Sue

We got an early start to catch the 8:15 am ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, B.C. The view above is looking back to Port Angeles with the Olympic Mountains in the background. The crossing took over an hour and a half plus Customs so it was quite a trek. I mostly sat and read on the ferry but Scott wandered around, checking it out and taking pictures. The ferry was quite comfortable and you can sit or move around to a variety of areas and seating configurations, plus there’s a galley with food to purchase.  It hit some swells right out of Port Angeles, but then settled down to a nice even roll.  We had a lovely view coming into Victoria and got quite easily through Customs.  We saw the legislature building on the lower right, walked a block to the beautiful Empress Hotel on the lower left, and caught our express tour bus up to Butchart Gardens.  It was the first time we really felt like tourists! [Read more…] about Our Visit to Butchart Gardens

So we planned an extended trip wandering around northwestern Washington, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Oregon coast.  While looking at maps and routes at home, this conversation took place.

Scott:  It looks like we will have to go through Forks, Washington at one point.  Isn’t that the vampire town in those books you read?
Sue:  Yup.  It might be a kick to get a picture of me in front of the town sign.  I’ve seen pictures of it-it’s a famous sign now.
Scott:  Whatever you want. [Read more…] about Stumbling over “Twilight” without really meaning to

We had a little time after breakfast to work on blog posts and social media, then we were off to Coupeville via the Whidbey Scenic Isle Way where we drove onto the ferry to take us to Port Townsend.

We left the car and went topside to stand out front and watch where we were going. And get cold and wind-blown on the overcast day. Scott took a picture of the view from inside the car on the ferry, then drove the car off.  He’s the silver car on the right and I walked off to get pictures of him driving off the ferry. [Read more…] about Olympic National Park-the mountain section

We left Forks to visit First Beach and La Push on the Quileute Reservation because now we were actively chasing “Twilight” for my blog post.  First Beach, the real place, was very cool with sea stacks wreathed in mist and low clouds, driftwood and colored stones on the beach, and cold mist falling on us. It’s right in La Push and quite scenic, very upper coastal and fun to wander. [Read more…] about Olympic National Park-forest and coast

Tuesday morning we left Seattle early and headed north to Anacortes for our whale watching tour. Although yesterday had been a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle, it had rained overnight and was overcast. It looked exactly as you might imagine a Washington day.

We had booked a cruise with Island Adventures based in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island and that turned out to be a great choice. Scott had investigated several companies and we had originally planned to use a company much farther south but turned out they didn’t sail that day so we changed plans, got up early and drove north instead. Good for us because this cruise was freakin’ awesome. They have a naturalist on board that was not the captain so instead of trying to explain wildlife while piloting the boat, he was free to mingle with passengers, answer questions, and talk about animals. There were also complimentary wildlife viewing guides for each passenger that explained information about the animals and area plus maps of the islands. Since we sailed out of Anacortes, we headed directly into the San Juan Islands instead of sailing north for a long time, so there was more time for wildlife viewing. Judging from the crew’s excitement, apparently we happened on an extraordinary animal day. Boo-yah! We saw many more types of animals than normal and a larger quantity of orcas than usual. Wicked! [Read more…] about Anacortes and Whale Watching