2010 (37)
Explore Oregon
We recently took a trip (with free tickets from Southwest - thanks to my husband's parents Southwest miles!) to Oregon, (my home state) for the Thanksgiving Holiday. My parents both worked extra hard to make things comfortable for us out at their farm. My dad organized a few "West Coast" activities for us to try, including hunting clams & mussels, finding a Christmas tree, and touring the forests in the Northern Coastal Range. We also spent time on the farm, mucking about with the chickens and ducks, admiring Dad's winter garden, and then curling up by the fire to tell stories and work on our laptops (we may not have television, but we have internet!).
Our trip to hunt clams and mussels was SO fun... We drove about an hour towards the coast and took in some amazing sights in the forests and beaches. We didn't find any mussels in Netarts Bay, but we did go for a walk and let our daughter see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Who knows if she'll remember it, but it was still fun to see her bouncing on the sand and taking in the vistas. We did manage to find a decent catch of Razor Clams (after getting our shellfish licenses at the local Bi-Mart) and I only got about a gallon of water in my boots. Wet socks notwithstanding, it was an awesome day and we couldn't wait to get home and cook up our catch.
After my dad and husband worked for an hour cleaning the clams with surgical precision, I got to work in the kitchen and made "Linguine with White Clam Sauce" loosely based on Rachael Ray's recipe. It was delicious and the dinner was a big success. My husband had such a good time digging clams, he declared that we were ready to move to the bay, build a teepee and live off the land. I pointed out that cooking linguine outdoors might be a little tricky and he settled for a promise to come back and do it again next time we are near Netarts Bay.
Here are some pictures of our adventures...
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echo | December 11, 2009, 9:32 am | . Ahhh, beautiful Oregon.
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