Chocoholics

On July 2, 2009 Bob, Darwin and I took off in Snoopy again for about nine weeks. We began in Seattle where Bob was playing in a disc golf tournament (where he came in second in his division [out of 4]) July 4 and 5, with a practice day on July 3. We stayed with delightful friends Randy Signer and Jane Levine. On Friday I took a chocolate tour through the Chocolate Box (which I highly recommend to anyone who likes chocolate). The three and a half hour tour began at the Chocolate Box with some history of chocolate and the most amazing hot cocoa I have ever had. Some facts: 1) chocolate grows in a 20 degree belt around the Equator, 2) it's a very delicate tree, 3) the cocoa beans grow right out of the trunk and are pollinated by midge flies that can't really fly, 4) it doesn't self propogate because the cocoa pods don't drop and rot, 5) once the pods are picked they are left out to ferment for 7 days going from alcohol to acid to water, 6) once the seeds are freed from their mucilageonous coating, they must dry for 21 days (in the rain forest) which involves a lot of moving in and out, 7) the pods on a tree mature at different times and 8) a regular size chocolate bar only has as much cafeine as one cup of decaf. We then headed off for Theo Chocolates, the only organic, fairly traded chocolate maker in the US and the home of some wonderful, interesting flavors such as ghost chili, coconut curry (really yummy), where we were given a tour on how the cocoa beans are turned into chocolate bars. For all you health food nuts, chocolate has the second highest level of anti-oxidants of any food (so eat up). Then we headed to Oh Chocolate! through the Fremont district, past the statue of Lenin. An American history professor was in Czechoslovakia at the time of the fall of the Soviet empire in a village where they were destroying the large (i.e. 30' tall) statue. He was horrified at their destruction of history, but they pointed out that he hadn't had to live under communism. Instead, they sold him the statue for $40,000 and he paid $80,000 to ship it home to Seattle where he put it in his front yard to the consternation of his neighbors. Upon his death, his kids tried to sell the statue at the Fremont farmer's market. Needless to say they were unsuccessful, but ultimately the Fremont neighborhood donated a piece of property where the statue now resides where it is still for sale for $250,000. At Oh Chocolate we learned how to temper chocolate by getting our hands all gooey and dipping graham crackers and marshmallows. The Hawaiian lady who founded Oh Chocolate learned how to temper chocolate and during WWII would gather up local kids and teach them to get them involved and less upset after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The next day they would deliver their goodies. Lastly we went to Fran's Chocolates, the home of the grey salt caramel which is the Obama's favorite candy and given to all visitors to the White House. The story goes that when Barack was guaging a run for the president he came to Seattle to give a speech and was given a "Welcome to Washington" basket that included the caramels. Michelle popped one in his mouth as he went on stage and when he came off he asked her what it was and said it was the best thing he had ever tasted. I highly recommend the tour.

While the guys played disc golf I went to the Seattle Art Museum and its Asian museum, went to the Pike Place Market and wandered in the UW Arboreteum with Darwin.

On Monday July 6 we headed towards Ft. Flagler State Park at the far northeast corner of the Olympic Penninsula. In 1966 or 1967 I attended a Seattle Symphony music camp there. We parked Snoopy in the rain and walked to the fortifications, created around 1900 when the port at Bremerton was developed. There are three forts in a triangle guarding the entrance to Puget Sound. They were equipped with guns and search lights, but most of the guns were shipped out to Europe in 1918. The fort remained operational until 1963, but is now a state park. We drove over to Port Townsend to see it and to taste the beers at the Port Townsend brewery. They have 12 different varieties and you can put small glasses down on a placemat to indicate which beers you want to taste. The photo above is of the campground at Ft. Flagler from Port Townsend.