August 17, 2024
As planned, we got ready and headed to the Ilwaco Farmer’s Market in the morning. What a beautiful setting for this Farmer’s Market! We came to a large fruit and vegetable stand that we couldn’t resist.
I picked out a few apples and some peaches. They were ALL FREESTONE peaches! It was refreshing to hear the lady offer that piece of information. Most times in groceries and at some fruit stands, when I ask if the peaches are freestone or cling, they look at me as though I’m speaking a foreign language. (Cling means the flesh of the peach clings to the pit. Freestones – mean the stone (or pit) comes out clean.)
Then I saw the beefsteak tomatoes. OMG. They were gorgeous and smelled delightful–you know, like a real tomato! Beefsteak tomatoes are the ones I always had growing up in Ohio. My dad and I ate “extra ones” like we ate apples. I bought two. We will have BLT-A’s for dinner tonight on toasted sourdough! My mouth was watering already.
Transparent Owl Studio- Taryn’s paintings were so cool. Acrylic pour backgrounds and the painted bird on top of it. Beautiful!!
I found the stand I was looking for. Fosse Farms.
So what’s a shrub? From the Fosse Farm website…
The wind was really kicking up, so I made my purchase quickly. I bought two bottles of the Cilantro-Lime dressing, one Lavender-Lemon Shrub, and one Jalapeño-Lime Shrub. YUM!
The weather was turning quickly-rain was coming within minutes. Barry was interested in the super large blackberries – Crown blackberries, we quickly bought a 6-pint box.
We headed toward TJ (The Jeep) in hopes of getting there before the heavy downpour. We didn’t completely make it, but it wasn’t too bad- yet. Sure glad we got here when we did! Got everything we wanted and headed home to Vinny.
We stayed warm and cozy in Vinny while it rained heavily. What a perfect time to use a couple pints of blackberries and make a blackberry cobbler. (A low carb/keto version that we both love.)
Dessert for several nights!! YUM!!
The rain storm was over, and the sun broke through. We had a decent window of dry weather for a few hours. So, we jumped on our bikes to ride the portion of the Discovery Trail from the Thousand Trails Campground into Cape Disappointment State Park to the North Head Lighthouse. This portion of the Discovery Trail has the most enjoyable changes of terrain within just three and a half miles! We go from the beach grass and shrubs into some juvenile pines…
…to an area of green canopy over the trail magically transforms the ride to the forest…
The amount of green and the beautiful old growth trees was stunning.
We made it to the lighthouse parking lot. We knew there were two paths from the end of the parking lot to the lighthouse. The path to the left has no stairs, unlike the path to the right. Obviously, we went left, and carefully coast down the path. Pedestrians and/or other bikers are likely, but not as many with today’s weather. Most people take the path to the right because it takes you closer to the Keepers’ homes.
When we reached the North Head Lighthouse, we took the time to just sit and enjoy the views and serenity.
We loved riding this part of the Discovery Trail today!! What a peaceful ride with only an occasional biker (more on our return). Weather was great…not much wind at all!
Almost home! We biked the narrow, unpaved path from the Discovery Trail to Vinny (LongBeach TT). There are two paths, but this one has much less sand and fewer thick roots making it doable for me to ride most of it! It also has the bonus of fewer people using it because the rv park marks the other one with a “BEACH ACCESS” sign.
All bikers need to be watchful of blind curves wherever they ride. To be proactive, especially with areas of wet pavement, I used my bike bell to alert others of our presence prior to each blind curve. I’m sure glad I got a new bell while up in Washington! My thumb felt its workout, but it was worth it to prevent a possible collision with an oncoming biker. I need to try a different angle for the bell to be easier and more comfortable to use repeatedly.
The rain began again within an hour of getting back home, and it continued well into the evening!
Tonight’s dinner was definitely a “farm to table” meal. The incredible bacon was from Tammie (our niece) and Tim’s farm. These were so darn good. FULL of flavor! We will repeat these BLTA’s tomorrow!
Tomorrow we go to Seaside Thousand Trails for two weeks!
The market looked amazing. I have two Triple Crown Blackberry bushes in my side yard . The berries are amazing and I pretty much supply all the neighbors. They have no thorns so are easy to pick. Both last year and this year I made two batches of jam, two of my neighbors made two batches and we were calling random neighbors walking on street to come and pick. They really melt in your mouth. I didn’t read that you found any tuna. Was anyone selling tuna there? Next summer we need to go to long beach for a visit. See you guys in a little over thirty sleeps!
Yes, she told me the crown blackberries were thornless. How nice!! We did not see anyone selling tuna. Time is flying!