One of the nicest things about moving back to the Northwest is reconnecting with some of our favorite people on earth. Today, we met Ben and Kate in Olympia to enjoy the Olympia Farmers Market and then have lunch together. Brian and Ben were roommates for part of their freshman year in college. The four of us have been friends for more than 20 years. That made for a really great day.
After an early breakfast of cereal with fruit, Brian and I got on the road and drove the two hours to Olympia where we immediately met Ben and Kate. We started at the Olympia Farmers Market. It is set up a more like the Cleveland West Side Market than a standard one day a week market, open Thursday through Sunday from April through December, but it is mostly fruits and vegetables, as opposed to Cleveland which is mostly prepared foods. Either way, it was fantastic. The plums! The apples! The pears!!!!! YUM! We got 4 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables. We shall eat very well for the next week on corn, lettuce, cucumber, green beans, broccoli, onion, celery, eggplant, pears, nectarines, pluots (!!), apples, mini-kiwis (!!), and a Hungarian bell pepper.
We left the food in the car, in a cooler we brought just for the occasion, then wandered the streets of Olympia. Ben found a flea market, which we perused until my nose started to run from all the dust. We found a used furniture store, which only seemed to sell new stuff. We did not get tattoos at one of the 4 different shops we passed, nor did we stop for lunch at a place that proclaimed, "Baby got Mac...and cheese". We passed a noodle shop, a crepe shop, several bakeries, and a pizza joint, finally stopping at Fishtail Ale Brew Pub.
The Pub was right next door to the brewery and there were several VERY local beers on tap. They used the beer as part of the base of a savory/spicy broth for a fish stew. Wow, it was fantastic! I followed that up with fish and chips (I know, that should probably be off the list for next week, but I missed it so in Georgia). Brian was great, having a felafel sandwich and a side salad. Kate had a fried oyster po-boy and Ben had a bratwurst with grilled onions. Everyone really enjoyed their food, and the beer as well. I'm a non-alcohol gal, so I enjoyed the iced tea.
After lunch, we walked back towards the market, stopping at a small cafe that served Olympic Mountain Ice Cream. That is a fantastic local ice cream which is not found outside of the Northwest. You will be happy to know that Brian and I shared a small bowl of Marionberry sorbet, which spawned a conversation about the former mayor of DC. I love our friends!!!
We sat around and chatted/people watched for another 1/2 hour or so, then decided it was time to go back home. We went and looked a cupcakes through a window, but they were not anywhere near as amazing looking as Cupcake Jones in Portland (that is a whole blog unto itself), so we skipped them. Ben thought pretty hard about it, but decided he wasn't up to the ribbing he'd get from Kate if he ate one. Brian and I laughed pretty hard at that. Have I mentioned how much we enjoy our friends?
The drive home was especially scenic, as we took highway 30 for the last part of the trip instead of I-5. I love back roads, and this one did not disappoint. It follows the Columbia river for most of the drive and was quite lovely. I was excited to discover that by taking this road, we missed all of the Portland traffic and ended up on the West side of the city, not 10 miles from our house. Huzzah! Oh, a funny note: Brian and I stopped for some caffeinated beverages before our drive home. About 45 miles into it, Brian cursed. I asked what was wrong and he mentioned that he got a latte. Um, latte means milk, doesn't it? Hee hee, I felt slightly vindicated for my incident with the non-fat milk earlier in the week.
Once we got home, we were a little snacky, so we had sliced plums, pluots, pears and apples along with some wheat crackers made with sweet potatoes and cinnamon and some peanut butter pretzels. It was just perfect and made a good ending to an OK food day, although one sadly lacking in green leafy vegetables for me.
All in all, it was a great day and a great end to the first week of the 8-week challenge. I'm very happy with the huge reduction in sugar and dairy consumption we made this week. We had very little meat (I am counting fish, but not completely removing it from my diet) and almost no cheese.
For the next 7 days, we'll continue focusing on the sugar and dairy, and try adding in some exercise (other than walking, we already do that daily). I'll also stay away from fish and chips. Just because fried foods aren't off the list of things to eat, it doesn't mean I should eat them quite as often as I did this week.
Wish us well for the next 7 days! Thanks for following this blog. Linda
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