Eastside School

There are really some fun treasures you find while driving around on back roads here in the Walla Walla Valley. I've driven past this little gem several times now as it is on the way back to my house after a drive in the countryside. I admire the bell tower every time we pass.

A Drive in the Rain

It's easy to do this time of year...go for a drive in the rain. If you're lucky, it will clear before you get back inside and you'll get a glimpse of a rainbow against the darkened sky. This shot was taken on a back-road in Milton-Freewater, amongst the orchards and farmhouses. I love driving in the countryside in each of the seasons for special reasons:

Spring: Everything is turning green and everything looks new.
Summer: It's much cooler among the fields, orchards and plants than it is in the city surrounded by cement, brick and asphalt!
Fall: The apples, pears, cherries, and plums are ripe and colourful on the trees.
Winter: The stark contrast of the dark, naked fingers of trees and vines against the white snow and grey skies is fun to photograph.

Davis Orchards

If you drive the back-roads of Milton-Freewater you'll pass more orchards than you can count, and it's impossible to figure out which ones belong to which orchard-owner. Davis Orchards is actually owned by the grandparents of a guy I went to elementary school with back in the day, and he actually married the love of his life here, in a clearing amidst the apple trees on a beautiful late summer evening. I pass this lovely entrance to their farm only occasionally, but I always remember that beautiful wedding when I do.

Where's the Other Half?

On this side of the building the windows are surprisingly intact, and the grey door you see on the right edge of the picture looks fairly new. Like I said in yesterday's post, someone frequents this place, but I never see them do it. While on a walk earlier this week I noticed the front half of a truck sitting outside this photogenic door. I wonder where the other half is, and why they are separated.

No Tresspassing

I'm sure at some point in this building's history this pipe was used to load whatever was stored in this cement structure into trucks that would transport it to wherever it was sold or used. (You can see another image of this building in yesterday's post.) Perhaps it was grain, or maybe it was sand for de-icing roads in the winter. Whatever it was used for in the past is apparently either defunct or has moved to something more high-tech and convenient, because no one uses this building anymore. No one except perhaps gangs and maybe a few homeless people who use it for shelter. I never see people there, but the junk sitting on the ground outside the building changes and moves, so I know someone frequents this place...

Feeling Small

This building is situated in the middle of a neighbourhood in "suburban" Milton-Freewater - if such a thing is possible. I don't know what it used to be, but these days it's simply an abandoned building. If the photo were edited just right I think it could resemble something along the lines of Chernobyl. "No Tresspassing" signs line its sides at eye-level, and any pane of glass that used to be intact in this building's few windows has long since been punched through with items surely tossed for that express purpose.

Country Drive 9

Welcome to Milton-Freewater! This water tower greets everyone entering the town on Highway 11 from the south. Thanks for joining me on this week-long drive through the countryside surrounding the town centers of Walla Walla, College Place and Milton-Freewater. If you joined us mid-drive, you can start from the beginning by clicking here.

Super Pizza

I'm not really sure what to think of the new restaurants that just went in along the main drag in Milton-Freewater. One is "SuperMex," the other is "Super Pizza." I think there might be a third but I forget what it is. There used to be a movie rental place and a Domino's Pizza located here, but both closed within the last year and a half. Within the last 3 months the buildings were fixed up, painted, and filled with these "Super" restaurants. I haven't tried them yet...I haven't had the guts to, to be honest...but at least the buildings look nicer than they did!

Welcome to Milton-Freewater

This water tower greets visitors and residents alike as they enter Milton-Freewater from the south side. Up until recently the painting on the side of this tower was a paint-brush style caricature of the Blue Mountains and a couple of trees and said, "Welcome to Milton-Freewater, at the base of the Blues." I noticed a couple of months ago that this new colourful sign replaced that old one, and I must say I like it a lot better.

View from Yantis

Things are just starting to turn green (this was taken at the end of March) and the trees don't quite have their leaves yet. This picture was taken from the top of the hill in Yantis Park in Milton-Freewater. At the bottom of the photo you can see the Aquatic Center, otherwise known as the only outdoor public pool in the valley (that I'm aware of!). It has a couple of slides and I've heard kids have a lot of fun at this pool during the summer. At about 11 o'clock to the pool is another noticeable building; I believe it is an elementary school, but I'd have to go back over there to refresh my memory.

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.

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.

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.