Discover Walla Walla

I was early for a doctor's appointment one Monday morning. It was early, and Walla Walla hadn't quite finished stretching and yawning yet, so it was fairly quiet. Inspired by the rare winter sunshine, I parked at the west end of Main Street and grabbed my camera.

Zipping up my coat, I took a deep breath full of sunshiny air and headed east. Along the way, I snapped a few photos: a couple of the onions that decorate the sidewalks as a recent local art project, the façade of Macy's, which used to be a theatre, and the small park that breaks up the long line of shops and restaurants about halfway down on the south side of the street.

A glance at my watch told me I should probably head back to my car, so I crossed the street and headed back the opposite direction. Only two blocks left to go, I stopped at an intersection to wait for the light to change. As a couple of cars rolled by, I was joined at the corner by a man probably in his late 20s.

As we waited there together, listening to the "beep, beep, beep" of the newly installed crosswalk for the visually impaired, he glanced at me, smiled, and began talking.

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I was a junior high/high school science teacher in my previous life/career. When the family and I headed North from California I got the crazy idea to cook for a living (more like enacted, I had the ‘got' part a long time prior). I liked teaching and was pretty darn good at it, but the siren call of the sauté pan was too much to resist.

I loved summer vacation, as do all teachers. There was a saying that the bad teachers really liked to laugh at "what are the three best reasons to teach?... June, July, and August." In the catering world we are just ending "June, July, and August" and the real work begins again. Oddly enough, during this ‘Summer Vacation' my previous life has resurrected itself; I am teaching two classes for the culinary program at the junior college. It is a kick in the pants to teach what I love.

Here are my students for the quarter. Six individuals I get to mold and influence (hopefully for the good!). They have made tremendous progress in only six weeks. This week in a five hour class they produced:

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Many moons ago back in high school, I remember reading about the Great Depression and the increased demand for luxury items such as alcohol, tobacco, cosmetics and silk hosiery. These items had little decline in sales and at times sales were even greater during those difficult years of American history in 1929 to 1933. Having that knowledge, during our recent development of the American economy, it made me reflect back to the Depression era. With the chance of history repeating itself, it gave me hope that wine sales will not take a nose dive. But, we may have to re-think how we purchase wine.

After daily chores and long work days filled with stress, we need to have a bit of self-indulgence and a reminder of why we work so hard. If you are a lover of fine wine, and especially wines produced in the Walla Walla Valley, there are affordable treasures to be found featuring great value without sacrificing quality. To name a few local labels, look to the wines of Balboa, Boomtown, Couvillion, Helix, Lowden Hills, Mannina, Walla Walla Village Winery and Waterbrook for wines priced $25 and under. Also, check out the table blends that several Walla Walla wineries are offering. Satisfying and well-constructed unique red blends for under $20.

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Our Say's Phoebes are back. (I say "our" only by way of description. We lay no real claim to them.)

Since we built our barn back in 2005, they've nested in its rafters each year. They arrive mid-February (much earlier than the books say they will) and depart when I threaten to shoot them (an empty threat) in early September. By then, parents and chicks are flying around all over the place, pooping on everything in sight-the backs of our porch chairs, the porch lights on the cottage, the gate railing and its latch. The dogs are tired of chasing them. Even BC, the barn cat, has given up her quest to snatch one from the air while they're mobbing her. So they're free to poop wherever they like, unchallenged except by me and I'm no challenge.

They arrived February 18-pink-breasted and feisty. The female is checking out nest sites, but will probably choose the same place she's chosen every year, the rafter right above my car. You guessed it, more poop. While she looks for accommodations, her mate pesters BC, trying to establish some ground rules before the babies are born-probably April. Both fly up and down the fence lines in the evening, driving the dogs crazy. It's a little game they'll play each night until the dogs tire of it.

Annie and I are glad to see them.

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The 13th annual Tour of Walla Walla bicycle race is approaching, and event organizers are in high gear planning mode. Four stages will be contested over three days from April 17 to 19.

The race has become a major community event. Five hundred lycra-clad racers and their entourages converge on Walla Walla from all over the northwest. Though riders come from all over the U.S. and even the world, the majority are from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana or British Columbia.

The downtown "criterium" is a popular spectator event. The riders circle around a one-mile loop multiple times for a set amount of time. It's fast and furious, requiring superb bike handling skills in a tight fluid pack. This year the crit as racers call it will be Saturday night under lights, lending added excitement for racers and spectators alike.

Participants are divided into groups by experience, ability and gender. Race distances vary by group.

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