Monday Monday

     As cozy as our cottage is a person can only stay inside for so long. Today we drove into town for lunch. John found us a terrific place called Baird's on B https://www.bairdsonb.com/ for lunch. I had an Autumn Chicken Cobb salad but John went for seafood.  His chippino was full of local clams, shrimp and Dungeness crab..

Before

After

After lunch we went for a walk along the Willamette river at George Rogers park Although the temperature is the same as in Victoria, it feels much colder here so we did not walk for long.

 

After our walk we drove around the town for a while before returning to the cottage.

Ferry Tales and Happy Endings

     The last part of this trip takes us back to Oregon, specifically Lake Oswego. Knowing we would have to drive the length of Washington we had reserved the 9 AM ferry off Vancouver Island. We left Victoria a bit later than we planned, but with the reservation we were not too concerned about making the boat. Alas, that was not the case. Although we arrived at the terminal at 8:53 we were sent to the end of the line as bad luck would have it the car in front of us was the last one on. We would have to wait until the next crossing which would be at 11:00.
     Two hours at a terminal? At least they had a cafe so we didn't need to sit in the car. And we were first in line so we should be one of the first off on the mainland. Apparently logic and logistics are not related to ferry loading. not only were we not the first to be loaded, we were among the last to be unloaded adding another 15 minutes to our two hour delay.
   I know, I know, What's the rush? We knew from pictures and communications with our new hosts that our cottage was on a flag lot so we really wanted to get there while the sun was still up. We also knew the route took us through Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Portland. Four cities on a Friday afternoon/evening during commuter hours? We hit them all and the two hour delay became longer with each city. Except Portland. By the time we arrived there, rush hour was over.
     As we feared finding the long driveway to the cottage was difficult. The tall trees and lack of street lights made it even more difficult to find the address. But with some help from a kind neighbor we found the entrance to the garden cottage.
Built in 1930 but updated last spring the cottage has vintage charm and modern conveniences.

 At almost 8 pm, we were not going to cook tonight! This was an excellent
decision as we found one of our favorite type of restaurants just around the corner; a farm to table seasonal bistro. At Tavern on Kruse http://www.tavernonkruse.com/  soup and salad was all we needed to provided a happy ending to a long and frustrating day.

Curried Butternut squash soup with hush puppies

Steamer clam chowder

Beet Salad

Tea and Totems

Our week in Canada, ironically enough, began on the day President Trump was inaugurated. We laughingly speculated long lines at the border but of course that was not the case. Our original plan was to cross to Vancouver island from Port Angelus but that Ferry was closed this week for annual repairs. The Seattle Ferry no longer takes cars this far so we headed up I-5 to enter Canada by land . A short drive took us to the port where we caught the ferry to the island.

Passing another ferry

Uncertain of weather conditions , traffic and crossing delays, we left Anderson island early.To our delight it was another clear day in terms of both weather and traffic and we arrived in Victoria two hours before our check-in time. This gave us time to walk about and renew our acquaintance with the city we had last visited in 2011. A late lunch of (what else?) fish and chips at the Bard and Banker Pub  https://bardandbanker.com/  and browsing the shops kept us busy until check in time.

Our very modern condo on the 11th floor provided amazing views of the city and was within walking distance of almost everything Victoria has to offer. We were even able to find fresh winter salmon in the local grocery store which made a delicious dinner Saturday night.

Sunday was another beautiful day so we went across the street to watch the second NFL playoff game at Sticky Wicket http://strathconahotel.com/venue/sticky-wicket/ then walked over to Pagliacci's  http://www.pagliaccis.ca/ for dinner and to listen to live music. Even at night it has not been too cold, We have not needed out heavy coats, just long sleeve shirts with sweaters.

Victoria is the capitol of British Columbia and the Parliament building is beautiful. Since the assembly does not return to session until February 14 we were able to go in without it being too crowded.
   

The Chamber

The Seat of  BC Government 

         











 We spent the morning there, had lunch at another Pub (what a
surprise)  http://www.bartholomewspub.com/ then went to the Royal BC Museum.This museum had an amazing collection of items from the large number of First People (as they call Native Americans), including a long house and totem poles both inside and out.

The dagger used by Hawaiians to kill Captain Cook

The city is an interesting mix of heritages. British and Chinese culture and traditions existing side by side with that of  the First People. While this has not always been the case (as we learned in the museum) there is a palpable feeling of co-operation and respect here, similar to what we felt in Europe last summer.

   Victoria has the 2nd largest Chinatown in Canada                                        






Tuesday we got in our car for the first time since our arrival and drove over to Fishermans Wharf. most of the businesses were closed for the winter but we did get to walk around the community of floating houses that were there.

These give houseboat a new meaning

   It was lunch time so we drove along the water stopping at  Oak Bay Marina  http://www.marinarestaurant.com/ for cedar planked salmon, spinach salad and steamed clams.

Aunt Marchs House?

In the afternoon we visited Craigdarroch Castle, a Victorian estate built by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, a contemporary and friend of Stanford and the California Big 4. I was particularly excited to learn that some of the rooms had been used for the filming of one of my favorite movies, Little Women, (the 1994 version).





Another dry but cold day on Wednesday (temperatures in the 40's) so we set off to Esquimalt,(a suburb of Victoria) and the Songhees trail. This mostly paved trail along the Victoria waterfront provided us with a "good stretch of the legs" as we completed just over 4 miles.

Floating Sculpture

With the condo just behind the Empress Hotel how could we not participate in that most British of rituals- tea time. We arrived early and were rewarded with a seat by the fire. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon. http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/pdf/emp-tea-menu-jan-2017/

Look at the leaves to select your tea

Three levels of Deliciousness

John finds a friend

Thursday morning was again cold but dry so we explored Beacon Hill Park. It is a bird watchers dream as we saw both mallard and harlequin ducks, yellow warblers, ravens and of course, peacocks. We walked through the park then across the street to admire the rugged coastline of the island.

                                                                                   
Although this is our third time in Victoria we discovered so much about this charming city. A week is not long enough to explore all it has to offer. Even though some shops and restaurants were closed for the winter the lack of tourists let us experience Victoria as the locals do. We leave tomorrow but I know we will return.

A Capitol Idea

I know. I jinxed it. It rained all day Tuesday. We took a drive around the island in search of better Internet service but it was not to be found. So back to the  house for chicken and dumplings for  dinner and 7 Years in Tibet.

It rained heavy all night but we needed to get some business done that required a reliable Internet connection so off we went to catch the Ferry back to the mainland.  Apparently Wednesday is the day the propane trucks make their deliveries to the island and they all get transported at once. After waiting 45 minutes for three trucks to load onto the ferry, they left without us! I guess people and propane don't get to travel together.  It took us over 2 hours to wait and then arrive across the sound, at which time the rain returned.

It was after 1:30 when we arrived at our lunch destination, Mediterranean Breeze in Olympia. A delicious lunch of Turkish fare put us in better moods,(get the pickles and the Bulgar.)

It's rainy but not cold so we went by the State capitol. 

We were here 24 years ago so we didn't go in,  besides we were still looking for a place to get connected. After driving through the city we found the library, always a great place to spend a rainy afternoon.

Shhhhh

Island Life

When someone mentions living on an island  most people think  of tropical beaches, ocean breezes and drinks that come with paper umbrellas in them. Well here in the northwest they have the beaches and breezes although there is nothing tropical about them. And the drinks? They come with  melting marshmallows or an extra shot of espresso. This week we are staying on Anderson Island,Washington in Puget Sound.
We left Oregon Friday morning but not until we had breakfast at Lil' Sambos in Lincoln City(same inspiration as the chain we grew up with but different ownership-alas no tiger butter).

 Constant news reports of heavy snow in Portland convinced us to change our route so instead of the 5 we drove up the coast on the 101 This provided us clear roads and beautiful views without the need to buy tire chains.

Knowing that the island is only accessible by ferry we stocked up on groceries before heading to the station. Although the ticket is round trip, they charge by the person, not the car, making daily back and forth trips impractical. Thankfully this house is one of the best we have ever stayed in, making it the perfect place to settle in on a cold but dry weekend with a fire, homemade soup and NFL playoffs.

Christmas in January? Why not?

To Johns delight he discovered a golf course across the street (and behind some trees) from our house. Frozen greens had closed the course for the season but we were able to walk it to the clubhouse about a mile away. The clubhouse sits on Lake Josephine, one of two natural lakes on the island. After a light lunch we walked back to watch Sundays games.










Three days in a row without rain in Washington? In the winter? I don't know if that is normal or a record but we felt we were pressing our luck so Monday we headed back across the Sound to explore the area. Most notable were the lack of billboards along the highways. We were surrounded instead with views of snow capped mountains, bodies of water and trees, trees, trees.

We stopped for lunch in Gig Harbor, a charming little town that reminded us of fishing villages in the northeast. We ate at Netshed # 9,a breakfast/lunch place on the harbor.






 The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around the area to get a feel for the western part of the state.

On the Ferry

The brown Mazda is ours

Where Are the Scientists When I Need One?

     Our last day in Lincoln City is another sunny but cold day. All week we have watched the tide come in at night and go out during the day. Not this morning. For some reason the tide has reversed!. It was out when we woke up and began to come in during the morning.
Around noon we walked down the street to "World Famous MO's" for steamers and chowder. Pretty good but too many potatoes in the chowder for our tastes.

World Famous Mo's

Chowder

Steamers

     As we were leaving we asked the waitress about the change in the tide.. A woman from the next table came over, introduced herself as a "citizen scientist" and explained that the full moon and the time of year caused the tide to reverse. She was out with her camera to document the change of tidal flow. I hope this makes sense to my science friends, if it does please explain it to me.

After a few errands we headed over to a beach to watch surfers brave the cold and some large waves,(6-8 feet). They were generally unsuccessful but a definite A for effort.

There really are surfers out there

We went beach combing for agates which are reported to be all over the beaches here. Since geology is not my thing I am not exactly sure what an Agate in the Wild looks like. The pictures on the Internet were less than helpful so we decided to go for the ones that were lighter in color, a little bit shiny and basically looked like Jelly Bellies.

Which ones are Agates?

     It was warm enough to sit on our balcony for a while this afternoon watching the waterbirds and the tide go in/out. It has been a peaceful and relaxing week here but tomorrow it is time to continue North.