Category: United States

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

Finishing Up Our Seattle Sojourn

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: HITS AND MISSES IN SEATTLE

We’re trying to enjoy our last day in Seattle, but I’m not doing as well in my travel guide tasks as I had in the earlier days of the trip. Still we found some sights that were worth seeing. Come along with us!

The Aquarium and Pike Street Market

Confession, at this end of the trip, I would do things differently. There were so many other things I wanted to do. I would have taken more time in the rainforest. I would have given us another day in Victoria. I would have made it out to the San Juan Islands. I would have gotten closer to Mount Rainer and the Cascades. But hindsight is 20/20 and you don’t know until you go!

Our first stop on this, our last day was the aquarium. Aquariums are usually a hit with us, but not this one. It was all about the kids and everything was a bit shabby. Next up was Pike Street Market. Bill was not enchanted and I’ll admit, for the most part, it seemed a little grubby and run down. We don’t do antiquing or thrift stores, so maybe we didn’t know what we were looking at, but we tried.

Perhaps part of the problem is that we entered by some stairway on the back side and ended up in some dreary hallway with dusty old junk. Once we found our way downstairs we saw (and heard) the famous fish sellers and enjoyed the beautiful displays of floral offerings. Bill grabbed lunch in the sandwich shop there. The service was awful and the food was not worth the price.

So far we’d spent a morning visiting what were supposed to be top notch attractions, but we felt a little like the gray weather. We did walk down to the famous original Starbucks. Absolutely nothing special and Bill was not going to stand in the line just to say he had a coffee from there.

We went back to the hotel and Bill took a nap. I started organizing things to go back into the suitcases for the trip home.

Better Luck in the Afternoon

After his nap, Bill and I decided to do a little walking tour close to the hotel. We found Pioneer Square and the sun was shining. We just enjoyed the outdoors a little and Bill asked me what was next. I recommended taking the light rail up to the University stop, so we could see the Fairmont.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. We finally discovered where all the beautiful people of Seattle hung out. In previous days we hadn’t seen anyone we were impressed with. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel itself was stunning, too. Unfortunately, Bill took the pictures there and once we were home they didn’t meet his standards so he deleted them. Since then, I have put the FOREVER app on his phone and I grab the photos each day so he can’t do that to me anymore.

We loved the people watching there. A future bride was being taken around to the various venues with in the hotel. Beautiful people hung out in the large lobby bar, making fabulous deals, I’m sure. The whole time in Seattle I’d felt overdressed, even though I just had on jeans and boots. At the Fairmont, I was definitely underdressed – and I liked it.

Rounding Out Our Trip

For dinner we went across the street to Redwoods in the Hilton. It was the nicest meal we had in Seattle.

The balance of the trip was the usual routine – packing up and heading out. I lobbied for a taxi, rather than using the light rail, because we were hindered by our bag, Old Red, which had lost a wheel. I even paid for it with my hard-earned memory keeping money. It was a mistake. The taxi was late and so it was a stressful ride to the airport.

The layover in LA was without incident, but the flight home was rough. We didn’t have any specific problems ourselves, but the whole attitude of the Frontier Airlines employees and the way they treated the passengers made us say, “Never again on Frontier, even if we have to pay more.”

And that’s it. My next trip was a girl’s trip to see the Edith Head Exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Come back next week and join us!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Monday Funday in Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: SENSATIONAL SEATTLE CENTER

What a difference a day makes. Look at those smiles! Bill had been ready to head home, but this day made him glad he stayed. Come along, we’re going to have a great day today.

Getting Ready for Fun

The day before we’d dragged back from Seattle Center sorry to have wasted a day of our vacation. We’d grabbed the nearest light rail and spent the evening watching TV. Not good vacation form.

On Monday, I was in the gym by 6:30 and had my breakfast at the same sad GF-less buffet. We got ready for the day and headed out to the light rail. This time I had us get off so we could ride the monorail again. We hopped off and headed toward MOPOP.

Museum of Pop Culture – MOPOP

This is MOPOP from above, a deconstructed architectural oddity. It used to be called the Experience Music Project and music is a lot of what it’s about, but these days you also experience video games, anime and other forms of entertainment, so they expanded the name.

We went there first because it opened first and wandered around for awhile. Figuring out the building from the interior takes a little doing. Bill likes to touch things, so he had a great time in some of the exhibits, like the one with sound booths. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he was having fun.

Various galleries highlight a variety musical artists and you get to see lots of costumes, instruments and other memorabilia related to the artists. Their selection of artists to highlight did not interest me in the way I hoped they would. Had I seen similar exhibits related to artists I care more about, I would have had a better time of it.

We didn’t take a lot of photos, but Bill did grab this one of me enjoying this sculpture made of guitars donated by some of the top names in music. I’d say the museum is worth a morning and the price of admission. I’m glad I went, but it certainly wasn’t my favorite attraction of the day.

Chihuly Garden & Glass

Now this is what I showed up for. If you haven’t figured it out, I love all things Chihuly and Tacoma had not delivered up enough of him to satisfy me. Not sure anyone could, but Chihuly Garden & Glass was pretty wonderful, perhaps because it had been designed and curated by Chihuly himself. Enjoy the slideshow below to get a taste of why we loved it!

If I were actually in charge of our traveling as Bill pretends I am, then I would have enjoyed lunch at Chihuly Garden & Glass, because there’s a restaurant and wine bar there. I must have mentioned it a dozen times, but Bill never even acknowledged that it registered with him. So, I can’t tell you if the restaurant was worth it or not – but I’d vote YES!

The exhibit itself is beyond wonderful. It just seems to end to soon. You go through several galleries which highlight various forms that Chihuly repeats over and over in his work. Think of all the positive superlatives you know. Yep, that’s almost enough to describe the amazing and beautiful works that inhabit the attraction.

But wait there’s more! It is Chihuly GARDEN & Glass, so once you’ve made your way through the galleries, then you go outside to the gardens. Luckily, the sun came out to play and we got a bright and beautiful look at the displays Chihuly chose to represent himself.

And here are my pages:

The Space Needle

We took a break for lunch, because it wasn’t quite time for us to use our timed ticket for the Needle. We went to the Armory, which was where we’d been the day before. Bill wandered around to find something new, but I enjoyed the Middle Eastern food we’d eaten the day before. I think Bill wished he’d done the same thing.

Then we got in line and rode the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. Left to his own devices, I think Bill would have skipped what he assumed was a tourist trap, but once he was aloft, he was awestruck.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. We’d appreciated the bright sun which made our visit to the Chihuly Garden so gorgeous and gave us such awesome photos, but as we’d eaten lunch, the Seattle Gloom has descended once again. That’s why the photos of the exterior are so gorgeous, but the photos from inside the Needle are so gray. See what I mean:

Still, regardless of the weather, you’ve got to go to the Space Needle when you’re in Seattle. We loved it.

Back at the Artic Club Hotel

We took the monorail and light rail back to the hotel, where Bill decided to take a nap. I went down to the lobby bar for a glass of wine and suffered the poor service that came with any food and drink we had while there. Such a blight on an otherwise wonderful accommodation.

When I returned to the room, Bill was all napped up and it was time for dinner. A few blocks away, the Marriott Courtyard had a restaurant called The Bistro, so we strolled over there. Nothing to write home about, I assure you. I’d heard Seattle was a foodie paradise, but we didn’t find heaven while we were there.

This was a great day of sightseeing. Coming next week is our last day in Seattle. Come see what we find!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Sunday in Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: HIT & MISS IN SEATTLE

Welcome to Seattle! We’re on our first full day in the city, but it was a Sunday. I had a hard time putting together a day of sightseeing for us. I had a full plate on both Monday & Tuesday, but pulling together our Sunday activities without a car took some doing. Come along and see what you think!

Let’s Start at SAM

One thing that was easy to choose was the Seattle Art Museum, but working out of an old tour guide, I thought it was going to be free, which it wasn’t. The things you want to see that are free, get a pass. They only have to be slightly good to justify your presence. If you pay, then your expectations go up. For free, SAM would have been fine. That we had to pay made us love it less.

We had no trouble getting there. We walked across the street to the light rail station, caught the next car going north and hopped off after a couple of stops. Then it was about a block to the museum.

They’ve got something going on logistically. Yes, my guide book was outdated, but the entrance they promised was closed up and it looked empty. Will it stay that way? No one seemed to know. We continued up the block and found the new entrance. That’s when we found out just how outdated my guidebook was. You should have seen the look I got when I mentioned it was going to be free!

The ground floor didn’t seem to have much in the way of exhibits going on, mostly the reception area, restrooms and such. So, we went up to the next floor and started wandering around. Initially, we didn’t connect with what they were showing. We’d stand before a painting or sculpture for a bit, look at each other, shrug our shoulders and then move on to the next thing.

Bill was fascinated enough by the sculpture above that he took the photo and then took one of the tag, but it’s the only item that inspired that reaction out of the whole museum. I’d say that was a fail.

The Peter Principle in the Porcelain Gallery

I was initially wowed when I walked into the porcelain collection. I mean that’s my jam and the pieces were gorgeously displayed, but you were only supposed to want to look at them, I guess, because logistically it was a mess.

I adore all decorative art, but especially porcelain. I can spend hours wandering from case to case, comparing one piece to the next, trying to guess the manufacturers and then recalling what I have seen from that maker before. Someone had the magnificent idea of putting everything in a database and giving the museum goers access to the database from a wall-sized screen. Talk about a fail. Technology proved the Peter Principle!

You’d see something you wanted to know more about. In the good old days, you’d read the tag next to it or in the case with it. At SAM, you’d have to go over to the huge screen, scroll through the database until you got to the case you’d been looking at and then figure out, from across the room, which piece in the case you were trying to research. I found myself walking over to the screen, looking through the database, getting to the case I wanted and then trying to remember exactly why I was over there in the first place.

I’d stroll back to the eyeball everything again. Remind myself of the actual item and go back to the screen, which by then had cleared itself, so I’d have to start again. That was when all I wanted to do was know the manufacturer. If in my perusal I wanted to compare Piece A in Case 3 with Piece H in case 6, well it was just too complicated and took too much time. Within 15 minutes I moved on. Big, big, big disappointment.

On to Seattle Center!

We tried at SAM. We even tried a tour with a curator and visited a Calder exhibit. All too soon for our $27.99 senior price of admission we were back out on the street.

What was more fun was getting on the monorail and heading to Seattle Center. We’d be going back there the next day, but the Pacific Science Center would be closed, and all the guide books said I should want to go there.

Our first stop, once we reached Seattle Center, was The Armory. It’s an events center with a food court. We found a pretty fabulous vendor of Middle Eastern food, which served us what was perhaps our best meal in Seattle!

The Pacific Science Center

It had been damp, dark and dreary all day – very Seattle weather. By the time we headed to the Science Center, we were beginning to feel as if our skin was puckering. Our first conundrum was how to get in. There was a sort of fountain/pool area which the center had been built around, but no obvious place to enter.

The attraction was free and we opted to also get tickets to a show in the planetarium. Good thing, because it was the only thing worth our time. Not the best audio/visual/laserlight show we’d ever seen, but better than everything else in the Center as far as we were concerned.

The description and reviews for the attraction set it up for failure. If they would have said, “This is a children’s science museum,” I would not have bothered to enjoy the free admission. We would have headed to Pioneer Square or Pike Street Market or the Sculpture Garden along the waterfront – something, anything – instead of the sounds and smells of damp children.

We didn’t have anything else scheduled for the day, so we really tried to enjoy it, but we just didn’t. We headed for the hotel and thought we might regroup and head out again, but it didn’t happen. We rifled through the snacks we had on hand and watched TV. Bill wished we’d headed on home when we were at the airport the day before. I assured him that by that time the next day he’d be glad we didn’t.

I count the day as a bust. I wished I’d invested the day in the rainforest, but you can’t know everything until you actually do it. I understood Bill’s frustration. We’d spent a boring day in the car on Saturday and then a boring day in Seattle on Sunday. Who wouldn’t want to go home. Here’s the page I made for my photo albums:

If you’ll come back next week, I promise I’ll show you a better time!

Accommodations, Architecture, DESTINATIONS, Shopping, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

Getting To & Into Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: TALE OF TWO FERRIES, AN AIRPORT AND A TRAIN

Welcome to the back half of our Washington State vacation. We were about to close our big circle of Western WA State: SeaTac, Snoqualmie, Tacoma, Olympia, Olympic National Park and Victoria B.C. We’ll take two ferries and a train before we can go to sleep. Come along!

Two Ferries

The first ferry was right across the street from our hotel and we were supposed to be there at 9 AM. Then they made us wait for 90 minutes. This was the sort of thing that had caused Bill to put off getting on the ferry on the Port Angeles side until the very last minute, but it was an unavoidable delay. They needed to get everyone inside the fence and through customs before we could drive aboard the ferry. It was not fun.

From Port Angeles we turned left and headed towards Seattle. Though some travel books touted this area as a wonderful place to visit, we didn’t see much wonderful as we drove along the main road to the Bainbridge Ferry. It took longer than we had anticipated, so we rolled into the boarding area moments before the 3:30 cutoff. And then we waited, because the ferry was running late.

No adventures, yet, but I was feeling quite clever. I’d purchased Orca Cards for getting around Seattle and as seniors, that made it free for us to travel on the ferry. We had to pay for the car, but being a senior citizen has its perks.

The Artic Club Hotel

Praises to the Black Ball Ferry Line, our hotel in Seattle was one I paid for with them and got a significant discount. The hotel is a doozy. When Seattle was a stopping off point for the Klondike, gentlemen who returned rich could join the Artic Club, a magnificent building on Cherry Street, around the corner from Pioneer Square. What made it particularly attractive to us, was the light rail station across the street.

We’d chosen it for location, location, location, but it was a stunning edifice. A small reception area with a bell hop station fronted the generous lobby where rich gold miners once held court. Close observation reveals many ties to its days honoring the bounty of the Klondike – like the walrus staircase.

Our arrival and initial visit was brief. We got our keys, unloaded our rental car and headed back to the airport, but it was hard to leave the large, well-appointed room we’d be staying in.

The Transportation Game Plan

So, our goal was to return the car to the rental company at SeaTac, take the light rail train to the Cherry Street Station and then walk across the street to our hotel. Everything went well until we were a few stops away from Cherry Street and suddenly we were inundated with a raucous crowd. They’d just left a sporting event and to say they were rowdy would have been an understatement. We couldn’t hear the announcements of the stops and soon realized we’d traveled too far.

So, we got off at the next station, made our way to the other side of the tracks and caught the next train heading back to Cherry Street. We were tired and hungry so this didn’t feel like an adventure. It was more like torture by transportation.

Beautiful Hotel, Mediocre Food & Beverage Services

Safely returned to our hotel, we decided to have a light supper there at the hotel, in spite of the fact that it was a bit pricey. We discovered it was worse than pricey, it was also sub-par. Initially, I was ready to give them a break. A crowd had just left the lobby bar for a concert in the auditorium of the hotel, reportedly a grand souvenir left over from the hotel’s days as the Artic Club. The previous patrons had left quite a mess and it seemed as if the wait staff might have gone to the concert with the patrons.

Once a waitperson did arrive, it became obvious the chef had definitely departed. It took forever to get our food and it wasn’t exactly gourmet. The server seemed to resent the fact we’d shown up at all and certainly didn’t think we deserved anything more than poor service. I assumed it had to do with the concern crowd.

However, as our stay continued things didn’t get any better. There was a free breakfast in a venue downstairs. The food was adequate. The service was not. The service was also bad the afternoon I went down to have a glass of wine while Bill took a nap. So, the Saturday concert crowd aftermath was not an unfortunate fluke. The Artic Club Hotel just needs a new Food & Beverages Manager!

Poor food & beverage service aside, we loved staying there for four nights and we absolutely loved our room. It was so large it felt more like an apartment, especially the generous bathroom. Come back next week and let’s see Seattle.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Lake Crescent Lodge, Olympic Lodge by Ayres & The Ferry

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: THE OTHER END OF THE RAINFOREST

What a great place to put up your feet, right? This was Lake Crescent Lodge, the sister of Lake Quinault Lodge where we started our day in the rainforest. We still had a few miles to get under our belt to get to our final destination for the day. Come along on this stretch of our visit to Wild & Wonderful Washington State.

Coming Around the Bend to Lake Crescent Lodge

With Bill snoozing as I made the right hand turn from Hoh Rainforest Road back to Highway 101, I set my sights on Lake Crescent Lodge. There were many waterfalls I wanted to explore, just as there had been a lot more Pacific shoreline I wanted to see, but this vacation was for both of us and aimless wanderings were not on the itinerary.

It was gorgeous, but it was also boring. I just kept driving. Lake Crescent revealed itself and I started waking the sleeping monster. He wasn’t all that happy to be awakened until he looked out and saw the lake. He got a lot happier pretty fast.

I made the turn and parked the car. Lake Crescent Lodge was not as rustic as Lake Quinault Lodge. Lake Crescent Lodge had a sort of turn of the 20th Century feel to it. There’s no gingerbread trim around the porch that surrounds it, but there could be. We decided it might be fun to stay there, but we liked Lake Quinault better.

Away from the Lodge, there was the long pier which went out into the lake, something Lake Quinault had not had. The canoes had a different color scheme. It was lovely, but we couldn’t convince ourselves it was as good as Bill’s little Switzerland. We caught our breath and stretched our legs, and then headed to our next stop.

Olympic Lodge by Ayres in Port Angeles

I’ve already told you how happy I was with the accommodations I booked with Black Ball Ferry. Olympic Lodge was the first of them. It spoke to me of Mid-Century Modern – a little stuck in the time frame and could have used some updates, but it was pristine, so no complaints from me.

Our room was wonderful. A big picture window opened onto a golf course. Very relaxing, but we were ready to eat. Remember the day had not afforded us much in gastronomical enjoyment. Unfortunately, Port Angeles didn’t have much to offer either. So, we went to the grocery store and picked out some frozen food, heated it up in the hotel’s breakfast room and had our meal overlooking the golf course.

Next morning I was up early. The exercise room at the hotel was great and I did 3 miles on the treadmill before breakfast. Back in the room I took a bath and got ready for our busy day. Around 9 we went to the breakfast room and enjoyed a pretty substantial breakfast. If I weren’t gluten free, it would have almost been perfect.

The Black Ball Ferry to Victoria

OK, ladies, we all know how sometimes men just don’t listen to us. I had tried since I first booked the ferry to make Bill understand that this was one of those time you had to be there when they said or you would be left behind. All Bill heard was my usual rant about being on time and he was determined to prove to me once again, that showing up at the very last minute, but it not being a problem wins him some kind of points in the game of life.

We’re talking some world class dawdling. I finally convinced him to pick a gas station, any gas station and get some damned gas. While we waited for the tank to fill, I very firmly read him the warning on our ticket about making it on time. I explained that if he missed that ferry then he wasn’t going to Victoria today AND he’d be the the reason we had wasted days and lost money. At that moment the deadline was just a few minutes away. He finished the fuel transaction and tore over to the line for the ferry. We were the next to the last car and they did prevent anyone else from getting into line.

For once, he realized his dawdling and reluctance to hear me about being on time made an impression. Unfortunately, not one that had any lasting effect, but he was very humble for about ten minutes.

Next week we’ll dive right into touring Victoria, British Columbia. Come join us.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Day Two in the Rain Forest

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: JOY COMES UP AS RAIN COMES DOWN

Welcome to Wild & Wonderful Washington State! I don’t think I found anything more wild & wonderful than Olympic National Park in the state. We drove a lot on this day, but everything we saw was amazing!

A Quiet Morning

I was awake before 6, crept around our dark hotel room and eased out into the hall. As soon as I did, I realized I’d left my phone and my keys inside the room, but no way I was waking up Bill. I figured once I got to the lobby there would be a clock. All lobbies have clocks, right? Wrong!

They did have a gym, but it was not exactly state of the art, so I decided to take advantage of the cozy lobby. I curled up on the big sofa, but no fire had been lit yet. There was also no clock. I had to check with the desk clerk in another room when I wondered what time it was.

It was a peaceful time. I wrote in my travel journal, read some and did a few crossword puzzles. The clerk had told me the Roosevelt Dining Room opened at 7:30, so that would be my signal to go upstairs and start getting ready. The desk clerk did give me a key to get back in, but I had to answer a bunch of security questions, so they were being safe.

Hitting the Road

Breakfast was hit & miss. I’m sure Bill got coffee somewhere, but it wasn’t the Roosevelt Dining Room. We did stop by an internet cafe that I had hoped would have breakfast, but what they had we didn’t want. We ate some of the snacks I’d brought with me and started up the road.

We didn’t know exactly what we were doing, but that was OK, because everything was gorgeous. There would be signs telling us of scenic overlooks. Sometimes we’d stop sometimes we didn’t. One we stopped at educated us on log jams. Another was named Ruby Beach and apparently it was red when the sun shone on it, but there was no sun.

We found the road which led to the Hoh Rainforest, which was just a named rain forest in the forest of rain we were in. That’s when we found a cafe and had what I guess was brunch. The gluten free factor was an issue and I don’t think either one of of loved what we got, but it was sustenance and we were soon on our way again.

Hoh Rainforest Visitors Center

Having only one day in the rainforest was a point of frustration for me. I think I could have spent my whole two weeks going to every stop along the Pacific edge of Olympic National Park, but after a few stops I could tell that Mr. Bill didn’t like all the starting and stopping and seeing the same sort of thing. That’s why I pointed us towards the Visitor’s Center. Only it was down at the end of a road of which we’d just have to turn around and go back on to get to where we needed to go.

If you’re an off roader or a hiker, then this terrain was made for you. You’d drive your 4-Wheeler up to the Visitors Center and then head off on any of the trails it served as a trail head for – but us tourists just had to drive forever to get there and then drive back to where we’d come from. Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth visiting, it’s just inconvenient for the less hearty visitor, like me.

Contrarily, the sun which refused to peek out during our stop at Ruby Beach came out in all its glory as we drove along the Hoh Rainforest Road. The landscape looked a lot like the monotonous scenery we’d seen on the day before on our way to the rainforest. I drove, Bill napped – both ways.

The Hoh Rainforest Visitor’s Center itself was undergoing renovation. Thankfully, there were restrooms. There were also two nature trails. We did both and we loved them. One short path is handicap friendly. It’s the shorter of the two and pretty crowded, but don’t expect much wonder. The other path leads up, down and around through beautiful stretches of rainforest. We loved that part and took our time.

We lingered as long as we could, but we still had a lot of road ahead of us. We needed to be at Port Angeles by the end of the day. I put the pedal to the metal while Bill snoozed.

We made lots of photos throughout the day, but I’ll confess, once I got home it was hard to ascertain which ones went with which stops, so I just made a few photo book spread of it all. Here they are. Enjoy them and then be sure and come back next week and visit our next stops with us.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Lake Quinault Lodge

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: THE CHARM OF THE LODGE

Welcome to Wild & Wonderful Washington State, our 2025 Road Trip Vacation. We’ve just arrived at the famous Lake Quinault Lodge where FDR fell in love with what would become Olympic National Park. We fell in love with it, too. Come along and find out why!

A Little Early for Check-In

The other side of Lake Quinault Lodge is not as inviting as the picture above. It’s taken of the back of the lodge. Up front it’s a crowded drive and appears to be a very old small inn. I knew we were a little early for check-in, so I was directing Bill to drive past and to visit Merriman and the World’s Largest Spruce Tree, but Bill was looking at the antiquated inn wondering what I’d gotten him into this time.

Good traveling companion that he is, he saved his concerns for later and drove on to Merriman Falls. Most of the falls in the rainforest require at least a little of a hike to view them. Not Merriman! It is right by the side of the road and it’s a beauty – a small gem of waterfall majesty with overwhelming greenery. Enjoy our photo session in the slideshow below.

The World’s Largest Spruce Tree was reminiscent of old fashioned roadside attractions. It did require a bit of a hike, but to tell you the truth, the tree was not all that exciting. The walk to it was lovely!

There was also a small general store in the vicinity. I had Bill stop to see if they had a decent map. GPS is great for point to point diving, but not so great for sightseeing. The National Park System offered an interactive map, but the area is so big I could never make heads of tails of it. The best map I’d seen so far was in my trusty old atlas, that I still carry on every road trip. It’s decades old, but not only was it decades old, it was also small. I needed current and controllable.

The small store did have this map of Olympic National Park, but it was more money than I’d hoped to spend. I stood arguing with myself for a few moments and then I remembered what an absolute bear I can be when I don’t have a decent map. So, I made the purchase, got in the car and started unfolding the map. It was huge! And it had some gorgeous artwork. Lesson learned! Buy the map!

Below are some scans I made of the artwork, pieced together in Artisan. As you can see it was worth the price of the map!

Checking Into the Lodge

We’d killed about an hour with the side trips and the front of the lodge was now a parking zoo. Bill stayed with the car and I went in to get our room, along with all the people representing the various vehicles in the parking zoo. Courtesy was rampant, efficiency was not.

We parked across the street in the official parking lot, grabbed a few things to get up through the night and headed through the parking zoo to find our room. WARNING, there are no elevators in Lake Quinault Lodge. The grand rustic staircase was lovely, but we didn’t love hauling our luggage up it, especially Old Red, who was missing a wheel.

I could tell Bill was now even more skeptical about my sanity than he had been when we first drove by. The room was (shall we say) charming, continuing the rustic look with a wooden bed frame and accoutrements. It was the antithesis of luxurious. The black & white checkerboard tile floor may have been there from the beginning of time and the plumbing was two or three generations older than what we had at home – functional, for sure, but not modern.

Bill’s claustrophobia set in and he was ready to escape. Things got better after that, because he walked out to the back of the lodge and fell in love. Who wouldn’t love this view? Before we left home I had booked a pre-dinner boat ride, which had been cancelled due to mechanical difficulties. One look at this and we were really sorry to have missed that.

Bill happily went into photographer mode and now has this photo as his screen saver:

He kept saying, “It’s as if we walked in the front door from America and ended up in somewhere like Switzerland.” I was offended for America and pointed out the many gorgeous places we’d explored here at home. Somehow he was convinced Switzerland was better – not that he’s been there, of course.

I love it when I’ve found something he really loves, so I reveled in his frenetic effort to capture every single angle. I noticed several people were drinking a glass of wine as they sat in the Adirondack chairs and I wished I had some, too. It was so peaceful there. I have Bill’s permission, more like a mandate, to get him back to the Lodge soon.

Dinner at the Salmon House

I’d had hopes Bill’s largesse which got us meals at the Salish Lodge and the Elk’s Temple might get us into the Roosevelt Dining Room at Lake Quinault Lodge, but his largesse had dried up. Instead we drove over to the adjacent resort and ate at their restaurant. The Salmon House was good, but it left the Roosevelt Dining Room on my wish list.

Then he went back into photographer mode looking for a good backdrop for a selfie of us. Mission accomplished, example below, we went back to the room. I was out like a light in moments. Bill probably did his Tik Tok thing for a while, but for all I know he went back outside and danced with the moon!

Come back next week and enjoy our day in the rain forest.

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Music, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Surprises in Olympia WA

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: A CAPITAL DAY AT THE CAPITOL

We’re moving along to our next destination in Washington State, Olympia, the Capital. We were in for some surprises along the way. Some were good, some were not so good and one was amazing! Come along and see what happened!

Hilton Garden Inn

I might have mentioned that we were less than thrilled with our accommodations in Tacoma. They were a big let down after the Snoqualimie Inn by Hotel America, but for a budget stay, nothing major to complain about.

I was also looking for a bargain in Olympia, but the bargain ended up being several notches above the Best Western and that was one of our good surprises. Bill was thrilled when we pulled up to the attractive new hotel. He flirted with the cute reception clerk. Then he was absolutely giddy when we got to the room and he saw the TV screen with the personalized greeting.

Food was next and he’d seen a Mickey D’s nearby. That suited him just fine. In the old days, it would have suited me, too, but now I am gluten free, so I suggested I just get one of the frozen food packages in the lobby. I figured, how much could a frozen food meal cost. Try $12! This was the next surprise and I was not happy at all about it. However, we got another surprise, that nice girl who Bill flirted with was embarrassed the food cost so much and sold it to me for $6. That was more like it. Then it was jammies and bed for this girl.

Memorial Day Celebration

The primary reason we were in Olympia was because I had read they have one of the most beautiful capitols in the States. It being Memorial Day, I figured it would be locked up tighter than a drum, but I’d also learned the had beautiful grounds. Even if the hype was wrong and it was just another state capitol building, we were closer to the rain forest and we hadn’t had to spend another night at the Best Western.

There had been no way for me to know that instead of being locked up tighter than a drum, there would be a marvelous Memorial Day Ceremony inside the capitol. That was a biggest and most wonderful surprise in Olympia.

For your information, the capitol building and grounds are beautiful and if you are anywhere near Olympia, they are worth seeing. When I did my research I learned of several free tours you could take around the building and sadly, those were not available, but the celebration honoring the Veterans was a real treat.

We didn’t stay for the whole thing. We wanted to tour the gardens and get to our next hotel by nightfall, so we just enjoyed the opening ceremonies and the initial music offerings. As I said, truly lovely, but soon we were headed further west.

Travel Day Monotony

Washington is a gorgeous state, but when you have the pedal to the metal trying to get somewhere all that gorgeous green stuff can get a little monotonous. As we headed west, that was what we had. I suggested to Bill we might want to go all the way to see the Pacific Ocean and get some fresh seafood for lunch. We did drive out to Ocean shores and Bill loved walking along an empty stretch of beach, but then it was back on the road. No, seafood for lunch.

After leaving the beach area, we headed back northwest and soon there was no question about it – We were in the rain forest. Washington State had been green and beautiful everywhere we had been so far, but suddenly it was greener and more beautiful than we could imagine.

Before we knew it, we’d come to South Shore Drive in Quinault, WA. This was our turnoff for Lake Quinault Lodge – something I anticipated would be one of the highlights of our trip. I was right. Come back next week a see what an amazing place I had found to stay the night!

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Tacoma Sightseeing Smorgasbord

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: LE MAY’S & POINT DEFIANCE PARK

We’ll be moving fast today on this tour of Tacoma, Washington. We’ve seen the big rocks and now need to sift through the sand before we head to Olympia. From cars and beaches to jaw-dropping blooms, come along as we see the sights!

A Logistical Morning

Mornings are always tough on vacation. I wake up at the crack of dawn and Bill doesn’t. On this day, we also need to get all packed up, because we’ve spent our last night in the Best Western.

I was up early and slipped quietly out of the room. I headed up to the breakfast area where I could review our plans for the day, spend a little time on Facebook and do a few crossword puzzles while I enjoyed breakfast. When I wondered back to the room, Mr. Bill was still snoozing, so I got myself ready for the day and started packing up. Around 9, he had breakfast and we were soon loaded up for the road.

LeMay’s – America’s Car Museum

Like the Museum of Flight, LeMay’s had been chosen primarily with Mr. Bill in mind, but I was happy to tag along. While planning, I had discovered there were two LeMay’s – one a huge storage facility south of town where the bulk of the LeMay automobiles were stored and the other a more commercialized facility. I was still unsure which to visit until the Chrome & Glass tickets were offered at the Museum of Glass. Discounted tickets to America’s Car Museum sounded like a good reason to go with it instead of the more extensive collection south of town.

LeMay’s was fun, but after the pristine experience at Petersen’s Automobile Museum in LA, LeMay’s seemed a little tacky and dusty. The entrance area, on the top floor, focused on current models of shiny, new cars. The building was built like a parking facility, so you wandered down a ramp that circled down to the bottom floor. Cute, but eventually hard on the legs.

As soon as we left the top floor with the slick new cars, I noticed we were in a museum where the exhibits did not get the love the cars at Petersen’s got. They were lovely and it’s not like they’d been abandoned, they just made me wish I had a duster with me. All the cars below the first level needed a little touch up.

There was a wide assortment of vehicles, from antique luxury cars to a life-size model of the Flintstone’s foot-propelled vehicle. Along the winding concourse there were various educational exhibits and some play stations for kids. Oh yes, and the photo opportunity with the bright blue motorcar. It was fun strolling along reminiscing about various models of cars, but didn’t linger too long, because we had other things to see.

Our next stop was the W.W. Seymore Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park. That wasn’t much, cute, but we were in and out. More time could have been spent looking at the magnificent collection of trees at Wright Park, but Point Defiance Park was calling.

The Gardens of Point Defiance Park

Planning a vacation is a bit of a gamble. You think a car museum is going to be the hit of the day, only to be disappointed dusty hood ornaments. A Conservatory is little more than a greenhouse you might find in a gardeners backyard. What would we find at Point Defiance Park?

What we found in the park was an amazing garden. Don’t get me wrong, the Dallas Arboretum and Longwood Gardens have nothing to worry about. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Point Defiance Park.

First, we hit the Rose Garden. There’s nothing outstanding about the configuration of the garden. It’s just astounding how many gorgeous bushes of this floral favorite they have. Above is a sampling, but it barely scratches the surface.

We saw a few lilies and irises, because they have gardens devoted to them also, but they paled in comparison to the roses. An example of gardens not quite ready for prime time was the dahlias. The massive rhododendron garden had already peaked and faded.

As we strolled along, we weren’t always sure exactly what we were looking at, but it all looked good. Then we wandered, by luck, into the Japanese Garden which was wonderful. We’d been looking for the rhododendrons, but a nice couple overheard our consternation and let us know we’d find that in another part of the park – and that we were too late to see it in its glory.

And Then There Was Owen Beach

OK, we’d put in a full day of sightseeing and needed to make the drive to Olympia. It wasn’t going to be a long one, but we’d need to unload the car and find something to eat, so we needed to save ourselves a little time.

We did have to wander a bit, in order to find the disappointing Rhododendron Garden. We saw boat ramps, restaurants, picnic tables and other forms of amusement, but we stayed on track. Once we confirmed the Rhododendrons had nothing to offer, we started looking for the exit. I did say, “If you see a sign for Owen Beach, you might want to stop there. It’s really popular with the locals.”

Eventually, we did see a sign for Owen Beach and since it was getting to be the end of the day, there were even parking spaces on the lot – something the guide books warned me might not be available. Are we EVER glad we stopped! It was actually one of our favorite stops of the day.

It was a beach for the locals. Some people were getting in their power walk or running along the sidewalks. Some kids were putting off getting out of the water as long as they could, even though their little chins were shivering. Mostly people just walked along in groups or hand-in-hand.

It was beautiful. I’m proud of the way I captured it in my photo book, but nothing could capture the reality. The calm water, the quiet conversations, the laughter. It was just what a pair of tired travelers needed. We walked along, hand-in-hand, grateful for a respite from what seemed like the rest of the world, totally unrelated to the sandy, driftwood-strewn beach.

As the sun began to go down, we returned to our car and made the short drive to Olympia, capital of Washington State. Be sure to come back next week and discover the surprise we found there.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

McMenamin’s Tacoma Elk’s Temple

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: IN TACOMA, QUICKY MEETS CLASSY AT THE ELKS LODGE

Well, we’re back in Tacoma where odd is a little more normal than it is in Dallas! We’ve had a great day of sightseeing (and coffee) in Downtown Tacoma and it’s time for dinner. If McMenamin’s is in the name of the venue, expect it to be ordinary. The Elks Temple is no exception. Let’s go for dinner!

Collecting McMenamin’s Locations

I discovered the McMenamin’s brand when we visited Oregon. We spent a lovely morning at Edgefield in Troutdale. The odd mixture of grand architecture, at a poor house, with vegetable gardens was charming and our breakfast was delicious. Bill enjoyed it enough that he didn’t completely nix the idea of dinner at the Elk’s Lodge when I started describing it to him. Actually, a hotel with multiple restaurants & bars, as well as a music venue or two, might not sound all that odd, but I’d done enough research to know it wouldn’t exactly be his cup of tea.

I’m the sort who would stay at a McMenamin’s Lodge just because it was funky and out of the ordinary. That is not Mr. Bill. While I wasn’t crazy about our Best Western lodgings, the creature comforts and familiarity made it a perfect place to hang our hats for a couple of days. Still, I convinced Bill to give the Elks Lodge a try.

It did not go well. It was a Saturday night with a big name concert and everyone, who had not been at the museums, must have been sleeping in for a big night at the Elks Temple. So we had all of Bill’s least favorite things – traffic, no place to park, crowds and noise.

Still, he was a trooper. We got a “Wandering Map” at the front desk and began to explore. In each venue, there was lots of foot traffic, no place to sit, crowds and noise. I expected him to cut and run to the nearest Taco Bell at any moment, but instead he asked where we might get the most normal food. I postulated the Pub might be the right spot. Luckily, the rest of the patrons were more interested in the exotic, so we were seated right away.

We had a lovely meal, perhaps a tad noisy, but it was Saturday night. I think Bill and I shared the salmon to meet my gluten-free requirements. They had a dessert special I could not resist. Being GF makes dessert a hard course to order, but this was a polenta shortcake with mixed berries. Really good!

If you like funky, then The Elks Temple is a must. If you don’t, go to Olive Garden! We headed back to the Best Western to rest up for the next day’s activities and it proved to be a long one. Come back next week for cars, gardens and beaches. You’ll love it!