Lost In Seattle

Where shall I go today? I asked Ryan as he and Julie headed out the door to Bumbershoot. As Ryan and Julie are moving to San Francisco in 11 days, this is my last visit to this home - what haven't I seen in this city? Volunteer Park was his reply. Seeing as the sun was shining, it seemed like a day not to waste indoors in Seattle. I wrote out the instructions from Google directions, a total of 13 minutes, it declared.

So I set out on my journey, and within minutes of home, knew that something wasn't right. After sliding with the rest of the traffic onto I-5 heading North, and maneuvering my way back through nothing but intuition, I dug out the map.

These are my conclusions after my extensive experience in Seattle streets today:
- Google maps makes directions sound much easier than they are.
- People are great resources - I found a couple in Starbucks who looked at my Google instructions and map, and decided neither would help me. They pointed me in the right direction - go up, they said. The rest was up to me.
- You learn how to pay attention when you go down the same street several times.
- It actually took 45 minutes to find Volunteer Park.
- At two different points, I got onto I-5; one time going north and one time going south.

And then, I realized that sometimes one sets out on a journey only to discover that you end up at a place where you have been before. (I think this is a metaphor for life in general.) A couple years ago, I went to Volunteer Park in the rain, and we walked up the water tower.

At Volunteer Park, I:
- sat in the sun overlooking the water reservoir.
- taught a bored security guard at the Seattle Asian Museum how to conjugate the verb talk in Spanish for the singular pronouns.
- bought an umbrella that is sure to bring me luck - it has bamboo images all over the top. The store also had an umbrella that was red and when it gets wet, cherry blossoms appear all over it.
- saw yet another view of the Space Needle:



One of the features of this park is a sculpture called "Black Sun." Here are the Black Sun and Space Needle together...



And here is a picture of all of us:



I went for a walk and found Lake View Cemetery. Ryan had told me that Bruce Lee (Who is he? I thought) was buried there. There are a lot of graves in Lake View Cemetery, and so I had few hopes of finding it. The cemetery has a great view:



I wandered up one road and down others, decided that it was time to find my way home. How I found Bruce Lee happened this way: I glanced to my left and saw a nondescript tombstone that said Lee, and I crossed the grass (carefully) and saw that it didn't even have a date of birth or death on it. Then something caught my attention and I headed more up the hill and behind a row of small shrubs I saw:



Right beside him is the grave-site of his son,Brandon Lee. Both of these fellows had bizarre deaths.

I left Volunteer Park around 6ish, and found the route home (different than the way there), very easily. Still, there was something nagging me about those Google instructions, and so I went in search of where I went astray. And I found yet another way to get astray, and landed up in downtown Seattle. Just as the movies were being let out.

I have passed by Pontius Street a total of 5 times today. And now I am back home, a little worn from my travels. At some point, I realized I was having fun! Go figure!

Good night Seattle....



and to one red Honda Civic...

An Early Birthday

Nine days to be exact. Spending birthdays together with family can be quite the choreography. We couldn't all be together to celebrate Aimee's exact birthdate but we were able to gather 9 days ahead. Even Julia came along to the event. Unfortunately Josh had to work so didn't hang out with us for the day.

Event 1 of the day was opening of the gift (from Josh)...



This was definitely the most fancy inside of any wallet I have ever seen.

Event 2 was the rousing of the guests....



We signed the cast before we left for:

Event 3: lunch at Milestone's. What was memorable was the assurance that there was no cilantro in the soup. Man, whoever decided that was food rather than a weed.

Event 4: Granville Island - one very groovy place to hang out. There we found the birthday cake. Cakes. Everyone gets to choose their own!!




Event 5: Stanley Park and English Bay: We dried our ocean-dipped and sandy-coated feet sitting on a log and enjoying the sunshine.

Event 6: Dinner at Him's - my favourite sushi hangout on Denman Avenue.

Before:


After:


Event 7: Blowing out the candles and more presents for the birthday girl!!

August on the Lower Mainland

I journeyed to the west coast on Saturday the 9th; this is the first time in a couple of years that I have travelled during tourist season. It was some busy on Highway 3, considered to be the most scenic drive to the coast. I think the marketing has done the job.

I remembered long ago when my mother used to take road trips that she would calculate the gas mileage by figuring out the fuel cost per hour. At some point, she related to me that she got $5.00 per hour on one trip. This journey, I decided to figure out the mileage my mother's way. From Castlegar to Chilliwack, I travelled for $6.00 an hour. So what's changed in over 20 years? My mom was driving a Chrysler Imperial and I now have a Honda Civic.

Speaking of my mother, I spent some of my day admiring my birthday gift from her:



After my purchase, I was told by many people that I had a tennis bracelet. Apparent Chris Evert was the first to wear diamonds on the tennis court. This is not diamonds, but they certainly shine like they are.

My trip down to the coast was a potpourri of weather. Rain, and sun. During one stop, I heard thunder. All was for the good because I was travelling with Julia and she did not need the heat. Here is a picture taken of Sunshine Valley:



And here is a promise of the week to come while I am away from home:

July Visitors

Summer has arrived in Nelson! This is one very groovy place to hang out in the summer. I am always thrilled to share my home with visitors - summer or winter - but interestingly enough, summer, has the greater appeal. So technically, this posting is not about my travels, but some of the adventures that I had with my guests.

The first guest to arrive was Janine, who travelled for 33 hours by Greyhound from Manitoba. That is one very special friend. She insists that it was not torturous and she got to meet some interesting people.

I harvested the first item from the garden while she was here. We shared the harvest:



The order of strawberries (7.5 pounds) arrived the day after Janine did, so we ate strawberries - a lot of them:


Janine and I explored the land, walked in the sunshine, and ate her delicious cooking. She chose the plane to return home, so we said farewell on the hot tarmac in Castlegar.

The next day Elizabeth arrived from stinking hot Lethbridge and set up camp at Kokanee Creek Park. Her timing was a bit off; she landed there during the mosquito convention. We ate hot dogs around the campfire, and when she tired of the mosquito visitors, she came to town and we dined.

Josh and Aimee arrived on July the 4th; Julie and Ryan arrived on the 5th. On the 5th we had our last hot dog campfire with Elizabeth, and Josh taught us all how to make Smores. One of those goes a long way.

We hung out a lot on the back patio, ate barbecued food most evenings, and we had many daily delights. One work day I took a vacation day and we all went to the East Shore to the beach, as I learned last year that this part of the lake has considerably warmer water. Indeed it was true! We had plenty of sand, and had a picnic feast. Along the shore, a Kaleidoscope of butterflies. Yep, apparently that's the name for a group of butterflies.



Ryan bought a new car a few weeks ago; while in Nelson, he spent a good deal of time in my backyard close to the sprinkler and vacuum cleaner. Here is the masterpiece:


I celebrated my birthday having fun - first was Spanish lessons, then a facial (my first in my life - I think everyone ought to do something for the first time on their birthday), went to the Six Mile Beach with both of my children (how perfect is that!), and then had friends over for a feast. The mastermind behind the food event was Josh - we had many courses with many taste delights. Here is dessert, peaches grilled on a cedar plank. Before those peaches were grilled they were marinated in a lovely sauce. The only ingredient I remember is Jack Daniels. Curious. They were AMAZING!


Alas! Ryan and Julie were only able to stay a week; they left the day after my birthday. Aimee, Josh and I continued our forays to the beach, and on my next day off we went to Queen's Bay, another part of the main part of the lake where the water is warmer. No ferry this time. Josh gave the water a rating of +10 and the shore -10. There were lots of rocks. Still both did the celebratory summer dance:




Everyone has scattered now back to their homes. The back patio is ready... for their return.

Winding My Way Home

Leaving the Sunshine Coast on the Queen of Surrey, we went on the top deck, and found a breeze.



For Aimee

Proof that the sky is still blue - there is hope for your holidays - this is inspiration for bathing suit shopping. The shot was taken on the wet day I left the lower mainland.



Spotted Lake

On the journey home, I stopped at the small water hole just outside of Osoyoos that always looks quite strange. When driving by, we can clearly see the circles on top of the lake; depending on the time of the year, those circles change. I found out that it has a name - Spotted Lake. Spotted Lake is a sacred medicine lake of the Okanagan People.

"It is a rare natural phenomenon covering 15.2 hectares (38 acres), containing one of the world's highest concentrations of minerals: magnesium sulfate (epsom salts), calcium and sodium sulfates, plus eight other minerals and traces of four more, including silver and titanium. As the summer progresses the lake dries out, its mud forming into white, pale yellow, green and blue circles depending on its mineral composition. Known as Kliluk to the natives of the Okanagan Valley, the lake is a sacred and culturally significant site whose potential for commercial exploitation recently generated much controversy."

The controversy has to do with the healing properties of the water.

Here it is close up:



Palindrome

This goes into the category of "ways to amuse myself on a road trip."




Paulson Mountain

Over the Blueberry Paulson, there is a special mountain that we get to see for 3 brief glimpses; the view is most spectacular on the way home, though it is quite elusive for the clouds like to linger. Rare is it to catch the view but this trip I did:

Gibsons Landing

Our second stop on the Sunshine Coast was Gibsons Landing; in actuality it is closer to the ferry than Sechelt. But we drove up the coast, and then came back to Gibsons Landing. Gibsons Landing gains its fame from The Beachcombers, which was filmed here from 1972 to 1990. Both the pier and Molly's Reach are still standing. In fact, Molly's Reach only became a restaurant after the end of the series.

Here it is:


We didn't actually eat at Molly's Reach; we chose Gramma's Pub, from a suggestion from a receptionist in Sechelt. The highlight of the meal was chicken wings.

And then we strolled down the pier:



And saw an avid gardener's work, who definitely was undaunted by the problem of water all around:



Vancouver is 10 miles away, if you were a bird. With the laidback atmosphere and abundance of outdoor delights, Gibsons is a great place to hang out. If only for a day....

Sunshine

We found the sun! Interestingly enough, we travelled to find it. Sunshine Coast. How well named.

Josh and Aimee each had a day off on the day I wanted to go see a part of British Columbia I have never seen. I have some vague memory of it from watching the Beachcombers on Sunday night television for years. Getting to the Sunshine Coast requires a ferry ride. There are also two other choices: a plane or a very long hike.

We went to the Lower Sunshine Coast. There is another ferry ride to take people to Powell River, further up the coast. Here is a description from the Sunshine Coast Employment Centre:

"The Lower Sunshine Coast is home to approximately 26,000 people and is a diverse community with unique challenges and opportunities. Accessible only by ferry or air, the "Coast" is a conglomerate of a number of self-contained communities that stretch along a ribbon of highway, 150 kilometers long, from Port Mellon to Egmont."

Our first stop was:



We found our way to the ocean:


Sechelt means land between two waters. An isthmus a friendly resident told me. He said to be sure to go to Porpoise Bay. This is the sandy side of the water. The tide was out so we got to see many gifts from the sea:






This next photo was a baby lobster who Josh rescued and sent back to the sea.


We combed the beach, and I chatted with a biologist from the San Juan Islands who gave me a brief introduction on the stories the sand tells. I learnt about lug worms, and how vital they are to the health of a beach; and I learnt how to detect lug worm shit, because of course the actual worm dwells under the sand. I am delighted to report that there were many sightings of lug worm shit.

And the sun shone. At last we got our RDA of Vitamin D.

Josh's summation of Porpoise Bay: "There are no porpoises here. They should have called it Bay."

White Rock

Lots of rain this journey. The good part is that Rose, who is taking care of my garden back home, has a light load. The bad part is though I remembered to bring a jacket that is water resistant, it is getting old now and has a couple of leak spots, and I have no umbrella. I did bring my closed-toed shoes. I am not sure I would call what has been happening here rain; it is more like a shower from the universe.

One day Josh and I hung out, some of it in front of the TV. Him and I had a discussion about watching the weather forecasts; he likes to know what to expect. For me, when I saw that the next 5 days of my holidays were going to be rain-logged, well... I wasn't delighted. Wouldn't it be better, I said to him, to wake up each morning, hopeful about possibilities of sun?

As one woman I met this journey said, "Enjoy the rain. That's what you got." While perhaps I didn't enjoy the rain all the time, I didn't let it stop me.

My journeys this week have been around various cities on the lower mainland. I have been to Cloverdale, Langley, New Westminster, Downtown, and Surrey.

And White Rock.

My friend, BJ, who lives in Bellingham suggested that we go for dinner. We agreed on White Rock, which is close to the Washington border, and perhaps a half way point. We each left at 5 pm; I was at Brentwood Mall, minutes from the freeway. My task was to get travel down the freeway for about 20 kms and then it was about another 8 kms to White Rock. Everyone who lives on the lower mainland, it seems was on that freeway at that time. BJ called me on my cell at 5:35 to say that she had arrived. Luckily she brought a book. I arrived at 6:15, very road weary. White Rock is a good antidote.

We ate at Moby Dick's, a popular place that serves fish and chips. Here's a trick for ordering fish and chips at Moby's - they always add on another piece. So if you want two pieces of fish, order one. If you want one piece, well, I think you are hooped. Moby's is one happening place; it is small and busy; tables move quickly. BJ and I agreed after ordering coleslaw to pass on that menu item. The woman at the next table said, actually don't order anything green. Otherwise, it was a hit! Pretty different fare from what my body has been used to; not a good day to forget the digestive enzymes at home.

After our dinner, we walked along the ocean on a delightful seawall. It was here that I learned how the place got its name:



This is not a small rock; here I am reading the writing on the rock:



Here is the Wikipedia description of how the white rock landed where it did:

"White Rock is named for a distinctive large white boulder found on its beach near the promenade. A glacial erratic that migrated south during the last glaciation. The 486-ton granite boulder was kept white by shellfish-eating seabirds, whose guano covered the rock, so much so that sailors in the 19th century used it as a beacon. However, it now remains white through frequent applications of white paint by the city parks department, as it has been a popular graffiti target for over thirty years."

Another famed event attached to White Rock was a sandcastle competition, which began in 1979 and ceased in 1987; it had international status.

"A revival of the sandcastle building competition as a family event is being held August 3, 2008 during the 59th Annual Spirit of the Sea Festival."

Here's the info: White Rock Sandcastle Competition

Apparently White Rock has more sun that Vancouver. And it did look like there were possibilities:


Well, as I have not been watching the weather forecast, there are many possibilities.

To the Coast

On May 31st, I left Nelson to travel to the coast. The day began bright and sunny, an inspiring drive.



The first mountain pass is about an hour for home. Here is the top:



Descending from the Paulson Summit, the next community is Christina Lake. The land offers the lake in a spectacular surprise; the road winds around a corner, and then the lake pops into view. This sight can only be viewed one way. The charm of driving in the mountains is that the road looks completely different going the other way.


There are 5 mountain passes between Nelson and the lower mainland. Mountains everywhere.

In front:


And behind:

Keeping My Hands Busy

Last weekend, I was off to Sorrento for the 10th Annual Okanagan Knitting Retreat. Sorrento is on the Shuswap Lake, a mighty fine place to hang out in the summer. But I'm not the only one who had that idea. Down the road from Sorrento is Sicamous, which is the Houseboat Capital of Canada. So there is plenty of hanging out on the Shuswap in the summer.

I didn't actually get to see much of Sorrento because I was keeping my hands, and as it turns out, mind busy. I learnt lots about working with colour yarn, and did mitred modules and entrelac and then, I learnt how to knit backwards. Very handy!

No pictures as I was too busy. They would have all been blurry anyways - those hands were moving pretty fast.

Some of the last couple of weeks, much of my "travel" has been in the back yard. A couple weekends ago, Al came up to dig the garden visit. "We" expanded the garden by a few feet, and dug in mushroom manure and peat moss.

This garden is devoted to vegetables:

And all is growing well.

Al and I also went off to the garden centres, and I found a deal on fibre pots. I seem to have this fascination with purple this year, because when I came home, I noted that I had a lot of purple flowers. I hope the fascination lasts all summer.


We also made a two-car trip to the garbage/recycling centre - and now the patio is ready for hanging out:



Oh, it is so much fun to hang out with these smiling faces:

The Eye of the Needle

At last! At least a dozen times, I have been to Seattle. At least 50 times, I have driven by the Space Needle. At least 100 replicas I have seen of the Space Needle, thanks to an avid collector in Ryan's building. I have little Space Needles in my home. I had even attended the New Year's fireworks event there. But never, never had I gone up the Space Needle. It is a sorry statement for a modern day explorer. (Modern day explorers, BTW, are fascinated by malls and nature alike!)

When I went to Seattle for Easter, I convinced my Seattle chauffeurs and tour guides (AKA Ryan and Julie) to do what every other visitor has done - see the world from a different view. Here is another hard-to-believe-it bit of information - the Space Needle is walking distance from Ryan's apartment! How easy is that? We walked, noting that it was downhill much of the way. I had a brief premonition about the return trip, but brushed it off in my enthusiasm.

The Space Needle was built in 1962 for the World's Fair; it's futuristic style included space-age colours - Orbital Olive for the body, Astronaut White for the legs, Re-entry Red for the saucer, and Galaxy Gold for the roof. To build the foundation, a hole was built that was 30 feet deep and 120 feet wide. It took 467 cement trucks a full day to fill in the hole.


Though we could have chosen to go up the Space Needle by night, we went by day. Here we are at the beginning of the journey.











The ride up the elevator took far less time than our wait in line. We found many ways to amuse ourselves while we waited. I chatted up an employee who passed us in line, and quizzed her on the process for getting summer employment. (An employment counsellor is always on the job.) We got on the elevator with glass doors and in 41 seconds we arrived at our destination! Here's the view on the way up:
The observation deck is 520 feet from the bottom; that's approximately 60 stories. Most of the pictures of the Space Needle against the sky scrapers are optical illusions. The photos are taken with the Space Needle in the foreground. If you want a postcard picture of the Space Needle, Ryan's neighbourhood, is ideal.

Once we got to the top, we had 360 degrees view of the city. If you look hard you will see that in the background of this picture is Mt. Rainier, which is a fascinating volcano in that it is so much taller than anything close to it. "Yes," Ryan says, "it is just like the volcanoes on the islands of Hawaii."


The Space Needle observation deck has both an inside area, complete with concession and bathrooms, and outside. For some reason when I was in the bathroom, I wondered about our flushes. Do they do their journey down in 41 seconds? And then when it lands, what would that force be? I wonder why I haven't thought of this before...

We walked around the outside observation deck and saw many sites - including Ryan's apartment, piers, and buildings. Here is one company that has chosen to advertise on the roof.


The windows that separate the inside from the outside observation deck have a mirrored side on the outside. So, if we stand facing the windows, we get a lovely view of the city, and ourselves. In this photo, Julia, Ryan and I. Who's on the inside? And who is taking the picture?


Oh it was an exciting day! And I got to learn a new word: acrophobia.

Julia - Bored in Seattle

It takes a lot to impress Julia I have found. First of all, you would think that getting to go to Seattle would elicit some kind of excitement. The closest read I could get from her was boredom. Now perhaps I could agree that the birds in the tree outside her living room window perch might intrigue her, because she certainly was excited when they dropped by. But it seems to me there is a lot of action in Seattle, much more exciting than birds in a tree.

As we pulled off the Interstate, she had that "ho hum" look on her face. I am thinking that this was the fourth trip to Seattle for Julia. Lots yet to see, is what I say.

Oh, she was grateful that I forgot the dull cat food at home and I had to go foraging for a new bag. She was pretty intrigued with this new flavour which has the equivalent nutrition as a Grampa Teenburger, without the bun. Yep, all meat, high fat. Even cats, it seems, are drawn to certain fast foods.

She got to hang out for 3+ days in a 6th floor balcony apartment overlooking Puget Sound. Was she impressed? Hard to say. She walked around, purred, ate, and did the usual shenanigans in the middle of the night.

She was slightly interested in the trip down the elevator on Monday morning when we were leaving for home, and found her spot on the passenger side in the car, the two front paws planted on the arm rest, and looking around.

By the time we reached Denny Way, on our way to REI, she had paced between the front and back seat a few times. When all traffic came to a halt, Julia decided to see what was happening and peered out the front side window. She was alert.

What I noticed to the left was that the traffic on the 2 lanes on other side of the street were being redirected off Denny Way. An accident, I concluded after seeing the police lights ahead. Minutes later, as I was calculating my arrival time back home, I saw 2 dozen motorcycled police coming towards us. Behind them was a SUV, black with tinted windows and two men in suits in the front seat. Yes, they had sunglasses. Then there was another. And another. And another. And the parade was done.

"The Dalai Lama," I exclaimed. We were within feet of him!! Though I must admit that I could not tell exactly which vehicle he was in. Still. And it was only a nanosecond. Still. It was the Dalai Lama.

I repeated it to Julia. She was hunched on the front seat, eyes slightly closed. Clearly, she was not impressed.

"Julia, you were 12 feet away from the Dalai Lama!"

She yawned, the ingrate.

Earth Day

I told someone today that Earth Day was my favourite day of the year! I think it is because there are so many opportunities to think about the planet. My first decision of the day was that I would not be driving my car today; there was some adjusting because my vegetable bin is very scant today, and it is a good day to go grocery shopping since I had no evening plans.

When I was out and about on my lunch hour travels, there was a hub of excitement and energy on our main street. Earth Day dawned with glorious blue skies, and appears to have inspired many of us. A group of bicyclists with a banner that said, "Critical Mass," rode up and down the street.

I remember Earth Day when I lived in Manitoba; each year, we made a pact to implement one new thing to help. One year, I was so delighted to find that Safeway was carrying toilet paper that was unbleached - oh,it wasn't white, it was a brown colour like hand towels in public restrooms. Seemed like a good idea to me. After some time, Safeway stopped carrying it and I haven't seen it anywhere since. It seems like a puzzlement to me. I am not sure why we need to have white toilet paper and not brown; let me assure you, it did the same job.

One year, I decided to compost. Lately I realized that I have composted for close to 20 years. Now I cannot imagine NOT composting. When I visited Bellingham last week, I was delighted to see that the housing complex where my friend BJ lives has a system that taps into the municipal composting.

And here, I have heard of compost material being picked up from restaurants and taken to a public garden.

Is public composting more prevalent than I know?

I have not decided what new practice I will start this Earth Day. I like to think of it carefully, because I would like to make sure I can carry it on.

Happy Earth Day! Here's to celebrating one very groovy place to be!