” Manhattan. Here is what you will need to make your own “Big Apple” Manhattan…

–One ounce Buffalo Trace Bourbon

–One ounce of Spiritopia’s Boubon Style Apple Brandy

–One ounce of Dry French Vermouth

–A couple of dashes of Angostura bitters

–One Italian Toschi Sour Black Cherry (this is a must have as Maraschinos just don’t compare or cut it)

–And a twist of lemon

To construct your “Big Apple” Manhattan you’ll need one of those liquor measuring things otherwise known as a jigger, a cocktail shaker to mix things up in, and a long mixing spoon. Start off by placing two or three nice sized ice cubes in the shaker. Next, measure out and pour in the Bourbon, Apple Brandy, and Vermouth. Then add in a few dashes of bitters. But not too much as they will overpower the final result!! Four maybe five shakes is all it takes. Now give it all a nice vigorous STIR. Hee hee, he said vigorous stir. We have been told by a very qualified expert (whom we will name in a later post) that a Manhattan should be stirred and not shaken. Given the uber high quality results of this persons cocktail craftsmanship we hold that stirring is a truth in this arena. Finally pour your “Big Apple” Manhattan into your favorite cocktail glass and enjoy! Cheers!!

–Mike

07
Apr
2016

Springtime in P-Town…

categories: Health & Fitness, Travel & Leisure

In Springtime a young mans (or woman’s) fancy turns to thoughts of…. biking! Right? Welllll, love too I’m sure! Anyhoo, last weekend Nancy and I went for our first real bike ride of the 2016 season. A lovely route that took us throughout the Northeast section of Portland and included among other sights the home turf of Beverly Cleary’s “Henry Huggins” on Klickitat Street. Oh yeah, that lovely shot of Mount Hood was taken along the route as well!

Springtime in Portland, Oregon — Ahh, Springtime has arrived at last in the great Pacific Northwest!!

As I explained in my intro to the “Health & Fitness” section we love to go biking together if the weather is favorable. We use the “Map My Walk” app which tracks our workouts via GPS on our phones. Its easy to use, free, and has a road bike setting…perfecto! Last year we logged 626 miles of biking and walking throughout the area and capped off our season by riding the Banks to Vernonia Trail. The Banks to Vernonia Trail, a multi-use trail paved over a decades-old train bed, 21 miles of tree-lined, easy-grade, pathway that conducts you through sun-dappled glades and across swift, clear streams. All tolled about 44 miles for that ride (not bad for a couple of 40 somethings). This year our goal is to reach 700 miles and we would like to cap the riding season off with the Oregon Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour or CBBT.

So come along with us as we reach toward our goal and share some of the sights along the way. We’ll keep you updated on our progress toward our goal…Woot!! We would love to hear about some of the places in your neck of the woods where you love to bike as well as events both near and far that promote the great sport of biking.

–Mike

29
Mar
2016

The Spirit Chemist…

categories: Arts & Crafts, Travel & Leisure

A couple of weeks ago Nancy and I headed down to the town of Corvallis, Oregon to meet up with some friends that we had not seen for way too long. Corvallis is a charming little college town nestled in the middle of the Willamette Valley about 85 miles South of Portland and is the home to Oregon State University. Our friends had planned to take Nancy and I on a “Sip Trip” of some local distillers and cider houses after enjoying a tour of their new home and being treated to a wonderful smoked salmon quiche for lunch. Little did we know that we would discover the “Spirit Chemist” on that rainy afternoon.

We visited a couple of distillers but one of them stood out far and away from the rest. It had almost gone unnoticed but in the distant reaches of a small business park in what is technically “Lewisburg, Oregon” stood the nondescript building that houses “Spiritopia“. Through a driving pacific northwest rain we decided to check it out. Upon entering the cozy confines of Spiritopia’s front room we were immediately greeted by its founder Chris Beatty. Ordinarily, it is recommended that you call ahead before dropping into Spiritopia but as Chris told us when we first walked in… “its your lucky day” as an OSU tour group had just left shortly before we had got there, therefore, he had plenty of unconsumed samples at the ready!

Chris told us about each of his offerings… A Ginger Liqueur, an Apple Liqueur, Pomegranate Liqueur (SCOOP! We are told this will be officially released in June of 2016), and a Bourbon Style Apple Brandy. Now, to be honest I have always thought of liqueurs as being overly sweet and syrupy but my first sip of Chris’ Ginger Liqueur turned that opinion on its ear. The taste was certainly of ginger but along with the perfect level of gingeriness were notes of vanilla & molasses as well. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by its suble complexity. While we were sampling Chris started to shed some light on what made this Ginger Liqueur so special. Ginger sourced exclusively from an organic ginger farm in Peru, a special Bourbon Vanilla sourced from Madagascar, and painstakingly refining his process until he was satisfied with the results. I have to say things came together VERY nicely because of all of his efforts.

We then sampled the Apple Liqueur and Pomegranate Liqueur which were both amazing in thier own right, again, because of the same attention to detail that produced the Ginger Liqueur. Those details include maticulously sourced ingredients and production processes that had been finely honed through the use of chemistry, engineering and fermentation science. However, whether intentionally or not Chris saved what I thought was the best for last, an Apple Brandy. Not just any Apple Brandy but a “Bourbon” style Apple Brandy. So what makes it a Bourbon style apple brandy you might ask? Chris told us of the barrels he uses and that they were true bourbon barrels. One of the many things we learned that day was that for a barrel to be a true Bourbon barrel it has to of been charred only once. Chris uses just such barrels for this Apple Brandy. So voila, Bourbon Style Apple Brandy! The Bourbon Style Apple Brandy was an incredibly pleasant surprise as well. Apple-ly but with a hint of the smoked oak in the flavor which gave it a slight but noticeable bourbon edge of caramel and vanilla. I whispered to Nancy “we are not leaving here without some of that”!

While we were finishing up our sample tastings Chris invited us into what he lovingly called his “lab”. I was soon to find out why he calls it this. I asked Chris how he came to be a distiller and that is where things got very interesting. He started telling us the story of how the building we were in was at one time the sight of Trillium Fiber Fuels. A place where clean, renewable fuel ethanol was derived from rye-grass and straw. From his website – “The original plan was to save the world by making clean renewable fuel ethanol from rye-grass and wheat straw. Turns out that the world was not that interested in being saved yet. We’d rather be fracking. Bummer”. You see Chris’ credentials include a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and a masters in Materials Science and I, being in the engineering world myself, found this fascinating. Chris has dubbed himself the “Spirit Chemist” and rightfully so.

Chris explains it this way “I realized that my skills in fermentation, distillation, and enzymatic carbohydrate chemistry would be very useful in the spirits business (and probably more fun!). Since liqueurs and whiskeys have always been my favorites, those are the areas I decided to pursue. The liqueurs are the focus of the business as the unique whiskey we would like to make is stuck in a morass of government red tape (so much for innovation…)” The story of that “unique whiskey” needs to be heard to be believed though.

Well, that’s a bit of a story says Chris. “Back when I was doing ethanol research, I discovered some cool stuff about how to make a unique whiskey from rye-grass. Not rye the grain, but rye-grass like turf and grazing. The flavor it adds is kind of earthy/smoky and reminds me of a good cachaca. Anyway, we still hope to do that at some point. However, the “new-ness” turned out to be a bit of a problem because the TTB (Alcohol Trade and Taxation Bureau) wasn’t sure if they could approve it. So they asked the FDA and now there is plenty of red tape to go around. Nobody thinks there is a problem, but nobody wants to be the one to say so. Sheesh. If it ever gets straightened out, we will start getting some in oak to mature”. Chris just happened to have a sample of this unique whiskey available and was kind enough to let us sample it. Personally I think he’s on to something here. The taste was definitely earthy but in a way like I have never experienced. You could smell the rye grass but it tasted like anything but grass. Very unique indeed! Good luck with that red tape Chris!

As Chris continued to show us his lab, the attention to detail and just plain engineering skill with which he creates his products was awe inspiring. We witnessed a batch of Brandy coming out of his still (with components creatively engineered by Chis – including a billiant IKEA hack, using a waste basket as part of a heat exchanger) and were treated to an education about why you can’t drink the beginning or the ending of the run. The finished product is made from the middle of a run. We were even treated to the “birth” of a brandy by tasting it straight out of the barrel as Chris uncorked it. We all felt honored that he shared this special moment with us. Thank you for that Chris!! And thank you for using your extensive powers of engineering prowess and skills in the area of chemistry for the power of good in this world!

So if you’re ever in the Corvallis area and have an interest in things that are distilled I would highly recommend taking the time to get in contact with Spiritopia and arrange a visit if you can. It is definitely worth taking the time to go visit this hidden gem. And while you’re at it I would also highly recommend taking some of the Spirit Chemists’ delicious creations home with you. They are the icing on a very fascinating cake!

Cheers!

Mike & Nancy

18
Jan
2016

Travel & Leisure

categories: Travel & Leisure

On the bucket list... Firenze, Italia — On the bucket list… Firenze, Italia

Now I think this category is probably going to be one of my faves!! Think of it… travel near, travel far, time travel?? O.o Though it sounds self explanatory travel and leisure can include so many different things to so many different people. Traveling, for Nancy and I encompasses not only the places we’ve been together but also the places we want to go together. It also certainly includes those places we have gone to as a family. Those places I spoke a bit about back in the “making memories” category outline. The destinations we’ve traveled to and have yet to reach include far off places as well as undiscovered treasures right around the corner from our home and everywhere in between. We will share with you some of our favorite destinations and perhaps even some of our not so favorite destinations.

Like travel, leisure time pursuits, (when leisure time presents itself) can both be with the entire family or just Nancy and I as a couple or something that Nancy or I enjoy as a hobby. Some of our favorite leisure time activities are the ones where the entire family “unplugs” from the TV, computer, smart phone or what ever and gets back to some good ol low tech fun. Something a seemingly simple as a friendly game of cards can lead to fun times and memories that will last way longer than you would ever imagine. For Nancy and I a lot of our leisure time is also with low tech activities such as curling up with a good book in front of the fire or spending some quality time out in the yard “puttering” once the sun does come out. But when we want to do something more exciting there is never any shortage of things to check out in our lovely city of Portland. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some leisure time with us.

—Mike