Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!  Yes, I know it's December 20th (did I mention my roommates are really far behind on the blog).  Ugh.  No Christmas bonus for them.

I'm at the beach this weekend staying in this hotel called McMenamins Gearheart Hotel.  Being the beach in October, it's pretty quiet around the hotel.

Each room has a theme.  Mine was golf which is appropriate being that they have a golf course here.

Time to explore the hotel.  I wanted to get outside before it rained.  As you can see the clouds are coming in. 

Back inside.  Lots of cool art. 

A couple of old menus.  They have a martini for $0.35.  At those prices who can say no?

 Australian lobster for $3.25 and steak for $3.50.  I might as well have the surft and turf.

Being that it was close to Halloween there were lots of characters around the hotel too.  I met these guys while having dinner. 

The next day the weather cleared and allowed me to get to the beach.   There were a ton of birds just hanging out on the beach.  Sequoia stayed at home with the dog sitter but one of his hobbies is chasing birds and I bet he would have loved this. 

Man, there were a lot of birds that day. 

This fox is tired.  A Halloween party is on the schedule tonight.  I better rest while I can.

Announcing the winners!!!

First of all.  To my fellow stuffies in the United States I want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving today.

Once again, thank you to all who participated in my recipe contest.  Although, I must say I am the true winner as I got to taste and eat all of the amazing creations.

Odie is telling me that if there was an award for dragging out a recipe contest I would win.  Odie seems so friendly, but he has a biting wit.  

Anyway, in the category of heart healthy eating we have the delicious and flavorful soup from Beanie and crew.  The soup recipe gave me a shot to practice my knife skills. 

Wolfy helped out. 

Beanie suggested adding some cheddar cheese.  The soup was great on it's own but the little bit of cheddar really made it shine. 

The next category is best meal for a pescatarian.  This salmon recipe came from a bear (go figure).  Ajdin  and company presented me with a very good recipe for honey glazed salmon.  

Creating the recipe took some time and high quality ingredients. 

However, the wait was worth it!

Thanks Ajdin and company.  You'll notice none of my stuffy friends in the final picture, the salmon was so good I didn't share.  Is that wrong?

The final award is for a meal fit for a demanding crowd.  As we know, us stuffies have very high standards and demand excellence from our sekrebearies.  If our high standards aren't met (hence Ajdin firing his sekrebeary before the holidays).  This recipe comes from the kitchen of chef Ben and professional taster Jerry and it's suited for the high culinary expectations of us stuffies. These two nice stuffies shared their meatball recipe with me.

Anytime you start with frying up a meatball in a pan then finishing in a sauce works for me.   This recipe also gets an honorable mention for the most versatile.   You can have the meatballs in a sandwich, leave the sauce off and have them in spaghetti, or do as J and B recommended cooking them in a mix of chili sauce and grape jelly for a satisfying appetizer.

Amazing how food brings out the crowd (now you see why I didn't share my salmon).

Thanks Jerry and Ben, Beanie, and Ajdin for the great recipes.  There are prizes coming in the mail keep your sekrebearies on the lookout.

Little Fox Archaeologist explores our cold war past and has some great cider.

Oh, hello.  I didn't see you there.

Sorry about that.  It is I Little Fox on a mini weekend adventure.  Right now I am hanging out in Tri Cities Washington.  No, this view isn't of the cities (it would be pretty remote) but it is a view of the Columbia River and if you follow it north you can end up at it's headwaters in Canada.    This section is actually part of the Hanford Reservation.  Hanford was a big deal in the cold war.  It was one of the three places where the Manhattan Project  took place.  Hanford was a nuclear weapon production area during the war.  It's decommissioned now (thankfully) and it's in the process of being cleaned up.  You can still take reactor tours but I didn't have my act together to get on one today.   Hanford is a pretty remote area but it fueled the growth of Tri Cities.

Tri Cities has a cool museum that talks about Hanford  and it's role in WWII.  The museum also has some interesting artifacts of prehistoric animals that lived in the area.

This boat is perfectly sized for me. 

Winter travelers from Canada. 

Canadian Goose Airways would do well here.

Whew, day one is complete.  Good thing I filled up on a healthy fish sandwich at Zip's Drive in.

Day Two:
Today is Veteran's Day (November 11th) and I missed the parade the National Guard put on.  They were packing up their equipment when I arrived.

It was pretty cold (never above 32 degrees today) so I decided to duck into a fancy hotel and rest in the lobby for a while.  I kind of blend into the chair eh?

This is an odd building.  Doesn't really fit into the architecture.  Now it's a Macy's but I wonder what it was in it's previous life?

How can you not like this picture?

After all of this adventuring I need a break.  Time for a glass of hard cider.  This is a place my roommates knew about.  It looks very industrial but kind of neat.

Blue Mountain Cidery.  These glasses are fox sized. 

In the back of the warehouse they were having a case sale.  Apparently, they bottle their own cider but made cider for other companies as well. One of the companies they partner with went out of business and they were selling cases of cider for about a dollar a bottle (a beary good deal).  

Being that I am always up for a back alley deal I bought a few cases.....perhaps I will share with my roommates?

Holiday Mail Call!

Happy Holidays!
I got some awesome mail recently. My spiritual coaches, Drunk Fox and Reindeer says that it's always good to get mail.

First up is a letter from Ajdin and his gang.  He doesn't even need a return address being that he has his own stamps!  Ajdin's secretary really is stepping up their game.

This is a great card.  I love the fox and so does Sequoia!

It looks like  his secretary got everyone to sign the card.  That's a hard task to complete.  Thanks Ajdin!

Next up is a card from Santa and his dog.

Oh wait, upon further inspection it looks like the card is from Droopy, Angus, Spunky and Patch.  From one Canine to another, thanks guys!

Finally, a nice looking card from bears in Minnesota.  I can always tell when it's mail from J & B.  In fact, I always look for their signature drawing on every envelope from the Midwest.

This is a great card with a cool bear on it.  He looks like a bear that is from the Midwest, all decked out in a snazzy sweater.  I bet he knows Jerry and Ben.

 Thanks Jerry and Ben.  PS- My spiritual coaches prescribe you two  lots of cookies, hot chocolate, and some fresh salmon to stay warm this Winter.


Thank you everyone for the cards.  I hope my cards arrived as well.

LF

Adventure time for a fox.

Oh, hi there.  I hope the winter weather is treating all of my blog pals well.  J and B is it snowing yet?

I was just relaxing on the roof of the car while my roommates get Sequoia set for our hiking adventure.  I am at a place called Coyote Wall. Coyote Wall is known for its wildflower display.  I wonder if any are left?

Before you make it to Coyote Wall you hike through a place called the Labyrinth.   This is not a traditional Labyrinth   but it's a beary calming place and certain faiths believe labyrinths are healing places too.  This is a peaceful place so I guess I have to agree.

The fall colors are out.  Yes, this blog is a little post dated. 

The fall colors really accent my fur. 

At a crossroads.  

Due to my excellent navigation and hiking skills I have lead my team up Coyote Wall to the top.  It's time for lunch, my favorite meal after snack time.   

To all of my friends I want to wish everyone a happy holidays.  Jerry and Ben, you two stay warm!!!!

A proper adventure and a proper lunch.

Hello Blog Pals,

Happy December.  This blog is a tad late as this adventure was in October.  The day looks great.  Lots of fall colors and you can even see something in the background.  What is it?

The trail is looking good.  Many trees and the sun decided to show itself as well. 

Ah, the mighty Columbia River.  If I followed this upstream I would end up in Canada.  

Should I rent a boat and head up there?  I wonder if there is a Timmy's at the mouth of the Columbia? 

Such decisions.  Best I sit and think about it for a while. 

Sorry Sandy.  No impromptu trip to Canada for me.  Instead I decided on some lunch.
Fish and Chips sound good.  Sigh, waiting in line at the Food Cart Fish and Chips stand is not this foxes favorite thing to do.  My roommates gave me a bit of dog treat to tie me over till it was our turn to order.

Ah, this is better.  A proper meal.  What?  This was meant to share?  I thought it was all for me.