Jacobi's

This is a downtown restaurant that used to be a train station. When I first came to town for college in 2001, the restaurant was called Jacobi's. About two years ago the owner sold it and it was renamed "The Depot Grill," which in my opinion is a much worse name, but no one cares what I think! Recently it was resold to the original owner, I believe, and it is now Jacobi's again, from what I can tell. However the building still says otherwise, so I'm not exactly sure! This restaurant is an American grill, but they also make pasta. I've only eaten here once, because they don't have a whole lot for vegetarians.

Fall Colours 7

In spite of the cold weather, there are still a few sunflowers hanging on to life this season. These are at a museum in Milton-Freewater (I'll do a series of the museum soon).

Fall Colours 6

My husband and I went for a walk last week and I, of course, brought my camera. This tree caught my eye, with its festive berries brightly coloured against the blue-grey sky.

Fall Colours 5

Still holding onto some of its summer glory, this leaf on a tree outside my home is slowly giving way to the inevitability of autumn.

Fall Colours 4

Here is the produce section of Klicker's. I love the colours! It's so festive for this time of year. To the right of the picture is the ice cream shop where they serve ice cream made in-house. Behind me is the antique shop, which I didn't go into this time.

Fall Colours 3

On the east end of town, past the community college and before you get to Rooks Park, is a place called Klicker's. Famous for their strawberries in the summer, Klicker's also grows and sells Christmas trees in December and, as you can see here, pumpkins in the fall. We went with some friends and had a lot of fun walking around and taking pictures. With the pumpkins is also a large pile of hay you can climb, with a slide to get down again, and reindeer you can watch. They also have a shop where they sell produce, ice cream, and, randomly, antiques. I'll show you a picture tomorrow.

Fall Colours 2

I just love these trees with the light coloured bark. They are lovely in the spring and summer and gorgeous in the fall. I'm not sure what kind of tree this is...is it a birch tree? Anyone know? This particular tree is located on 2nd Avenue in Walla Walla in the La Quinta hotel parking lot. The brick building in the background is one of many downtown wine tasting rooms. This is a much bigger one in its own building; most are in small spaces amidst other shops and restaurants on the main streets downtown.

Fall Colours 1

In this large field there used to sit an elementary school called Rogers Adventist School. It's a field across the street from the Walla Walla University Church. A few years ago (3 now?) they tore down the old school and rebuilt it about 3/4 of a mile away, next to the Adventist high school called Walla Walla Valley Academy. The trees that lined the sidewalk in front of the school still stand, however, and they are gorgeous lit up in the evening sunlight in the fall.

Les Petites Noirs 8

This is one of the two owners of Les Petites Noirs. Unfortunately I did not catch her name, but she is very knowledgeable; Not only about chocolate, but also about wine and coffee. She apprenticed with a candy-maker in New York for a few years to learn her chocolate craft. Now, obviously, she runs a successful chocolate shop in a small town in Oregon. It's nice to have people from all over the world in our little valley.

Les Petites Noirs 7

Here is the promised non-truffle chocolate display. Here they have toffee and chocolate bark. The toffee is flavoured with rum, coffee, and other selected items such as nuts and fruit. The chocolate bark has pistachios, walnuts, craisins, and perhaps some other things I'm forgetting. I taste-tested some coffee bean toffee and enjoyed it immensely. Les Petites Noirs allows for taste tests, so make sure you take advantage of that!

Les Petites Noirs 6

This picture I took just for the brilliant combination of colours. This sitting area is behind the display of non-truffle chocolates, which I will show you tomorrow. What a cozy area to enjoy some of the shop's specialty hot cocoa with friends in front of a roaring fire.

Skywatch Friday

This is the Marcus Whitman hotel in downtown Walla Walla. It's probably the most iconic building in the valley, and is quite recognizable. I loved the colours behind this well-known landmark and was fortunate enough to get a red light and time to snap a decent photo. For more information on this hotel, check out these other posts:

Telephone
Looking Up
The Corner

Les Petites Noirs 5

One of my favourite parts of the chocolate shop Les Petites Noirs is the white piano used as a display area. It looks as though at some point it might actually be used as a piano, since there is a bench provided, but I don't know when/if it has been. Perhaps for a wine and chocolate event at the shop? That sounds like fun...if you drink wine (which I don't). Again, the colours are stunning.

Les Petites Noirs 4

An example of the chocolate shop's recommended pairings. This set, including a Pinot Noir (I didn't notice the date) and 24 truffles, sells for around $70. Not a bad deal in my book.

Les Petites Noirs 3

Their display case is small, but it houses some interesting truffle flavours: Oak Chestnut, Lavender Vanilla, Chili Pepper, Apple Pie, and - no I am not making this up - Beet. Les Petites Noirs creates its chocolates to pair with wines. They taste local wines and pick up flavours in them that would make interesting truffles. They are happy to recommend wines to pair with their chocolates.

Les Petites Noirs 2

Upon entering the chocolate shop Les Petites Noirs, one is immediately greeted by a beautiful shade of turquoise. The shop's signature colours are this blue and the red you see on the boxes. as you might notice, this shop used to be a house and was renovated to become the chocolate shop. The shop itself is quite small; the rest of the house is used, I believe, to make the chocolate.

Les Petites Noirs

Les Petites Noirs is a gourmet chocolate shop in Milton-Freewater. It was featured in a Northwest travel magazine (I can't remember the name of it!) last year, along with chocolate shops in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland. I've visited this shop twice: once over a year and a half ago, and the second time just last week. This time I took pictures. It's a beautifully colourful shop located on Main Street (aka Highway 11) in Milton-Freewater. I hope you enjoy your tour of Les Petites Noirs this week.

New Bakery

Recently I tried a new bakery in town. It opened in Walla Walla around 4 months ago and a friend of mine works there, so I had to go check it out. It's the Walla Walla Bread Company and I highly recommend it! They do fresh-baked pastries and bread items, such as bagels, muffins, cupcakes, scones, and more, as well as loaves and rolls. It not only tastes good, it smells amazing when you walk past the door. It's even better inside. The prices aren't bad, either. I got a large loaf of white bread for $3.75. And it's wonderfully delicious. This bakery is located on East Main Street downtown. If you're ever in town, check it out! I'm told they will soon be offering caramel apples and hot apple cider to celebrate the season. And when you're there, make sure to tell Melissa hi!

Skywatch Friday

Fall is here! I love it when I see the trees changing colour for the first time of the season. It makes me smile every time, because autumn is my favourite season. This lovely tree resides in the Wal-Mart parking lot...but you wouldn't know it from this picture! (And yes we only have one Wal-Mart, so it is THE Wal-Mart.) I had to snap a shot of the early fall sun shining through the beautiful colours of this little tree.

For the Dogs

This is the valley's only animal shelter, the Blue Mountain Humane Society. My husband and I got our dog there, and my sister adopted a cat from them, as well. I am one of those who will never buy a purebred dog because I don't understand 1) why someone would pay that much for a dog, and 2) why someone would pay that much for a dog when there are thousands of dogs that are going to be put to death because people won't adopt them. And yes I feel strongly about this. Though if you really must have a purebred dog, one in four dogs at Human Societies is purebred. The Humane Society does much good for the cause of dogs and cats across the country, and as a dog person, I appreciate any organization that does what it can to save the lives of adorable canines whenever it can. Support your local Humane Society: Donate cat and/or dog food, and adopt from them. They can only handle so many animals, and those that they have are in dire need of a loving home. Stop by today!

For more information on the Humane Society and to find one near you, visit their website at http://humanesociety.org/. You can save the life of an adorable animal like this one.

Autumn in the Country

Sadly, the quality of this photo is less than what I'd like it to be. I was the only one in the car (aside from an infant) and had to take the shot through my window as I was driving. I wanted to capture what the valley looks like at the beginning of fall. This picture was taken in mid-September, looking toward the Northeast. Those hills are the base of the Blue Mountains.

Discovery

I took a drive with my daughter a few weeks back. We went out into the fields of the countryside surrounding Milton-Freewater, since there is so much of it to explore. I tried to take roads I hadn't been on before, and it seemed to work well; I found this road closer to town that is occupied by houses that are obviously owned by well-to-do families. This one caught my eye, as I thought it was quite beautiful. It has a nice size lot, as well. In order to not raise concern (people taking pictures of houses these days tend to rouse suspicion), I snapped a shot as I drove by the property.

Another Winery

Since I don't drink wine, I'm terrible at noticing and remembering the names of the 250+ wineries around the Walla Walla Valley. This one is located near Stateline Road (the dividing line between Washington and Oregon) on the southern (Oregon) side of the road. I liked the colour of their main building, and the fact that it doesn't look overly fancy such as most other wineries do.

Blue Devils

This is Walla Walla High School. The locals call it Wa-Hi, hence the abbreviation on the building. I'm not sure why, but their mascot is the Blue Devil. Whoever thought cheering for the devils would be a good idea should be evaluated for mental stability, but here we are. Fortunately I'm not a sports fan (and don't know too many people attending Wa-Hi), so I'm exempt from rooting for the devils. Wa-Hi is the city's only high school, which is a constant cause for debate in the political circles. With over 30,000 people in Walla Walla alone, and another nearly 9,000 in nearby College Place, the need for a second high school is growing by the year. Though across-the-border Milton-Freewater has its own high school, that doesn't cover any of Washington's students. College Place boasts a private high school (Walla Walla Valley Academy - known to the locals as WWVA, pronounced Wah-Vuh), which is associated with the Seventh-day Adventist church. However, many local families cannot afford private school (or don't want to send their kids there for one reason or another) so they are left with only one option. As the city grows and develops, Wa-Hi continues to become over-crowded. Hopefully soon we will have another public high school in Walla Walla.

Welcome

This is the entrance to one of the valley's 250+ wineries. I forgot to write down the name of this one, but it is located to the east of Milton-Freewater. As you can see, the grapevines go on and on and on... Maybe one of these days I'll take a drive down this little road and see what the winery itself looks like.

Skywatch Friday

Another shot snapped quickly from the car while going 60 mph down the highway. Not my best skywatch shot, I will admit, but this week I'll take what I can get. I'm tired! The sunsets around here during field-burning and forest fire season are phenomenal...though I wish they could be this beautiful without the smoky air and the destruction wrought by wildfires. Every season we have them throughout the Blue Mountains to the east of the valley...at the end of the summer they are worst due to the dry summer and everything starting to dry from the inside and die off for the winter.

Hay!

Sorry about the title of this post...I couldn't resist. These fields used to be covered with hay. By now all of it has been cut and baled and stacked - just like this. These large bales are, I think, 500 pounds each. They are the medium-sized bales. Other bales are a quarter this size and weigh around 100 pounds; the larger ones aren't bales - they're rolls - and I'm not sure how much they weigh. They are around 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Perhaps they weigh 2000 pounds, I don't know. Can any farmers out there correct me/inform us?

Lonesome Road

This really looks like something out of the Arab deserts, doesn't it? No, it's just a dirt field on the east side of Milton-Freewater, with the brown hills in the background. This lone tree caught my eye as I was driving around the back roads. The Little Miss and I were out on a drive in an attempt to lure naptime to her. It worked, sort of. We were out for an hour and she slept for the last half of the drive. It was a nice day, so I didn't regret it. Most of the fields around here are wearing their winter browns by now. Everything has been harvested except the orchard fruits, which are currently being harvested. In this area we have mostly apples, but some orchards yield pears or cherries. This tree, however, is not a fruit-bearing tree. I'm not sure what kind it is, actually. Anyone out there want to venture a guess?

Class in the Orchard

I was driving down a country road east of Milton-Freewater when I spotted this school bus parked at the edge of an orchard. I have no idea why it's there, but it sure caught my attention!

Thai Ploy

Last year a Thai restaurant opened in Walla Walla. Over this summer, it closed for three months for renovations and a change in management. I also heard rumours about mismanagement and the second co-owner coming over from Thailand to take over, but I don't know if they were founded in fact or gossip. At any rate, my husband and I went on a date night at the newly reopened restaurant (which had changed its name from Thai City to Thai Ploy), and found that it was in fact new and improved. This is what it looks like now. It's a beautiful restaurant and they serve fabulous food. My favourite is their curry, but everything I've tried here has been delicious.

The Wine Valley

The Walla Walla Valley is well-known for its grapes. There are over 200 wineries in this tiny valley alone, with more cropping up every day. Walla Walla Community College has its own viticulture program, with a gorgeous building to go along with it. I've been doing this blog for over a year now, and have yet to post a photo of a winery. So here is the first one. I believe this is a house turned into a winery, with grapes planted all over the several acres surrounding the buildings. This one is located to the east of Milton-Freewater. I didn't catch the name of it, unfortunately.

Main Street Spill

A couple of weeks ago while I was getting in my car after a brief afternoon shopping trip downtown, I heard car horns honking. I turned around and in the intersection behind me was a unique sight: A Coca-Cola truck had lost a case of soda, sending Sprite and Coke bottles bouncing around the road. Several people nearby hurried into the intersection to get the pop out of the way of traffic. Within a minute everything had been picked up and a minute later the driver reappeared, obviously embarrassed. She thanked everyone for their help and loaded up the case to take back to her truck down the street. I'm glad I had my camera right there at hand!

MF Frogs 12

We have come to the end of this Milton-Freewater Frogs series. There are more in town, but I don't have photos of them yet, so they will have to wait a little while longer. Besides - we're tired of frogs by now, I'm sure! This young lady just went shopping in a little boutique that also houses a mini salon. It's a two-story shop (which is unique to this area, as far as I know) full of beautiful and fashionable trinkets and other dust-catchers. It's a fun shop to browse in.

For more information on the MF Frogs, check out my first MF Frogs post.

MF Frogs 11

I'll bet you can guess where this frog is! He guards and welcomes folks to a local barber shop on Main Street in Old Town Freewater. I'm not sure what hair a frog would have to cut, but he looks happy at his post, so who am I to judge?

For more information on the MF frogs, check out my first MF frogs post.

MF Frogs 10

This adorable little frog family resides outside Saager Shoe Shop on Main Street in Old Town Freewater. I actually didn't notice the little guy the first time I walked past them, but it made me smile when I finally saw him!

For more information on the Milton-Freewater frogs, see my first MF Frogs post.

Skywatch Friday

Catching the moon with my camera is never easy, because it's just a point and shoot digital - nothing fancy. I liked how this turned out, though...probably my best ever moon shot, even though it's still slightly blurry. This photo was taken while driving down the highway between Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater. You can see the Blue Mountains on the horizon, and a farm in the foreground. The moon was just about to slip behind a small wisp of a cloud.

See more great skywatch shots at the Skywatch Friday website!

MF Frogs 9

Another in our Milton-Freewater Frogs series, this lovely lady sits waiting for her Prince Charming (see the reserved sign next to her on the bench) outside what used to be a bar. It is now a place called Boop's Family Diner, but I'm not sure I'd take my family there - it still looks a bit questionable.

MF Frogs 8

"The Stitch Nitch" is a sewing supply shop that also offers alterations and tailoring. This is the frog that sits outside the shop on Main Street in Old Town Freewater.

MF Frogs 7

This frog is in front of a "Curves for Women" on Main Street. I should have taken the shot sideways so you could see that she's holding out her jeans to show how much weight she's lost. "Curves" is a weight-loss center for women only. It's a cute frog.

For more information on the frogs here in Milton-Freewater, check out my very first MF Frogs post.

MF Frogs 6

Another in the series of frogs in Milton-Freewater. I took several more shots a couple of weeks ago, so this week we're going to take a look at the frogs on Main Street in Old Town Freewater. This one is outside of what used to be a sewing and vacuum shop. I believe the shop is gone and the space for rent now.

Stormy Wedding

This is the house at the location of the wedding for which the car from yesterday's post was used. The weather was a bit iffy, but the rain held off at least through the ceremony (I was unable to stay for the reception so it could have rained then, I suppose, though it didn't at my house). The house is beautiful, as are the grounds. It's a place called Mill Creek Gardens and it is located about a mile past Rooks Park in Walla Walla. The wedding was lovely, too, and I'm glad I was able to go.

Old Timer

This is a beautiful old car that was used as the "getaway car" at our friends' wedding. I can't tell you anything about it, really, so if anyone knows what it is or any interesting facts about this model, do share! The wedding was held at a place called "Mill Creek Gardens," located about a mile past Rooks Park in Walla Walla.

Skywatch Friday

We actually get a couple of rainy, cloudy days every summer. They are rare and far-between, but we do see a couple every year. I love rain, especially in the summer, so I was happy to spend a day under a sky that looked like this.

See more skywatch shots at the Skywatch Friday website!

WW Frontier Days #8

As we close out our Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days series, here is my favourite shot from the event. The ride on the left is a fairly fast ride, I believe it's called the Zipper. You ride in the cages and the entire arm spins. The cages themselves rotate on a bar, so as the arm turns, the cages also spin. If you've got the stomach for it, it might be fun! Thanks for joining me at the fair this year. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, so hopefully I'll go again next year and get even more.

WW Frontier Days #7

I don't remember the name of either of these rides (I didn't go on them, and we didn't really spend much time in this section of the fair), but they looked quite bright and cheery against the darkened, stormy sky. The ring puts people in what looks like a roller coaster car and spins them up and around, and of course they go upside-down at the top, and of course it stops there for a few moments. The tall tower seats people around a ring, facing out, slowly takes them to the top, and then drops them straight down. VERY frightening, if you ask me! But then, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to fair and amusement park rides. I'll take the bumper cars, thank you! Oh, another note - the green flag on the ring ride is the Washington State flag. It's green and has a portrait of George Washington, America's first president. (Kind of boring, actually.)

WW Frontier Days #6

The YoYo is one of the few rides I might consider going on at the fair. All of the rides are collapsible - as in they are constructed IN a semi-truck and when the fair is over, they are collapsed and become the truck itself. On some rides you can see the back of the truck at the side of the ride - it's part of the ride's construction! A work of engineering genius, I guess! I'm not much of a ride-rider, but this one looks kind of fun. It doesn't go too fast - at least, not from the ground! I'm sure it feels faster when you're on it. I just liked the colours of the ride, brightened in the setting sun, set against the dark sky.

WW Frontier Days #5

More produce from the competition. A lot of awards were given out, and I missed the actual judging, so I don't know what kind of criteria they had, but it was nice that so many won something. Or, it's frustrating that so many won something, depending on how you feel. The colours of the freshly grown produce just really caught my attention. And there were some odd-shaped ones, too! Interestingly enough, the green squash at the top in the center of this photo were submitted to the competition by the people from whom we purchased our house. What small town!

WW Frontier Days #4

This adorable little rabbit seemed quite content half in and half out of his Quaker Oats tunnel. I'm not sure if he was doing the ostrich thing - sticking his head in, thinking all of him was hidden - but he was definitely cute. He was one of dozens of rabbits of all types, colours, and sizes. The rabbits were in a building with the chickens, ducks, geese, and even a couple of peacocks. Most of the entrants (if not all of them) were kids.

WW Frontier Days #3

"The Great American Duct Tape Contest." That's what this garment fit for a rodeo queen was created for. Quite lovely, if you ask me, and I'd say definitely worth first place, which it did indeed win. Other entries included flip-flops, wallets, and random trinkets. With all the colours you can get duct tape in these days, the competitors had plenty to choose from.