We’re currently enjoying breakfast with the doors open and sunlight pouring in. I’m actually a little chilly. During our drive in the mountains yesterday the thermometer read 54 degrees. A whopping 50 degree swing from our hometown!
We shall begin with food because it’s simply my favorite! One of the best things about Portland is that the produce here is so very local. Everywhere we went people offered us fruit and or veggies. It would be so easy to go vegetarian here because their grocery stores, (some of which are locally owned and operated!) are filled to the brim with organic veggie meals. The offerings of the local grocery store are indicative of the healthier, active lifestyle here. I wish San Antonio would get a passion for natural living and physical activity, so that we could no longer boast the 2nd fattest city in America, and so that I could buy the 50 different varieties of Amy’s Organic soups offered here.
In efforts to know the local produce more closely, we did a 35 mile stretch of highway called “The Fruit Loop.” There were 33 stops along the way anything from a “you-pick” farm to a lavender farm. We couldn’t stop at all of them. At some point I looked over at SIL and said, “Let’s just buy a farm here. I could homeschool my kids, run a DIY craft store, and Morgan could sell his photography. On the weekends we could sell fruits and jams.” I could picture a cabin in the forest surrounded by cherry, apple, and apricot trees. The cherries are so abundant here that they are affordable - $3.00/lb for fresh picked amazing cherries.
Sunflower Farm!
Before the fruit loop we visited a beautiful stretch of forestry and waterfalls. As we exited the vehicle, small white fluffy seeds were raining all over us… like snow… only with seeds. The trees were so vast in size that I couldn’t imagine climbing one. Each unique tree was breathtaking in and of itself. We hiked all through the forest, me avoiding plants like the plague – good thing I brushed up on the poisonous plants I am severely allergic to! Our trek was rewarded by the sound and eventually the breathtaking sight of a waterfall named Bridal Veil.
We finished our day with by eating an Asian inspired dinner via SIL and myself on the back patio. During our meal I discovered that the house has it’s own herb garden… and they not only survive here, but thrive in the beautiful weather.
And it is beautiful weather!
