Washington

We love to visit the west coast and really haven't seen much of the Pacific northwest.  So it sparked an inspiration when Linda read about this Elderhostel trip, Northwest Currents: Seattle to Victoria BC to San Juan Island.  We had to go.

As usual, we met a lot of wonderful people.  The following photo log shows them enjoying the varied landscapes as we scurried from location to location.  The weather was unusually cool throughout our ten day trip.  The day we arrived the country was experiencing record heat in excess of 100°F.  That day the weatherman mentioned that Seattle was the only cool spot in the nation.  Sweaters were not unusual in the evenings.

We flew out on Sunday, the 16th of July, to give us some time to enjoy Seattle on our own.  The first thing we did was to walk the twelve blocks from the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Ave. to the Space Needle which was visible to us all away along the Seattle Center monorail.  We discovered a wonderful restaurant, Lola, and were served by a pleasant, voluble waiter, Benjamin.  This restaurant is part of a set of four legendary restaurants put together by Tom Douglas.  I had the Dungeness crab pakoras with cucumber yogurt ($12) accompanied by an Oregon pinot noir and Linda had Washington chicken, yogurt, dill ($9) and her usual Chardonnay.  These mezes with a middle eastern flair were excellent.  The drink list included a large assortment of ouzos.  The little yeast doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon, honey syrup and walnuts were delicious ($7.50).

These past few days were packed with activities with barely time to catch your breath.  Thanks to Adele Grover, Overall Coordinator, and Carol Barton, Skagit Valley College coordinator, for keeping us informed about  the logistics of our trip.  The next day at 7:00 am we were down at the bus loading up for the next phase of our trip - Victoria, British Columbia.  Steeped in the British tradition, Victoria was a cool place to be if only for a few days.  Our coordinators for this second leg of our trip were Sandra Tolley and Charles Blackhall.

Victoria, BC	July 20th	Leaving brilliant Seattle	We disembark from the Victoria Clipper.	Charles Blackhall welcome	3:30-4.45 Nature Walk along the Gorge Waterway		Quaint harbor ferries	George Baker, Protocol Officer, told of the Queen's visits
	July 21st	Morning lectures by Dennis Minaker and Robert Amos	Bus Budy Lee adjusts her camera	Does anyone remember what the name of this lake is?	The Royal BC Museum	Longhouse and totem	The Fairmont Empress Hotel	Our favorite romantic spot - Darcy's Pub had Strongbow cider on tap.
	July 22nd	Helen Stewart - pioneer woman, artist, writer	We skip the Queen's Gardens and go directly to Darcy's again.	Dragon	Gate of Harmonious Interest	Custom House	After dinner at Samuels by the Park - Queen Victoria Inn	Susan, Bobbie, Linda, and Harvey at Luminaria
Nightime in Victoria	July 22nd	Mermaid telling tales		Belly Dancers	Lamps of all kinds	Parliament outlined in lights	Twilight at Inner Harbor	Almost missed our bus stop at Howard Johnsons
Spectacular Butchart Gardens	July 23rd			WOW!			You can watch this display for hours.	A marvelous use of heights in an old limestone quarry

And without skipping a beat, passports in hand, we are loading up the van for a trip to a quaint artist's island, San Juan Island, Washington.  After seeing two of the most attractive cities of two nations, we fall into a slower tempo.  We were passed along to coordinators Holly Harbers and Maria Small.

Sidney	July 23rd	While we wait for the ferry back to the USA	Sculptor working on soapstone	San Juan Island	Arriving in Friday Harbor via the WA State Ferry	July 24th	Michael Vouri tells the history of the Northwest	Making a bead is very demanding.
Island Tour	After noon of July 24th	National Historical Park - Ranger Darlene Wall tells of the Pig War.	American Camp - Pickett's fence, Mt. Baker in background	Pelindaba Lavender Farm	Our guide in front lavender drying rack	Lavender fields	British Camp	Susan descends to the amazingly green knot garden.
Island Tour	July 25th	Roche Harbor	Kayaks	Westcott Sea Farm	Holding up scallops	Lime Kiln Park	Light House	Linda - Large trees, Madrona on her left and cedar on her right

Our evening farewell entertainment was "Sugar on the Floor", local musicians lead by Michael Cohen who answered musical questions, 150 of them.  He is sponsored by the Park Service to maintain the folk song tradition.  From New York in the 60s to San Juan Island today, Michael is spanning the ages.  We quietly depart for Sea-Tac Airport the next morning.

We received Cathy Fike's portrait album of all of the participants in the Northwest Currents on August 7th.  I am including the file so that you all can review your happy faces.