August 9, 2016 – The return home

Originally our plan is to take a few days driving and get to St. George, UT to check things out at the house and then return home.  However, temperatures in St. George are hovering around 105F for a high and 80F for a low and it just seems too daunting. So instead we will spend a night in Portland as originally planned and then head home with an overnight in Redding, CA. One of our goals on this trip is to escape the heat and if we end up where it is much hotter than home that seems counter-productive.

We start out earlish because we have to cross the border back into the U.S.  Having had a lengthy delay getting into Canada we can only imagine how difficult the trip back in will be. Amazingly it takes about 5 minutes. Huh.

We want to stop in Portland because several years ago we were in Portland for Davis Cup and we ate at Jake’s where we had razor clams. They were fabulous! So after checking into our very nice hotel, the Sentinel, we make a reservation and walk the few blocks to the restaurant. (Thanks, internet, for the pictures below)

There is a saying about not being able to go home again. My experience is that it is very difficult to go back to a restaurant that you loved and have it be as good as you remember. This is true of our experience at Jake’s. We start out with a calmari appetizer which is fine but the razor clam entree is heavily breaded and the flavor is just not the same. I remember them have this maple syrupy element to them in their sweetness. This dinner was an over breaded piece of seafood with a lump of mashed potatoes and green beans. Sigh.

Fried calamari
Fried calamari
Sad razor clams with blob of potatoes and green beans
Sad razor clams with blob of potatoes and green beans

Oh well. The next day we hightail it to Redding, CA. We do get to see the magnificent Mount Shasta along the way.  It is the volcano that is the farthest south in the Cascade Range.  It is surprisingly enormous when it comes into view, kind of like seeing Mt. Rainier in Seattle.

Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta

Finally, we end our culinary journey at Olive Garden which normally we wouldn’t go to but, hey, it’s Redding and probably not a place to get adventurous.  Our eggplant parmesan was actually quite good.

Eggplant parmesan from Olive Garden
Eggplant parmesan from Olive Garden

So that’s it, our whole trip. We drove about 2400 miles, had beautifully cool weather, enjoyed ocean breezes, saw amazing vistas and fabulou flora, ate our own home-cooking and had some amazing restaurant meals, and loved being in each other’s company. Pretty wonderful, I’d say.

 

August 8, 2016 – Vancouver, B.C.

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
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
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 bowls
Ceremonial masks
Ceremonial masks

The great vaulted exhibition room holds many fabulous totem poles.

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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.
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.
This has to do with the rape of the moon woman.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Hot and sour chicken soup with oyster mushrooms
Hanger steak with red curry, egg, beans, cilantro and ginger
Hanger steak with red curry, egg, beans, cilantro and ginger
Ling cod tempura with basil, shallot, chili, and fried green peppercorns
Ling cod tempura with basil, shallot, chili, and fried green peppercorns
Black sesame panna cotta with raspberry and sesame brittle and fresh coconut sorbet
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!

 

 

August 7, 2016 – Vancouver, B.C.

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
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
John in front of Bloedel Conservatory
Tropical plants
Tropical plants
Koi
Koi
Tropical birds
Tropical birds
Weird tree
Weird tree
Bird eating seeds
Bird eating seeds
Colorful birds
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
Delicious salmon and salad at Seasons in the Park
Plaque commemorating the meeting between Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin
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
Looking down into the Little Quarry Garden
Another view
Another view
Plantings
Plantings
Mary hiding behind a giant leaf
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!
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!
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
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
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
Downtown Vancouver from Granville Island

 

August 6, 2016 – To Vancouver, B.C.

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?
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
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 .

logo

amazing food night after night; transforming Vancouver’s dining scene

– Vancouver Magazine, Restaurant of the Year

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 meatmall with chile and pineapple
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
Sablefish with oyster mushrooms in a lemongrass broth with dill, kaffir lime and fresh tumeric
Cllams in a spicy broth and lemongrass and chiles served with fabulous nahm jim sauce
Clams in a spicy broth and lemongrass and chiles served with fabulous nahm jim sauce
Duck salad with mint, fried shallot, and lychee
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
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
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.

 

 

August 5, 2016 – La Conner, Washington

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
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
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
Beer board
John is happy with his choice
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
Mary’s crab cakes
John's fabulous chipotle clams
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
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
Mary’s curried shrimp and scallops
John's paella?
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!!

August 4, 2016 – to La Conner, Washington via ferry

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.

My street
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)
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
John with stout
Garlic with clams and mussels
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!)
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
Looking back at Port Townsend, Washington
Our sister ship crossing back to Port Townsend
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)
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 the Skagit River
Sunset on a channel of the Skagit River

 

August 3, 2016 – Hoh Rain Forest near Forks, Washington

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
John at the Hoh Visitor Center
On the Hall of Mosses Trail - moss!
On the Hall of Mosses Trail – moss!

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

Explanatory plaque
Explanatory plaque
Nurselog with colonnade of trees
Nurselog with colonnade of trees
Stilt-like roots from growing over a now rotted-away nurselog
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
This moss gets all its nutrients from the air
Moss growing on top of a fence post
Moss growing on top of a fence post
Moss covering the trees
Moss covering the trees
Moss in a swampy area
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
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
Tribal symbol of the Makah Tribe
John standing on a jetty in Neah Bay
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.

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August 2, 2016 – Quinault Rain Forest and more

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 Aberdeem Mansion
Historic Aberdeen Mansion
What is this tree? John suggests elm but I think maybe something else
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
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
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
John does his usual big tree, little John
Here's me with a new tree on a nurse log
Here’s me with a new tree on a nurse log
Tree growing around a stump
Tree growing around a stump
Lots of new life growing from a broken tree
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!

IMG_2444

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

Wild raspberries
Wild raspberries
Foxglove
Foxglove

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

Facts about the Sitka Spruce recorder holder
Facts about the Sitka Spruce recorder holder
So here's the tree which looks big but  when you compare it to little John...
So here’s the tree which looks big but when you compare it to little John…
Immense tree, tiny John!
Immense tree, tiny John!
Today's selfie
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.

 

July 31 and August 1, 2016- Westport, Washington

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
Commercial fishing boats in the Westport Marina
Crab pots
Crab pots
You can buy fresh fish right from the docks
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
Maritime Museum
Gray whale skeleton
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
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
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
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
Beach bonfire
Headlights from a truck on the beach
Headlights from a truck on the beach
Sand dollar
Sand dollar
Cold woman and the sea
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
John at the lighthouse
The actual lighthouse
The actual lighthouse
Fresh fish store at the marina.
Fresh fish store at the marina.
Rockfish, couscous, and broccoli for dinner
Rockfish, couscous, and broccoli for dinner

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