Geek out

Hello Internet.  Did you miss me?  Believe it or not I was doing homework.  I was in Oregon and Washington working on my MA paper and visiting my little sis with my research assistant, my mom.  The original documents of the two missionaries I am writing my finest work as a graduate student are housed at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA so I kidnapped my mom for the week.  We spent a fair amount of time in the archives of the library.  We visited some wineries.  We gawked at the people and the vegetables at the farmer's market.  We had a jolly good time.

If I may geek out a bit . . . I've been enamored by these women since my first semester as a grad student.  To hold their journals -- the ones they wrote in 1836 -- in my hot little hands was such an experience.  We sifted through letters written on onionskin that was so thin they looked as if they might disintegrate.  We touched these documents -- without gloves!  My mom brought a stack of magazines to read while we were there thinking she would be bored.  The woman has been equipped with her pencil elucidating illegible words and filling in gaps of the story since we left the library.  I dare say she enjoyed the research more than I.

One of Eliza's letters. Sigh.

Comparing my stenographer's copy of the journal with the original.  No person has ever been this excited to be in the basement archives of a library. Ever.

This is the site of the Whitman Mission where they lived and where they were eventually murdered.

Walking the permitter of the Mission house and site of the massacre.

Oregon Trail.

Name says it all. This is where they buried all those killed by the Cayuse Indians in 1847.  Narcissa was the only woman killed.

After our time spent in Walla Walla, we headed West to see Jules!

 

She is quite the tour guide -- wineries seem to be her specialty.  It's no wonder we're related.  

The girls talking about ice crystals and pinot noir.  They're so savvy. 

Lovely. Can I take one of you home?

After the tour we had lunch on the patio.  The cute little waiter boy tucked my research assistant in extra tight.  Snug. As. A. Bug. In. A. Rug.

The next night we packed a picnic and listened to live music at another winery.  Oh, and drank more wine.

The only thing missing was Heather. 

Something I might love more than wine: FARMER'S MARKETS!  

We had a fresh, vegetarian meal beginning with radish toasts (these were the Easter egg variety -- cute, eh?!).  They were both skeptical in the beginning, but no radish toasts remained.

Romanesco.  Looks like a Thai temple. 

Clockwise from the temple: roasted romanesco, new potatoes and peas with fresh dill, baby squash with parmesan, radish toast fit for the Easter Bunny, garlic scapes (or whistles as they call them in Oregon), and quinoa. A meal worthy of some sort of temple.  

Last but certainly not least, sexy Rexy.  Don't hate her 'cause she's beautiful.