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August 30, 2005
Northwest Adventure: a Recount
I had every intention of posting more about the Northwest Adventure before starting the Northeast Adventure, but it didn't happen. So I'll keep it short, so I can get up to speed:
--12 days
--3 international airports
--2 float planes
--11 pounds of baggage over the 20 lb maximum per passenger on the float plane, payable at $1/lb (with no allowance for the fact that most people weigh double what I do, three cheers and thanks mom for the rolling maximum legal carry-on suitcase I resisted purchasing for years)
--7 busses
--5 meetings with CEOs of cool organic/fair trade/local food companies
--4 ferries
--4 islands (San Juan, Lopez, Vancouver, Salt Spring)
--3 farmers markets
--2 farms
--10 mornings started off with fresh fruit smoothies
--1 rope swing into a stagnant, algae-o-riffic pond
--1 day on a boat with Adam counting marbeled murrelets
--2 great hikes with mom & dad
--1 knitted scarf begun, and not completed
--1 chair massage in YVR
--1 exhausted girl who felt like she needed a vacation after supposedly having one.
Some representative photos:
...and the same scene from three different perspectives.
My parents' place on Salt Spring Island, while you're sitting on the dock drinking wine:
From the 7am float plane on your way to Vancouver:
...and from the jet en route back to SFO.
Posted by Elizabeth at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2005
Home Again, Home Again
The Northwest portion of the Great Fall Tour has come to a close; info and more photos coming soon. While it was lovely to be in the land of wonderfully polite people, I'm awfully glad to be home, and not only because of signs like this:
Posted by Elizabeth at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2005
And Another One Down!
And Hershey's eats up Joseph Schmidt, too! Go 3400 Phinney, go... or at least get your website up and running, please?
In the Chron article, Michael Recchiuti, one of the remaining Bay Area indie confectioners, does address some of why buyouts like this are scary. I'm glad he's holding out, even if it does mean he's missing out on the millions.
***
On to Meatier Matters: as part of my investigations for work, I went to go check out the original mobile slaughterhouse, in action, on Lopez Island. Do you know where your t-bone/chop/bacon comes from? I have a much better idea now, and I'm 100% positive that what I saw today was a hell of a lot prettier than what most beasties go through (ie, an assembly line).
Tempted as I am to post the photos in all their gory detail, I'll perpetuate the cleanliness myth and leave it at these two (private screenings of the real deal available by request). You'd never guess what happens inside, especially after it's been scrubbed of all evidence.
As farmer Bruce points out, his pigs have a really good life, and then one bad day. The little ones are adorable, and these are still a few months away from their bad day:
After I had asked 12,042 questions, had the mechanics of the "captive bolt" something-or-other tool (instead of a gun) explained to me...
...and 6 once-were-pigs and 5 once-were-sheep hung from hooks in the refrigerated section of the trailer, I helped Bruce weigh his lambs.
Back on San Juan Island, Adam and I grilled up steaks, and almost finished the chocolates.
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2005
Raeo Strikes Again
Just to show certain NY dwellers that I don't always over-communicate, I'll keep this post brief: dj raeo has posted a new mix here.
Posted by Elizabeth at 08:01 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2005
Reggae on the River Report
My insane brother is driving me crazy playing Iron Maiden on his new electric guitar to a video of one of their concerts in Rio--as if the Ozzfest last night weren't enough for him?!--and so I am compelled to blog about another genre of music that I don't quite understand: Reggae.
Going to Reggae on the River had very little to do with an affinity for anyone on the bill (other than Ozomatli), and much more to do with my increasing groupie tendencies, and a general policy of accepting invitations when present themselves. That, and I hardly need an excuse to get into the car for an adventure!
When Mahea and I showed up Saturday morning, our will-call wristbands were nowhere to be found. We had to track down Andrew, my Organic Valley connection... I told Mahea that he was a pretty straight-laced guy, and would probably be wearing an Organic Valley polo shirt or something. Of course he shows up in a sarong (or as Timmy would say, a "So Wrong")... He couldn't sort out the mixup either, and so Paul had to be summoned. Paul is apparently in charge of the whole festival. When the big sponsors talk, Paul makes things happen.
"I'm sorry there's a problem Andrew, let me take care of it."
"No, I don't want maroon wristbands. I want the ones that will get them backstage."
And thank goodness for that privilege, or we might have died in the 115 degree direct sun. In the backstage shade it may have only been 109, and instead of frying we were drinking endless hibiscus tea and too much yerba mate lemonade.
There was a picture of Danny on the wall of photos of previous festival artists, which made me happy, though it didn't quite make up for the fact that he booked the Du Uy Quintet a gig that night in Healdsburg and so couldn't join the festivities.
I never was able to track down Vinyl's Lex or Billy, who were supposed to be working the stage, though I was surprised to run into Will, the man known as Suede, and some Mill Valley riff raff.
After 11 hours on Saturday we'd had enough. Sunday was spent pursuing fog, glorious fog on the coast, and enjoying a swimming hole on an entirely hippie-free river. ROTR was a fun cultural experience to have, once. Three cheers for road trips with Mahea, though! I think my stomach is still sore from laughing so hard for two days straight.
Posted by Elizabeth at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
Let There Be Chocolate
My Northwest adventure got somewhat hijacked by work, which has turned out to be a good thing (other than the fact that I had to change my whole itinerary) because it got a lot longer, and they're paying for a good chunk of it...
My day in Seattle brings good news! As of October, there will be an amazing and still-indie boutique-y chocolate factory on the same scale as Scharffen Berger, only better, because all their products are either Fair Trade certified, or organic, or both, go team!
I wasn't allowed to take any photos as the new factory is still under construction and they're overly modest, but soon enough 3400 Phinney will be on the radar.
I thought that maybe I was crazy, perhaps their mint truffle couldn't possibly have been as good as I have been remembering all day. But I just fed one to my brother and he agreed that it was the best chocolate he's ever tasted... we're not talking about some too-sweet peppermint patty, the thing is dark chocolate through and through and tastes like there's a fresh mint leaf in it. I don't know how else to explain it.
I have no idea where you can get these except at 3400 Phinney (named after the address of the 100 year-old brick building housing the new factory), though apparently they do ship them... founder Joe tells me I have to eat the box he gave me within a few days, so I can't bring any home to share. Tragic, really.
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2005
Another One Bites the Dust
Long time, no post... there will at some point be a Reggae on the River update, but all I can think of at this exact moment is the fact that Hershey's is going to buy Scharffen Berger.
There are all sorts of reasons why this is great for the folks at Scharffen Berger AND the people trying to buy their chocolate. Hooray for them, and buyouts like this still make me sad.
Posted by Elizabeth at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2005
Festivals Shmestivals
Another reason I love Organic Valley: they ask if I want to table at Reggae on the River, and then decide that they don't actually need me to help, but would I like a couple free tickets anyway? And so I will make a rare non-groupie foray into the world of music, accompanied by Mahea, who has been trying to get me to go for years.
(OK it won't be entirely non-groupie, as a couple of the guys from Vinyl will be working the stage, and so I just may be able to report that the snacks backstage are better/worse than the fare at the North Beach Jazz Fest yesterday.)
Maybe it's because I'm generally cranky at the moment, or maybe it's because I've definitely gotten more boring, but I can't get all that excited about a music festivals. In high school, three days straight of Dead shows at Shoreline and then two or three more at Cal Expo (oh and why don't we throw in a couple days in Eugene for good measure?) didn't phase me at all; now all I can think of is sunburn, trying to avoid getting beer spilled on me by drugged-out, overly-excited, smelly, or all-of-the-above people... and not enough sleep.
I'm thinking of Reggae on the River as a fun excuse to have a Girls' Weekend, Go North, and hang out with some real live people who work for the food companies I seem to spend a lot of time on the phone with. I will bring sunscreen, I will go to bed early, I will bring a gourmet picnic and look forward to dancing and expanding my musical horizons. I will have fun. Really.
***
I've never been to Burning Man, and I'm hoping to be on a farm in Vermont while the festival that scares me the most is underway this year. I did, however, spend a few hours last night with the houseful of designers and engineers who are frantically trying to get Colossus ready in time (see this article from last week's SF Chron). Another guest at the house reported helping a film crew drop more than 40,000 superballs down various steep San Francisco streets last week for a Sony commercial. I can't remember who told me they had once collected a bucketful of golf balls from the Presidio Golf Course and then rolled them down Arguello, but I'm sad that I didn't get to observe either event.
I also met a gal who has been protesting the lack of recycling and/or reusing Burning Man building materials. (Isn't burning everything at the end part of what makes Burning Man so cathartic?) With regard to reducing waste at the design stage, the house of engineers claims that the plastic book on sustainable design I gave them has started to influence their thinking. Go Team!
Posted by Elizabeth at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)