Arrival & Check-in, Welcome & Introductions, Orientation, Southern Oregon Coast Food History

Arrive To: CHECK-IN: At Lighthouse Depot from 2:00pm-5:30pm.

After you receive your room assignment, you will also get an arrival packet containing your name tag(s), up-to-date schedule, and other important information we will review during orientation this evening.

The daily schedule that follows is an outline of what has been planned. Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to weather and other local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible.

Dinner: Dinner is a buffet in the Empire Café (dining hall) with a variety of choices. Grandparents are responsible for supervising their grandchildren in their selections.

The college food service is supervised by the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute (OCCI) and offers opportunities for OCCI students to work under the direction of industry professionals who produce tasty and healthful meals made from scratch everyday.

Evening: WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS: Meet the program staff and begin getting to know your fellow participants and culinary adventurers.

ORIENTATION: We will have an informative overview of the program including a review of the updated daily schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, your gear, and answer any questions you may have.

PRESENTATION: Learn about food history along the Southern Oregon Coast going all the way back to ancient Native Americans.

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Dinner

Rock Fishing, Cooking & Cleaning Your Catch, Cooking Demonstration, Enjoy Your Fresh Caught Fish Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: FISHING FIELD TRIP: Fishing Along the Beautiful Oregon Coast. We will board a 20-person capacity fishing boat with a comfortable cabin, staffed by an experienced and helpful crew. We will spend the morning cruising in waters 60-200 feet deep and from 1 to 2.5 miles offshore. Everyone will be fishing for Blue Rock Fish, Black Rock Fish, Cabazone, Quill Back, Tiger Rock, Yellow Tail, Vermilion, China Rock, and Ling Cod. You will also have opportunities to see kelp pads, reefs, pinnacles, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, sea birds, and a commercial port.

Lunch: Returning to land, we will have lunch back on campus.

Afternoon: HANDS ON COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Experienced chefs of the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute will lead a cooking demonstration where the pros will show “grands” how to prepare fresh fish for a delicious menu. After the demonstration, we will clean the fish we caught and prepare salt-encrusted filets under expert guidance.

Dinner: Dine on the delicious fish dinner you helped prepare.

Evening: INFORMAL TIME: Spend the rest of the evening continuing to make new friends and talking about what you enjoyed most out on the water this morning. Get ready for another full day tomorrow with an early start!

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Winchester Bay Field Trip to Catch Salmon & Crab, Cooking Demonstration, Enjoying Your Fruits of the Sea

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: We will have an early departure for Winchester Bay/Salmon Harbor at the mouth of the Umpqua River. At the dock, we will divide into small groups and hop aboard fully outfitted fishing boats that provide cozy seating for 4-6 people, all equipment provided. The field trip leaders are professional fishing guides who have worked along the Oregon Coast for many years. We will have opportunities to catch salmon and crab as we fish from a 1-5 mile radius from the mouth of the Umpqua River.

Lunch: We will return to land for a picnic lunch along a lake.

Afternoon: HANDS ON COOKING DEMONSTRATION: An OCCI chef will demonstrate methods of preparing the morning’s catch of salmon and crab. In addition to the entrée, grandparent-grandchild teams will learn how to prepare appropriate side dishes to accompany this delicious meal.

Dinner: Dinner features the salmon and crab you caught this morning and helped to prepare. Enjoy!

Evening: PRESENTATION: The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission will lead a presentation about the Dungeness Crab and the Oregon Fishing Industry. INFORMAL TIME: Spend time with your new friends and share your favorite highlights. It's been a busy day and you may want to make an early night of it. Get a good night's sleep for a day in the field.

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Blueberries! Blueberries are not just tasty, they are big business in Oregon. In 2011, more than 300 growers harvested more than 65 million pounds. Blueberries contain a load of vitamins and minerals and have all sorts of health benefits.

We will travel to a farm in the Fairview mountain valley of Coquille, explore the farm and learn which berries to pick by color and the best gathering techniques. Then spend a beautiful summer morning picking delicious Southern Oregon Blueberries. You can eat berries as you pick them, but be sure to save as much as you can for this afternoon’s demonstration.

Lunch: Enjoy a picnic lunch.

Afternoon: HANDS ON COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Back on campus, we will learn about jams and make jams you can take home to enjoy with family and friends. In addition to making jams, tonight’s menu calls for homemade berry pies for dessert. As OCCI's chef's will have fun demonstrating how to prepare oysters.

Dinner: Top off dinner with some of the scrumptious blueberry pies you helped to make.

Evening: INFORMAL TIME: What did you have the most fun doing today?

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Farmers Market, Ecological Farming, Cooking Demonstration Featuring Local Produce

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Farmers Market. This local institution is popular with visitors as well as residents. Local growers from farms in the surrounding areas offer seasonal produce as well as honey, baked goods, berries, and wares from May until late October. Meet vendors and members of the community as you look for ingredients for your dinner salads.

Lunch: Lunch

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Ecological Farming. We’ll go to a family farm on the banks of Floras Creek near Langlois that produces more than 100 varieties of vegetables, berries and fruit for local restaurants, grocery stores, food banks, a community-supported agriculture program, and the farm’s own stand. We will meet the owners who will share their passion about ecological farming practices and learn how they use cover crops, compost, and crop rotations instead of synthetic fertilizers and sprays. You may be amazed that they do most of the work by hand to raise apples, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, basil, asparagus, summer squash, and more. Here you can pick raspberries, strawberries, and vegetables to enhance the dishes for tonight’s menu.

Returning to campus, OCCCI's chef will demonstrate the various uses of the greens and berries you picked and will demonstrate how to use them to add flavor to your dishes.

Dinner: Enjoy the fruits of your labors and more!

Evening: INFORMAL TIME: By now you've gotten into the rhythm of Southern Oregon, a very special place.

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Organic Gardening, Road Scholar "Oregon Chef" Competition, Dune Buggy Excursion, Farewell Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Explore OCCI’s organic garden that was constructed in 2010 and now supplies fresh produce for the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute and SWOCC Dining Services.

HANDS ON: “Oregon Chef” Competition. Test your skills in a friendly competition. Each grandparent-grandchild team will be given a basket of foods used in menus during the week to create a three-course meal. The dishes will be presented to three judges, who will announce the first-ever Road Scholar “Oregon Chef”!

Lunch: Each team's delicious dishes will be their lunch .

Afternoon: EXCURSION: Dune Buggy Ride. Relax after the competition with a scenic Oregon big dune buggy ride that covers up to 10 miles of shifting, rolling sand dunes.

Dinner: Farewell Dinner/Dessert in the OCCI Lobby.

Evening: INFORMAL TIME: The program is coming to an end, so enjoy this last evening in the company of new friends and, of course, "grands"!

Lodging: Southwestern Oregon Community College

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Empire Cafe, on campus.

Morning: The program concludes after breakfast.

For your convenience, check-out from Lighthouse Depot will be 9:00am-11:00am.

We hope you have enjoyed this exciting new program and will return for other rewarding Road Scholar learning adventures in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!

Meals Included: Breakfast