Wanderboomer

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

BY Nancy Mueller 10 Comments ON October 11, 2012

Foraging Fun with Jennifer Hahn

Author. Poet. Teacher. Naturalist. Forager. Jennifer Hahn packs an impressive resume after more than 25 years as a wildlife adventurer whose travels span hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Northern California to Canada and kayaking solo from Ketchikan, Alaska to Bellingham, Washington where she now resides. Along the way she’s also led tours throughout the Pacific Northwest, Baja, Mexico and the Galapagos Islands.

In person, Jennifer is petite, vivacious and down to earth – literally. Her passion for sustainable foraging fills her conversations and writings.

After publishing her first book, Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage, Jennifer began a second book about the foods in the wild that had kept her alive on her kayaking adventure. But as a steward of the environment, she felt morally responsible to include only those foods that wouldn’t be decimated by greater consumption, resulting in her book, Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine, and companion laminated guide, Pacific Coast Foraging Guide: 40 Wild Foods from Beach, Field and Forest. Included are her harvesting guidelines like the 1-in-20 rule when it comes to sustainable foraging. If there are more than 20 plants, you can dig one up and leave the rest for reproduction. If not, take none.

With Jennifer in the lead, we’re off for a day of our own foraging adventure to discover the diversity of tasty edibles found in our own backyards.

Hiking with Jennifer through the six acres surrounding the home she shares with husband, sculptor Chris Moench, is a walk on the wild side. She cautions us to watch out for stinging nettles before describing their diverse uses in cooking, fiber production and medicine.  Nearby we discover wood sorrel, a shamrock-shaped plant with a lemony flavor that grows in moist, shady places.

Further along Jennifer points out huckleberries, purslane, a plant high in omega 3 with a crisp, lemony bite that’s perfect in stews, and the licorice “many-footed” fern root, good for soothing sore throats. A self-described spiritual eater first, she demonstrates how to harvest mindfully and says “Thank you” to the plant for giving its life after breaking off a piece for closer inspection.

Our picnic lunch at nearby Lake Padden begins with Jennifer’s recitation of Rumi’s poem that starts, “Lord, the air smells good today . . . ” Newly inspired and satiated, we continue our day of foraging fun with an afternoon hike, gathering native trailing blackberries, salal berries and strips of madrona bark we find on the ground along the way.

But our day of sustainable food discoveries is not quite finished yet. Still to come is dinner at Ciao Thyme, a popular Bellingham kitchen restaurant, where restaurant owners Jessica and Mataio Gillis will show us how to create cooking magic with the fruits of our labors.   I can hardly wait . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? What’s your favorite recipe using locally sourced foraged food?

Filed Under: Activities, Alaska, Baby Boomers and Travel, Bellingham, By Land, By Ship & By Sea, Destinations, Food & Dining, Pacific Northwest Tagged With: adventure, adventurer, Alaska, Baja Mexico, Bellingham, Canada, edibles, foraging, fun, Galapagos Islands, huckleberries, Jennifer Hahn, Ketchikan, licorice fern, many-footed, Pacific Northwest, Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage, sustainable foraging, the Inside Passage, Washington, wildlife, wood sorrel

BY Nancy Mueller 6 Comments ON June 15, 2012

A Mountain Trek Hiking Retreat – Part I

Ever since James Hilton published his best-selling novel, The Lost Horizon, in 1933, the name Shangri-La has evoked images of an earthly paradise. What Wanderboomer wouldn’t love to trade the stress of daily life for a secret hideaway in a pristine, natural environment, a place where inhabitants have raised healthy living to a fine art, and live in a state of perpetual bliss?

Hilton set the stage for his fictitious, mysterious valley high in the Himalayas. But after spending a week at a hiking retreat with Mountain Trek in beautiful British Columbia, I’m convinced that Shangri-La has made its way to the Pacific Northwest.

On a previous visit to the area years ago, I had hopped a flight from Vancouver, BC to the province interior. Trust me, flying into Castelgar, British Columbia is a heady experience. As your plane dips towards the West Kootenay Regional Airport, a spellbinding scene unfolds outside the cabin window. Spectacular, forest-clad mountains embrace your aircraft in one gigantic surround vision for an unforgettable sight.

For this trip, I flew from Seattle into Spokane,  where Queen City Shuttle met arriving guests for our 4-hour shuttle ride to the health and fitness hiking resort. The view of the area from the ground was no less breathtaking than the aerial vista of my memory. Our van hugged the winding mountain road as we paralleled the long arm of the Kootenay Lake, before making our way up the final ascent to the Mountain Trek lodge.

Just steps away from a natural hot springs resort, the lodge provides a welcome haven far removed from urban mania.

But could this city slicker Wanderboomer disconnect from the world long enough to discover her inner core and shed a little baggage in the process? I was about to find out . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? How are you disconnecting from the world as you know it this summer?

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, By Land, By Ship & By Sea, Destinations Tagged With: B.C., British Columbia, Canada, health and fitness, health and fitness resort, healthy living, hiking, hiking resort, James Hilton, Kootenay Lake, Mountain Trek, Queen City Shuttle, Seattle, Shangri-La, Spokane, the Himalayas, The Lost Horizon, the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver

BY Nancy Mueller 8 Comments ON February 14, 2012

Shot on Location: 7 Movie Destinations for Valentine’s Day

Romantic Movies on Location

Travelers at heart can visit any one of several romantic destinations on Valentine’s Day in the click of an eye through the magic of movies. Cuddle up with or without your sweetie and pass the popcorn and kleenex . . .

An Affair to Remember

An Affair to Remember

An ocean liner headed for New York City sets the stage for this Hollywood classic starring Deborah Kerr (Terry McKay) and Cary Grant (Nicky Ferrante), with Fate and Destiny in key supporting roles. As an added bonus, you can enjoy gorgeous views from the villa on the French Riviera where Nicky’s wise and loving grandmother resides. Most famous line: “If you can paint, I can walk!”

Casablanca

Casablanca

Former lovers meet unexpectedly in French Morocco during World War II when “of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world,” Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) has to walk into his, Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart). The drama includes flashback scenes to happier times when they fell in love in Paris, together with a rousing rendition of the national anthem of France, “La Marseillaise.”

Dr. Zhivago

Omar Sharif (Yuri) and Julie Christie (Lara) are star-crossed lovers in this film set in Russia (though filmed in Canada, Finland and Spain) during the Bolshevik Revolution. Any movie that can romanticize an Ice Palace in the Russian countryside in the middle of winter is worth a viewing.

Lady and the Tramp

In case you think that only we humans hold the monopoly on romance, our canine counterparts will convince you otherwise in this Disney classic. Has there ever been a more heartwarming animated scene than when our main characters discover love at the end of a shared strand of spaghetti at Tony’s (Italian) Restaurant?

Roman Holiday

Audrey Hepburn won an oscar for her performance as Princess Anne who rebels against her royal duties by going undercover as a commoner in Rome for a day. After a memorable chance encounter, reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) soon realizes he has the scoop of the decade – and the love of a lifetime. Location shots include the Spanish Steps, Palazza Colonna, and Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth).

Notorious

Notorious

Rio de Janeiro takes center stage in Hitchcock’s brilliant tale of espionage, romance and betrayal. Cary Grant stars as Devlin, an American agent, who enlists the aid of Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) to track the Nazi ring operating in Rio after her father is convicted of treason. Love intervenes only to be pushed aside by the dutiful Devlin who throws her into marriage with Alex (Claude Rains), leader of the local Nazis group. Will Devlin find a way to save Alicia and himself by movie’s end? You’ll just have to watch the film to find out.

Sound of Music

“The hills are alive with the sound of music” while romance blooms between Maria, a young postulant at Austria’s Nonnberg Abbey, and Baron von Trapp, a widower engaged to be married. Cupid strikes when their eyes meet as the Baron leads Maria in a dance. Be still my heart . . .

Added Bonus!

I can’t help myself. I have to include one more travel film here:

The English Patient

The English Patient

Though this World War II drama is set in Tuscany and Egypt, several scenes were shot on location in Tunisia for a more realistic portrait of 1940’s Cairo. Viewing Ralph Fiennes in his role as Count Laszlo de Almasy carrying his beloved, white shrouded Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas) across the windswept desert landscape leaves me mesmerized every time. When he recognizes that she’s wearing the thimble (You have to see the movie), her reply, “Of course, you idiot. I always wear it. I’ve always worn it. I’ve always loved you,” says it all. Sigh . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? What travel movies would you add to my list for Valentine’s Day?

Filed Under: Activities, Africa, Baby Boomers and Travel, Brazil, Entertainment, Italy, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Russia Tagged With: An Affair to Remember, Audrey Hepburn, Austria, Baron von Trapp, Bocca della Verita, Bolshevik Revolution, Cairo, Canada, Cary Grant, Casablanca, Claude Rains, Count Laszlo de Almasy, Deborah Kerr, desert, Dr. Zhivago, Egypt, espionage, films, Finland, French Morocco, French Riviera, Gregory Peck, Hitchcock, Humphrey Bogart, Ice Palace, Ingrid Bergman, Italian, Joe Bradley, Julie Christie, Kristin Scott Thomas, La Marseillaise, Lady and the Tramp, love, Morocco, Mouth of Truth, movies, Nazi, Nazis, New York, Nicky Ferrante, Nonnberg Abbey, Notorious, ocean liner, Omar Sharif, Palazza Colonna, Paria, Princess Anne, Ralph Fiennes, restaurant, Rio de Janeiro, Roman Holiday, romance, Rome, spaghetti, Spain, Spanish Steps, St. Valentine's Day, Terry McKay, The English patient, The Sound of Music, Tony's, travel, Tunisia, Tuscany, villa

Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
For travel tips, news & inspiration in our Wanderboomer newsletter, subscribe here.

Destination:

  • North America
  • South America
  • Europe
  • Asia
  • Australia
  • Africa

Categories:

  • Business
  • Family
  • Purpose
  • Writing

© 2023 · Wanderboomer. Terms and Conditons | Sitemap | Contact · Site by Wordpress Barista