This glass definitely half-full
My Uncle Hoot called me up the other day. Something I wrote a couple of weeks ago reminded him of a road trip he took with my grandparents – his older sister and her parsimonious husband – to Salt Lake City back in the day.
They must’ve really wanted to go there, because my grandmother always maintained that, as a member of the flying public, even if you had to go to hell, you’d have to go through Salt Lake City first.
They were cruising along on their own steam and when the time came to settle in for the night, they made inquiries at some sort of discount motel chain. The fee quoted for the night totaled a blistering $40 or so, and here’s what my grandpa had to say about that: “I can’t sleep that much.”
Let that be a cautionary tale to you to choose your road trip partners carefully.
For instance, not everyone would drive across the state to poke around in some glass artwork. But if you happen to be so inclined, I bet you could scare up a few friends, call yourselves an “organized group” and thereby qualify for Pilchuck Glass School’s Spring Group Tours.
Available May 6 through 13, the two-hour visits take in the Stanwood, Wash., school’s award-winning studios, where you’ll get an up-close look at glass blowing and a rundown of Pilchuk’s history and future.
Not only that, you’ll get a chance to pose all your glass-blowing questions to the artists themselves.
The celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly founded the school with a couple of associates in 1971.
According to Pilchuck’s Web site, artists from around the world make their way to Stanwood “to teach, to test new ideas, to learn and to expand their artistic and creative horizons in the company of others who share a passion for art while coming at it with diverse perspectives and artistic modes.”
For at least two hours, you can get a taste of all that fancy art talk for $30 per person. If you’re a collection of seniors or students, on the other hand, the price drops to $20 each.
Your group can be as few as 10 and as many 45. To start organizing a tour, get online at www.pilchuck.com or call (206) 621-8422, ext. 36.
Against the grain
My father was a journalist, so I got plenty of instruction in what constitutes “news” around the dinner table.
Consequently, when I get a news release informing me someone has turned a grain silo into a guest room, it gives me pause.
All the same, it seems like a clever idea, so I bring it to you.
The proprietors of Abbey Road Farm, 82 acres of sustainable family ground in Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, opened their bed-and-breakfast for the season on March 1 with five guest suites to offer you.
Housed in two formerly working silos already on the farm and another imported from Battle Ground, Wash., the suites come complete with radiant floor heat, Jacuzzi tubs, heated towel racks and views of a nearby vineyard, wetland habitat or a “quaint” red barn across the valley.
You’ll have your breakfast in the original farmhouse kitchen, and then you can pitch in with farm chores – picking fruit and milking goats, for example – if that’s what you’re into.
More citified folks may prefer to take in the views over a glass of pinot noir or stroll through the English garden.
Rates for all this bucolicism start at $195 per night based on double occupancy. You’ll find additional information at www.abbeyroadfarm.com or (503) 852-6278.
Regional events
•Art in Bloom, through Saturday, Victoria, B.C. To celebrate the “art in gardening,” the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria offers up floral demonstrations, lectures, 25 works from the gallery’s permanent collection and more. ( www.aggv.bc.ca/ 250-384-4101)
•Cycle Only Days, April 1–17, West Yellowstone, Mont. Take the park for your own, before public automobiles and buses descend.
The routes to Madison Junction and Mammoth Hot Springs will be open. ( www.visitmt.com/ 406-646-9691)
•World of Kokeshi Dolls Exhibit, April 7-22, Portland. You’ll see three types of Japan’s folk dolls: traditional, “creative” and wooden. ( www.travelportland.com/ 503-223-1321)