Galapagos II: The Cloudforest, El Monte Sustainable Lodge, & The Cock-of-the-rock

20 November 2015: After briefly exploring a very tiny hunk of Quito and the surrounding Ecuador area for a few days, we boarded a small van and headed for the city of Minto and the El Monte Sustainable Lodge in the Cloud Forest. Love the way they transport their fruit to market. Although it was only 49 miles to the lodge, it took us 2 hours as we stopped several times and took in the beautiful scenery. 

The road into Minto got pretty primitive and when our driver pulled up by a stand of palms and said “We’re here!”, we all got fairly quiet. 

I have to admit that when we got out of the vehicle, I was greatly relieved to see a young man coming down to help us with our luggage (rather than 4 to 5 heavily armed Banditos). Turned out he was actually from Wisconsin and had taken this job to experience Ecuador...ah, to be young again! 

Further around the corner we could see a small river with a cable crossing...never saw that coming! After several trips back & forth over the rushing water powered by Jerod, the rope-pulling Wisconsin boy, we all were lead to our “cabins”. Very impressive buildings actually. Each couple had a pretty good sized house to themselves, complete with full, running water bathrooms, and plenty of hot water for showers. Our place was the only split level structure, basically a large A-Frame with two single beds, bathroom, and living space downstairs and the master bedroom & bath upstairs through a floor hatch that was to be closed at night...they never told us why and I never asked. We slept upstairs not only due to the double bed there, but because suddenly it seemed safer to be upstairs, on the other side of a closed hatch at night.

The bathrooms & showers in each house were all decorated to some extent with river rock. It was a fabulous meld of modern and primitive. Jay & Leslie’s “hut” had doors on the outside wall of their shower. Even though the small windows in the doors were curtained, Jay just couldn’t resist giving us all a show by opening the doors as he showered. Leslie was much more constrained and polite. 

After we freshened up and unpacked a bit, we met for the standard communal lunch in the main building (open air sides with palm frond thatching). Most of the fare was oriented to a vegetarian diet, but it was all very tasty, fresh, and nicely presented. After lunch we met with Fernando (who would be our guide for our stay) to discuss what we’d like to do. It didn’t take us long to decide on the things we’d like to do and we were all really happy that Layne was recovering from her 24 hour flu-bug. Fernando took us out for a brief hike and tour of the lodge grounds. Susan & I had to do a little extra after the group hike to get our minimums in for the day...but the walking streak is still alive. Jay had to test out the lodge relaxation equipment before giving his final approval...after his "test" nap. 

Dinner was good but I’m burping onions like crazy...seems that onions are a heavily favored ingredient in most meal-time offerings here.

In the dark of the morning...and I used that term “morning” very loosely...we all realized that we didn’t really think it through very well when we agreed to the 4:30 a.m. departure time to hike up to the Cock-of-the-Rock viewing blind (now there’s a phrase to think about... viewing blind). Apparently we had to arrive before dawn to see the quite brilliantly colored birds become active in the early morning light (another fact that had evaded all of us the previous day when we’d merrily set up our daily tour schedule with Fernando). Fernando drove us a few miles up the road and then we hiked up a pretty steep jungle trail in the bare gloom of dawn. With nothing to actually focus on visually, the entire hike I kept coming back to how I’d not only missed my morning coffee, the O-Dark thirty departure time, the jungle mountain hike in the dark on a slick muddy trail, and why we thought risking life and limb seeing this rare, exotic bird would be such great fun. (It really was fun to do and I really never felt threatened or endangered, but in retrospect it was much, much more fun than in the moment...and it makes it a bit more fun to write if I can whine a little.) I’m just glad that we were all in pretty good walking shape and reasonably stable on our feet. Layne was still a little weak from her bout with the flu, but she was a trouper and kept up with all of us. Watching from the viewing blind as dawn broke, we did sight a couple of the bright males in the courting area before they all left for the feeding grounds deep in the forest. Susan & Leslie wanted a picture with the sign for the Cock-of-the-rock viewing area just to prove they had made the climb.

Yes, that little red spot in the bottom center frame is the famous bird for which we risked life, limb,
 coffee, and breakfast rights. Note to self: Always check starting times before signing anything.

Funny how a camera and a little photo editing can make a dark scene seem fairly light...I still maintain it was really dark for most of the hike up the side of the mountain...just sayin'

Spent a couple hours total for this adventure, but breakfast and coffee were very welcome when we got back “home”... I was just glad the other folks at the lodge had left us something.

At 10 in the morning, the group headed for the Butterfly-Mariposa House. As always, having lots of brightly colored (and sometimes HUGE) butterflies & moths flying very close to you and landing on a shirt sleeve or hand quite often creates a pretty special memory. Back to the main lodge for lunch. Turns out that Tom, the owner of the lodge is from Mississippi. His wife is from Ecuador and when they married, they decided this business was the perfect match for them. Both very gracious and made every trip to the main lodge a joy. Back on the road again (literally) as we walked into town to see the orchid house and hummingbird place. The orchids were lovely and quite exotic (after all we were in Ecuador!). The hummingbird house was awesome. It was set up like a bar. You sat on stools looking out over a wooden “bar” into a somewhat cleared patch of the jungle. Several feeding stations were placed throughout the clearing and the hummingbirds were thick! Lots of varieties and just fascinating to watch (and try to photograph).

Jim had decided to stay with Layne and was feeling pretty worn out himself. So they both stayed in their unit for the afternoon to get some rest. Jay, Leslie, Susan, and I had lunch and then enjoyed an adult beverage in the clearing contemplating our upcoming afternoon zip line adventure (and what I considered one of the biggest horse flies I had ever seen). 

Susan & I had done a zip line in August of 2012 visiting Jim & Pat Kraby in Big Sky, Montana. It had four runs and it cost about $80 per person. Being our first zip line “ride”, we had a ball and said if we had the opportunity to do something like that again, we’d jump at the chance. This Mindo Canopy Adventure cost $20 per person, so we really weren’t expecting much...as usual, I was wrong! Thirteen runs, each one surpassing anything we experienced in Montana. 

It was another awesome side tour from which we all came away breathless from the beauty and shear joy of being alive in this fantastic area. We returned to our “resort” and after lunch After a lovely dinner with lots of story telling for Jim & Layne to endure. I even got some quality time taking pictures of the dragonflies & damselflies of the area.

Back to the lodge for dinner. I had noted earlier that Tom had had built a cobb (clay) oven at one end of the dining area. I talked to him about the oven and he told met it wasn’t used very often because dry wood was difficult to keep on hand. He said for now, it’s used occasionally and more a decoration than a working component of the kitchen. That said, today was Thanksgiving in the states & Tom had their chef finish cooking a turkey in the cobb oven. Turned out very well (and I was very happy to have something without a heavy onion presence). Layne was still recovering from the flu and the earlier “fun” of the day and had decided to skip dinner as well. Jim thought it would be good to take a dinner plate back to their unit so she’d have something eat for the evening. He never returned and we just decided he’d turned in early for the evening. Turned out, the flu bug Layne initially had, finally took hold in Jim’s gut...Luckily he didn’t need a hospital trip, but was really glad it was a 24-48 hour variety of yuck.

We all turned in after our Thanksgiving dinner and talking with our hosts and the other guests about the fun we’d had...after all we’d been up early and packed a lot into the day. We got a little tour of the kitchen before leaving and noted how you can make a blender for the perfect Margarita if you don’t have electricity to spare. 

Jim & Layne still were recovering from the flu as the four of us headed off at 5:15 am the next morning on a bird watching trip before breakfast...where was my mind when these starting times were mentioned? Fernando took us back up the road to the Mindo Canopy Adventure, but stopped and said we needed to walk up the hill if we were to spot any Toucans. He’s obviously had a lot of experience and pointed out an amazing variety of birds on our walk. 

Once again, the early start was well worth it...especially in retrospect. Back to the lodge for breakfast and to get our stuff packed up. One more adventure here before we return to Quito...a river rafting this afternoon. I didn’t think the little river by the lodge was anything special, but it was fabulous to raft it in a set of inner tubes with your friends. Jim was still pretty shaky and decided to get some more rest but Layne came down to be with the chase and film crew. The float was about a half an hour but it certainly was one of the favorite floats of my life (so far...).

After getting changed into dry clothes and thanking everyone we’d met here for such a wonderful time, we piled back into the little van for the trip back to the big city. Jim was looking quite pale but was able to stay upright in his seat and avoid any moaning during the two hour ride. We checked into our Hotel arranged by Viking with no problems. Jim went to bed and the five of us had a mixed grill (mostly meat) dinner. Sam and Martha were coming in at 10:30 pm, so we stayed up to welcome them. They got to the hotel about 11:30 so we had a mini meet and greet and we all called it a day! Tomorrow starts the actual Viking cruise itinerary. 

(I am shocked that with all the fun we've had so far, this has only been the warm-up to the actual Galapagos trip!) 

Galapagos I : Quito, TelefériQo, Pisco Sours, Otavalo Market, Cuy, and the Flu

The Motley Crew had decided that traveling together was just the only way to really wring out every last bit of fun a trip had to offer. Visiting the Galapagos was on everyone’s bucket list so we all booked the cruise on the Celebrity Xpedition. Now you may be wondering how the title for this post relates to the text so far...well, Susan had seen a Samantha Brown travel episode on the Cloud Forest of Ecuador. She figured since we were already heading to Quito, why not go several days earlier and take a van to Minto, where we’d stay at the El Monte Sustainable Lodge in the Cloud Forest and enjoy Thanksgiving in Ecuador. Sounded pretty good to the Malicks & the Graybills, so the six of us booked a “pre-cruise” destination. The Casne's planned to join us in Quito after we returned from the Cloud Forest.

Susan & I went up to Portland the day before our flight to see Grant & Sandy. They had a friend who’d just opened a martini bar in the Pearl district...named Olive or Twist...how could we resist going there! Turned out they had invited their daughter Stacy and her boyfriend Nathan to join us. We had a great evening and we later learned that this was the first time Nathan had met Grant & Sandy...we were the buffers for the Meet The Parents event! (Incidentally, Stacy & Nathan got married and now have two beautiful children...even after meeting us...go figure.)

When we’d arrived at the Quito airport, Jim & Layne were on the same flight but were seated a few rows up from us. They got off the plane just a few minutes before us and boarded the waiting bus to the terminal. We stood/sat/stood/sat for quite a while waiting for the next bus and then once in the terminal, we waited for 1 ½ hours to reach the head of the passport checkpoint. Apparently, many flights into Quito arrive late at night and are bunched up in the landing queue. My guess is it’s done this way so the airport workers don’t have to be there long hours in the middle of the night. (Looking at it from a financial point of view, it does make perfect sense...the airport saves money because they don’t need to have services and personal working all night.) All the while we stood in a static line, we could see Jim & Layne transform from patiently waiting passengers to not so patiently waiting, very tired people. Layne was actually starting to look a bit pale as well. 

Jay & Leslie met us at the Sheraton when we arrived at 1 am, but for some reason a welcoming party didn’t materialize...go figure! Later we found out that they did a layover in Lima coming in from New Zealand and had to deal with all tiring diversions such as getting lost in their room's big, soft bed and being forced to enjoy a large pool in the hotel with a spectacular laminar water fall...so they may have already been worn out when we first saw them.

After our morning walk in the Parque La Carolina (a beautiful park with lots of larger than life, caricatured people, a block from the Sheraton Quito), Susan & I met Jay, Leslie, and Jim in the Graybill’s room. Turns out Layne was actually very sick and could not get up...good thing we got a picture last night with her in it! We talked until almost noon and then walked out to find a place for lunch. After lunch, Jim checked on Layne and reported back to us that she was still pretty sick. 

Jim urged us to go out exploring, so we hired a taxi to take the four of us up to the TelefériQo gondola lift (teleférico and Quito). The taxi driver told us it would be $4 US dollars (one way) to take the four of us up to the lift. (And I do mean US dollars, as that is the official currency of Ecuador...at least as of 2012.) We were a little concerned about getting a taxi back, but Edgar (our driver) said it would only take us an hour and that he’d wait...obviously we were not in America anymore. The gondola tickets (round trip, thank god!) were $8.50. This gondola lift is one of the highest in the world going from 10,226 ft (3,117 m) to 12,943 ft (3,945 m) along the east side of the Pichincha Volcano. There was a trail that went up to an observation site that of course we had to take. A point of information here...it doesn’t matter that you are in shape...you WILL lose your breath and have to stop frequently while walking uphill above 13,000 ft. (The four of us walked up the trail towards the Ruku peak for about ½ hour before we all “hit the wall”...probably only got to 13,500 ft elevation or so...but it really doesn’t matter, I was done! I would like to know how they got horses for rent up there, I never saw one!)

Upon returning down the mountain after 2 ½ hours, we found Edgar faithfully waiting for us with his taxi. We gave him $15 as a tip and considered it a great value! Returning to the Sheraton, we had a message in our room that Layne had been taken to the hospital and Jim was with her. Jim said she was in good hands and we should continue exploring and have dinner without them. Leslie found a street vendor selling roasted plantains with queso fresco cheese and decided that she had to try it. We all got to taste it and for street food, it was pretty good as an appetizer. 

Found an interesting place just down the street for a real dinner and decided to give it a try. The menus contained only pictures of what you were ordering...with the Spanish name for the entrée, but otherwise gave us very little idea of what was in it. Seeing that we were not locals, we were brought four complementary Passionfruit Pisco sours to help ease us into dinner. Our waiter could speak a little English which helped us choose from the menu. I chose Tacu Tacu, which is a typical Peruvian beans & rice dish. Since we were in Ecuador, I thought I’d kill two gastronomical birds with one Pisco Sour. I have to say that presentation of the dish was not up to my expectations. It tasted all right...but, you tell me what it looks like. (P.S. - Later I found out Tacu Tacu is a native Peruvian dish...so, I may have been the victim of some cuisine disdain by our chef.) I don't know what Susan had, but that picture looked a whole lot better, so I added it to the collage as "balance". Dinner for four (with 3 more Pisco Sours) cost us $96 and we left a $10 tip since we’d read that it was not expected but a little extra was appreciated...

Layne was returned from the hospital after 2 bags of IV saline, some meds, and a lot of attention from the doctors and nurses. The Concierge at the Sheraton was awesome and constantly checked on Layne as well as acting as interpreter and as her advocate during the hospital stay while keeping us all informed as to what was happening...she was fabulous to have around! To celebrate Layne getting better, Jim, Jay, and I went to a little bar & restaurant nearby that evening (the ladies all declined our invitation) to have some beer and burgers...so much for When in Ecuador...

The next morning, Layne stayed at the motel (under the watchful eye of the Concierge) while the five of us piled in a small van and headed for the famous Otavalo Market (locally known as the Plaza de los Panchos and about 56 miles from Quito) as a tour set up by the Concierge (what a surprise, huh!) Susan had read about it and convinced us that it was a must for the trip (after all, it was shopping in Ecuador). We stopped for a break at Mira Lago and some photo ops...and of course had a snack. The Otavalo Market was really fun, lots of bright colors and plenty of variety. I found out that Susan was in the market for several table clothes, and she scored within minutes of our arrival. (Jim, Jay, and I wandered around mostly and wondered if any of our clothes were going to be replaced with market items upon our exit from South American.) After making several vendors very happy, our group packed back in the van for a short ride (5 miles) to Cotacachi. Although the claim to fame for the town is its leather products, we were primarily interested in the lunch included with our “Market Tour”. Lots of spectacular scenery on this entire tour/trip...really glad Susan pushed us all to "hit the road".

Before lunch we took a tour of a fabric business and had an interesting tour and demonstration of various natural dyes used by the Ecuadorean people. I didn’t realize how versatile the Cochineal Scale insect was...crush it and you get a bright crimson color, add lime juice (acid) and the color turns a deep orange, add a bit of soda ash (base) and you get a gorgeous, deep purple...how cool is that! I don’t think we bought anything here...but my attention was on the dye demonstration and my back was turned from Susan & Leslie...and, hey! Wait a minute...I think I’m missing a pair of pants and one of my favorite shirts...hmmm...and I don’t recognize that new table cloth!

Now for those who are a bit stomach squeamish or very fond of small animals of the rodent persuasion, you might want to skip this paragraph and scroll past the lunch photos. A national delicacy of Ecuador is Cuy...known to us a Guinea Pig. All of us except Susan ordered it because When in Ecuador... (and as always, she was one of the smartest!) The golden potato soup with avocado was the best and we all were amused that popcorn was the “bread” for the table. We were also shocked to learn that Jay could do Karaoke with a pan flute...as were the members of the band. The Cuy was a little greasy for my taste and neither Jay or  I were fond of the presentation...but it was another bucket list item checked off for us...or maybe best just put in the bucket next time. Of important note here, Cuy is NOT listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die...just sayin’...

One fact our tour guide noted, that amazed us all, is that roses are a major export for Ecuador. The reason is that roses cultivated at the equator (in Ecuador) will grow very straight and on very long stems. And as we all know, long stemmed roses are sold at a premium price...who knew it took the equator to help make the best long stemmed roses?

We arrived back at the Sheraton to find Layne ambulatory and willing to join the group for some gab time. None of us were very hungry...I know that may come as a shock after such an obviously extravagant & exotic lunch (with popcorn!)...but it was true. So we all just ordered some various soups for a light dinner. Tomorrow morning we leave for Minto and the Cloud Forest of El Monte.

P.S. If you aren't very good at stringing electrical and telephone wires in an orderly fashion, Quito has some job opportunities for you.

P.P.S. We're pretty sure that Layne had gotten the flu just before catching their flight to Quito...thank goodness it was the short version and that the Sheraton's Concierge was so pro-active for her!

2003 Giraffe Adventure at Wildlife Safari

Our friend Steve Barnhart retired as an Oregon State Trooper and then for several years held the position of Director at Wildlife Safari in Winston Oregon. The large, drive through game park in Winston, Oregon was always looking for ways to supplement earnings and improve their facilities while enhancing  visitor experiences and educating the public about the animals at the park. Steve brought with him lots of new ideas that meshed with those goals. One of those ideas  was to offer a Giraffe feeding “adventure” for visitors. Since that’s the kind of idea that has potential but needs a little fine tuning, on May 3rd, 2003 Susan & I and Steve & his wife Marilyn became the first test subjects for the Giraffe Adventure proposed to be offered beginning in the 2003 tourist season. In addition, Steve announced that it was to be the Barnhart’s present to Susan for her 53rd birthday.

Mike, Marilyn, Steve, and Susan preparing to feed the giraffes
at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. (On retrospect, I think the pickup
cage may have been meant to protect the animals from us.)

Wildlife Safari had a pickup with protective side screens that we’d use to journey out to the area where the Giraffes roamed free. The staff there had been giving the animals some fruit and vegetable treats from the back of the pickup for a couple weeks prior to our visit to get them used to the vehicle (and people in the back with tasty food items). We loaded up the pickup bed with loaves of bread, buckets of banana bits, apple chunks, & carrots and headed out for our adventure. The  Giraffe keeper gave us instructions of what to do and more importantly, what not to do when the animals approached us. It was hard to think of a beautiful animal such as a Giraffe as being dangerous, but when we actually got close and realized how big they are...well we listened very closely to her instructions and behaved ourselves. (I know that may be hard for some of you to believe, but really, we could contain ourselves for short periods of time when we were younger.)

As several Giraffes approached us and started accepting goodies, they became a little more trusting and allowed us to get a little bit more friendly. That long black tongue is amazing and quite adept at plucking those pieces of fruit and vegetables from your fingers. Taking pictures was a little disconcerting because the animal always got the treat before my brain could signal my finger to press the camera’s shutter button. Susan even got to plant a kiss on one Giraffe's nose...the Giraffe seemed unimpressed.


The resident white rhino and other park inhabitants were very curious in what was happening at the pickup. Again, it was quite exhilarating to find ourselves so close to so many stunning and exotic (and really big) animals. I have to say that being close enough to a rhino to hear his stomach rumble is pretty humbling and it’s also comforting to hear that humans are not the only creatures on the planet that pass gas...just saying...

On that day in May, we all had a very special experience and for Susan the kind of birthday present a farm girl from Wisconsin would never have imagined as she was growing up.

It was good to know that Giraffe Adventures at the park became quite popular after our trial run and has given many people the thrill of their lives. Wildlife Safari is still doing very well and constantly improving our understanding of many endangered animal species through the work done by the dedicated staff and research personnel there.

...I was also very happy and grateful that Steve did not ask us to be the among the first people to hand feed the Wildlife Safari lions up close and personal.

HiHium Lake 2018, The Motley Crew in Hot Water (Again)

Leaving the extremely fun Casne/Strauss wedding weekend in Seattle was difficult (primarily because we were all a bit challenged to get up and moving from our digs at the Westin. But instead of staying another evening and then facing Monday morning Seattle auto-destruct, Jay & Leslie opted to travel with us North of Seattle on Sunday to beat the traffic. It wasn’t very far on the map, but it proved more of a challenge than any of us would admit...that’s where the now outdated saying “pictures don’t lie” might have been somewhat damning. But as we all now know any of these pictures from Marysville Costco or waiting for our room to be cleaned so we could throw all our crap in and get it messy again, could be digitally altered.  (Although I’m not sure if technically you can digitally alter the foot, toes on the foot yes, but the foot?)

The Costco couch and stuffed animal displays were irresistible
as was the back seat of the Subaru for Leslie while we waited
for our room to be made ready for us...it was a long day!

The four travel pigs watched with jowls agape as dessert was prepped

So, once we piled more food and adult beverages from Kamloops into our vehicles and then finished the last hour and a half drive to the cabin, it was all about getting the wood fired oven (The Big O) going and getting martinis prepared. Lots of exquisite dining planned for this week. Layne had pre-made some beef bourguignon and some cheesy polenta for our first night into the cabin, plus dessert was a blueberry cornbread! Living off the grid at HiHium Lake is pretty rough! I got the fire going in The Big O and pretty soon we were baking the polenta and heating up the fancy named beef stew. Hendricks martinis set the mood and dinner was served with excellent Italian wine. In fact, the entire week we dedicated ourselves to decimating the Hendricks gin and fine Italian wine supply in the British Columbia outback. Our travel pigs all watched with glee as the blueberry cornbread was put together for the oven bake...sorry, none was left for you pigs!

I got Chef Bill (my sourdough) going and started the baguette supply chain. Second day at HiHium I put two plain baguettes and two craisin filled baguettes on the dinner table. We filled the wood fired aluminum hot tub and got it fired up & heating as soon as possible the second day. Takes a long time to heat 400-500 gallons of water when you don’t keep the fire stoked because of the distractions of having to stop for beer (or a martini), or a round of story telling and laughter, or a fishing expedition, or just a plain old attack of lazy, but then we’re older and have no supervisor (other than the ladies who kept trying valiantly to keep making progress on meals & projects for the week).

The new entrance to the compost pit dug by our friendly bear, plus some
other "signs" we found around the cabin

Last year Jim hired a little backhoe to dig a new outhouse and compost pit. The old outhouse structure simply got moved over the new pit and we lined the compost pit with plastic and put a piece of plywood over the top. Three days into our trip this year, apparently a bear found our compost simple irresistible and dug in through one side. There had been a large fire in the area last year and we think that the little “island” spared from the devastation around the cabin (Thank you, Canadian Firemen!), concentrated a lot of wildlife into this fairly small oasis. We saw some pretty big bear tracks and deposits...glad not to see any whistles or empty pepper spray containers in the deposits. We all were very diligent keeping food waste carefully contained or burned in the wood fired stove that heated our water for the cabin (and to make its occupants more able to stand each other during close seating at mealtimes).

Jim, Jay, and Sam got in a lot of fishing...some dry and some pretty wet fishing on the lake, but every time they came back with big smiles, fish stories, and empty beer cans. I understand that adds up to success when you’re fishing...but then I was enjoying my beer in the cabin with four lovely ladies, where it was warm and dry (perspective, it’s all about perspective). During breaks in the meal preps, jigsaw puzzles were high on the list of entertainment as were rounds of Susan’s favorite card game Got-It (a gin rummy variation).

Clockwise from top left: Jay, Sam, & Jim returning from a rainy fishing trip, Jay & Leslie
making a stone path between the house stairs and the hot tub deck entry, Susan & Layne
putting together a jig saw puzzle, and the boys showing they could fish in good weather too

Tuna fish & avocado salad for lunch with a pineapple upside
down cake created for dinner that evening...yumm!

Layne & Susan had coordinated and worked out menus for the week, Leslie, Martha, and I tried to help wherever and whenever we could. Lots of roasted vegetables, beautifully laid out appetizer trays, awesome main courses, extraordinary wines, fancy desserts, and then the next morning full breakfasts with plenty of fruit, eggs, bacon, & fried potatoes. The pineapple upside down cake done in an iron skillet was a big success.

Clockwise from top left: Craisin & pecan baguette, whole wheat,
CCRAP loaf (Craisin, cinnamon, raisin, apricot, & pecan)
plain & craisin baguettes with a stenciled whole wheat

Jim & Susan usually were the ones peeling and prepping the fruit since they both tended to be up early and looking for jobs to do. I just tried to keep out of the way and made sure nobody was without bread.






The hot tub was well used, The Big O was constantly being stuffed with things to bake or heat, the bear kept his/her distance from all the noise, all of us gained weight, and no liquor was left untouched or appreciated. This was a special trip for all of us. Although August 2018 was Susan’s last trip with the Motley Crew, she will always be in our hearts and minds as will the sound of her hearty laugh and the memory of her quick & warming smile.

Even though I was taking the picture, my spirit  (and wine) was in the tub with my friends  The Motley Crew!

Even though the evidence of the 2017 fires in British Columbia was very visible, it was cheering to see the flowers that had erupted in the newly opened fields and meadows (even if it was Fireweed!)

One third of the luggage stacked and ready to go; Kubota loaded up with
Casnes & Graybills and of course Jim driving. Plenty of Fireweed in the burnt areas.

Wedding 2018 - Be There and/or Be Square

The entire Motley Crew headed to Seattle in 2018 for the August wedding of Sam & Martha’s daughter, Samantha to Aaron Strauss. The plans (i.e objectives) were to pre-party before the official wedding get-together at a local pub, try not to embarrass ourselves by having too many jello-tequila shots at the official party, try to look dignified the next day at the wedding, try to be “the life of the party” at the reception (to give the “kids” some achievable goals in their lives), and then try to find our way back to the hotel. I thought it sounded a little optimistic and a lot to remember for our group, but then–wait, what was the middle part???

When we arrived in downtown Seattle, I had not fully appreciated how bad traffic was in the downtown area and how easily one wrong turn could force you into a far south loop by the football stadium (...could’ve been a baseball field or Boeing airfield or a Sea-Tac runway...) after all aren’t all big cities easy to navigate? When we finally got into proper, short diagonal, access drive to the fairly well camouflaged entry for the Westin’s valet parking, there was a pretty big push/rush to get everything out of the car so the valet folks could move the vehicle into “storage”. I won’t mince words here...it was decidedly intimidating, humiliating, degrading, and made me wish a had a flask of white lightnin’ in my back pocket. I definitely came to understand what could cause a man to take up drinking. (Please remember the duress noted here as it will be referred to again later in this epic blog.)

Anyway, with the bags all unloaded and carted up into our room, the pain in my head did start to moderate. Once we located the Malicks, Casnes, & the Graybills, life became fabulous again.

Notice that Sam & Martha pulled the excuse of "wedding duties"
to miss the  2018 Ti-Toki tasting.

Years ago, when the Graybills returned to the west coast from New Zealand for a visit, they brought a bottle for each couple of Ti-Toki, the national drink of their newly adopted country. At least they said it was the national drink of New Zealand...I suspect it was simply a ploy by the Kiwi government to make sure all the bottles of this insidious brew were removed from their island nation. Our Motley Crew gatherings since that time have always included either a tasting to see if the drink has mellowed over time or at least to express how much we communally hoped it would be the last bottle of Ti-Toki we ever had to sample. This gathering at the Westin was definitely one of the tasting variety. So here we are, huddled around one of the now, quite vintage bottle of Ti-Toki to ascertain if it has become drinkable as of 2018...it had not...but there’s not much left, so that’s something positive.


So our pre-wedding party was sort of a success, at least we all expended a lot of laughs & smiles. At the pub event, we got to meet a lot of Samantha & Aaron’s friends and didn’t embarrass ourselves too much–or at least none of us remembered anything that might be put into our permanent J. Edgar Hoover files.

(Although, I did notice several of those younger folks pointing at us and walking briskly away when we approached them the next day at breakfast.)

The next day we wandered around Seattle and then as afternoon closed down, we all started to get gussied up for the wedding. (This photo was taken in full gussie-up attire after the wedding since it was the first time we'd been able to get together as a group–with all those mother & father of the bride obligations Sam & Martha had to attend to.)

Now, those of you who know me, know I hate shoes and have been known to wear a tuxedo and my thongs (flip-flops to you youngsters). Well, in the rush to unload the car, (I told you to remember my extreme duress at that time...) my dress shoes did not make it out of the Subaru.

Susan was absolutely convinced I "forgot" my dress shoes on purpose, and although I did NOT forget my shoes on purpose, I wasn’t unhappy about the situation. And besides, they were a really good pair of thongs (yes kids, still talking about flip-flops).

I was told fairly firmly that I would keep my feet under the table and hidden as much as possible. When we arrived downstairs to meet the Malicks and Graybills, Jim had a variation on my foot covering issue...and Susan and Layne seemed at a loss for words (Isn't there a saying about quiet times being the best?...if there isn't, there should be, or maybe I was thinking about the calm before the storm.)


Apparently, Corfam shoes don’t store as well as they look. When I was in NROTC, they were a highly valued new item available in shoe apparel. They had a spectacular shine all by themselves...no hours of spit polish required, an absolute miracle to those required to produce a mirror finish on their dress shoes and who didn't want to spend hours on end polishing footwear.


As luck (or destiny) would have it, Jim’s left foot Corfam dress shoe had apparently been affected by the Andromeda Strain while in storage. With no stores open and being a practical problem solver, he went to the Concierge to see if they had any clear, wrapping tape to solve his shoe's outbreak. They did not, but did offer some scotch tape. So Jim taped the cracked shoe up and figured it only had to last a couple hours.




The left (taped) shoe sorta did last an hour or so...the right shoe sorta did not. After the wedding, we moved into the downstairs of the venue (I don’t know why it’s a building by day and a venue by evening.) Both Jim and I were told by Layne & Susan to keep our feet under a table at all times.

Jim's shoes (need I say...on the right?) at the end of the evening
and I thought it was worthwhile having a pre-storage/taped shoe
in the picture for comparison.

FYI, I have to tell you, that keeping your feet under a table at all times makes it quite difficult to get to your dinner at the buffet or to get your drink refilled without being a bit self-conscious and looking like a fairly suspicious, doddering old man.










I was pleased that Sam & Martha had placed us all at table #1 (out of +15 tables), meaning there were a lot of people at this wedding and the only ones who cared that Jim & I had sub-standard footwear were Susan and Layne–just sayin’...

Dinner was fabulous and we all had a terrific time being together to celebrate Samantha & Aaron’s marriage. Our best wishes for a long and happy union for them.









Sam made the effort to get a picture of the Motley Crew 2018 to go with the picture of the group from 2008 (pre-Motley Crew moniker).



After dinner, we headed back to the Westin, leaving Sam & Martha behind to pay the bill and cleanup the “venue” (not really, but it sounds good 16 months after the event). Both Susan and Layne had brought more comfortable shoes along for the walk back and had changed into them. As we started back, Layne’s toe strap on her Croc thongs (that’s still flip-flops to you kids!) broke. I loaned her mine (Olu Kai’s not Crocs) and I went barefoot back to the hotel. I often wondered if any homeless people saw us walking along and felt sorry for us..."and that one guy was wearing taped up shoes and the other guy didn't even have any shoes, poor buggers..." By the way, my feet got really, really (and I mean really) filthy walking three blocks on Seattle sidewalks. (I’m thinking if I have occasion to walk in downtown Seattle again, I’ll take a backup pair of my Olu Kai thongs/flip-flops with me.)

Now if you’ve been keeping track, arriving back at the Westin was our last goal for the weekend (and since there were no provisions about footwear in that goal, I’m counting it as successfully completed!)

The next day we loaded Jay and Leslie in our car and headed North for our 2018 adventure at HiHium Lake with the Motley Crew. (FYI: No ambitious goals, expected demeanor or attitudes had been set for this upcoming Canadian adventure...just sayin’, we’d already been through enough constraints in the name of big city, “act-your-age” mandates.)