Videos of our adventures in Neah Bay

Morgans have a heritage of enjoying our free time in the outdoors. There are so many amazing things to see when you're out and about like this. Featured video snippets will include some of those great experiences, which we hope you enjoy.

↓ "Even grandma has more guts than you, mom." —Connor

↓ "Got it... got it!" —Jodi
We had an amazing experience when porpoises pay a close visit to us.

↓ "He's purty!" —Jodi

↓ "There's a knucklebuster!" —Dave

Patty and her catch on the knucklebuster pole.

Returning to Neah Bay...

:: Check out the slideshow ::

We’ve returned from another successful trip to Neah Bay and can’t believe how quickly the time flew by. Such a memorable trip though!

For the first time in Connor’s life, Patty fished with us in the ocean! We tried to remember the last time she fished in Neah Bay and it was before Connor was born. It’s truly amazing she’s made the turnaround she has. Her health over the past few years has been so poor and words can’t describe how excited we were to have her join us out there for a few days.

The Chinook (King) salmon eluded us, but they eluded everyone so we didn’t feel bad. The Coho (Silver) were fun to play. All in all, we wound up taking home 47 salmon, of that total only one nice Chinook that Brett managed to get out.

We switched things up a bit by mooching. For the mooching technique, you use plug cut herring and toss your line out and wait for the nibbles. Set the hook and reel them in. This was a fun change because the motor is off (when the tide is right) and you can hear everything around you. A pod of porpoises would appear right off the boat and entertain us for several minutes. I caught some video of it and will try to figure out how to get it online.

Our usual mode for salmon fishing is trolling. For bottom fishing we changed things slightly there as well. We did some casting and it was a blast. The sea bass were right on top in the surf and would “hop on” right away.

After a day of fishing we like to have a fish fry back at camp with the fresh bottom fish we’ve caught. We get the tempura and panko ready and fire up the deep fryer and then Brett cooks them until they’re golden brown and delicious. Out of this world!

We had a Morgan derby going too, for whoever caught the largest Coho, largest Chinook, and largest Lingcod. Brett won the largest salmon category and I won for the Ling.

Connor has really gotten good at ocean fishing. I have to remember he’s only ten and will be marveled at how well he catches fish. He’s following in the footsteps of his dad nicely.

We’re returning.

We want to come back in August and play the Cohos. We certainly don’t need the fish, but they’ll be even larger than what we had this month and maybe we can hook into more Chinook!

This August trip is not going to be all about the fishing. Nature hikes are going to dominate the adventure so we’ll fit in maybe 2 days of fishing. I hope to capture a lot of photos from this upcoming trip!

Below is a slideshow with music that I hope you enjoy. It was again, a truly memorable trip enjoyed by all and we feel so blessed to have had it!

Fourth of July...

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Happy Independence Day, all! We hope yours went safely and was fun. This was the first year in many that we've been in town. When I think back, the last time we were in town for the 4th was when Connor was a baby. Normally, we are up in Neah Bay at this time, however, we are off to a later start than usual, which was actually nice to be around here.

We were invited to a party by some good friends, The Eakins. We arrived with the grill ablaze cooking up hamburgers and hotdogs and a full spread of a variety of dishes others had prepared. Everything was delicious and the cold beer was great too!

The kids had a blow-up water slide to play on and it was quite tempting to be honest. As a child, the grandest our waterplay ever got was a sprinkler or a slip-n-slide in the yard. This water slide was awesome and the kids were having a ball. Later they broke out into a water fight with balloons and water guns, which then led to buckets of water and even the adults got into it -- it was pretty entertaining to watch!

The weather was perfect, although hot. It was 88° here and we were thankful for the strategic placement of the awnings outside. Sun set and we were then graced with a great variety of fireworks.

I learned something...

Fireworks are hard to photograph.

They're difficult to focus on.

I should have used a tripod.

I'll get better at this next time.

View the slideshow and you'll see the pictures taken from this fun-filled day.

Days to celebrate...

For my birthday, my wish was to share a nice steak dinner at home with family and it was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s ! Did you know my husband is the best griller? He can make the best steak, every time — No restaurant can top him!

It was a Father's Day celebration as well, and we enjoyed the company of Leah, Dave and Patty over wine and good conversation throughout the night.

With the steak (filet mignon - my fav!), we had baked potatoes with the works and steamed broccoli and of course, paired with our favorite cabernet sauvignon. I didn't want to go the usual birthday route with a cake, so I made homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert with a large dollop of freshly-made whipping cream. Heaven!

Hoping you had a great Father's Day with yours too!

Some shots of nature

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We took a drive today at the Kapowsin Tree Farm near our house. Saw lots of deer and even a newborn, as well as some elk!

(Now all I need is a new teleconverter to extend my shots)... will my wishlist ever end?

I love Spring!

Originally uploaded by Jodi Morgan

Where have you been all this time, Spring? I don't care, I'm just glad you finally showed up!

...now if we could just have you stick around longer.

A break for Spring...

:: View the slideshow from this trip ::

April is already upon us, can you believe it? Seems like we just celebrated the new year. Time seems to fly by so quickly.

We headed south with the camper down the Oregon coast. What a spectacular place. I don't know why, but their beaches are so much more beautiful (to me) than Washington's. Maybe it's because they have sand and we have rocks... who knows?

As it turned out, the weather, however, was not our friend. Lots of rain, tons of wind and a short bit of hail. One day, just to get out despite the weather, we tried to go for a drive and ended up returning back to camp because we couldn't see anything. It was too foggy and miserable.

We wound up staying inside the camper for two straight days and then wound up returning a day sooner than planned. The trip was worsened when my back started wreaking havoc on me. Due to having to remain inside the camper, it was difficult to get comfortable, which caused a great deal of pain and was another reason for us to return home sooner. I could barely move and was miserable.

On the days we did manage to get out, it was nice and we took it all in whenever we could, so that is why you're able to see some of the shots that were taken while we were out.

I don't want this to sound all negative. All in all, it was WONDERFUL to get this week off to explore and Oregon is the best place we've been to yet for camping. We hope to be heading there again in the summer when the weather will be nicer!

What to do with razor clams...

Welcome to my cooking series! Well, not really.

I'm a little bored lately. The weather here has not been cooperating and mother nature is a bit confused. We've had snow, sleet, sun, hail, wind, and rain... did I miss anything? Being cooped up at home makes it difficult to find different ways to take photographs—and I must feed my creative side, so why not do it over some meals, right?

This linguine dish is great if you happen to have some delicious razor clams on hand. I have made this in our camper many a time, but we enjoy it at home too.

It's healthy, tasty and almost fat-free to boot. What more can you ask for?

Ingredients

6 Roma tomatoes
1 large lemon
1 lbs. razor clams
1/4 cup pine nuts (I use 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. lemon pepper
Parmesan cheese
Capellini pasta (we prefer whole wheat, but you can use your favorite). A small pasta like Angel hair goes great with this dish.

Instructions

1. Fill a large pasta pot with water heat the water to boiling.
2. Take your 6 Roma tomatoes and dice them up.
3. With your razor clam meat fully cleaned, dice them into small pieces.
4. Add the diced tomatoes and diced clam meat to a large skillet or stock pot.
5. Slice your lemon in half and squeeze the juice from each into the clam and tomato mixture.
6. Now add garlic, pine nuts, basil, parsley, lemon pepper and heat to boiling. Do not cover.
7. Lower the temperature from boiling and let the tomato and clam mixture simmer until the juices are cooked down to a sauce base. It will be somewhat of an orange-ish color tone. Remember, do not cover.
8. With the pasta pot boiling, now add your pasta and cook accordingly.
9. Drain your cooked pasta and add to the dinner plate.
10. Gently ladle the tomato clam sauce atop the pasta.
11. Top with a pinch of parmesan (Grano Padana preferrably)
12. Fill a wine glass with some Chardonnay and enjoy this fresh-tasting dish!

:: View the slideshow ::

The best salad... EVER

If you're anything like me, you can't eat the same thing day in and day out. This salad, however, is the exception. I never get sick of it and it's delicious every time—and I make it everyday for lunch at work.

First, I cannot take credit for this. It was served over dinner at Patty and Dave's on one occasion, and I loved it instantly.

Although I don't know the formal name of it, I like to refer to it as Mandarin chicken salad. I'm going to share with you how you can make it at home.

Take any (bagged) salad mix and place in a bowl.

Now for some grilled chicken breast.
For a one-person serving, I like to use 2 oz.

This chicken is sold at Costco and is cooked and ready-to-eat.

Shred the chicken out into many bits and pieces
and add to your bowl.

Next come the craisins.
I'm calorie-conscientious and use 1/2 oz.

Sprinkle them over the chicken in the bowl.

Now the Mandarin oranges join the party.
I use 1-2 oz.

Distribute evenly to the bowl.

We're almost done. It's peanut time.
I use 1/2 oz. of these.

Distribute atop and add your favorite oriental sesame
salad dressing and you got yourself some magic.

I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I do!

Oyster harvesting and other news...

On Valentine's Day, Connor, Brett, Dave and I ventured out to the Hood Canal area, just on the other side of the bridge to take in some oysters and Manila steamer clams. We were grateful to be shielded from the winds this trip, as all of our past it has been quite treacherous. The weather was so kind to us, I was able to actually get in some pictures.

Piled up driftwood

Oyster bed

Close-up: Periwinkle on an oyster

Close-up: Mussel on an oyster

Dave getting ready to enjoy a fresh one.

Brett and Connor in search of oysters.

The bounty harvest



Connor thinks that if grandpa can eat a raw one, he can too!
He didn't like it so much after all, but only because of the sand.

A seagull with a clam. What they do is fly above and drop them over and over until they break and then eat.

Other news
Leah was having some continued cloudiness with her vision that her doctor recently remedied. Her eye was operated on to clear this, as well as some scar tissue. The doctor was pleased with the work he did and said she looks great, so she's on the recovery path once again administering an eye drop regime frequently throughout the day. Her vision should be restored to normal and we are astonished she's been able to turn around like she has! It really goes to show you how good doctors help with your success.

We'll enjoy some of these oysters we harvested over dinner at her house on Monday!

Patty and Dave are enjoying retirement and have been busying themselves every day. Their highly-anticipated visit to Arizona is only days away now. They'll leave on February 25 and return March 11.

Lastly, the economy. What a downer it has been, right? Lay-offs are all over the news, in fact, our employer will be doing some as well. Anticipating "who will go" and whatnot has been stressful for folks. We just keep our noses to the grindstone and try not to let it get to us. Morale is at an all-time low and I'm certain this is not any different where you may work. We hope this surge in unemployment and weakening in the financial industry recovers soon. We're hanging on as much as we can and hope we won't have news to the effect that one of us has been "let go." Here's to keeping our fingers crossed!