I can hardly believe Thursday was yet another perfect weather day!  That streak is supposed to end tomorrow with rain forecast for most of the day.

Anyway, I haven’t given much credit to the state of Oregon for the wonderful job they do with their state parks and ocean viewpoints.  Most are free.  Some charge a $5 fee for day use if you don’t buy an annual pass.  It is always $5 well spent.  Kudos to Oregon.  But today we visited one of our favorite spots, and it is not administered by Oregon but rather by the US Bureau of Land Management.  (Trump has apparently not yet screwed up the BLM.)

The Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area really is its name.  There is a fee for entering, but it’s covered by our National Parks lifetime Golden Age Passport.  The name of the park is well deserved.  I’ll let pictures tell most of the story.  The Lighthouse can be visited by private tour only.  Cobble Beach is down a long flight of steps from the parking lot.  Salal Hill is 0.7 mile hike up from the parking lot.  Quarry Cove really was a quarry where they excavated basalt rock.  There is a great Interpretive Center.  They have a telescope where you can view an inhabited falcon nest.  This is an easy area to fall in love with. (Preposition ended sentence noted)

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At home on the balcony we watched the surf and enjoyed cocktails in the sun.  The sunset was as spectacular as usual.

Dinner tonight was at Tidal Raves.  Yum.

Wednesday was perfect from start to finish although it was much cooler.  It was also another “do little” day.  Walks in the morning.  Jig saw puzzle start for Elaine.  Near lunch time we drove to Cape Foulweather for a look see.  We hadn’t been there yet this year.  Named by Captain Cook (of Whitby, UK fame), it’s only 10 minutes from our condo.  Then we drove 10 miles to the Lincoln City Wells Fargo for Elaine to make a withdrawal.  And I got some vodka to keep the gimlets flowing until the end of the trip.  And we stopped at Mo’s, an Oregon restaurant icon, for lunch.  Clam chowder for Elaine; grilled Yaquina Bay oysters for me.  I’ll spare you more sunset pictures today.

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Morning Walk

Cape Foulweather Views

Boiler Bay

Mo’s

Seattle was fun.  A bit hectic, busy everyday.  Time to get back to our USA home away from home – Depoe Bay. (Dingle is our non-USA home away from home).

It’s about a five hour drive from Seattle to Depoe Bay using I-5.  We decided to do I-5 about halfway and then cut over to the Oregon coast at Astoria.  Once again we crossed the Columbia River near Astoria.  It rained most of the way, sometimes lightly, sometimes steady, with one brief appearance of the sun complete with rainbow.  We stopped in Astoria for three things:

One:  The Hanthorn Cannery Museum – It’s really just an old building on the water with information about canneries and some old equipment.  Bumble Bee had a huge operation here canning salmon until the salmon stocks were severely over-fished.  There were a couple of interesting old videos.  No admission; no one around.

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Two: The Columbia River Maritime Museum – a new and interesting museum about the Columbia River.  Lots about sea rescues.  Lots about fishing.  And here we learned about the Columbia Bar – that spot where the roaring Columbia meets up with the raging Pacific Ocean thus making for one of the most dangerous places in the world for waves, wind, and currents for shipping and navigation.  A ship needs a special pilot on board to cross the Bar and then a different pilot for its journey up the Columbia to Seattle.  There is also an exhibit of Japanese flags with writing on them.  It seems that when a man went off to war in Japan, his family would all sign good wishes  for a safe return onto a Japanese flag which the soldier or sailor would always keep with him for luck.  American soldiers would take and keep the flag as a souvenir when a Japanese fighter was killed or captured.  Since then, many Americans have realized that the flags would be important to the Japanese families.  Many have made a conscientious effort to return the flags but, of course, it is difficult to locate appropriate family members.

Trois – Costco for lunch (where else can you fill up for $8 total for the both of us).  Elaine had the standard hot dog and drink; I had their newest option – chili.  And we stocked up on wine for the last week in Depoe Bay.

Just as we arrived in Depoe Bay, the rain stopped and we had some clear skies for cocktails on the balcony.  Elaine made a sort of Shepard’s pie for dinner.  It was delicious.  We’ll have the leftovers another night.

Tuesday morning was cloudy but dry.  We both took our separate walks.  I stopped for a hot chocolate and a lemon muffin at the Pirate Coffee Company. There were whales just off our balcony all morning and a barking sea lion also performed.  First time we ever saw a sea lion here.   This was to be a do nothing day, and it was.  We did drive into Newport for lunch at our favorite spot, Local Oceans.  We split halibut ceviche for a starter.  Elaine had rockfish tacos and I had my standard rockfish Italiano sandwich.  Other than that, we enjoyed the bright sunshine at the condo.

After a quiet afternoon at home we enjoyed cocktails on the balcony and then cheese, cold cuts, and crackers for dinner.  The sunset was beautiful.

Sunday was last full day in Seattle.  Cloudy all day but dry.  Lunch was at the third of three seafood icons in Seattle: Ivar’s Acres of Clams.  We split great coconut shrimp with a stunning lime cilantro dipping source.  We both had fish and chips, mine with halibut.  Elaine drank marionberry cider and I had Old Seattle Lager.

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There is an interesting story about Ivar’s.  Back in the 1954 Seattle supposedly toyed with the idea of submarine passenger transportation options around Seattle.  Ivar’s immediately jumped on the bandwagon and hired a company to install underwater billboards that the submarine passengers (and divers) would see.  The plan for submarines never came to be.  In 2009 Ivar’s hired divers to try to recover the signs.  They found one and raised it to the surface.  It was great publicity  Great story, huh?  It was all reported in the newspapers as fact.

Alas, two months or so later it was exposed as a publicity hoax.  Story here.

We had only one destination today, the Museum of Pop Culture, better known here as MoPOP.  Big emphasis on Seattle music with a special exposition on Marvel Superheros.  All the memorabilia and costumes are authentic.  Pictures:

Everything Pearl Jam

Everything Nirvana

Everything Jimi Henrdicks

Everything Marvel Superhero

Science Fiction and Horror

Miscellaneous Pop Culture

Tomorrow morning we head back to Depoe Bay for our last week.  No post on Monday since it’s a travel day.  See you Tuesday.

Another sunny morning in Seattle on Saturday.  It being the weekend, we braved driving into the city (25 minutes) to see a couple of things.  First stop was the Smith Tower.  We found a parking spot on the street right across the street from the tower.  (Pay and Display using credit card – it cost $8.50 for the two hours – cheap compared to parking lots).

The Smith Tower, Seattle’s original skyscraper, was built in 1914 and contains 38 floors.  It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built.  It remains a working office building but also contains the Observatory, a 360 degree outdoor viewing platform at the top complete with a full bar.  The street level entrance contains historical information before you ride to the top in a restored Otis elevator.   The views of downtown Seattle from the top are outstanding.  It’s not as tall as the Space Needle, but you get a totally different perspective of the city.

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After descending from the Observatory at the Smith Tower, we walked around Pioneer Square a bit.  On this Saturday the tourists outnumbered the homeless . . . just barely.  The area started to get busy as there was a Seattle Mariner’s game this afternoon at nearby Safeco Field.  (The Seahawks, away this weekend in AZ, play at CenturyLink Field which is practically next door to Safeco Field.)  So we hopped into Blue and headed to our next stop.

On our tour with Ken and Greg, we drove along Alki Beach.  We decided to return there to take some Seattle skyline pictures and have lunch.  No traffic problems getting there and plenty of free on-street parking.  Alki is known as the birthplace of Seattle as it is where settlers first landed.  We made a brief visit to the Log House, a tiny museum run by the West Seattle Historical Society.  It’s very small and has just two focuses (foci?): Seattle fire departments and Seattle music.  Seattle was home to the Ventures (Walk Don’t Run, Telstar), Nirvana and Kurt Cobain (Smells Like Teen Spirit), Jimi Hendrix (Hey Joe, Purple Haze), Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam (Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town), Quincy Jones (we Are the World, Billie Jean), Kenny Loggins (Footloose, Whenever I Call You Friend), Ray Charles (Hit the Road Jack, I Can’t Stop Loving You), and lots more.

After the museum we headed to another Seattle institution for food, Duke’s Chowder House, for lunch.  It would be our main (and only) meal of the day, served outside on the upper deck.  We both had their famous clam chowder (delicious!).  Elaine had a salmon sandwich with sweet potato fries.  I had wild Alaskan cod with new potatoes and veg.  It was accompanied by a nice Willamette Valley pinot noir.

Then we headed back to our digs for a nap – my first in Seattle.  By early afternoon it had clouded up and remained cloudy the rest of the day.  It was cool on the balcony, but we were out there for cocktails.  And off in the distance there was a glorious sunset behind Vachon Island with the Cascades in view.

Friday was another beautiful sunny day all day long.  The plan was to first visit the Boeing Museum of Flight for a couple of hours and then move on to other things.  We got to the Museum right at 10:00 when it opened.  When we left, it was after 4:00 in the afternoon.  What a place!  So, if your not interested in looking at planes, you can sign off and wait for tomorrow’s post.

We started off by watching two 25-minute movies: one on the operation of an aircraft carrier and the other on the rings of Saturn.  Both were entertaining, informative, and enjoyable.  Then we went and had bowls of chili in the Wings Café.  At that point the idea was this would still be just a ½ day visit at most and then we would head for Alki Beach for a walk, pictures, and an early dinner.  After lunch, eaten at an outside table, we engrossed ourselves in the museum and next thing you know, it was 4:00 pm.

The Museum of Flight covers everything about aviation.  It’s a museum of airplanes, of airplane manufacturers, of Boeing itself, of space exploration, of airplanes in WWI, of airplanes in WWII, of airplane art, of airplane pilots and crew, and of aces of fighter planes.  Prepare now for a plethora of aviation pictures.

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As we leaving the house, I took a picture of a couple of spider webs on the way to Blue’s reserved parking spot.

Boeing’s Museum of Flight is outside downtown Seattle near I-5.  It is a large part of Boeing Field, a working airport.

Arriving at the Museum of Flight

Watching the Movie

 

The Charles Simonyi Space Gallery

Charles Simonyi was a Hungarian who emigrated to America and became the head of Microsoft’s Application Software Group and oversaw the development of Microsoft Office (including Word and Excel).  He later became the fifth space tourist (i.e., he paid his way to ride the shuttle – twice). His estimated net worth is $3.1 billion.

The Aviation Pavilion

And So Much More

A random gallery of uncaptioned pictures.

Dinner was on the balcony at home on a beautiful night.  Lasagna and Salad.

About a year ago Elaine and her sister Caroline did a tour of Ireland together.  Two of their favorite people they met on their tour group are from Seattle.  One of them, Ken, visited us awhile back in Scottsdale.  So today we met up with both of them, and they were our tour guides for the day.  We drove to Greg’s house to meet them.  We were in Ken’s car for the day.  First stop was at the Washington Park Arboretum, a site near the University of Washington that is jointly administered by the city and UWA.  After a short walk from the parking lot directly under the Interstate we were at the shores of Lake Washington for reunion pictures.

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By now it was lunchtime, so Ken and Greg treated us to lunch at a Seattle institution, Ray’s Boathouse.  Seafood salad for me; a bowl of cl;am chowder for Elaine.  I got to have a glass of Manny’s Pale Ale – I’m not driving today.  We sat outside on the deck in the beautiful weather and ate watching the boats go by.

Next it was on the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.  It is run by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.  It was an interesting sight that we never would have seen without our superb local tour guides.

Final stop was at the Museum of History and Innovation (MOHAI) which houses the Bezos Center of Innovation.  Fabulous museum!  We had time to cover only one floor.  It was fascinating.

We drove around a lot of other places in Seattle including the complex of Amazon Buildings that house my favorite retailer’s headquarters, downtown Seattle, and Alki Beach, a delightful stretch of beach that faces Seattle’s skyline.

Finally we went back to Greg’s for a delicious home cooked meal featuring barbecued salmon and steak.  Yum.  Then goodbyes and home to bed.

Tuesday

On to Seattle.  Five hour drive with some dramatic scenery.  We took I-90 all the way with a stop in Ellensburg for lunch at the burrito stand we ate at last week.  I-90 crosses Route 2, last weeks route to CDA, at Ellensburg.  We also met up again with the mighty Columbia which we have deemed to be America’s most beautiful river.

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Approaching Seattle at 3 pm, we switched to I-405 to get to South Seattle (Burien) to get to our rental for six nights.  Bumper-to-bumper traffic, but they had a car pool lane in which we zipped right along.  The rental is everything the delightful carriage house in Coeur d’Alene wasn’t.  The view is tremendous from a spacious balcony, but the inside is old and dated.  The kitchen is small.  We shall make do and spend lots of time on the balcony.  We had crackers, cheese, salami, and wine for dinner.  We also had a visit from a neighborhood cat.

Wednesday

Fabulous first full day in Seattle.  Weather forecast seemed perfect.  We decided to go into downtown Seattle, a good 30-40 minute drive from where we are.  Instead we opted to drive just 10 minutes to the Angle Lake LINK station and take the light rail downtown.  Plan was Space Needle first and then on the Public Market.  But as we rode into town, the clouds and fog took over the city.  The Space Needle seemed silly with those conditions, so we changed plans.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market (Public Market) is fantastic, one of the best market areas in the world.  We walked around the neighborhood and the seven or eight levels of the main building.  It was lunch time and we wanted seafood.  So we picked Lowell’s.  Their motto is “Almost Classy“.Good choice.  Elaine had fish and chips while I had a grilled seafood platter.  Spot on.  The clouds lifted as we ate.

On the Walk to the Space Needle

After lunch we walked the waterfront a bit and walked on about a mile to the Space Needle,. Originally built for the 1962 World Fair, it was just recently totally transformed in a multi-million dollar renovation.  It now boasts the world’s only rotating glass floor. It was blessedly not crowded on this September weekday.  And the sky was now bright blue.  We rode to the top and did the whole thing.  Elaine freaked out as I leaned against the glass windows, sat on glass window ledges, and walked on the glass floor looking down.  But she did good staying a bit away from the windows and on solid flooring.

After descending we visited the permanent Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit which is practically next door.  We’ve seen temporary Chihuly exhibits at the Desert Botanical Garden and the Chihuly lobby in the Bellagio in Las Vegas.  The exhibits here, including Indian blankets and Indian portraits, are spectacular.  I’ll let pictures tell the story.

After viewing everything we took the Monorail back to the LINK station for the ride home. At the LINK station where our car was, there was a great view of Mount Ranier.

After reclaiming the car, we stopped at a Fred Meyer for some supplies and got home just in time for another spectacular evening of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the balcony overlooking Elliot Bay and Vashon Island.  (We may have to go over one day.)  A couple of freighters chugged by and we can watch the ferries back and forth from the mainland to Vashon Island.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we are meeting up with Ken and Greg who were Elaine’s and Caroline’s dates on their tour of Ireland last year.

The sun was shining brightly when we got up on Monday and the forecast is for sun all day.  Temps in the 50’s.  Nice.  So we decided to some scenic driving.  First objective was the Lake Coeur d’Alene Scenic Byway which starts just ten miles or so from the carriage house.off I-90.  We saw an eagle!  Love my Canon G16!

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That goes through Harrison, a popular little marina and fishing town in the summer.

Then we drove the White Pine Scenic Byway back to I-90. We saw elk!

Next a stop at Cataldo Mission State Park where the oldest building in Idaho stands.  The Coeur d’Alene Indians sought out conversion to Christianity.  They would eventually regret it.  They sent delegations to St. Louis seeking missionaries. The Jesuits responded in spades.  It was a good relationship for years, but eventually the white man drove the Indians to reservations.  We had a picnic with no bees!

Then it was back to the carriage house for drinks before a very nice dinner at the Moon Time Ale House.  Yikes.

For a starter we shared PORK PASTOR QUESADILLA- Seasoned char-grilled pork, diced onions, Monterey jack cheese and chopped cilantro stuffed into a flour tortilla and grilled. Served with grilled pineapple salsa and sour cream

Elaine had  NORTH IDAHO SLOPPY JOES– Ground pork, ground beef, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, paprika, and onions served over smoked cheddar cheese cornbread. Garnished with parsley and diced tomatoes then accompanied by an iceberg lettuce wedge drizzled with blue cheese dressing.

I had CAJUN RAVIOLI– Cheese stuffed raviolis topped with an Andouille sausage, chicken and rock shrimp Cajun cream sauce. Garnished with Tabasco sauce, parsley and served with sliced French bread.

The have one dessert only.  We shared THE MOON UNIT – A rich chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

And then bed after viewing the harvest moon from the balcony.  We drive to Seattle tomorrow (Tuesday).  About a six hour drive.  No posting tomorrow night.  Be back on Wednesday night.

 

First off, thanks to all for the comments.  We read and appreciate every one.  Secondly, I forgot to post two videos that I took at the Sierra Mine Tour yesterday.  Like I said, it’s the only mine tour that actually demonstrates the mining equipment.  The first shows our miner/guide drilling into the mine wall; the second shows a sludging machine that clears our water and sludge.

Now on to Sunday.  We spent a cloudy and cool day in and around Coeur d’Alene.  In the morning we did the Tubbs Hill  hike.  Mountain lions (aka cougars) don’t scare us.  It was a nice walk.  No cougars seen.

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Then we had a nice lunch.  Remember the picture of the bar with all the draft beer taps?  We ate there at Crafted, sitting outside.  Burgers again!  Well, for me.  And good beer: Mother Earth Brewery Cali Creamin’ Cream Ale for Elaine and Mad Bomber Brewery Brett’s Oktoberfest Lager for me.  The burger looks great and was good, but not as tasty as at Ralph’s on Friday or at the 313 Club in Wallace on Saturday.

In the afternoon we did a 1½ cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.  Fabulous houses along the shoreline.  It was cool up top on the boat but still enjoyable. The houses, some of which look like hotels, are all private residences. Many of them can only be reached by boat – no road access.  The sun came out as we came back to the dock.

Cocktails and dinner at home.  Early night.  We’re old!

We watched the Patriots on TV.  They have serious problems.  Belichick/Brady magic will be severely tested this year. Frankly, it’s not unexpected (by me).

See you tomorrow.  Weather is predicted to be sunny.