Now That's Aged Cheese!

Some families stay in hotels when they go on vacation. Some rent houses. I grew up in a family that camped. Our first tent was an old canvas single-pole structure that had a wonderful musty, woodsy smell. Our family of five would crowd into it at night, the three of us kids wrapped in our sleeping bags, dreaming about the pancakes my mother would make in the morning over the fire on a big cast iron griddle.

Often that trip would be to the beach to spend a few days at Cape Lookout State Park near Tillamook, where we'd look for rocks and shells and wade out into the surf, always alert for the dreaded undertow or a sneaker wave. The freezing temperature of Oregon's coastal waters never deterred us, since all we had to do was wait until our legs went numb from the cold to spend hours playing in the waves.

Each trip would also inevitably involve trooping over to the Tillamook Cheese Factory to take a tour, the smell of sour milk permeating the air with its tang, and it always amazed me that this unpleasant odor could be associated with such a delicious end product.

And now I read on Tami Parr's most excellent blog that Tillamook Cheese is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year with a roster of events both at the creamery and here in Portland:

• Tillamook Anniversary Kick-Off Party. Feb. 6 at the Tillamook Cheese Visitors Center in Tillamook, 4175 Highway 101 N, Tillamook. 503-815-1300.
• 100th Anniversary Celebration. July 31 in Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th Ave., Portland. 503-294-9120.
• 100th Anniversary Celebration. Aug. 1 at the Tillamook Cheese Visitors Center in Tillamook, 4175 Highway 101 N, Tillamook. 503-815-1300.

So get out the tent and the griddle, throw the kids in the car and head to the beach. I promise they'll have lots of memories to bring back home.

Photos from Tillamook Cheese.