My actual 30th Birthday day was perhaps the best birthday I've had. Calls from family and friends, a fun day of celebrating (working out, field trip, 5-course dinner made by my best friends) and good food and company made me feel very special.
Normally my perfect Saturday consists of getting up and going to Yoga and Zumba. It's a great workout combination and starts the weekend off right. My normal routine continues with listening to NPR all afternoon, but I had other things to do today. A group of friends decided to take me on a field trip to many places I'd never been in Corvallis. We started off at Two Towns Ciderhouse just east of downtown on HWY 34, where we had cider sampling. Hard cider is the way to go; why would anyone drink beer when you can drink cider? From there we headed to Emmon's meat market where we saw all kinds of products I didn't know existed, had some more samples and confirmed that it's good to buy meat locally. Next we went back into town to the local rock shop that must be a front for a drug dealer (I seriously don't know how they pay the rent otherwise) and learned that the Sunstone is the OR state gem. We went on another couple adventures I won't describe here, but I will say it was a fun afternoon with friends that challenge me to push my limits.
That night my great friends Ryan, Rachael, Dana, Kevin, Karrie and David prepared an amazing French-style 5-course meal for my birthday, complete with wine pairings for each course. Kale chips and broccoli rabe crostini, butternut squash soup, tofu conchas, roasted duck with potatoes and greens, a salad and cheese course, molten chocolate lava cake with cinnamon... it was delicious, fun and the best way to celebrate 30.
The following weekend I was in for another treat... this time in New Mexico. I was picked up at the Albuquerque airport by a handsome man in a black car, driven to northern NM for a weekend of hiking, cooking, gourmet eating and red wine drinking, and, of course, cribbage playing. He even made me (yes, made from stratch!) croissants!
Dan's famous croissants
Hiking in Dixon
A surprise find along the trail
A sleepy Holden on the couch
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