The Behemoth

I just had to include these pictures because it was so impressive to me. Mount Rainier looms over the area on a clear day. Truly 'gi-nourmous' at over 10,000 feet and that is seen from sea level. It is so huge the pictures cannot grasp it. To give an idea of scale, the closest we were at any point here was probably 3o miles away. Many,many days the top is not visible because of the cloud cover. Yes, the glaciers are always there.

Last Day Sunday July 19

We spent our last day on the Northwest peninsula just scouting around. We really didn't know where we were going, only that we needed to be back to SeaTac airport btween Tacoma and Seattle by 8:00 p.m for a 10:15 flight home.






After packing up from our headquarters for 3 days (seen in picture above, our room on the end with view of Olympic mountains) we went to church at the Sequim Community church. There are quite a number of churches in Sequim, I suppose because there are many retirees here. That is not the case in other towns we were in where there were 3 or less churches that we found. Our mtel here was not the fanciest we had stayed in but was the most expensive because of the demand from the Lavender Festival. It definitely was the most convenient place in all of Sequim because we could walk to the festival site each day and to many of the restaurants.

Our final lunch was on the waterside in Port Townsend, the larger port town 20 miles from Sequim at the entrance to the Puget Sound.
From there we ventured south toward Tacoma stopping at Bremerton and then to a beautiful resort island called Bainbridge Island. This quaint place is across the sound from Seattle and is served by a ferry. You will see the cars lined up for the Sunday afternoon ferry. This ferry trip of about 30 minutes saves driving time from here to Seattle of about 2 1/2 hours although the wait time is 1 to 2 hours to catch the next available ferry !
We walked the waterside trail until we found a dock with canoes,kayaks and other interesting vehicles that you see in the picture. After some discussion,we did not take the Swan boat out. Instead, we, fully clothed, took a Kayak out into the Eagle Harbour where sail boats and large motor boats were coming in and out for the afternoon. I did leave behind our camera so I did not get a picture of the Seattle skyline with the Spaceneedle and skyscrapers just across the sound from where we were kayaking. It was spectacular and seemed close enough to touch. We managed to stay out of the worst of the wind and the boats and ventured back up into the calmer harbour where homes were right on the water. It reminded me of New England rather than the west coast.
Despite our lack of Kayaking prowess we did manage to stay mostly dry and to get back to the dock in one package. We realized we are more suited to river kayaking where you float and guide rather than paddling and fighting the strong wind and current.
After some of the country's best ice cream, "Mora's", where once you have paid for whatever size you want, they encourage you to try as many of the flavors you want, we made our final approach to the airport.
The security and lines at the Seattle airport are NOTHING compared to the vigorous rush you experience at Atlanta. Our 10:15 red-eye flight that I thought would be quiet and partially filled was oversold and jammed ! Whatever effect the recession may be having on travel, it hasn't affected these coast to coast flights. There were probably 25 to 30 Army ROTC cadets flying standby from training in Seattle for 2 weeks back to connecting flights in Atlanta. From being quite chatty at the airport, they were quiet on the plane. The overnight flight was extraordinarily quiet with most being sleeping and very little activity. Leaving there was 1:30 a.m. Atlanta time.
With a tailwind at times of 87 MPH we were back to Atlanta in 41/2 hours and arrived more than 1/2hour early around 5:30. We grabbed our overstuffed carry ons and headed for the park and ride lot where we checked out within 2 minutes of being charged another full day. Sharon Andretti had us home to D'ville in 52 minutes. Upon our arrival, Jeff and Carrie Baker were heading out the door to a job she had at 8:00 a.m leaving Knox and Ann Tatum with us for the week.

Relaxed Saturday afternoon

After going to 2 more Lavender Farms on Saturday morning we spent a relaxed Sat afternoon finding our way to a U-pick farm not on the tour that had acres and acres of Blueberries, Blackberries, raspberries, Logan berries and Strawberries as well as acres of golden wheat and lavender. The wind all day was tremendous gusting to about 35 MPH so it made the 70 degrees feel much cooler. The raspberries were about 4 times the size of ours and the blueberries were like small marbles. All were staked and trellised up with drip irrigation. We could smell the acres of ripe strawberries in the field. What amazed us was that not a bird was to be seen in this 50+ acres. We heard bird sounds but no birds had been pecking at the berries. We later found a 4 sided speaker hooked to an auto battery with a bird guard device. The random calls of crows and other birds carried throughout the fields. There was also a metal crow swinging high from a post above the fields.

Later that afternoon we took our car back to our favorite of the 8 lavender farms we had visited and enjoyed their music and taking late afternoon pictures in their fields. The curved rows seen below were taken at that farm. The evening we could not get into all the 'popular' restaurants in town because of the long wait but found an older place called The Mariner which with it's turquoise colored booths took us back to the 60's. The seafood was great and plentiful and the homemade cream and berry pies were delicious. The coconut cream piece we had was almost one quarter of a pie. We finished the evening sitting huddled up watching 2 venues of the Jazz in the Alley before heading back to our Sequim headquarters to pack all the stuff we had bought and our clothes into the 2 carryon bags that we each had brought. I don't recommend it, as I nearly got a hernia lifting our carry-on bags up into the overhead bins on the plane! If not for the flight attendant's ability to slam the bin, I might have been sitting on my bag.

Purple Haze

We're in a purple haze..... everywhere is purple. We've tried Lavender tea, lavender lemonade, lavender sorbet, lavender honey, and anything that you dare to put on your body with lavender.

One place that we took pictures, the lavender was chest high.

We hit 2 farms this morning while the light was better for pictures but we were quite COOL as we were about 1/2 mile from the Juan de Fuca Strait and the wind coming off the cold water is brisk.

I have found our old Farmall Cub Cadet and it is a beauty! I couldn't resist getting back up in the driver's seat again where I made a lot of money in high school mowing many a lawn. Baxter and I drove this thing all over town and would pull into the Shell station next to my Dad's office to 'fill-er-up' with gas. That was before self service! This tractor was one of about 40 displayed on one farm. Almost everything on it was new or replaced like original. This was a 1947 model. The one we had I believe was a 1954 model. It certainly seemed smaller than I remembered !

Don't forget to click directly on the pictures to see full size pics...

Across the (purple) fruited plain

Lavender, lavender, lavender, everywhere, beautiful fields of lavender. The Festival in this town of 5500 is bigger and better than we imagined. Well organized, well advertised and well attended.It seems that every year gets bigger now in it's 13th year. Other towns in other places like Oregon do Lavender festivals but the specific climate here in the rain shadow between the Cascade and Olympic mountains means everything is very dry which is perfect forLavender. Here they have gotten 7 and 9 inches of rain in the last 2 years while 45 miles over the mountains is the highest rainfall in North America at 144" per year. It is an amazing change. Sequim has become a retirement community for people from Seattle and California who like the cool, dry weather. It has over 300 days of sunshine compared to Seattle and Tacoma which we hear from many is dreary and gray all winter and gets dark about 4:30 in the P.M.

There are 7 gardens on the tour and at every farm there is live music, food being cooked on site and served, drinks, desserts & ice cream as well as 12 to 15 vendors of all types of crafts. There are events all day long at each farm such as making lavender wreaths, lavender oils, meet the farmers, propagation talks and talks about the varieties. This is in addition to the downtown street festival which has live music all day and must have 100 or more vendors there that we haven't even started through. We made it out to 5 farms today and will go to 2 more tomorrow.

In the evenings there are 5 venues around town which have live music called "Jazz in the Alley." They serve food and desserts at each of those venues. We hit 2 of those tonight. Even though it was warm today the evenings cool into the 50's very quickly so sitting out past 6 or 9 requires a jacket. We went out to a restaurant tonight on the strait that you can see the cruise ships heading out of Seattle on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights down the west coast. We saw 2 huge ships in the short time we were there.

Purple Mountain Majesty

Again the pictures can't describe it but up on top of the Olympic Mountains is breathtaking. These mountains which have snow capped glaciers also have alpine meadows that we hiked covered in Blue Lupines, Red Indian Paint Brush and huge white cow Parsnips. We drove up to Hurricane Rideg in the Olympic Natinal Park, 17 miles straight up. The mountains are not as high as the Rockies but since you go from Sea Level to 5500 feet it seems quite high. The lower right picture shows Mt. Baker in the distance at 10,000'+. It has been remarkably clear and yesterday was absolutely perfect with no fog or low clouds. We hiked 11/2 miles straight up to the peak of Hurricane Hill, named because they get hurricane force winds during the winter. The Sunset is over the Juan de Fuca Strait looking toward the Pacific Ocean. It has been warm during the day but cool at night,53 degrees.

Today we are off for what we came for.....The Lavender Festival. There are many activities to do at each farm that it is hard what to do. Lavender infused hotdogs and Lavender ice cream and Lavender Martinis....... I'll let you know how that goes.

Back to the States

What Day is It ??

We actually have no idea what day it is. The only reality is, that as soon as we hit U.S. cell phone service this morning my phone started buzzing with calls and voice mails that I couldn’t get while on International roaming.
From our hotel directly across from the ferry terminal, we qued up the car last night so we would be assured a spot. It is a hurry-up-and-wait process. We went through US customs since we will be entering back at Port Angeles, WA. For vehicle transfer you must be in line 11/2 to 2 hours prior to sailing to get a spot and processing of passports, etc. Canada just started requiring passports as of July 1st this year. The cars are parked tightly in 7-8 long lines with very little space between. Some people sleep, some read, but Sharon talks to everyone around. It’s a big party with a captive crowd!

We headed this afternoon to Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park which is set back in time with the original historic lodge and cabins. Then on to the beach at LaPush on the Pacific Coast. There is a reason that most west coast towns have lots of restaurants !! You WANT to sit inside and look at the pretty fog and view. That water is COLD. You will see Sharon sticking her big toe in the water...that's all. The temp went from 79 as we left Port Angeles to 59 on the coast when we got out of the car and put on all our layers. Staying out on the beach for the day involves putting up a tent with a tarp to block the vicious wind..... and building a fire from all the timber that ha washed up. The sea stacks off the coast are pretty but every few minutes will be shrouded in the Sea mist. LaPush is on the Quilyute Indian reservation and is pitiful otherwise.

Video inside the Gardens

A short video from inside the gardens.

Can't Describe It

I can't describe it and I wish and hope you all will see it, The Butchart Gardens. It is the Disney World of gardens because it is immaculate and spectacular around every turn, but their goal is that you never or rarely see a gardener. Every Petunia, Snapgragon and Rose has been deadheaded and cleaned up.

Mrs. Butchart built this garden on the destroyed area that was a limestone quarry after her husband's business had finished stripping it. The first picture is looking down into the reclaimed quarry. They now call it the "Sunken Garden". Thousands of tons of soil were hauled back in to create planting areas. For years she would serve tea herself to her guests who came to see her garden. They would often leave a dime under their cup thinking she was the servant staff. We hit a perfect day and took our time but didn't go back in for the evening lights because it gets dark so late. We avoided Sunday beacuse we thought the crowd would be immense....didn't work.... Tuesday was packed as well. We stopped at one of the 10 or so wineries and cideries in the area. Because of the cool, mild weather the grapes do not get the strong taste from the hull. We sampled some Kiwi wine fromthe Kiwi which also grows well here.

Hatley Castle Video

Gardens, Gardens, Gardens

O.K., so I apologize for sending pictures of gardens and flowers but this gets my heart beating fast. Truly beautiful gardens we saw on Monday just driving the little towns toward Victoria. We happened upon an Estate called Hatley Mansion and gardens from the early 1900's. Spectacular Larkspur, Dahlias, Crocosmia, Lilies, Lavender and Fuschia. The Fuschias grow like small trees here about the size of our garden hydrangeas. The City of Victoria is as beautiful a city as we have seen anywhere. It has the British and European feel but is so clean and picturesque with every corner planted and over 900 hanging baskets. As soon as we arrived in Victoria Sharon had her "high tea". Actually we shared it as one person couldn't eat the whole tray of crumpets , schones, tea biscuites, fruit, cookies, quiche, sandwiches and 2 desserts, not tomention a large pot of tea. Yes, I now know the difference between a crumpet and a tea biscuit. We decided that the Duchess of whatever who came up with the tradition because she got hungry between luch and dinner couldn't have weighed an ounce under 225 pounds. She supposedly was married to the "Earl of Sandwich" who put two slabs of bread together........ They would have made it big on the Food Network.

We are staying in a hotel overlooking the inner harbour which makes an interesting view with floatplanes, ferries, whale watching boats, yachts and sailboats coming in and out. The Parliament building in the center of the city is lit at night giving everything else a glow. We sat out on the plaza watching street performers until 10:00P.M. and it just was getting dark.

Today we head out to Butchart gardens. Sorry, there will be yet MORE pictures of gardens. Wish I could share them all with you.

The Canadian Pacific Rim

From Sky to the Sea we went on Saturday staying in a tree house on Saturday night. We had dinner by the harbour in Uluelet watching the Eagles soar by. That's as close as I have ever been to Bald Eagles. They are tremendous and loud. Sunday morning we went to the beaches in the Pacific Rim National Park. It was about 54 degrees and windy and there were clusters of kids out surfing the waves. The Pacific starfish and anemones in the tidal pools are quite large and colorful. The afternoon we went to the last little outpost accessible by road, Tofino. We had lunch there by the harbour (Smoked Salmon 3 times in 2 days, is that too much ?). On the dock we watched them off loading a boat (see pic) crates of some type mussell called Geoducks. They ha d a long shell like a clam but a peduncle (foot) that stuckout about 15" long. They were gross but we were told they were a delicacy in Japan and would bring 40.00 each. Each crate you see in the picture was worth $500.00. They unloaded about 40 crates and we were told they would be on a plane to Japan that night.

Sunday evening we drove from the rim to Ladysmith, BC down the island about 31/2 hours to stay in a quiet little hotel from the 60's in aquiet little harbour town.

To the Edge of the World

From the East coast of Vancouver Island Saturday morning where Sharon put her toes in to the West Coast where you wouldn't dare get in without a wet suit. The Pacific Rim west side is like the edge of the world. Even on a sunny day elsewhere the sea mist rolls in and out like smoke in a billowing wave. A three hour trek across the island on twisted,up and down roads along lakes , over mountains is Ucluelet and Tofino. These small towns are the only accessible towns without floatplane or boat. We drove from temps of 80 degrees to this side of 62 degrees. We pulled on jackets, hoods, etc. to hike part of the West Rim trail along the beach and Rainforest. Staying in a tree house on Saturday night...... pictures to follow.