Let's go

 Hiya Gang,

Little Fox here.  Cocoa and Navy were poking around Sandy's blog and noticed that I helped them put together a puzzle while I was up there.  They said the Oregon Coast looked cool and wanted to go.  We didn't make it to Seaside where the puzzle took place, but made it to it's neighboring town Cannon Beach.  The mice ordered up a great day.

Haystack rock is so pretty today.

A little more adventuring on the beach and we came across the local bakery.  Got some bread and they were giving out free cake.  Can you believe it, free cake?

No trip to the beach is complete without some fresh fish.

Oh, my these mice are tired.  Window shopping, walking on the beach and they mentioned they were also thirsty. I think I can find a place.

I hope the mice enjoy this cider.

Aren't Navy and Cocoa creative in how they accessed the cider?

Esteemed guests.

Hello Blog World, Baxter here.  Just preparing for our esteemed guests arrival with a few of the Christmas stuffies.  We have a little bear who has a Santa complex and Monsieur Mouse another Christmas stuffy.  These two are my welcoming comittee.

"Argg, my back".  

"I know, I know.  Where is Little Fox?  The customs agent told us to wait here and Little Fox isn't anywhere to be seen".

"Hiya gang, a little trouble with customs for me but I made it through without any problems.  Welcome to the US."

"Let's see where my pals are.  Baxter texted me and said he was planning a little arrival party."

Baxter here, let me do some intros.  I'm Baxter, this big mouse is Monsieur Mouse, and you must be Cocoa and Navy Beanie.  

Baxter here. I have been slaving away at a welcoming gift.  First is the cheese course. I hope you like it.

"Is that Tillamook cheese and Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese?"  
"Let's dig in," said Monsieur Mouse. 

 

After the cheese course we went straight to dessert.  Lemon Poppyseed Cake. 

Baxter went to get the ice cream while he made the rest of us wait for our dessert.

Holy Cow, they are arriving early!!!!

 Baxter here.  What is going on with Canada Goose Air?  Little Fox's plane is arriving soon.  I thought he would be spending more time in LA on his way back home, but just the weekend.  Time to get this place cleaned up.

Okay team, let's divide and conquer.

Drunk Fox: Clean up the kitchen and stock the fridge with healthy snacks.

Reindeer: Get to the store and get some good cheese. I hear LF is bringing some friends and they like cheese. 

Raccoon, Moose, and Bear:  Our visitors experienced trauma many years ago during a tsunami so I want you three to be on your best behavior.  Got it?

Me, I'll go back to the vacuuming and general cleaning.

Time to get the house in shape as the party is set to begin.

A quick downtown exploration

 Hiya Gang,
Baxter here today.  The weather has been so cooperative and downtown is so festive for the holidays it seemed like a natural activity.

First up is checking out the Christmas displays at the fancy hotels.  This is a nice tree. 

Every year the baking crew at the Benson Hotel do an elaborate gingerbread scene.  This is by far my favorite.  

Anyone recognize this castle?

Pioneer Courthouse looks majestic. 

The cities tree is decked out to the nines.

Of course no trip to downtown would be complete without visiting the roommates favorite public art. 

Hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly. 

Baxter's adventure in Tacoma (part 2)

 Hello Blog readers, as you might remember my plan to look for free public art by Dale Chihuly was not as fruitful as planner.

That's ok, this bear can readjust.  First, take  a brain break, time to play some pinball.  That ought to take my mind off of the failed exploration.

Ajdin would like this machine.

I decided to continue looking at free art and went to the Mcmenamins Elks Lodge in Tacoma.  McMenamins is know for lots of art to look at in their restaurants.

Ooh, a scavenger hunt.  This is right up my alley.

Nope, this isn't it.  Comfy chairs in the lobby :)

Nope, no little green men but I like the animals in the upper left corner. 

Argg, someone save me. 

Maybe I should go outside to explore. 

Aha! Found it. Time to celebrate with a beer. 

Wait, where the pictures? Well, you know....humans do I need to say more?

What a nice day, time to take a walk back to the bus station and head back to the cottage.

If you ever get a chance to vistit Tacoma you have to go. It's a beautiful city. 

This fox is hungry.  Perhaps the humans will stop at Burger Ranch for dinner?  According to this sign they have the best fish (makes sense, right???)

No Burger Ranch but we did get some great Vietnamese food at a local spot in town.  Plus saw some cool glass (not Chihuly) art lit up at night. 

Thanks Tacoma for a great weekend.  

Baxter's adventure in Tacoma

 Hiya Gang,
Baxter here. This post is a tad outdated (shocker) but I'm in Tacoma for Veteran's day weekend. First up is a night of German beer and food at a new German based beer pub in town.  I like the mugs but my roommates said they were too expensive to buy me.  Hmm, maybe after a few drinks they might change their minds....

Nope. No mug for me.  The next day we started bright and early and took the bus to downtown. The bus was pretty empty but that works for me as I got my choice of seats.  Today's  adventure is to find all the public (I.e. Free) Dale Chihuly glass around town.

Chihuly grew up in Tacoma and studied extensively in the area.  He has been instrumental in getting more glass artists to the area.  He's definitely a local icon. 

The humans found the tour online from many years ago.  It starts at the Tacoma Art Museum and I know this isn't a piece of Chihuly glass but it certainly speaks to me.  

Stop 1 is the Union Station.  There are like three or four installations inside but it's no longer a train station (it's the federal courthouse) so unfortunately it's closed on Saturday. 

The back of union station looks cool.  This bear wishes it was still a train station.

The bridge of glass is pretty amazing.  There are a few Chihuly installations. 

Here are a few professional pictures of the bridge. 

Next stop is the University Library to see a chandelier that he created.

Hey, where's the picture?  Well, of course the library is closed today.  Off to the Swiss Restaurant.  Rumor has it that when  Chihuly was installing some features nearby he and his team would eat lunch or have a drink after work at the Swiss Restaurant.  He liked it so much that he gave them some of his work to display. 

 

Hey, the restaurant closed during the pandemic.  Sigh, no glass art to view.

This bear needs to rethink his Tacoma adventure. Stay tuned. 

Baxter's choice part 2

 Hello Blog World.

Baxter here again.  Hope Halloween treated y'all well.  As you might recall my last adventure took me to the Tillamook State Forest and a nice fall hike on at the forest center.

30 miles west is the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Here's the old building (before the remodel). The Co-op has been around since the early 1900s and still owned by about 100 farmer families (wouldn't it be nice to be one of those descendants???).   

Goodbye old building, hello new. Of course there were a ton more people than this picture shows. The new building is nice, it focuses on 4 things: 1) Cheese making process 2) Ice Cream Sales 3) Food sales (think cheeseburger, grilled cheese, mac and cheese) and 4) Tillamook products to take home.

They were packaging cheese today which is unusual on a Saturday. Today they are packing their cheddar and their sharp cheddar. 

The line was moving pretty fast till break time at 2pm when the floor emptied.  That's ok, cheese workers need their breaks too. 

The pandemic has changed a few things at the tour.  Now the cheese samples are pre-packaged but they still have the free samples.  The humans and I were too busy collecting the cheese samples that they were not able to get any pictures of me. 

The line for the food was crazy long but the line for the ice cream was super short.  The heck with lunch, time to get some ice cream.  They have a ton of flavors but I settled on a 3 ice cream "flight" with Oregon Dark Cherry (gotta support the home team), Monster Cookies (think Cookies and Cream with M+Ms candy) and a seasonal flavor Campfire Smores.

No more time to blog, must eat before it all melts.
Baxter out.