Archive for the ‘Washington’ Category

Been here, done that but you always find something new

Sunday, September 18th, 2022

We decided to spend the weekend in Spokane rather than moving to Coure d’Alene mostly because its only 15 miles to the next dealer for Paul and its free and very quiet at night here at the dealer.

Spokane Valley has a very nice river walk along the Spokane River. We have walked it many times and ridden our bikes along it. One of the trailheads is very close to where we are staying so one evening we decide to take a walk; drive down to the parking area and proceed. As we are starting down the trail to the river another couple is dancing around and come towards us telling us there is a snake! Nope, I don’t do snakes and the lady told us they saw 2 on their short walk. We have never seen snakes on this trail. I know it is very dry here but this is so close to town. There was no way I was walking this trail today, besides we had Teddy and who knows how he would handle a snake! So we take a nice walk on the sidewalks and when we are returning to our car I offered that we walk up to the overpass so we can at least see the river! Just as we are approaching the overpass I look to my left and in the weeds is a giant snake stretched out! Are you kidding me. So much for an evening walk. We found a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a margarita and a full Mexican dinner complete with rice and beans and LOTS of cheese.

The weather is spectacular so we spent Saturday in Historic Spokane enjoying the Riverfront Park. We have enjoyed is several times before and the waterfalls right in town are beautiful. They are doing a lot of improvements so seeing the falls is tricky right now but they have lots of other things to see. Today they were having a car club show. Not too many cars but it was fun to look at how nicely they care for their hobby.

I just liked the flag that was lowered in the background. Not much wind so you couldn’t see it from this angle too well
My favorite because of the mini truck on top with M&M guys

They had an area that was a sister city park garden. Small but they have a lot of sister cities, Ireland, South Korea, Japan and a couple others.

Native America A Salmon
Japan

They also had a harp from Limerick, Ireland but it was inside glass and a photo just wasn’t possible.

Garbage Goat, for real

The Garbage Goat serves a real purpose although they have him sort of hidden in the park. He has been eating garbage from visitors for more than 40 years. He was installed as part of the 1974 Worlds Fair after a lot of flak from the Goat Association. He actually vacuums the trash right out of your hand. This little boy stayed for my photo after he was trying to get the goat to eat a grande plastic cup from starbucks. The goat couldn’t do it – his opening is small. (I think its so you don’t get your fingers swallowed).

My favorite Art in the Park was the Giant Radio Flyer Slide.

Poor Teddy! He had a lot of trouble with the stairs – they are for 2 legged children
Never thought I would see this
Teddy wants down! NOW!

It was a nice day and I got some walking in. It’s been a struggle trying to get my body back in shape. Some days I hurt in way too many places but then I’ll walk and feel better – Got to get my head into it.

When in the Islands

Tuesday, September 13th, 2022

Anacortes is near the San Juan Islands, in fact it is known for it’s ferry’s that take you to the different islands. You can reach it from land north of Seattle or by Ferry which we did. Anacortes has a very nice harbor area and a downtown with lots of restaurants and fun little shops.

Love the watering can

We have been here several times and with all the shopping I did while we were in Sequim I did not need to get inside anymore gift shops so we took a ferry ride to Friday Harbor. This was also just a boat ride and lunch. Of course it involves Ice Cream.

After leaving Teddy for so long the last boat ride I wanted him to come along and I knew we could find outdoor dining. He is suppose to stay outside on the ferry

Teddy doesn’t think that is a good idea! It’s cold and windy out there and besides there is a perfectly good chair right here in the front so we can see where the boat is going.

Friday Harbor is pretty small and has a small downtown right where the ferry drops you off. Plenty of eatery’s, ice cream and trinket shops. I did find a very nice gentleman that allowed me to try his wines without paying the tasting fee! It was good but too expensive. We wandered awhile, found ice cream and wandered some more. The ferry was a long way off as they are having trouble with staffing. We thought we would go back on the 4:30 boat but there was no 4:30 boat so 6:30 was our time. Dinner on the harbor was very nice. I had a crab BLT that was amazing although it could have just been a Tomato sandwich as the tomato’s were to die for – tasted right out of the garden. They were from a local farm but still!!! It wasn’t cheap $34 but it’s only money and we probably won’t eat out at least for the rest of the week!!!

Teddy was so good. He has been a bit skiddish about noises and things but he slept on the ferry and while we had lunch he slept under the table until someone said something about “going”.

The ferry before ours
The view of the harbor during our dinner

Our 6:30 boat was late and we did not leave Friday Harbor until after 7 pm. I am so happy we brought Teddy along.

Another successful trip to Washington State. There is a lot of beauty here and the weather in August and September is perfect.

Moving on to Annacortes

Saturday, September 10th, 2022
Wooden boat festival

We have been having beautiful days. Yesterday afternoon the sky started changing and we could smell smoke in the air. This morning we woke to very hazy skies. Today we boarded the ferry to Anacortes and in Port Townsend they were having a wooden boat festival and there were lots of boats cruising and lots of people arriving by ferry – glad we were going the opposite direction. It would have been fun to attend but I’m not a big fan of crowded venues anymore.

We made it safely to Coupeville and to our RV destination for the next 3 days. Paul has a bit of work to do on Monday and then we will head towards Spokane. I’ve been seeing lots of news about fires so hopefully we can avoid too much smoke.

Olympic National Park, One more time!

Friday, September 9th, 2022
Lake Crescent

One more trip to the Park, this time to a perfect lake, Lake Crescent with its pristine waters and many places to stop and enjoy a swim if you are inclined. The lake is a glacier carved lake so the water is unpolluted and so clear.

I tried to take a photo of how clear
Kayak, Canoe, float, sunbath….

We drove around the lake, or at least most of it till we were on a gravel road that kept getting narrower! The lake is beautiful and very accessible to enjoy.

Picnic anyone? My favorite photo this week

Canada, just across the Strait

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

From Port Angeles you can take the ferry to Victoria; We went for lunch. It was a little work to be able to board the boat. You had to go on the night before and register and prove your vaccination status, load your passport info and then you get a scan that you have to bring with you. Then when you get to the ferry in the US they confirm that you have everything you need before you can board. The boat ride was very nice but then when you get to Canada you have to stand in line for about 20 minutes to present your passport which has all the info that you uploaded to them the night before. It takes all day! We left home about 7 am and got home about 5:30 pm. It was a perfect day and lunch was fun. We had lunch at Redfish Bluefish which turns out it is a first choice among the locals. I found it on Yelp and it was walking distance from the ferry. Turns out its right on the pier in a shipping container. Walk up ordering only and a few bar seats if you are lucky – we were! The fish dog was great – a fish sandwich on a hoagie roll. Paul had fish taco’s which were huge.

Besides lunch we walked around town until my feet hurt!

houseboat city
Fun plant sculptures
Now that is eye catching!
The Empress Hotel
The water taxi – we watched these run across the harbor

If you look closely you can see the 3 planes that are part of the water airport. Paul knew the names; de Havilland Otter and the de Havilland twin Otter. We watched many of these take off.

Coming home you go through US customs in Canada before getting on the ferry but then you have to present your passport in WA also and declare (again) any big purchases you made! That process was pretty fast but seemed redundant. We had a great day but it was too long to leave Teddy home. We won’t do that again for awhile!

Vacation week

Wednesday, September 7th, 2022
Sequim, Washington Such a fun spot

We arrived to our spot on the Bay right outside of Sequim Washington and it could not have met our needs better; A restaurant, bar right across the street, the bay with a beach Teddy can run on and only a couple miles from Pickleball, coffee, and shopping. The Olympic National Park is right here also.

John Wayne Marina

The RV Park is across the street from the Marina and there is a very nice walk along the docks with a beach for beachcombing. Teddy loved being able to run on the beach and get his toes wet!

We took a drive up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park on Saturday. It was beautiful and a little crowded but we were able to see what we wanted. As we were driving up the mountain there was lots of fog hiding the valley views

The fog is burning off as we reached the top
The view from Hurricane Ridge Parking area

We had a very nice lunch with this view and then took a short walk. We don’t get to hike much as I just can’t yet and we can’t bring Teddy – he has to wait in the car

Port Townsend is only about 20 miles away. We have been there and spent a night once. It is a very cute, hippy sort of town. We took a drive there and enjoy the views

Teddy and some new friends
Looking out at the bay
The Ferry from Port Townsen/d takes you to Coupeville, WA

Coupeville is on Whidbey Island where we will be going next.

People watching in Port Townsend

Sequim is known for its Lavender Farms which were started in the 90’s and now is known as the Lavender capitol of North America. They only get about 16″ of rainfall per year but because of the Mountains and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca they get a lot of humidity that helps with keeping there forest areas growing.

Lavender Farm

The farms are not large and they all have a gift shop. They make lots of oils and fragrances along with the t-shirts and expensive gift items. We missed harvest time but then there were no crowds. I bought some lemon shortbread cookies that had lavender. The taste was really good but they smelled like soap.

lots of flowers grow well here

Dungeness spit and National Wildlife Reserve is the other attraction in Sequim. Sequim is known for Crab and we see lots of crab nets. The spit is a 5 mile sand bar that leads out to a lighthouse which we did not get to visit. The only way out is to walk on the beach, preferably at low tide or take a private boat. From the Wildlife Reserve it is a 1/2 mile walk through the forest to get to the spit and then it’s 5 miles out! We may have walked a 1/2 mile on the beach but mostly just went out to hang out!

Paul walking on the driftwood
follow the beach for 5 miles and there is a lighthouse at the end
That’s the lighthouse

You can actually stay in the lighthouse and then they will bring you out. Paul’s sister Cindy did this a while ago!

We have been busy while we have been in Sequim. This was the perfect place to come.

Not all State Parks are a homerun!

Wednesday, August 31st, 2022

We arrived at Dash Point State Park which is right on Puget Sound and they brag about their pier and beach. Usually I love State Parks as they get you close to nature and away from other campers. We chose this one because they had full amenities which we thought it was going to be really hot (forecast says 90 today!). Driving to the Park took us along the sound and it was so pretty and then we arrive at the Park, no water view but lots of trees. Ok, I’m excited to enjoy some nature while Paul works. We get to our site and we are parked right next to a family of I don’t know how many – they had to move their car out of our site so we could park! The site on our patio side is right there with nothing between us! This is more like a RV Resort but no laundry! Oh well, its only a few days.

Then the RV that will be occupying the site on our patio side shows up! He will be here all week also. He is very chatty and keeps coming around asking if his music is bothering me! The music is not too loud and I would rather not here it all day but his asking every hour is bothering me!!! Oh well, its only a few days and we have been in tighter quarters before.

We decide to walk to the beach and quickly realize there is no easy way there; walk across the road and continue down the road to the day use area – straight down for almost a mile! I won’t be doing that. We did find a trail from the campground but it is narrow, along a cliff and straight down also!

This week won’t be what I thought but we have plenty of electricity and the water pressure is good so TV and long hot showers in a State Park is a perk you usually don’t have in a State Park. The internet isn’t great but its useable.

Friday we head to Sequim WA for a week of vacation! A new area to explore.

Really big peaks

Sunday, August 28th, 2016

Mt. Rainer,  a beautiful day and I’m back in Washington.  Paul moved south of Seattle while I was visiting San Jose.  It is like aiming at a moving target when I need to buy a ticket and fly home.  The trip home was great and Paul enjoyed his bachelor time I am sure.  At least the house looked good when I got back.

Mt. Rainer

I returned to Washington and we had a beautiful day so why not take a hike.  We actually didn’t really hike because we brought Duke along and you can’t take dogs on any trails in the National Parks.  It was a free day so we figured it would be too crowded to really hike and we were right.

mt-rainer3

mt-rainer

We did get to see the mountain and it was beautiful.

pauldukeWhat is it they say, “pets start looking like their owners? or is it owners start looking like their pet?”

Our time in Puget Sound

Tuesday, August 16th, 2016

We are parked in LaConner, WA which is right on Puget Sound.  It is beautiful here and we are getting perfect weather.  We arrived back in Seattle on Friday and brought Amy & Nick with us to his dads house in Mt. Vernon which is very close to LaConner.  Before we could get them home we had to stop in Byer and pick Duke up from the dog sitter.  Duke was over joyed to see us but quickly went to whoever would throw the ball, of course!  Loyalty always.  We arrived at Nick’s Dads home and enjoyed there beautiful patio for a light lunch!  complete with a delicious dessert.  The calories never end.  We finally made it home about 2 pm and I promptly headed for the bed.  I slept for about 2 hours, got up, sat in the chair and headed back to bed before 6:30 waking up at 7:30 am Saturday morning.  I was beat and felt like I was getting a cold.  The good news is by Sunday I was feeling fine and we took a drive out to Whidbey Island to visit a nephew who is stationed at the Naval Base on the island.  It was beautiful.  We saw a boat race and then we headed to Deception Pass State Park where the views of Puget Sound are spectacular.

DeceptionPassBoat

A boat joy riding through the sound.  These guys were definitely feeling good, loud music, lots of howls and even a wave.

DeceptionPassSunset

Just before sunset and a snapped this shot.  The picture is way cooler than the actual sunset which it is usually the other way around.

DeceptionPassView

Puget Sound, looking toward Mt. Baker

DeceptionPassWA

Deception Pass Bridge.  The boat above was passing under this bridge when I took the photo.  That’s not our RV, it just happened to be crossing and I thought it would be fun to photograph.

We made it!

Monday, August 1st, 2016

We left June 1 heading to Colorado for a wedding on July 10 and then heading back to Washington by Aug 1.  We did it.  We arrived in LaConner WA at the Thousand Trails Campground where we will be staying for the next 3 weeks.

The weather here is very mild. Two days ago we were in Cashmere WA and it was 109 at 6 pm. Today it might get up to the mid 70’s.

When we left we had two blankets on the bed and very soon we had to remove one.  When we got to the Rocky Mountains we had to add the blanket and the Down comforter.  By the time we left Estes Park we were back to only the two blankets but soon I removed one of the blankets.  Last night I had to pull the down comforter onto the bed and this am I had to start the fireplace to get some heat.

It is like we have had summer and it is gone!  When we head south in 3 weeks we will be back to summer.  Next week we will be in Alaska!  I have my parka packed!