Today is our last day in Vancouver and we have a full day planned.  Also we are going back to Maenam’s for dinner. Yay!

Our first and longest stop is at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology.  The mission of the museum is to present world arts and cultures with a special emphasis on the First Nations peoples of the British Columbia area. As you enter the building there is an enormous room full of totems and other artifacts.

Board with otter – Coastal Salish people c.1890

One thing I did not realize is that the totem poles were used as structural elements inside their houses. The different carved elements brought different spirits into the house.

Haida totem pole

There is also a display of large ceremonial bowls that look like small boats used for tribal gatherings. There is a giant spoon to use in the left hand bowl.

Ceremonial bowls

Ceremonial masks

The great vaulted exhibition room holds many fabulous totem poles.

Exiting the space devoted to the First Peoples of British Columbia, there is a large space devoted to the First Peoples of the Pacific Islands, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many of the statues are representations of myths that seem to include the capture and rape of women.

This has to do with a man hiding and watching as beautiful young women came to a bathing place in bird disguise. He watched as they stepped out of their costumes and came back the next day and stole one of the costumes. He promised to help the woman get back her costume but captured her instead to be his wife.

Rape of the moon woman by the crocodile man of Papua New Guinea.

There is also a contemporary exhibit going on called Unceded Territories. The art deals with colonialist suppression of First Nations peoples and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights to lands, resources, and sovereignty.

One of the paintings in the exhibition by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun

There are rooms and rooms full of everything the museum has collected. It is a little daunting. In back of the museum is a large outdoor installation.

Outdoor exhibit

After doing a pretty thorough job investigating the Museum of Anthropology we return to our hotel for a little lunch and feet up time.

This afternoon we head out to the Nitobe Memorial Garden, also at the University of British Columbia. According to their website –

“Dr. Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933) was an agriculturalist, scholar, Quaker, philosopher, statesman and educator. Dr. Nitobe was educated at Sapporo Agricultural College, University of Tokyo, Johns Hopkins and University of Halle (Germany). Early in his life he expressed the desire to be a “bridge over the Pacific” and he devoted much of his life to promoting trust and understanding between the United States and Japan.”

It is quite a serene place with a tea house and a walk that takes one from birth to death through decorative lamps and rocks. (Unfortunately my phone starts ringing as we are amidst the solitude.)

Nitobe Memorial Garden

Next we visit some park land along the English Bay so I can take a panoramic picture of Vancouver.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Tonight is our final dinner in Vancouver so we decide to go back to Maenam knowing that the experience there will most likely be better than anywhere else. The waitstaff recognizes us and greets us warmly.  The menu for the chef’s dinner has changed since we were here on Saturday so we have several new dishes. Once again it is so good. If I lived here I would come to Maenam’s at least once a week.

(I have only included pictures of the items we did not have last time. We had the fabulous clams and the duck salad again.)

This time our amuse bouche includes shrimp toast with salmon tartar and prawn as well as the yummy meatball

Hot and sour chicken soup with oyster mushrooms

Hanger steak with red curry, egg, beans, cilantro and ginger

Ling cod tempura with basil, shallot, chili, and fried green peppercorns

Black sesame panna cotta with raspberry and sesame brittle and fresh coconut sorbet

We have had a great time in Vancouver.  There were many interesting things to see, the city is clean and safe, the people are warm and friendly, and the food is OUTSTANDING!

Our plan today is to go to the Queen Elizabeth Park to see the gardens and to see the Bloedel Conservatory. The park is at the highest point in Vancouver and there are panoramic views.

View of downtown Vancouver from Queen Elizabeth Park

The first place we visit is the Bloedel Conservatory. It is full of tropical plants and birds.  There is a helpful brochure that refers to numbered sites in the conservatory.

John in front of Bloedel Conservatory

Tropical plants

Koi

Tropical birds

Weird tree

Bird eating seeds

Colorful birds

After spending a good deal of time in the Conservatory we decide to get lunch at the restaurant at the park, Seasons in the Park. It is a lovely restaurant with beautiful views of the park out the windows. The restaurant hosted a meeting between President Clinton and President Yeltsin in 1993. And the food is good too!

Delicious salmon and salad at Seasons in the Park

Plaque commemorating the meeting between Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin

After our late lunch we walk around the garden some more. Part of the garden is in quarries that are no longer in use.  It is a dramatic setting where you can look at the overall garden from above and then walk among the plantings.

Looking down into the Little Quarry Garden

Another view

Plantings

Mary hiding behind a giant leaf

In the early evening we head over to Granville Island which is the happening place in Vancouver. There are music venues, shops, and restaurants. We decide to dine at Edible Canada, a restaurant that showcases Canadian products. Our dinner starts out well but goes down hill at the entree course.  John didn’t like his and didn’t eat some of it.  John usually likes everything!

YUKON ARCTIC CHAR GRAVLAX
gin cured char, Vancouver Island sea salt, lemon crema, fresh dill, crusty bread, pickled onion YUM!

These are french fries that are cooked in duck fat. They are soggy and not great. BOO!

Three kinds of salt – the bacon salt is especially delicious

FARMERS HARVEST
daily selection of organic farm fresh vegetables, Canadian grain hummus, pickled vegetables – This was not so good. John had his with smoked sturgeon which he wouldn’t even eat it was so rubbery and off-putting plus the grain hummus was just regular chickpea hummus

Lastly we take a walk around Granville Island and look at the shops.  The view of downtown Vancouver is pretty spectacular.

Downtown Vancouver from Granville Island

After breakfast we get our bags packed up and head out to find our way up to Canada.  We are hoping that the border crossing will not be too lengthy.  The times we have crossed into Canada, it has been quite expeditious. It is usually getting back into the U.S. that is time-consuming.

But not today. Times for getting into Canada are posted some miles before the crossing. If we continue on I-5 the wait is half an hour, if we use an alternate, it is 10 minutes. Wisely, or so we think, we choose the shorter wait time. It takes more than an hour and we are questioned and a dog comes around to sniff our car. The only drugs we are likely to have with us might be to ease our creaky joints from sitting in the car for an extra hour!

Waiting at the Canadian border, eh?

After finding our way to Vancouver and negotiating the myriad roads closed for repaving or repair, we get to our digs for tonight and the next two nights, the West Coast Suites at University of British Columbia.  We have opted for another apartment type set up and the University is a great setting. It is situated on a peninsula southwest of downtown and there is easy access to lots of great neighborhoods and parks.

Typical suite at West Coast Suites at UBC

Only downside is that there is no air conditioning! What, were they not expecting Americans to visit? And there are no screens. Amazingly the only problem we run into during our three night stay is the noise of wild animals attacking prey. It is lovely and cool and nary a bug flies into our room.

We decide to take some time to get ourselves sorted out and do some wash. We also want to investigate someplace to eat. While I am looking around the internet I find a restaurant that has won Vancouver Magazine’s 2016 restaurant of the year as well as many other accolades, Maenum, serving Thai cuisine. I love Thai cuisine! Since we have skipped lunch we make a reservation on the earlyish side .

Parking is an adventure. It is a combination of internet and phone. We call the number on the meter and we go through an extensive menu of punching in our license plate number and credit card so we can park.  Then we walk the couple of blocks to Maenum and are only 10 minutes late. (I hate to be late.) But all is well and we are set for a culinary adventure.

We select the chef’s menu which consists of at least 6 small plates. It is only $45 Canadian and the wine pairing is $30 C. Wow, what a deal! And it is spectacular. Here is what we dine on –

Kingfish and prawn on a betel leaf plus pork and chicken meatball with chile and pineapple

Sablefish with oyster mushrooms in a lemongrass broth with dill, kaffir lime and fresh tumeric

Clams in a spicy broth and lemongrass and chiles served with fabulous nahm jim sauce

Duck salad with mint, fried shallot, and lychee

Surgeon with green curry sauce steamed in a banana leaf and served with a cilantro and mint salad

Breaded and fried chicken with basil, cashews, guajillo chiles and fresh baby corn

There was also a coconut panna cotta which was also delicious but in my hurry to eat it I forget to take a picture.  This was really a five star dinner. I am afraid that wherever we eat next will not be able to even come close.

Note: After spending most of the day in La Conner, Washington trying to catch up on posts, I decide that for the rest of the vacation I will spend my time enjoying where I am instead of writing blog posts.  I have plenty of notes so here is my first post after returning home.

So here we are in La Conner, Washington. We decide that today will be a walking-around kind of day. A day where I can catch up on postings and watch the boats sail by in the channel below our window.  There are interesting Native American reproductions across the channel and a mishmash of old an new buildings in town.

Boats at anchor with Native American replica structures across the channel

We venture out around lunch time to find some tasty treats of the sea and look at the architecture of the town.  The architecture is somewhat of a mishmash. There are older buildings and also a startling 1970’s style post office. What were they thinking!?

The U.S. Post Office breaks up the harmony of the buildings in downtown La Conner

We decide to have lunch at the La Conner Brewing Company. Their menu looks good and there is a large board posting their beers according to alcohol content and hoppiness.  John decides on the Fishtown Summer Ale and I have a wheat beer.

Beer board

John is happy with his choice

For lunch I have crab cakes that are kind of overwhelmed by the sweet spicy chili sauce and John has  wood-fired chipotle clams. It is one of the best dishes of the trip so far.

Mary’s crab cakes

John’s fabulous chipotle clams

After lunch we have a little siesta and watch the boat go by. (And I write more catch-up posts.)

A sailboat that has passed under the bridge and continues down the channel

After the sun goes down we venture out again in search of dinner.  We try the Oyster and Thistle which is the highest rated restaurant in town.  Unfortunately the kitchen is in the weeds. In the room in which we are seated, no one has food. Our server aggressively suggest we had better order a salad since it will be a while until any main courses are coming. We are a bit too full from lunch for this and decline. The waitperson touches me a couple of time which I really don’t like at all!! She says our bread is baking and after a longish wait we get four slices of bread in a basket. Sigh.

Finally our entrees arrive.

Mary’s curried shrimp and scallops

John’s paella?

I have curried shrimp and scallops in a lukewarm sauce with mushy rice.  John has a paella of clams, duck confit, chorizo, prawns, escargot, and the kitchen sink served in a bowl. There is no paella pan and no crispy rice. These dishes are okay but not a big success.

Looking forward to Vancouver tomorrow!!

We get an early start today. We are traveling across the top of the Olympic Peninsula to Port Townsend and catching a ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island. First business first, though, is a stop at Mary Clark Rd. with a picture of the aforementioned Mary Clark (now Mary Pilat.) We have no idea who this Mary Clark was but we found this road on our last trip up here and it deserves and updated picture.

Mary Pilat nee Clark and Mary Clark Rd.

The trip along the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula is beautiful with tall trees and sparkling lakes. We arrive at Port Townsend shortly before lunch. We stop at the Visitor’s Center and get another fistful of brochures and maps listing the sights in and around Port Townsend. It seems that most of Port Townsend was originally built around 1890 in the Victorian style. We have a map now describing the most interesting of these structures.

The lady at the Visitor’s Center recommends Doc’s for lunch. It is right on the water.

Doc’s Restaurant (not my picture)

John has a Port Townsend Stout and we both have salads plus clams and mussels in a white wine sauce.  The downside is that there is way too much garlic in the dish but otherwise the shellfish is nicely cooked and delicious.

John with stout

Garlic with clams and mussels

We have some time to kill before our ferry reservation at 2:45 PM.  It’s a good thing that I looked to see whether you needed a reservation because many of the crossings are sold out. In the meantime we look around Port Townsend and take a trip out to Fort Worden to see the lighthouse.

Lighthouse and lightkeeper’s house at Fort Worden (a lot of gull droppings!)

Finally it is time to drive onto the ferry. It is a beautiful day to make the crossing so we sit on the sun deck to enjoy it.

Looking back at Port Townsend, Washington

Our sister ship crossing back to Port Townsend

On the other side is Whidbey Island and the land is used for farming. We see lots of signs for blueberries. We are driving from island to island now and there is spectacular scenery at Deception Pass. A group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbey, part of the Vancouver Expedition, found and mapped Deception Pass on June 7, 1792. George Vancouver gave it the name “Deception” because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula. (Wikipedia)

Deception Pass (credit blog.anacortes.org)

We are headed to the Channel Lodge and after a long day’s worth of driving what could be better than having our intrepid GPS, Jack, take us to the wrong place by about 12 miles. But ultimately we find our way and check into the okay but expensive Channel Lodge in La Conner, Washington.  The place could do with a facelift.

We wander around downtown a bit and have dinner at Nell Thorn. I have an excellent salad and some calamari which are only rings, no tentacles. John has fried oysters.

Our evening ends with some walking and a friendly encounter with some other tourists.

Sunset on a channel of the Skagit River

Our plan for today is to visit the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park and then drive out to the most northwestern point in the continental United States.

What a difference eight years makes! The last time we were here in this remote corner of the Northwest, there were very few visitors and we were able to enjoy a peaceful walk through the rain forest. This time, however, there are so many people – people playing music, babies crying, frustrated parents trying to get their kids to smile for the camera, kids running on the trails and off the trails, annoyed drivers not being able to find parking spaces, foreign visitors who don’t understand what is permissible, Americans who don’t understand what is permissible, and on and on. This celebration of 100 years of the National Park Service has strained the capacity of the parks.

We get to the Hoh visitor center early enough that we can find parking in the overflow lot. We decide to take the Hall of Mosses Trail.

John at the Hoh Visitor Center

On the Hall of Mosses Trail – moss!

Along this trail are interpretive signs explaining the cycle of life in the rainforest.

Explanatory plaque

Nurselog with colonnade of trees

Stilt-like roots from growing over a now rotted-away nurselog

The forest is fascinating. I love the moss.

This moss gets all its nutrients from the air

Moss growing on top of a fence post

Moss covering the trees

Moss in a swampy area

After our hike we head back to the our room for lunch and then head out towards Neah Bay near Flattery Point, the most northwestern place in the continental U.S. We stop along the way to search for whales (zero) and otters (also zero.) The body of water here is the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Investigating further we find that Juan de Fuca was Greek rather than Spanish and the Strait was named by an Englishman after him. All these waterways in the Northwest were caused by glaciation.

Looking across the Strait of Juan De Fuca to Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Reaching the road’s end, the area is the reservation of the Cape People, the Makah Tribe. The Makah were named by surrounding Native Americans with a name meaning “people generous with food.” Their flag symbol shows a red and white thunderbird with a whale in its talons.

Tribal symbol of the Makah Tribe

John standing on a jetty in Neah Bay

After our excursion it is time to make dinner. The Quillayute River Resort provides each unit with a Weber grill. Tonight we’ll be having hamburgers!

Lastly, another beautiful view of flowers at the Quillayute River Resort.

Wow, I am running behind on posting. After spending a long time doing the last marymom and Clark and Lewis posts when I wanted to be doing other things, I went on strike. Now it seems that the only loser in this was me. I need to keep current or else it becomes overwhelming. I don’t know whether I will get back to writing Clark and Lewis stories because they take so long. Damn you punctuation!

Anyway, we leave the house in Westport and look to find things along the way to Forks, Washington that we want to see. Our first plan is to go to the Polson home and museum in Hoquiam and to see the tall ships including the Mary Washington of Pirates of the Caribbean fame in Aberdeen. As it turns out the Polson stuff is closed on Tuesdays and the tall ships are out of port. Sigh. Then I remember seeing a sign for a rainforest other than the Hoh so we decide we will find it.

We stop in Hoquiam at the Visitor’s Center. Jean, the nice lady there, gives us a ton of ideas of things to do and lots of pamphlets. (John loves to save this stuff!) We start by taking a look at the “Historic Aberdeen Mansion” which looks like a biggish Victorian house. There are nice trees and plants there, though.

Historic Aberdeen Mansion

What is this tree? John suggests elm but I think may be something else

We stop in Hoquiam for lunch and I take an election photo. I wished I had taken a photo of the one for Takko. We amuse ourselves making stupid jokes about their names.

I have been amused by this candidate’s sign whose name I imagine is pronounced “mistaken.” It brings to mine jokes with a “Who’s on first” vibe

After lunch we find the Quinault Rainforest and hike a short interpretive trail.

Trail in the Quinault Rainforest

There are many large trees along the trail. I especially like the nurse logs which are fallen trees who support the growth of new trees. The new trees form a colonnade along the log and their roots wrap around the old trunk. The log serves as a repository of water during dry times for the new trees.

John does his usual big tree, little John

Here’s me with a new tree on a nurse log

Tree growing around a stump

Lots of new life growing from a broken tree

Down the road a bit is the World’s Record Sitka Spruce. We cannot miss this!

It’s down a trail that has lots of beautiful foliage.

Wild raspberries

Foxglove

Then we get to the tree itself and it is immense!

Facts about the Sitka Spruce recorder holder

So here’s the tree which looks big but when you compare it to little John…

Immense tree, tiny John!

Today’s selfie

We are staying a cute apartment type inn a few miles outside of Forks, Washington.

The Quillayute Resort is so picturesque with beautiful flowers and the river right outside the door.

We are definitely taking this vacation pretty easy. Sleeping in (until almost 6 AM), having a lot of pajama time, taking a nap or two, and heading out in the afternoon to see what can be seen. These two days we concentrate on Westport and don’t wander far afield. Westport is located on a peninsula on the south side of the entrance to Grays Harbor from the Pacific Ocean. The Westport Marina is the largest marina on the actual coast of the northwest U.S. The marina is home to a lot of commercial fishing boats. We walk around the docks and take a look at the Maritime Museum.

Commercial fishing boats in the Westport Marina

Crab pots

You can buy fresh fish right from the docks

We stop by the Maritime Museum just in time for closing. So we walk around the outside and look at the exhibits. There are many skeletons of blue and gray whales. Enormous!

Maritime Museum

Gray whale skeleton

We also notice that there is a fishing derby going on. The winner is the person who catches the biggest fish in different categories. Maybe they are all waiting until the last minute but the whole time we were down there only one person came in with a fish.

Fish derby

After watching the incredibly exciting (not) fish derby we head to check on the tennis court that I found by looking on Google maps. It is cracked and in bad shape. Two little boys say that someone has tried to burn it down recently.  We are not sure how that would work but we decide to give tennis a pass tomorrow.

Derelict tennis court

We stop at the grocery store and pick up some chicken and vegetables to make for dinner.

Chicken with stuffed potato and zucchini with carrot saute

After dinner we take a walk down the beach. Some people are building a big bonfire, someone else is driving their truck down the beach. This is the most activity we’ve seen on any beach. We find some sand dollars (related to urchins) to bring home to Nathan and Sam. But the weather is turning colder and it is time to head back to the house.

Beach bonfire

Headlights from a truck on the beach

Sand dollar

Cold woman and the sea

On Monday we didn’t do much. Mostly just sat around in comfy clothes and did puzzles and such. Late in the day we went out to see Washington’s tallest lighthouse and buy something for dinner.

John at the lighthouse

The actual lighthouse

Fresh fish store at the marina.

Rockfish, couscous, and broccoli for dinner

Tomorrow we head north to the Olympic National Park and the rainforests.

When I was planning this trip I looked at the distances between stops to decide whether the driving was do-able in a day. We usually like to limit the driving to no more than four hours so we can stop and see things along the way. The distance from Bandon to Westport was 324 miles. That’s a little longer than I like but the rental looked good and it would be a fun trip up the coast.

Maybe 300+ miles is okay if you are driving 75 mph but it is definitely not so good when you are averaging around 45 mph. The road is windy and there are a lot of small towns with speed limits of 25 to 30 mph. Also there is a lot of traffic. So we end up leaving at 8 AM and getting to Westport around 5 PM. Plus there are a lot of bridges and cliffs so John drives the whole thing. My bad.

We do make one short stop at the Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretative Center to learn all about transportation in Oregon in the 19th and 20th centuries and the man, Conde McCullough, who was the architect of the bridges. The bridge over the Alsea Bay that McCullough designed has been replaced but there is a model at the museum and they have saved the art deco pillars at the beginning and end of the bridge. It’s a quick visit since we are under time pressure but interesting and informative.

Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretive Center

Model of the Conde McCullough Alsea Bay Bridge

Art deco elements from the old bridge

New bridge

On and on John drives with just a very short lunch break. Finally we are at the Oregon/Washington border. Looming before us is the very long, high, narrow bridge across the Columbia River.  It is pretty freaky.

Approaching the Columbia River bridge

Finally around 5PM we pull into the driveway of our rental for the next 3 days. The inside looks and smells like a new house but on the outside the weather and poor building materials have made it look a little shabby. The inside is really nice, though.

A picture of the rental taken from the back

John schleps in all our stuff while I try to organize it. We discuss what to have for dinner and hit the local supermarket. As the sun goes down we prepare a simple dinner of corn and spinach. We are both too tired to hassle with a big production.

View out the dining area window

Sunset

Dinner

After dinner we take a walk to the beach except when we get to the end of the path through the reeds there is a 6 foot drop. So we enjoy the sounds and sight of the ocean from our perch above the beach. Maybe tomorrow we will find where the access to the beach is.

Hard to see but this is where the path ends to a drop down to the beach

It is getting dark as I take a picture looking north

We are here for three nights and it is nice not to be unpacking and packing. We do not have a big agenda of things to do. There’s time for a little activity but even more time for reading, doing puzzles, writing blogs, cooking dinners, and looking out the window at the ocean. I like the slower pace for a change.

This morning it is sunny again and we decide to go use the tennis courts we found next to the high school. As usual the tennis courts are in disrepair. There are cracks in the surface and the nets hang loosely moving in the breeze.

Did I say breeze? I mean wind, gale, category 3 hurricane force wind to someone who is trying to play tennis. It is blowing from behind me because there is no way I could hit through it to get the ball over the net. The wind even takes my racket and wiggles it around in my hand when I go to hit. Even harder though is trying to figure out what John’s shots are going to do. They are much shorter than they should be since the wind is pushing them back. Between the wind and the uneven surface we give up after about a half an hour.

Neglected tennis courts

Next we decide to go to the beach and see if we can find our house up on the bluff. Needless to say if it was windy on the tennis court, it is amazingly so on the beach. We walk a bit on the sand but the wide beach is intersected by small rivers of fast moving water which keeps us from going far. The first beach we go to is the Whiskey Run Beach. It is a little south of where the house is.

John by one of the streams on the beach

Deserted beach

We decide to try another beach just north of the house to see if we can find it. Since access to the beach is at longish intervals due to the bluffs, the next picture is the best I can do. The house is somewhere up on the bluff.

The house is somewhere up there.  (Merchants Beach at Seven Devils Recreation Area)

An intrepid soul is parasailing in the 50 degree windy conditions

The wind is pretty enervating so after a stop at the store we decide spend the rest of the afternoon quietly.

We really love making our own food while on vacation. It is fun to see what you can invent with a limited supply of items. As usual we have brought a few of our knives, a spreader, peeler, and cutting board with us.  You never know what you are going to find in a rental.

Equipment from home and some leftover bits and pieces for dinner tonight

John and I use the cast iron pan again to cook a dinner of Asian beef and broccoli with rice.

Cooking Asian beef and broccoli

Dinner is a success! We watch some ocean and some TV and call it a night.

Dinner turns out well and you cannot beat the view!

Upon arising I look out the window and, what is that I see?  It’s a bright orb. Why, it must be the sun! I imagined that there would be only chilly gloom the whole time we are here. But the day is sparkling so I grab my phone for a few pictures before the sun hides away again.

Good morning sunshine!

Following are some pictures of the exterior of the house, Shore Pines,that we are staying in. It is on a bluff overlooking the ocean and although you can see the beach and the ocean you have to go by car to one of the nearby beach access points to actually get on the beach.That’s really not much of a drawback since the temperatures of the air and the water are cool to cold and the wind howls off the Pacific pretty much 24/7.

The house has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a kitchen/great room. It is very well equipped and except for the uncomfortable queen bed and odd, not-cotton sheets is ideal. It is very isolated with no near neighbors at all.

Rental house from the driveway approach

Close-up of front of house

House with ocean behind

Today we head out to Myrtle Point to the Coos County Fair about a half an hour away. As we pull into the parking lot we are directed to our space by people on horseback. This is a really rural county full of ranchers and farmers.

Parking lot attendant

We are mostly interested in the animals. A couple of years ago when we were up here we also came to the fair and learned a lot about llamas at their judging. We are hoping to see some more animal competitions while we are here this time. We start out by taking a look at the goats in their enclosures.

Sleepy goats

Coos County has an active 4-H program and there are a lot of kids competing. We are a little surprised by the non-sentimentality of the people and their animals. The competitions are named by the end result, such as beef showmanship, pork best in show. We spend some time watching young 4-H-ers compete in the beef showmanship. These kids look to be 10 and under and sometimes they are more controlled by the “beef” than the other way around. But everyone is trying hard and gets a ribbon.

Older siblings help the little ones with their showings

Our favorite little girl and her cow. She has very good control and her French braid is best-in-show

Next we wander over to a display of long horned cattle. Wow, do they have big horns but seem very docile. The little boy hangs his hat on one of the horns and the cow pretty much ignores him. Then the man cracks a whip right next to the cow’s face and it doesn’t flinch at all. Apparently that is an important trait of these cattle. These enormous cows are making a comeback in Texas where they were almost wiped out at the turn of the century from blizzards.

Long horned cattle

Then it is on to the llamas, John’s favorite animals. Along with Ponch, Llama was John’s nickname at his fraternity at MIT. He has a long upper lip hence the name.

John and the very alert llama

Sitting down llama

It is around 2 PM when we get back into Bandon and time for some lunch. We walk around for a bit and check out a couple of fish markets. Maybe we will make some sort of fish for dinner tomorrow. During our walk around downtown Bandon the wind is so strong that I have to hold on to my hat the whole time or it would be swept off my head.

Although some intrepid souls are eating outside, we opt for the warmer, less windy Wheelhouse restaurant. John orders oyster stew which he raves about. I have a rockfish sandwich. The fish is very good and the coleslaw is really tasty too.

Oyster stew

Rockfish sandwich with coleslaw and fries

After lunch we head back to the house for a little nap time. For dinner John makes an excellent steak in the cast iron frying pan we found in one of the cupboards. I make a salad. We figure out how to use the TV here and watch a couple of programs on Netflix. Tonight we decide that two of us in a queen size bed doesn’t work out well so we opt for separate bedrooms. Tonight the sleeping should be better!

This morning is chilly and foggy. Our plan is to head up CA 101 along the coast with a stop at the Prarie Creek Visitor Center for some information about the Redwood National Park and then another stop at a commercial site called “The Trees of Mystery.” We have no idea if this will be some awful tree-themed park or something better.

Luckily the fog lifts as we approach the Visitor’s Center. The Redwoods National Park is a conglomeration of national and state parks conserving and highlighting the world’s tallest trees. Redwoods grow from small seeds into organisms that can weigh 500 tons and be taller than the Statue of Liberty.  They have foot thick bark that makes them all but impervious to fire and insects. After procuring some brochures we head out along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway where the majesty of the tall trees can be appreciated.

Driving along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway

A majestic redwood

From the sublime to the somewhat more ridiculous, we stop next at the touristy “Trees of Mystery.” We are greeted by an enormous waving statue of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox. Paul Bunyan is a folk (or fake) lore figure and part of the Trees of Mystery is devoted to his story.

Giant Paul Bunyan and Ox

We join the line to get tickets and soon we are on our way hiking the main trail with its various named redwoods. I take a short break at the bear settee.

Mary is bear-y happy for a break from the uphill trek

It is hard to see the elephant in the dappled light but it’s there!

There are many beautiful views as we walk up the trail. Here’s one of the sunlight streaming through the trees.

Sunlight streaming through the trees

We stop for a photo op at the Brotherhood Tree, the tallest one in the park. It has a nice sentiment on the sign.

John at the Brotherhood Tree

Tiny John, big tree

Looking up towards the top of the 297 ft. tree

The next portion of our adventure is a gondola ride up to the treetops. We meet a nice family from Washington State who are making the opposite journey from ours. They ask us what to see along the California coast.

From our vantage point high above the trees we can see the marine layer rolling back in.

A passing gondola

The marine layer rolling back in

The Trail of Tall Tales is next and is devoted to the lore of Paul Bunyan.  There are many of his adventures carved into redwood slabs with a chain saw. This is less interesting although I enjoy taking a picture of J.P. Stumpy with my own J.P.

J.P. Stumpy with J.P.

At the end of the trails we are ushered into the gift shop after passing a cross section of a thousand year old tree. The earliest rings are from the time of the Crusades, 1096 A.D.

Tree rings through history

We need to be at our rental house around 4 PM so it is time to hustle up the coast after a quick bite for lunch in Crescent City. I rented this house on VRBO and it is supposed to be right on the ocean surrounded by solitude. I am hoping that it lives up to the hype (and price.) We follow the directions and head down a dirt road and around a bend and there it is. The house and the ocean! It is a pretty spectacular setting. Yay!

All the windows on the back side of the house face the ocean.

Just to the south is the Bandon Dunes golf resort with its famous links style course

Today we start our long-awaited trip up the West Coast. Our first stop will be in Eureka, CA and then we will stay for a few days in Oregon, and Washington before ending in Vancouver, BC. It is really hot in our part of California with temperatures over 100F. We are seeking some cooler weather and a change of place and pace.

Part of our trip takes us through the beautiful redwood forest in California. In the picture below you can see a fabulous giant redwood tree in back of the Big Foot Schlock Shop. (For family members, “Souvenir shop ahead, watch for schlock!) One wonders what the zoning laws used to be.

Watch for Schlock!

We skip lunch and get to Eureka around 3 PM. As we approach we can see the remnants of the marine layer and watch the temperature, which has been as high as 102F on the trip, dip down to 64F. What a welcome relief!

At 3 PM in the afternoon the marine layer on the coast has started to burn off

We have an early dinner (so embarrassing to be like old folks) to make up for our missed lunch. We find the Sea Grill in downtown Eureka and decide to try out the local seafood. The oysters and clams are good but the potato and vegetables are a miss. However, the friendly competent service makes the dinner a success.

Mary’s clams in a white wine sauce

John’s baked oysters

After dinner we drive over to Samoa Island, the barrier island for Humboldt Bay. It is really not developed at all except for some ugly heavy industry like electric generation and wood pulp manufacturing. There is a picturesque Coast Guard station, a breakfront, and old gun emplacements left over from WWII.

Looking towards the entrance to Humboldt Bay

Watching the waves break with Clark and Lewis

Coast Guard Station

Beach selfie

Flying our colors on the Fourth of July

Our new invisible screen door! The breezes are great!

The security robot at the Stanford Shopping Center that Sarah and I ran into

Plus here are some tasty homemade meals from July –

Chickpea stew with vegetables and ditalini

Fried scallops, so delicious!

Pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw

Curried shrimp on rice with broccoli

We have been married now for 44 years. Wow, what a long time. But it doesn’t really seem that long. It seems the older I get the more compressed time seems. We have a very happy marriage although not without its little woes. Sometimes I complain too much and sometimes John is a little goofy. On the whole, though, we have a wonderful life with two great kids and two adorable grandsons. John is retired and we can visit all the places we want to see. We are together almost all the time and that is what we looked forward to all of our pre-retirement life. So no complaints here!

This year to celebrate we go up to Sonoma for the Stone Edge Farm Winery’s winemaker’s dinner with a vertical tasting of all their cabernet sauvignons. Our friend, Philippe, is there to greet us. We start out with passed hors d’oeuvres and champagne. The four course dinner includes a delicious bouillabaise Provencal with garlic toast and rouille,

Bouillabaise Provencal

and a sformatino of gorgonzola, walnut-saba relish, charred leeks and arugula salad. The small gorgonzola cake is especially delicious. (no picture, too busy eating). Next are slices of Painted Hills oak-grilled porterhouse with potato gnocchi, zucchini tian, and swiss chard. The meat is cooked perfectly and is so tender!

Porterhouse slices with gnocchi and vegetables

And lastly a dessert that even I like – a selection of artisanal cheeses with stone fruit compote. Plus the whole time we are tasting and critiquing a lot of wine! We start off with a 2014 Stone Edge Farm Sauvignon Blanc and then move on to the vertical tasting of the Stone Edge 2006-2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and also taste a 2009 Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac. The table is a sea of glasses.

So many glasses!

It is a wonderful dinner with knowledgeable folks from the winery and interested and eager tasters. We all give our opinions and it seems as though we tasters like all of the wines!

Luckily we are staying within walking distance of the dinner venue and we stumble back to our room after dinner is over.

Sunday, our actual anniversary, is spent walking around Sonoma square and napping.  For dinner we go to a tapas place, Tasca Tasca.  This is a lot of fun and we choose an array of tapas to try.

Clockwise – tuna ceviche, bread, anchovies, goat stew, crispy piri piri potatoes with saffron aioli, Lupini beans, and glazed duck breast

 It is my first time eating goat and it is really good. I wonder why we don’t it in the U.S. The duck is also especially yummy. The dinner concludes with small servings of piri piri chocolate ice cream and salted olive oil ice cream.

I think we have eaten enough to last until our 45th anniversary next year! It is a lovely weekend and now I can start planning what to do for our next anniversary.  Since it ends on a “5” it will be something really special.

Jon has joined another group to sing with. It is a mixed group of 7 men and women called PrimeTime and they sing in a jazz and pop style. He will still be singing with Hookslide but he wanted to try something else as well.

Since Ryan and Leigh are out of town we take Nathan and Sam to the show at the Monkey House in Berkeley. They are super good and seem to enjoy the music. PrimeTime does a great job and we look forward to hearing them sing again. Yay, Jon!

Sam and Nathan are ready to enjoy the show

Jon singing in a subset of PrimeTime

In a larger group

During intermission Nathan and Sam entertain themselves!

Today Sarah and I go to the Alameda County Fair. In the 23 years I have lived here I have only gone once before. Obviously I am not a big fan. But the fairgrounds are right here in town, John is at work today, and if you bring 4 canned goods you can get in for free (except for $10 parking!)

We had a great time and three hours of fair seems like just the right amount of time!

Here are some of the things we saw –

Quilts!

Landscaping

Bunnies!

Parakeets (one looks like my childhood bird, Bert!)

Sarah as a WWII icon!

Sheep judging

Sarah and Clydesdale

Yesterday Sarah and I went to the Farmer’s Market to get vegetables for our whole family cookout on Father’s Day to honor John and Jonathan. One thing we got was this beautiful Malabar spinach (which is not really spinach.) I plan to use it as a base under a beet, orange, and blue cheese salad.

Malabar spinach

But this morning I get a call that Nathan is sick and running a fever so Jonathan and family are not coming. Boo. I am sad that Nathan is sick and we cannot be all together.

What to do with all the food? Raise a toast to John and eat burgers, salads, and dessert for the rest of the week!

Roasted beet salad with blue cheese and oranges

Festive meal

Happy Father’s Day, John!!

Sarah and John clinking bottles

We wake up early at Bryce Canyon NP to get on the road so that we can visit Zion NP before it gets too crowded and hot. The plan is to find some breakfast along the way. We stop at the Galaxy diner in Hatch, UT.  By this time Nathan and Sam have given up on  waffles and are totally into French toast.  This diner does not disappoint from a breakfast food standpoint. It does, however, have a very touch-y owner. The first time he comes by and touches me I think, “don’t touch me again!” That hope is to no avail. This guy must have touched me at least twenty-five times. Every time he walked by I got a shoulder graze or squeeze whether he was waiting on us or not. I am used to strangers talking to me since I have seem some sort of tractor beam drawing them in but it doesn’t usually get physical. This is pretty creepy. We finish up quickly and I try to get away with just a handshake which doesn’t work but I at least manage to avoid a full body hug.

Nathan outside the Galaxy Diner in Hatch, UT

We enter Zion NP from the East Entrance.  The park looks very different from this side. In the western section it is all towering red cliffs and in the east there are more conical white sandstone formation. We stop at Checkerboard Mesa and discuss the geology of the area with Nathan and Sam.

Nathan with Checkerboard Mesa behind him

Nathan and Sam looking at Checkerboard Mesa

Our hope is to get to the Visitor Center and on the buses before the crowds and heat. We have arrived before 11 AM but have failed in both regards. We have to park outside the park entrance and walk in. Then we have to stand in a very long line to get on a bus.  Many buses fill up before it is our turn.

Waiting for the bus

We get off at the farthest point in the canyon. We are going to walk along the Riverwalk Trail until it ends at the Virgin River. In one of our shopping outings I have bought water shoes for Jon, Nathan, and Sam. While we wait on the shore they can take a hike in the water.

Jon with Sam and Nathan (ahead) walking with a lot of other people on the Riverwalk Trail

By the time we get to the end of the trail Nathan has gotten a blister and decides not to go in the water.  Sam and Jonathan do go in and have a great time while Nathan plays in the sand at the river’s edge.

Eek, cold water!

Daddy and Sam in the Virgin River

These pictures look like they are the only ones there but it is careful cropping

Nathan and Zayde discuss breaking stones along their weakest points to make edges

On Friday we spend the morning in the Entrada pool where Sam swims through the waterfall and sits on the bench behind it with me. He is so happy to have accomplished this.

Tonight we are cooking our fancy dinner. Jonathan has seen some marrow bones at the new Harmon’s and he and I have a shopping expedition while John, Nathan, and Sam have some quiet tech time. Here is a picture of the marrow bones in the meat case.

The marrow bones are labeled femur bones

We go into a long explanation of how we want the bones cut longitudinally so the marrow will be easier to get at.  The butcher seems a little perplexed. Finally he says, “What kind of dog do you have?” Jonathan and I crack up and say that the bones are for us. He admits that he has never sold the bones for people before.  He gets us some fresh ones and cuts them to our specifications. When we check out, here is how they ring up –

Pet bones for our fancy dinner!

We roast the bones, make a garlic and parsley sauce, and serve them with crusty bread. It is very good and we are barking with pleasure at the end.

Marrow bones with parsley garlic sauce and crusty bread

The week has flown by. We have done more than I have pictures for –  movies, shopping, breakfast and lunches out, books, iPads, cards and games. On Saturday we must head down to Las Vegas so that Jon, Nathan and Sam can catch their plane home. We leave in enough time for a stop at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in the Caesar’s Palace Casino. At last we have found the much desired waffles! Nathan eats every bit on his plate plus a roll or two. Sam does a really good job as well. It is the perfect ending to a really fine trip.

Jonathan, Nathan, and Sam at Mesa Grill

I am really looking forward to this mini-trip to Bryce Canyon National Park. It ranks near the top of my favorite places to visit.  We leave St. George early and plan to stop for breakfast in Cedar City. I figure a couple of stops along the way will make the trip easier for everyone.

Our breakfast is at the All-American Diner. Although Nathan and Sam are looking forward to a waffle somewhere, they are won over by the French toast fingers. All the breakfasts are pretty filling and I am confident that we will make it to Bryce and be able to take a hike without starving! ( I do have jelly sandwiches along for just in case.)

Mary, Sam, Jonathan, and Nathan at the All-American Diner, Cedar City, UT

The rest of our ride is a scenic drive with views of Cedar Breaks National Monument and a climb up to over 9700 feet. Nathan is handling the GPS and reports our exact elevation. At the summit with patches of snow still visible we get out to take in the view back towards Zion NP.

Stretching our legs at 9700 ft. elevation

We reach Bryce NP shortly before noon and park at the Best Western Ruby’s Inn. We have decided to take the bus into the park as we know from experience that there is very limited parking. Our bus drops us off at Sunset Point.

We will begin our hike at Sunset Point and do the Navajo Loop

We walk out to the canyon edge and are overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery. The hoodoos look like sand castles and everywhere the colors are pink, orange, and ivory.

Nathan and Sam are pretty impressed with the view

Jonathan is, too!

Thor’s Hammer formation

We begin our hike down into the canyon. It is pretty hard for me with my gimpy knee but I am game. Nathan and Sam are like mountain goats having no trouble with the terrain at all. Occasionally everyone needs to stop to let Beeba catch up.

Mary, Jon, Nathan, and Sam on the way down into the canyon

It is pretty hot and the air is thin so we make sure everyone stays well-hydrated. Finally we get to the bottom of the canyon – and turn right to start the trek back up.  For some reason I thought this would be easier. It is easier on my knee but the steepness and the thin air are taking its toll.  Jonathan, Nathan, and Sam scamper back up to the top but it takes Zayde and Beeba a long time and lots of rests to make it to the canyon rim.  There were times when I wasn’t sure whether I would make it!

Cozy cave and a break from the sun

We check into Ruby’s Inn and Jonathan and the boys go in search of lunch.  I need a little sit down for a while. Later they go swimming and we take a nap.

Big goings-on tonight, a rodeo! We head across the street to the Ruby’s Inn Rodeo and get ready to watch some roping, barrel slalom, bull riding and bronco riding.  We discover pretty quickly that rodeos are 8 seconds of terrifying action and then 10 minutes of nothing happening.  One bull rider gets kicked in the head. We decide we’ve had enough.

Rodeo!

Nathan and Sam go to the gift shop to pick out a souvenir.  Sam immediately picks out the most expensive thing in the shop. They are 5 foot matching geodes which are $15,000!  Luckily he is just as happy with a much smaller geode.  Nathan selects polished rocks.

It has been an excellent day and everyone sleeps well.

Part 3 – Zion NP and brunch at Mesa Grill