I'll start with lousy....I got a phone call last week that our beloved Spirit of Life minister emeritus, Alec Craig, had gone into Hospice care.....then on Tuesday, an e-mail that he had passed. One of my friends posted this on Facebook...."Alec led us with grace, humor and above all humanity!" So true! So true! Grieving via e-mail is new to me....in times like this I want to be with my friends and hug and touch and share. On Sunday at the Salem UU Joys and Sorrows I lit a candle and told of Alec's passing. RIP Reverend Alec! You will be missed!
Now the "not so good"....which is actually probably in reality, good......Dean has been bothered off and on for years with foot pain. It got bad enough to get him to a walk-in clinic while we were in Las Vegas. The doc gave him a shot which gave him some relief but recently the pain came back with a vengeance....enough to make him leave the golf course! We went to a doc here in Salem.....x-rays showed calcification that is apparently causing the pain....on 8/5 he goes in for surgery! Send positive energy our way!
Now for the good.....
The folks sitting next to us at dinner a couple of weeks ago had this ginormous bottle of wine. We commented on it and they shared a glass with us. One of the men, told us it was from Red Hawk Winery and worth a visit. We headed up there the following day for the tasting....it was worth it!
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| part of Red Hawk Vineyard |
Enjoyed some very nice wines and meet some really nice folks.....including the owners.
Dean's foot pain subsided enough that we decided to visit Silver Falls.....everyone here has been telling us how beautiful it is and we are trying to do some tourist-y things. So, Saturday we ventured forth. The weather was perfect....sun shining, not too hot, a nice breeze and little, if any humidity. We decided to stop for lunch at a place we had read about...."Word of Mouth Bistro"
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| Note the acronym...WOMB! |
It's an independently owned place serving breakfast and lunch. They had been approached by Guy Fieri to do a "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" segment but turned him down. We arrived and were told it would be about a 50 minute wait.....I would have left but Dean, the "foodie" wanted to wait. After about 30 minutes the host asked if we wanted to sit at the bar. I don't like eating like that (bars are for drinking) but we were hungry and wanted to get on to the falls. We agreed and it turned out great. Our bartender/server, Nichole, was charming and made a few recommendations....they're known for their creme brule pancakes....seriously? Dean chose the Cinnamon Bun Pancake and I opted for the Reuben. While we were waiting for our food to come out, Nichole brought a sample of the creme brule pancake with this little flag stuck in it.....
Yeah! No wonder they're known for it! Absolutely yummy but probably should have been dessert. Anyway, Nichole told us that sometimes the owners, Steve & Becky, who are by the way, the kitchen staff, send out samples or sometimes the servers request them. Nichole had asked for us. We struck up a conversation with Hillary, the woman sitting next to us. She had been Steve & Becky's neighbor in Catalina Island and had recently moved to Salem. She was raving about the food. She also shared with us that she, Steve & Becky are all animal rescue folks (Hillary came to Salem with 32 cats!). Not sure how it came up, but we discovered that one of the dogs at the Red Hawk Winery was initially rescued by Becky! Small world! Hillary went into the kitchen to say hello and told them about us being at Red Hawk. A few minutes later Nichole came out with another "gift" from the kitchen....a salmon cake......
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| we brought the leftovers home |
We said good bye.....and we'll be back...... to our new friends and headed to Silver Falls....Oregon's largest state park.....9,000 acres with 10 different waterfalls. We opted for the South Falls.....
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| walking under the falls |
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| a view from under the falls |
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| orange moss |
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| dandelion wishes |
Until next time......
Namaste,
Tobi
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