DAY 100- Sunrise and Never a Sailor…

I got up early in my north Padre Island hotel to watch my first sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico.  It was something unique having never saw a sunrise over an ocean area.  Living in the west, I had seen sunsets over the ocean.  It was still dark out when I was putting my shoes on but the sun was rising steadily as I walked out to the beach with my camera.  I wanted to capture the moments.  I wasn’t the only one out there.  There was another gal in a cowboy boots and hat with a fancy camera.  I said hi and she walked away from me.  Okay, maybe not a morning person that talks; oh, well.  I just watched and enjoyed the silence as the sun rose.  It was beautiful and I’m glad that a friend had suggested that I do it.

Photos- Of the sunrise I watched over the Gulf of Mexico.

Later on, I was heading south on Padre Island for the Padre Island National Seashore which is part of the National Park system.  I got to use my annual parks pass again; bonus!  I’m always amazed at how many National Parks or Landmarks that I just stumble across and am able to use this pass.  It’s the best investment that I could have done during this adventure.

I drove to the visitor’s center after showing my annual pass at the entrance gate.  I walked into the visitor’s center and there was a group with a national parks employee going through a display of unique things that people had picked up along the beach.  I joined in with listening.  The coolest thing I thought that was on the display table looked like a piece of petrified wood but it wasn’t.  It was fused sand from a lightning bolt that had struck the beach.  You could see where seashells were captured in the fused sand.  All kinds of things wash up onto the shore of Padre Island because of its circular coastline and the ocean currents there are thing that come from Cuba, the Caribbean and South America; most of the items on the display table were seed pods, nuts, or coral.  

I walked around the visitor’s center a little more.  They had samples of the Kemp turtles that had been almost extinct but with help from programs and local support they’ve been assisted in the protection of their birthing places and releasing them afterwards the numbers are slowly rising.  They had one of the large Kemp turtles on display but I guess that currently they were releasing smaller ones in the early, early mornings at this time of year. 

Photo- Butterflies and flowers on the way to the beach.

I went out towards the beach area.  On the way, I saw a grouping of yellow wild flowers where there were quite a few monarch butterflies landing and flying around.  I stopped and watched for a bit.  While watching I also saw a small sand crab run across the sand and into a hole.  I walked along the beach for a while.  Down a little ways there was a father and son fishing along the beach area.  I watched them for a bit and then continued walking down the beach.  I saw all kinds of birds and a couple of Portuguese-Man-O-Wars that had washed up on shore.  The day before near the hotel beach I had seen a jelly fish washed up on shore. 

Photos- Father and son fishing on the beach and their catch of the day.

I must have walked a couple of miles and decided to turn around.  The father and son were collecting their gear and as I got closer I could see a line full of fish that had been caught.  I commented on their catch and the father said that it was just the first catch of the day.  There was a campsite nearby where I guess they were staying.  I wished him a good day and continued on.  I went into the gift shop and looked around for a bit.  Then, I figured it was time to head north to Corpus Christi for my next planned visit of the day.

I followed the Google directions to the USS Lexington Museum which is in a bay area near downtown Corpus Christi.  The USS Lexington War Ship is an actual warship that has been permanently made into a museum.  I paid my entrance fee and got a token for the parking lot across the street.  I hung out looking at displays in the Hanger Bay #2 area while I waited for the next film to start in about 10 minutes.  There were a couple of restored planes, some airplane motors that were on display; along with some game like things to interact with.  When they opened the theater a few minutes later, I took the 3D glasses and found a seat.

Photo- The outside of the USS Lexington from the shore.

The movie was focused on air races and restored planes.  It had some cool effects with the 3D.  A row back a woman said she thought that the movie would be about ships since we were on a ship.  Her husband nicely told her that it was an air carrier ship and that’s why the movie was about planes.  Oh, she said.  She still sounded a bit disappointed.  I just chuckled a bit.

Photo- Inside the USS Lexington in the Bay #4 area.

I next went on one of the four other tours where you go through parts of the ship.  I did the #2 Tour which was the officers’ quarters, a Pearl Harbor Exhibit, and anchor equipment.  I climbed in and around and up into the upper deck areas of the ship.  It was like chutes and ladders with a bit of a maze thrown in.  I was finding it fun and I looked out at the outside windows as I went along.  Next, I did the #1 Tour which was the flight deck.  I went up and out onto the open area where they had old restore airplanes, anti-aircraft guns, the plank, and the navigation bridge area.  It was all pretty fun and I was having fun going through rounded doorways and up and down the stairs that were like ladders.  I did Tour #3 which was the combat ready rooms, the library, and the Captain’s Cabin.  I was amazed at how much room the Captain of the ship was given.

Photos- Stairs and doorways in the USS Lexington.

Then, I thought I’ll do the last of the tours I hadn’t done which was #4.  This tour was the lower decks where the engine room, sick bay, dental clinic, crew’s galley, a POW Exhibit, and a Chapel was.  I climbed down to the lower deck and started to look at some of the crews small areas where they would sleep.  Yikes, these were rather small and cramped.  I went by the barber’s chair area.  I then started going through some of heating and cooling equipment that was on the ship; that was rather cool because I used to be a secretary in this line of business.  Then it was an exhibit on Pearl Harbor Exhibit.  It was about this time that I really started to feel claustrophobic. 

Next, I walked into the sick room area and I could feel the sweat just dropping down my forehead.  I was starting to have a hard time breathing.  I sat down for a bit and put my head between my legs because I was getting light headed.  Oh no!  I might be leaving something behind in the sick room if I didn’t get out of here soon.  My stomach was starting to act up too.  I started to look for a way out.  Shortly after this I ran into a young married couple that had been in the theater the same time as me.  I asked if they knew where the exit was because I was starting to get claustrophic.   They helped me out and then led me over to one of the wide door bay areas when we reached the main floor.  They were both very sweet and asked if they could help or get me anything.  They encouraged me to sit down.  I sat down and just took large breaths of fresh air.  Well, I guess I’ll never be a sailor!

I left the ship shortly after I managed to feel normal again.   I was back in my car and heading north to Bay City which was a halfway stopping point between Corpus Christi and Galveston, TX.  As I drove north the sun started to set behind me and the moon was starting to rise in front of me.  This moon was HUGE and kind of a yellow orange.  It reminded me of the moon in that late 1980’s movie called Moonstruck in which Cher and Nicholas Cage starred.  It was HUGE and I sometimes found it hard to keep my eye one the road because I was watching the moon.

It was as I got to Bay City that I discovered I didn’t have the paper of which hotel I would be staying at for the night.  Ooops!  I pulled into a McDonald’s hoping that they had free Wi-Fi.  Nope!  I drove around and then saw a Chili’s and I thought I would ask there while I grabbed a quick bite to eat.  I just realized I never ate any lunch and I was surviving on a Bit of Honey bar that I bought at the National Park Visitors Center earlier.  I asked the server if she knew of any places with Wi-Fi nearby.  Nope!  Okay, this was not good. 

I looked through my phone when I remembered that I had called hotels.com earlier in the week when I made an error on an on-line booking.  I found the number and rather quickly found out which hotel I would be staying at, the address, and the phone number.  I was back in business.  Yeah!

DAY 21-- Portlandia

The house where I am renting an upstairs room is located in the Sellwood part of Portland.  It’s a neighborhood that has a small shopping haven which has a predominance of antique shops but there are a few wonderful restaurants in there too; as I discovered.  My gracious host, Jim, helped me with suggestions to local places and also directions to a biking/rec path that leads to a whole network of biking throughout the Portland area. 

Photos- The Sellwood area of Portland.

Portland is a Gold Medal city when it comes to being bike friendly and I have to say it is VERY friendly to bikes.  I took the path early in the morning and within 10 minutes and 5 miles I was in the heart of downtown Portland.  I saw several other cyclists, most of them, commuting on their way to work.  Most of the other cyclists had panniers on their bikes or loaded up backpacks; some even had various decorations on the top of their helmets. (So sorry I wasn’t faster with the camera.) 

Photo- Bike path being used by commuting cyclists with Portland skyline in background.

The main parts of the bicycle paths go right along the shoreline of the river that runs through the heart of downtown Portland.  It provides some wonderful scenery with the river, small boats, small marinas, bridges, and the city’s buildings all intermixed to give Portland its unique flavor. 

Photo- The sun above at one of the river path areas near downtown Portland.

Once I got to the downtown area, I went off the bike path and took various other bike friendly roads; most of them had a bike lane or a green lane.  I even traversed a couple of the bridges going on both sides of town.  I was amazed at how the cars were very accepting of bikes and I even had a few times I was in the wrong lane but the drivers were very patient with me.  Not at all like in SLC, where I would’ve been yelled at to get off the road along with a few choice profanities and possibly flipped off too. 

Photo- Green lanes in downtown Portland.

Bike traffic seems to have priority in this city. The bike paths were signed and told you where each off shoot went and they told you the distances to the next stop or destination.  There were even signal lights where it was just for cyclist to cross an intersection diagonally.  You would push a button on the sidewalk and they had the bike path painted through the intersection.  Just wait for the bike signal to turn green and you had right away for the whole intersection.  There were also areas where only bikes and buses were allowed in the downtown area. It was all rather mind blowing!


Photo- Signage along the bike paths.

Later I drove downtown to catch a free walking tour.  I would’ve been better off biking down to it than driving to it.  Warning- Portland is not friendly to car drivers and it can be frustrating to figure out how to get from point A to point B.  There are a combo of factors that make this so—bus and bike only road areas, one way streets, and light rail running down the center of road areas. 

Parking a car in downtown Portland can also be a real pain.  There’s not much street parking and of it much are designed for loading zones and car share vehicles.  Portland doesn’t seem to want you to bring your car to the downtown area at all.  Also, they have recently done away with the MAX’s (Portland’s Light rail & Bus system) free fare zone about 2 months ago.  I ended up finding a parking garage to park my car in for the deal of $9.95 for the whole day.

The Free Walking Tour in Portland; the Secrets of Portlandia (http://secretsofportlandia.com/ ) was a wonderful funny experience and I highly recommend it to anyone that comes to visit the city.  It starts everyday rain or shine from the front of the Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse.  The guide wears a bright green t-shirt and holds a Free Tour sign up.  He’s not hard to miss.  For about an hour and a half he takes you along the city telling you showing you landmarks and talking about all that makes Portland the very unique place that it is.  All along he tries out various bad jokes and puns.  Also, repeatedly using the one-liner of “…on a clear day you can see Mt. Hood…” among all of his other commentary.  Some of the jokes flop but some have you cracking up pretty good.  It’s a little like taking a city tour with a stand-up comedian and hecklers are welcome.  It’s an interactive fun. 

Photos- Free Walking Tour...

At the end of the tour, he stands off to the side and takes tips if you feel like it was worth the tour.  Most of the other city tour walks charge $20 and I’m betting they are not nearly as much fun.  What was even more fun about the whole thing was that at the end of the tour there were more people than what we started with.  People just joined up as we went along.  It’s well worth the $20 that I gave him, he also very willing to give tips on other things to do and where to eat in the city.

Next, I went to a “food court” in the downtown area.  It’s an open area parking lot that has been edged by these food carts that sell every kind of food imaginable.  It's like a little city of food carts that cover a block area. They are actually watched more closely by the food inspectors in Portland than the restaurants.  So thus they are safer to eat at and quite often are a better deal too.  I ordered some Thai food which there seems to be a lot of in Portland.  I had a wonderful pumpkin curry with rice. 

As I waited for my late lunch, I got to talking with another guy that was waiting for his food.  I ended up walking with him over two blocks where there was a city park we could sit down in to eat our lunches.  We visited while we ate and he gave me some suggestions for on my way to Mt. Hood.  While we were eating, I watched a homeless person start digging around in a trash can.  I made a comment and Tom, my lunch companion, said that’s Portland.  He said there was a Cop Shop over on the corner so the homeless would probably not act up or give us any problem. 

But the homeless in the area is a major problem.  They are on a lot of the corners in the downtown area by the river.  Quite often, they sleep between the river and the bike paths.  You’ll see them loaded down with their gear on bikes into the city in the mornings.  It’s sad.  Portland has the second highest unemployment rate in the country.  If you consider moving to the Portland area you should make sure you have a job first.

I walked around the city and took more pictures as I went.  I had hoped to go to the Portland Art Museum but they are closed on Mondays.  It seems like a great deal of places are closed on Mondays.  It’s like the equaling of Sundays in Utah.  Later on, when I was back in Sellwood I tried to go to a restaurant my host Jim had mentioned to me that was a 4 block walk.  But I found that it was closed on Sunday.  Instead I ended up going to a little Italian café about 5 blocks away called a Cena.  OMG!  The dessert I had at the end of a wonderful meal was to die for—Semifreddo; a frozen chocolate mousse with a warm with warm cherries!  SO Good! SO GOOD!  But I will definitely need to bike in the morning to make up for that one!

DAY 15- Hurricane Ridge and Cape Flattery...

I woke up at 2AM to the sound of coyotes howling.  They sounded about ¼ mile off and I wasn’t too concerned because I was close to the bathrooms and other campers.  Besides, all my food supplies were in a plastic bin buried in my car.  Good luck to the coyote that could get to that!  I have enough time myself and I know which bin it is in.  Yes, I so need to figure out how to organize my car and I know I’ve got too much stuff.  Okay, it’s something I need to work on.  But  at least I survived the night and no Twilight vampires or Big foots ate me; so I’m still here and alive and relatively well.

I woke up again at 5:30AM; not because of a noise but due to cold.  I’m in a sleeping bag and I have almost every blanket in there with me.  I can see my breath.  MAN! It’s COLD!  And did I mention damp too.  There’s a layer of dew on everything and condensation inside my tent from my breathing all night.  I go to the KOA restroom and it’s warm in there.  It’s pretty sad when you go to the restroom to warm up.

So I decide I’m going to stay up and break camp early.  Now, to start a fire for breakfast; I have two logs left over from the bundle I bought last night.  BUT I have no kindling because I used it ALL last night to start the fire.  Oooopps!  So I wander around my campsite and am picking up leaves and what not that’s would be burnable.  I set it all up in the fire ring and start lighting matches.  Did I mention that it was damp?  Well, I got a great deal of smoke and more smoke.  It was perfect if I had smoke signals in mind but not one bit of flame. 

I finally remembered I had some paper bags in the car (another reason to ask for paper at your grocery store) and got those and then lite a match.  Go figure it worked!  It only took me a chilly 15 minutes to figure that one out.  Aww… life’s lessons aren’t they grand.  Thanks for the doritas tip mom!  Now, I know I can use those for kindling too.  I now know how to light a spicy fire!

Photo- Big boats at Port Angeles.

After I got packed and what not, I was on the road to Port Angeles, WA.  Some of you may remember that this town was in a few scenes of the Twilight vampire books and movies.  I went down to the coastline and took a couple of photos of big boats and then I went by the restaurant where Bella and Edward had their first date.  But overall, there wasn’t much scenic town area other than the port that I could find.

Photo- At top of Hurricane Ridge, a sea of endless mountains in one direction.

Photo- At top of Hurricane Ridge, the deeper blue areas just above mountain tops
that's Canada.  Yes, that's snow that will never melt in foreground. 

Photo- Me near the visitors center at top of Hurricane ridge.
Yep. there's snow and I'm running around in a skort!

Next, I headed up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. OMG!  It was AMAZING!  It was like I was driving up to the nose bleed section of the mountains in the area to get the ridge.  But the 17 mile drive was VERY worth the views.  It was like seeing forever mountains one way and you could literally see all the way to Canada the other way. Wow!  I would highly recommend putting this on your list of things to see.  There is a fee to get into the National Park but it's well worth the price.  I decided to get an annual pass, since I'll be seeing more National Parks this year.

Photo- The "Indy 500" Shelby that I followed on a gravel road.

Then, I headed back to Port Angeles, and headed west on Hwy 101.  I took the turn off of Hwy 112 to go to Neah Bay.  This has got to be the most winding highway ever!  The speed limit was supposed to be 50mph but they kept throwing these 20mph and 15mph curves at you about every 5 miles; if not more.  Then, they of course had road construction going on.  Go figure!  There was this pattern of 10 miles of curve, 15 minutes of waiting and 5 miles of construction.  Then, I turned onto Hwy 113 as I got closer to Neah Bay.  It was the same thing.

I had to laugh because there was this guy from South Carolina in a brand new Shelby all muscled out that was in front of me.  He was racing around the curves like he was at the Indy 500, and I was always catching up with him at the construction zones.  He would be careful of every little bump in the construction zones but would pour on the speed as soon as we cleared the zones.  Then, we had a long part that was nothing but gravel roads.  I imagine that was not making him happy at all.

Photo- The trail at Cape Flattery is made of boardwalks and tree stumps.

I finally made it to Neah Bay after the three hour drive that should have been an hour and a half tops.  It was pretty but it wasn’t what it had been built up to be. I thought that the John Wayne Marina was more scenic.  Next, I went on to Cape Flattery which is the most northwestern point of the 48 US states.  It was about another 25 to 30 minutes to the parking lot to the trail head for it.  The trail is about half a mile long and is put together of boarded walk ways, tree stumps and winds through a forested area.  It’s a fun trail to go on.  I grabbed my camera and headed in. 

Photos- Scenes from Cape Flattery.

Photo- Tatoosh Island off Cape Flattery that has a light house on it.

Later, as I get down to the bottom they have a warning that there had been cougar sightings.  I thought that it was interesting that they put that information at the bottom of the path way.  But the look outs and the views were beautiful.  It was very worth the ½ mile hike.  I will say that it can be a bit of a climb back up for those that are out of shape.  I saw several older people pausing quite often on the way up.  Meanwhile, I was almost running back up to the parking lot.  I needed to use the restroom facilities and didn’t want to go off to the side of the trail.  A picture of me having my pants around my ankles and being stared down by a cougar flashed through my mind.  

Photo- A thick fog coming into near Hobuck Beach Area.
Pretty to look at but I didn't like the idea of camping in it.

Next, I went over to Hobuck Beach area where I was thinking of camping for the night but there was quite a bit of fog and I really just felt like a night in motel with a shower sounded better.  So I drove back through some of the construction on Hwys 113 and over to Forks for the night.  Yes, another Twilight hot spot.

DAY 14- From Ferrying to Camping...

I tried to break myself of the Island lifestyle by trying to get up earlier.  I had reserved a spot on-line for the 10:15am Coupeville to Port Townsend Ferry.  To make sure I caught my first ever ferry (yes, another first), I managed to set my phone alarm for 6:30am.  I figured better early than late for my first ferry ride.  So, I’m putting my bags and what not by the front door getting ready to take them out to the car.  Next thing I know Mariah (the cat) is laying on my stuff and meowing at me.  It’s like she was saying “Take me too!”  It was too funny because the whole week, I’ve been staying with my hosts (Jean & Walt) this affectionate cat vied for my lap anytime I have sat down anywhere in the house.  Jean kept on teasing me about taking the cat with me when I leave.  So here is this cat rolling around in my gear as I’m trying to get ready.

Photo- The cat that wants to come along?

I said my goodbyes and headed from Oak Harbor to the ferry dock in Coupeville which is about a 15 mile drive.  I checked in for the ferry about 45 minutes earlier than the time.  I was the first car in the first line, and ended up being the third actual vehicle on the ferry.  I told the gal when I checked in that this was my first time and if there was anything I needed to know.  She said no; that I just needed to follow the directions of the ferry employees. 

Photo- I took as I was driving onto the ferry.

I pulled the car on; following the waves and hand signals of the ferry employees.  I turned off and locked my car; then, headed up to the upper deck with my camera.  It had been very foggy on Whigby Island earlier this morning but had been lifting pretty well at the dock.  Well, as we got further out on to the water the fog seemed to just sit there.  I never did really get to see much of anything while on the actual ferry ride. 

Photo- The only view from the ferry while crossing.

Photo- My first sighting of Port Townsend.

My first sight of the town of Port Townsend was through a mild low lying fog.  As we get closer, there’s an announcement about preparing to dock and look out!  It’s like a stampede down the stairs to the lower deck.  Oh, did I mention that there was a great deal of non-American tourists?  There were Oriental and German too that was spoken.  I heard quite a few others that I couldn’t figure out what language they were speaking.

Photo- Outside of wood boat building school.

Off the boat we all eventually went following the universal hand signal signs from the ferry employees.  I took a quick right into the center of Port Townsend and found a parking spot within a few blocks.  Then, I just jumped out of the car and explored.  Port Townsend is a port so there were an emphasis on the boats with a few marina areas, boat suppliers, and even wooden boat builder’s school; which unfortunately because it was Monday Memorial Day the shop was closed.  It looked like they had an area where you could watch them at work.

Photos- Of water front area of Port Townsend.

Their waterfront street is filled with cute shops, quite a few galleries and also eateries. The people seemed very friendly.  There was a cross section of bicyclists, variety of sailors, uptown chic, and hippies.  It was like anything goes and I didn’t seem to be out of place at all.  I stopped for lunch at this cute little restaurant that was French inspired that was tucked away about 2 blocks over from Waterfront Street.

Next, I was off in the car heading west on highway 20 trying to find where it hooked up with highway 101 that goes to Port Angeles.  I got a bit confused when I got in a turn lane and had to figure out my way back to where I should have been.  They seem to be fond of turn only lanes where you don’t really know that you are in a turn only lane until the last minute, and if you can’t get over… well, you figure out something else.

On the way to Port Angeles, there were many discoveries.  Among the first discovery was a community called Discovery Bay which was a picture perfect bay lined with picture perfect homes and businesses.  It was like looking at those realistate ads in real life; a little too perfect.  Next, I went through the town of Sequim which is an area that has a great deal of lavender farms; unfortunately I’m about 3 weeks too late to see them in their full glory.  Just outside of Sequim, I turned off to see the River Bridge trail/Dungeness area.  I guess that this a unique area because it has one of the wettest climates but within about 2 mile distance you go from extreme wet bridges to the driest spot in Washington state which is a mini desert.  There were people bird watching and bicycling throughout the area.  Also, the river trail that goes over the wooden bridge continues from Sequim to just outside of Port Angeles; a good 16 miles away.  I also got to see the John Wayne Marina along the way.  I had to stop there!  Because when you grow up in Iowa and find out John Wayne was born in Winterset, IA... well, let's just say, it's one of those claim to fame type local things.

Photo- River Bridge area with plenty of activity.

Photo- The John Wayne Marina.

Before I got to Port Angeles, I took a left to the KOA campsite; yes, another first!  It was my first time at a KOA campsite and also my first time with just me by myself camping.  There was no relying on someone else to set up the tent or start that campfire; it all fell to me.  And I’m happy to say that I managed it pretty darn well.

Photo- My dinner that I boiled water for.

For dinner, I managed to get a roaring fire enough to boil water (Yes, I can boil water!) to add to the pre-packaged camp meal of 3 bean chili and to put in my brand new never been used French coffee press.  I was getting some real strange looks from other campers with the French press or so it seemed but maybe they were just looking at me because I started a roaring fire to boil water?  For dessert, I had a snack pack butterscotch pudding.  I waited till the fire was almost out, douse it, and got in the tent.  Oh, did I mention that I reserved a campsite with electricity?  I then went into my tent and watched a movie on my computer until I was ready for bed.

DAY 9- La Conner and Camano Island

I decided to get an earlier start for the day.  I drove north along WA-20 to the north end of Whigby Island and then went through a bit of the Fidalgo Island.  The east on to through the Swinomish Reservation to a road called Best Road.  I drove south to a town area on the “mainland” area of Washington State.

Photos- The very picturesque La Conner.

 

La Conner is a township area that overlooks the water between the “mainland” and Whigby Island.  The Swinomish Channel runs past it and there’s a pink steel colored bridge that runs over the channel area.  La Conner is a very picturesque area with a great deal of art galleries, shops of all sorts, Inns, Bed & Breakfasts, and restaurants. 

Photo- Boats parked at a dock along the Swanomish Channel.

I arrived about 10am and 80% of the shops and stores didn’t open until 11am-ish.  In fact, I kind of had to laugh because there were three different businesses that listed their hours as 11am-ish to 6pm-ish.  I guess business hours are not set in stone or it’s a very laid back quality of life in the area for the business owners.  It was a bit of a culture shock for one set to certain hours and time tables; which I’m trying to break myself of.

I walked along and took photos.  I found a cute corner bookstore called “The Next Chapter” where I enjoyed a fresh piece of sour cream coffee cake and a mocha latte and perused through books while I waited for 11am-ish to arrive.  I, then, visited several of the shops and galleries.  I especially enjoyed a shop called “Caravan Gallery” where they had jewelry from all over the world and they were having 20% off everything in the store through to the weekend.  They had some wonderful things and were very reasonably priced and 20% off.  OMG!   I had to limit myself.

Photo- Fun names for some of the shops in La Conner.

Another couple shops that I enjoyed were a Lavender Shop that had lavender items that were made on the San Juan Islands and The Artist’s Remarque which had a wide selection of art items in their galleries.  I slowly went through the shops talking for a bit here and there with shop clerks just enjoying the day.  There were some really cute looking Inns and Bed & Breakfasts on the main area and just off of it too.  They were places with some fun names like Nasty Jack’s Antiques, Go Outside (an outfitters store), and Plum Ugly (a fish tackle shop).  It was rather fun just going along to see what was the name of the next shop. 

Photo- A dog waiting for his owner to have lunch.

Photo- The entrance to the Seeds Bistro & Bar where I had lunch.

 

I worked my way back to where I parked my car and it was about lunch time.  I spotted a place for lunch called Seed Bistro & Bar.  As I walked up to the door I spotted a golden lab tied up and waiting outside for its owner that was, I’m sure, eating inside.  Seed Bistro & Bar had an organic type of fare.  I had a wonderful curry lentil soup with a half a free range rosemary roasted chicken sandwich.  I couldn’t help but have a piece of a blackberry peach pie with homemade vanilla ice cream.  I got there just in time before the lunch “rush” hour.  The place filled up and there was a bit of a wait.

Photo- The Rainbow Bridge from a dock along the Swanomish Channel.

Photo- A quick shot from the car while on the bridge.

After lunch, I drove over the pink colored Rainbow Bridge.  It went over to the other side of the Swinomish Channel which goes onto the Swinomish Reservation.  It was rather striking how the different sides were.  The La Conner side was cute and picturesque but the reservation side had few businesses other than a Chevron Gas station and a lumber yard that was loading trucks.  The houses on the reservation side were run down and quite junky.  It was strange going from one side to the other.

Photo- A Camano Island beach area that I could see from above.

Next, I drove further inland and south over to the highway that led over to the Camano Island.  I was curious about the other Island that’s about a 1/3 of the size of Whigby Island and is nestled between the “mainland” and Whigby Island.  I drove along on Camano Island along several different roads.  There were quite a few private beaches and lanes on the Island.  I was rather disappointed that there really wasn’t that much to see.  I did manage to stop a couple times and take pictures off to the side of the road.

DAY 6- Horseback Riding & Boat Rides...

I'm still on Whigby Island and ended up taking a bit of a different adventure for the day.  I had never been horseback riding.  I found out that there would be a family that was going out for a ride here at Wildwood Farm B&B, some for the first time too; and I thought why not?  Plus, there's a bit of a price break for more than two.  It sounded like an opportunity for me.  So after my usual morning walk with Otis and another amazing breakfast.  The highlight of this breakfast was cubed fresh watermelon with fresh mint, and feta cheese.  Yummy! I changed into my blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Photos- The pasture areas at Wildwood Bed & Breakfast.
 

I went up to the main barn after taking a few more photos of the farm.  I was a bit nervous but Lisa the instruction was very nice and inviting.  But I wasn't nearly as nervous looking as Oscar the young boy in the family that I joined.  Thank goodness they had a bit of stair step to get up onto the horse or I would've spent the whole hour trying to figure THAT out.  I had a calm horse called Vision.  Vision wasn't as tall as some that I had seen and I was glad of that.  It's always good to have a shorter distance to fall.

Photo- Oscar, one of my horse riding companion, looking a bit nervous.

Photo- Lily, Oscar's older sister, looking confident and ready.

Photo- Lily leading out her horse.

Photo- Lisa, the trainer, giving instructions to Jeanna as to proper sitting on horse. 
Note- the helpful stair step to get up on the horse.

Photo- Myself on Vision the horse.  Is that a goofy smile or what?

Lisa, the trainer held the two horses of the younger riders while Mom (Jeanna) and myself followed behind.  Jeanna's horse kept on wanting to stop to eat the fresh grass on the way along.  I was laughing because Jeanna would try to get her horse to go but it was SO much more interested in eating the salad.  I was saying," Salad bar break!"  We went along the road and up through the pasture areas towards a race track area.  We did a loop around the track then back through the pastures and up to the Happy Trail that went through the woods.  It really was a wonderful experience and I wasn't as bad as I thought I would be.  They were English saddles with out the horn on the saddle and you were supposed to sit more up right than in a western saddle I guess.  I didn't have any problems with sitting straighter and I was surprised how comfortable it was.

Photo- People fishing off the dock as I was waiting for my turn on Walt's boat tour.

Photo- Walt, Mr. Skipper for the day and looking totally at ease in his boat.

Photo- Deceptively calm looking water but with eddies and tidal pools
just under the surface under the Deception Pass Bridge.

Photo- Deception Pass Bridge as seen from across from a National Forest area path I hiked.

Later on, I met some of the wedding party.  Walt, Jean's new husband, was giving tours on his boat out by Deception Pass.  It was a bit chilly and overcast but it was still fun to be out over the water.  We went under the huge expansion bridge that spans the pass.  I asked Walt why it was called Deception Pass and he stopped the boat under the bridge and pointed out the water.  It looked deceptively calm but underneath you could see tidal pools going each and every direction.  I bet the sailors in the olden days hated coming through here.  Next he took us over to some logs that were tied together where sea otters like to hang out.  The logs are cut down, tied together and then sent out on the bays where they are eventually sent some where to be processed.  The sea otters take advantage of these little floating log islands to "sun" themselves.

Photo- Sea Otters "sunning" themselves.