Another Interesting Adventure

My friends Lee and Sachi are not the only Seattleites preparing for a major trip. Seems The Traveling Guys are also about to launch a globe-spanning effort that will be documented on the web. Is it something in the water here? If so, give me a drink!

twinf

One Bag: The Packing List

More packing wisdom, via Lee on his new (and still evolving - it ain't done yet, but us travel addicts are already subscribed) The World is Not Flat site. One Bag: The Packing List.

The Universal Packing List

What a gift. This little online tool queries you on your trip and then builds a packing list for you. Even emails it to you. Way cool. The Universal Packing List

Bill Anderson finds: One for the heart from Walt Kelly

This is a great quote. Have to share it, thanks to Bill Anderson.

edge city: One for the heart from Walt Kelly

"'There are other motivating forces besides anger that go into making up the so-called humorous treatments of recognizable situations. Despite his preoccupation with being a flashy, cigar-smoking, sharp, tough-minded, all-around good sport and well read to boot, the American male has soft deposits of tenderness in some of the lower strata of his make up. These occasionally quiver and rumble so that a recording is made on the seismograph of the mind. Such indications are very often ignored, put down firmly or chalked up as manifestations of approaching senility or drink-induced sentimentality. But now and then your infield is a little slow afoot and the heart puts a soft liner through for a two-base hit.'

- Walt Kelly, creator of Pogo"

Two Good Travelogues

For the wanderlusters, check out the recent Ghana posts from Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: Travel Archives and the amazing story of the Constant's walk from London to South Africa.

Found the name of the winery...

Bergevin Lane Vineyards - Walla Walla, WA

The Olympic Penninsula Part 1 - Port Angeles

In late July friends from Holland arrived for a four week US trip to western National Parks. We had the good luck of hosting them in their first week with the Olympic Penninsula as our destination. We started browsing around downtown Seattle before we hopped the 2:05 pm Ferry. They did the Underground tour while we sat and listened to a lunchtime concert in Pioneer Square.

After taking the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge, we headed north and west to the Hood Canal Bridge. Construction had us waiting on the bridge, where we whipped out our sandwiches from Salumi (ahh, delight) and then watched seals. I'm so glad we were stopped on the bridge and not miles back on the highway.

From there we meandered on to Sequim. Man, when did this little town turn into a sprawl. One of my favorite lavender farms is now hitched up next to a housing development. This, my friends, is sad. What, we haven't learned about how to zone yet? The flowers were fabulous - lavenders in amazing colors, a sea of other flowers.

Around 5:30 we pulled into Port Angeles where we would be staying at the Thortown Hostel for two nights while we did day walks in the northern part of Olympic National Park. This is a friendly, home based hostel -- with wifi! Oh dear. Sucked online again. NOT!

The next day we drove up to Lake Crescent, hoping to do the Pyramid Peak trail. Lesson: check with the ranger station before you drive half way round the lake on a dirt road to find out that trail had been washed out? Oh well. We headed back east to the Lower Elwha area and took the Krause Bottom trail, 5 or 6 miles that samples woods, river, meadow and some old mountain shacks. Lots of up and down, wild flowers, huckleberries (yum) and down right pretty scenery.

Then, wanting more, we drove up Hurricane ridge. After stopping at the lodge for softies (soft ice cream) we headed out to do the Hurrican Hill walk. The wildflowers were AMAZING. (I should do a whole post on the flowers) and the view, as always, spectacular. I love that wide-open vista feeling. I wanted to burst out singing "The Hills Are Alive" but we had a teenager with us, and not even mine, so I resisted the urge. Well, I hummed a bit.

Hungry as bears, we headed back into Port Angeles and started cruising the main streets for a restaurant when we found Bella Italia. Our guest had read about it, so we went in and signed up for a table. 20 minute wait. So we put our names on the list, then went browsing.


Some of us went to the bookstore. Three of us were lured irresistably into the Itty Bitty Buzz, a bakery which promised both a splendid counter of baked goods and Olympic Ice Cream. Ice cream before dinner? Sure. Larry had a cup of blueberry while Hilda and I had tea. We promised to come back for breakfast the next day (which we did. My GAWD those rolls were great. We had the blackberry cream cheese and the spinach feta. If you are in Port Angles, stop by the Buzz. This is their Sequim site, 110 E. First Street)


After ice cream and tea, we had a splendid meal at Bella Italia. Like squid? Try their FLASH FRIED CALAMARI With olives, artichokes, tomatoes & roasted garlic on polenta - $9. Mmm. I had a fantastic glass of Washington state Viongnier (sp?) from a women owned winery in Walla Walla. Larry wrote down the name, and now I lost it. :-(

After that repast, sleep was good.

Where I Admit I'm Not Getting This Done

I had visions for my travel blog. Fantasies about clever narratives from the road. The best of my travel photos. Cool tips for folks who might be heading where I've just been.

Get real.

On my computer area about a zillion unedited photos. I have cards, receipts and scribbled addresses on ATM withdrawal receipts -- all that precious insider information, scattered to the winds of my office (chaos central.)

I have unfulfilled promises to people I said I would blog about. Pictures of food I have swooned over. Sights that have awed or quieted me.

So why ain't it on this blog? Let me count the ways.

1. I'm becoming a procrastinator in my middle age. Where is all that zesty efficiency I used to have? Sloth is my new pal.

2. Photos need resizing. I'm never consistent about how I shoot and shoot with two (equally crappy) cameras. I have ancient editing software. And see #1.

3. Clever text needs writing. Hell, I need to spell check even the easiest text. See #1.

4. Things should be posted when (or close to when) they happened. So if I haven't yet posted the pictures from 18 months ago, should I? Indecision joins procrastination for a tea party. I need wine instead! Hell, would you like it if I had a posting marathon and put up a gazillion photos and stories all at once? And destroy that day by day pace of "normal" blogging. (AHAHAHA, what is normal?)

5. Will I sound like an ignorant American (that I sometimes am)? As I write about places outside of the US, I truly worry about this. Plus my humor doesn't always travel well. It needs an airsick pill.

Should I quit this blog? Slog on? Whaddaya think? While you are pondering, I'll start a few posts from last month's vacation on the Washington State Olympic Peninsula, because there is a picture from a Bakery in Port Angeles that is just too good NOT to blog about.