On the Go with NW Kid Chaser - NW Kid Chaser

Salem Sunday Streets...

8/26/2014

Salem Sunday Streets is coming to
downtown Salem in September!

Open to all ages.... Salem Sunday Streets is a fun, free, community event designed to promote healthy and active living by opening up city streets for people to play and explore together. This year’s event will feature: food carts, farmer’s market, music on a pedal-powered stage, interactive art projects, hula hooping, disc golf, yoga, and more...

Bonus: You can join a neighborhood bike caravan and get to Salem Sunday Streets in a healthy, fun, sustainable way!
Bike caravan routes lead from four Salem locations.
Routes can be found at http://goo.gl/0QIvXT.

Join your neighbors and enjoy the ride, Salem!

Minto Island Growers...

7/7/2013

All the neighbors met at Minto-Brown Island Park this weekend for a long bike ride and plans for lunch. Fourteen of us in all, we snaked through the twists and turns of the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather.

We began at the first parking lot (to the right) just inside the park entrance. Then followed the outside path along the river. After a brief stop at the playground, we continued on to where the trails meets the road. There, we had to ride on Fargate Avenue and then Brown Island Road (for about 1 mile) to reach Minto Island Growers.

Minto Island Growers has a produce stand, u-pick berries, and a food cart. We had an amazing lunch (and dessert) before riding back to our starting point.

This will be an even lovelier trip once the Minto Bridge is built. Come on Salem, go by bike!

Here's our general route:
Approx. 10 miles RT

Evening Market Magic...

6/6/2013

Tonight was the opening night for the
Thursday Evening Market at Broadway Commons.

My family's evening out included:

Yummy Crepes!

Balloon Art!

Get-out-of-town amazing dips!

Our favorite local coffeehouse in the very middle of the action.

Chess tables set-up for all those interested (and ready).

The fixin's for tomorrow night's meal!

Salemites can enjoy all this (and many other vendors)
every Thursday night, 4pm to 8pm, through September.

E.Z. Yum...

6/4/2013

It's strawberry shortcake time at E.Z. Orchards.

Yep... the Shortcake Stand is selling a bit of early summer heaven. Half an order was plenty for my eight year old and I to share. Just like the classic apple cider donuts, it makes for a yummy family snack.

After eating our fill, my family went into the Farm Market to get a few items. I like looking through this market as much as I like purchasing items. Somewhere between the strawberries and the celery, my oldest son spotted at Dragon Fruit. This was the first time we'd ever seen this food item and so immediately added it to our basket.

Returning home, I searched the internet to find out how to serve this fruit. Then, before slicing the fruit open, I asked each boy to predict what it would look like inside. Both boys were surprised when I unveiled the true center.

I scooped the fruit out and sliced it up for tasting. Close to a kiwi/per combo, I wouldn't say that this is a new favorite, but we were all glad we had tried it. Thank you to EZ Orchards for expanding our culinary world!

Eastbank Esplanade...

9/16/2012

For years I’ve heard of Portland’s Eastbank Esplanade, but have never had the pleasure of exploring the 1.5 mile path. Following along the east side of the Willamette River, the Esplanade officially extends from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge. Even better: there are a variety of connection to east-side destinations.

My family recently accessed this amazing bike path from OMSI. After enjoying a few hours of science museum fun, we jumped on our bikes and followed the path all the way to the Portland Saturday Market on the north end of Portland’s Waterfront Park. Highlights included the floating portions of the Esplanade path, crossing the Steel Bridge (on a level completely separate from cars), ice cream cones at Saturday Market, water fountains in Waterfront Park, and (of course) little boys who love to ride!

Here’s a bit of info for out-of-towners like ourselves. Free parking for your car, can be found just south of OMSI near the SE Caruthers Street Portland Spirit and Portland Opera offices. East access to both the Eastbank Esplanade and the Springwater Corridor are available. We rode just a bit of the Corridor near OMSI and found it to be mostly undeveloped. The railroad is on one side and the unmaintained river’s edge is on the other. That currently makes for a feeling of seclusion. The day we were there provided enough traffic that I felt safe – but generally, I would not want to take the path without my husband along for the ride. This was in sharp contrast to the Esplanade which was more open, visible from a distance and heavily in use. I felt very safe, as the path seemed expertly integrated into the urban landscape.

I recommend that all riders bring water, sunscreen, a bike-lock, and money for ice cream along the way. If you don’t have bikes of your own you can transport to the big-city: Never Fear! Kerr Bike Rentals is right along the way and has everything needed to set you up for the day (including tagalongs and bike trailers for wee ones).

Reading about the design and planning involved in this great bike connection (between the two sides of the river), I’m impressed by the undertaking. This project is an amazing model for other communities. The possibilities (and benefits) of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure await!

Thank you to Bike City, USA for a day of great family bike ride and for leading the way.

I-Pick, U-Pick, We-Pick Strawberries...

7/2/2011

It's been years since I’ve gone out to the field to pick strawberries.... but when a friend extended the invite,
my youngest and I grabbed some plastic containers and headed for Fordyce Farms.

Once in the rows, I had to ask myself, “Why have I not indulged in this outing more often?”

My inner-voice then responded, “Because bending over can be uncomfortable, the sun can bear down on us unmercifully, and the pesky juice can stain your fingers!”

But wait….. Surveying the cheerful families around me, I thought, “This is u-pick family-fun style NOT berry picking first-teenage-job style.” Oh, the difference!

As a family, you can meander down the row, picking only the best looking berries. As a family, you can hear your son yell “Jackpot!” when he finds a big one and “Come here little guy!” when he picks a small one. Family style, you can lift young children row over row and send them running to collect the flag marker. You can go early and leave early (before the sun grows strong). You can take pictures, sing songs, and generally enjoy the experience as an experience. It doesn’t matter how many pounds you pick, or how fast you pick, or how long you pick. It’s the ultimate lazy days of summer.

Of course,
the resulting
strawberry pie
is great too.

Now I’m looking forward to blueberries…

Cannoli or cake...

6/28/2010

My eight year-old son didn’t have a birthday cake this year. He had a birthday cannoli.

I realize that for some of you
that may seem odd, but that’s
only because you
haven’t visited the
Little Cannoli Bakery in Salem.

Tucked into the dark basement of the Reed Opera House, this fabulous little bakery has all sorts of delights. I haven’t yet tasted an item I haven’t adored. Often, when my youngest son and I are running errands downtown, I’ll stop in to the bakery specifically for a quick treat from the glass jars that sit atop the display case. For just $1.00, these treats are the perfect downtown shopping pick-me-up.

It was actually my fourth trip to the bakery before I ordered the namesake cannoli. The first bite confirmed that these are a little dessert from heaven. My past experience with U.S. - made cannoli have left me wincing at ‘too sweet’ filling and ‘not crisp enough’ cookies. This however is not a problem here in Salem. Little Cannoli Bakery gets it right; oh so right; right enough to be the perfect birthday treat!

And although this has nothing
to do with cannoli --
Take a gander at this great picture:

While I was ordering, my five year-old son took a seat at one of the small tables, opened up the Salem Weekly and studied it intently. Coffee shop and bakery surfing is surely in his future: I’ve taught him well.

Market Fun...

6/21/2009

Our trip to the Salem Saturday Market was rewarded with a pint of strawberries, a pound of fresh green beans, two zucchini squash, one delicious cake ball and BALLOONS for the kiddies!!

We discovered locally made butter –
Who knew?
Yummy stuff and supporting
local farmers -
We love that!

It was the busiest I’ve seen the market in ages and the variety of vendors was great. ‘Baloney the Clown’ made balloon animals for my boys and for my teenaged niece – a tiara made for a princess! Even this cool kid loved it.

Salem Saturday Market
Located at the State of Oregon parking lot
at the corner of
Summer and Marion Streets NE in Salem

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
www.salemsaturdaymarket.com

Not from Salem? No problem…
find your local farmer’s market here:
www.localharvest.org