Theater in Clarksville?!?!

It was astounding to me to find an actual professional theater in this tiny Middle Tennessee city.  And a theater with a fairly robust schedule at that!  The Roxy Regional Theater is a small former movie theater in downtown Clarksville that has been providing professional theater for twenty years.  We had the joy of seeing their recent production of Spamalot.

The quirkiness of the show was apparent before we even entered the theater.  While we walked towards the door, a knight offered samples of Spam from a silver platter.  As soon as the show began, the quirk just continued from silly bios in the program to songs like "He is Not Dead Yet" and "The Song that Goes Like This."   Being a fan of Monty Python's Holy Grail, I was delighted by the familiar jokes.  Seeing the familiar plot mapped out in song was a joy.

The cast was strong overall although some members' voices did not carry as well as others.  The production did not use live music and instead had recorded instrumental.  This is not as nice as having live music, but for such a small company, I can see why they have to make this choice.  In fact, I think it is probably more difficult to act/sing along with a recording since there is no conductor making up for singer mistakes.

While there are downsides to a small production, the upside is the intimate viewing experience provided by a small space.  I look forward to seeing some of the Roxy's other 2013-2014 productions.

Summer Travel Wrap Up

Despite the heat in Tennessee, summer is officially over (forget about the solstice, Labor Day is it in my book).  It seems that every other summer ends up being a romp to many different places (and it seems we move every summer - oh wait, we do move every summer).  In 2008 we went to London, Scotland,  Paris, and Belgium then moved to Maine.  In 2010, I went to India and Italy and we both went to Greece then moved to NY.  This year, we moved first then came the romp!  So here it is the ten best things I did this summer!

10.  Miramar Beach, Florida
While this weekend trip to the Pan Handle was fun, Florida is just too hot in the summer.  I only lasted 15 minutes reading on the lovely screened in veranda at eight in the morning!  This trip also allowed for my second trip to an aviation museum this summer (hence the 10 ranking).   The Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum did have a lot of interesting exhibits such as Blue Angel Planes, Marine One, and a bar brought in from Guam and reconstructed as the museums restaurant.  My favorite was the mock-up of the inside of an aircraft carrier.  I especially liked the 1960s contents of the commissary.  Miramar Beach was also gorgeous, such soft sand, and the water bath-tub warm.

Blue Angels Planes at Pensacola National Aviation Museum

Marine One at Pensacola National Aviation Museum

Beautiful Emerald Coast Beach

9.  Frederick, MD -Times Two
Frederick is hands down my favorite place in Maryland.  It has such a great old-city vibe, is walkable, and has some great eats.  I had the pleasure of visiting Frederick twice as the half-way point between Tennessee and New England.  While I love the people I get to visit in Frederick, it is coming in at number nine because I am still mad about my 2006 tax dispute with the great state of Maryland (what can I say, I hold a grudge).  I did have some delicious food at Brewer's Alley - the Chipotle Chicken Ranch Pizza - and some meh food at Magoo's - way dry Bloody Mary Sandwich (a brie and tomato sandwich should ooze with cheese) although the Killer Fries with crab were amazing.  I hate to say it, but the birthday cake ice cream - sweet cream with chunks of frosting - with rainbow sprinkles was by far the best thing about both of these trips (besides said people I love), but I hate to say it because it was a chain ice cream store (Bruster's) although I had never heard of it before.

8.  Wallis Sands and Hampton Beach State Parks, NH (Yes, NH has 18 miles of coastline!)
Wallis Sands is my favorite place to go to the beach in NH, by far.  It is less rowdy than some beaches with a huge beach side parking lot (the only downside is the $15 to park) minimizing the need to carry so much beach stuff all in one load.  My day there was relaxing and just what the beach should be - in New England anyway - quick dip in the frigid water followed by warming up in the sun and repeat!  Of course, a day at the beach wouldn't be complete without walking on the boardwalk, so we were off to the larger Hampton Beach to the south.  Nothing like a nice ice cream, some candy, and observing the "interesting" boardwalk attire and activities.

7.  Portland, ME
The better of the two Portlands (Yea, OR is not as good as ME) by far, we had a warm walk around the Back Cove Trail - a lovely walk despite the fact that part of the walk is right alongside I-95 then dinner outside at Local 188.  Because of the heat and our desire for a post-dinner ice cream, we decided to go tapas.  The best was the giant piece of flatbread with a heaping scoop of hummus.  Later we walked to the old port and had gelato at Gorgeous Gelato.  Frankly, I don't really understand the gelato craze.  Gelato is great while strolling down a narrow cobbled alley in Italy, but what I want on a summer day in the USA is a good heaping scoop of ice cream.  The dark chocolate and hazelnut mixed on one cone was wonderful, but still, I would have preferred ice cream.  As the evening cooled, we strolled around the old port; I just love the quaintness of this Portland.  As weird as the other one might be, it will never beat Maine's.

6.  Woodlawn Museum
Speaking of Maine...I have been going on vacation in Downeast Maine for more than a decade but until this summer had never visited the Woodlawn Museum.  The early nineteenth century estate was home to five generations of Ellsworth's Black family.  The house is interesting because it has a transverse hallway, verses the typical front to back hallway, separating the office space from the rest of the house.  The house also includes the original furnishings since the estate was willed to the town in its entirety including a four poster bed with its original linens (apparently a very rare find).  In addition to the house and outbuildings, the museum hosts high tea once a week in the summer and has some public walking trails although one segment of the trail we walked was quite overgrown and swampy (mosquitos).  It was great to finally visit this since I have driven past it dozens of times.

Back of House through Garden Trellis

5.  Acadia National Park
Of course, our summer could not be complete without a trip to Acadia National Park.  Due to my increasingly pregnant state, we decided to take it easy on the hiking this year, so we only hiked five miles.  Since I generally steer away from trails labeled easy or moderate in the guide books, this was a perfect reason to try one.  We decided to hike the Asticou Trail from the Asticou Inn to the Jordan Pond House.  We started outside the park by hiking through the Asticou Terraces and by Thuya gardens (we didn't see the gardens because dogs weren't allowed).  We headed over Eliot Mountain then entered the park and walked the Asticou trail to the Jordan Pond House where we lounged on the lawn then had lemonade and popovers.  Since so many people bring their dogs to Acadia (thank you for being a dog-friendly National Park, which I have discovered is a rarity) there are always lots of dogs lounging under their owner's tables out on the Jordan Pond House lawn.  At one point on this visit, one dog began to bark then, like a symphony tuning up, dozens of dogs were all barking into one great cacophony.  It was a great laugh for all the humans.

Hiking the Asticou Trail

4.  Rockport, MA
For years a good friend of mine has been living in Rockport, MA for part of the year and this summer I got to visit her and another good friend who was vacationing there.  Rockport is a quaint New England fishing town that has been a bit of a destination for painters including Winslow Homer.  It became such a destination for painting one particular fishing shack that the shack became known as Motif No. 1.  The image was also featured on a 2002 postage stamp.  The shack is so iconic to the town that when it burnt down in 1978 an exact replica was rebuilt in its place.  The town is full of narrow streets with cute shops and eateries - what you would expect in a New England fishing town that is now a tourist destination.  My favorite was the two story bookstore with used books upstairs accessed only by a rot iron spiral staircase.  The beach in Rockport is very sheltered by a rock wall towards the back, and the water was fairly warm.  There was even a raft to swim out to showing how sheltered the beach is.

On the Pier in Rockport

3.  Ellsworth's 250th birthday
Oh the little known town of Ellsworth, ME!  This gets number three because I just love little known towns in Downeast.  This year was Ellsworth's 250th birthday.  Of the many festivities they had, I attended the community band concert on the city hall steps.  While it was buggy and the band was set up behind a hedge making it impossible to see them from the only level place to set up folding chairs, the concert was fun.  The music was what one would expect from a community band, but the community was what  was special.  I loved when the mayor was informally called to the stage to go through the rest of the week's events and later when someone else went up and took the microphone to make an announcement.  I loved how most people sat in their cars in the parking lot and honked instead of clapping.  And I loved meeting the most friendly veteran of three wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam) who told us all about his trips to the Bangor airport to welcome home troops no matter what time of day or night the planes come.  The whole atmosphere, while not fancy, was just what an American summer is all about.

2.  Sailing on Lake Massabesic
I grew up minutes from Lake Massabesic, Manchester, NH.  Lake Massabesic was where we would go ride bikes when we were old enough to go off alone.  It was where my husband and I went for a picnic in our first year of dating.  I have taken several dogs there on many walks and cross-country skied there.  I had been kayaking there but never sailing.  Lucky for me, a friend's father now has a sailboat on the lake (I had also never been sailing except on a one-man summer camp boat).  The day was gorgeous despite it not being too windy.  Several times we got going really quickly and the extreme tipping of the boat (who knew sailing was so dynamic) made me happy it wasn't more windy.  I learned one can't be in a rush when sailing without a motor as back up - it took us quite a while to tack back to the harbor - but that is part of the relaxation of the activity.  

Leaving the Harbor

Away We Go

Our Trusty Ship

1.  Lobster on Perry's Dock
Generally, my annual lobster is bought down the road from our camp at Perry's Lobster Shack then cooked at the camp and enjoyed on the deck with all the fixings - in my case, butter and potato chips and maybe a little vegetable on the side.  Since Perry has set up quite an operation with tables out on his pier, we decided to skip the mess and eat out.  I had the shore dinner, which was lobster, vegetable slaw, corn, and a roll.  The only thing I was missing was my plain potato chips.  It was a fantastic dinner for a fantastic price plus we only had to walk a minute up the road to get home!

Now it is time to explore Tennessee!

Alabama

Last weekend I took a trip to southern Alabama.  While I am sure that Alabama has much to offer in terms of culture, history, and tourism, this particular area of Alabama was not that mecca.  The area - Enterprise - is the largest town near Fort Rucker, an Army base largely used for aviation training.  The most exciting thing about Enterprise is the story behind the boll weevils' attack of the county's cotton crop in 1915.  While the bugs devastated the cotton, the devastation forced the town to switch to peanut crops, which were widely successful.  By 1917, the area was the leading peanut producer in the US.  In honor of the boll weevils, the town constructed a monument that consists of a statuesque Grecian figure holding up a black boll weevil.  Enterprise is a poster-child for making lemonade out of lemons.  In the town is also an old hotel - the Rawls hotel - and the old train depot that now serves as the historical museum.

We never got around to experiencing some real southern cooking mostly because by the time I was ready for southern cooking it was Sunday evening and everything was closed, but we did sample that staple of the south - Waffle House.  While I had been to a Waffle House once before, it was Andy's first time.  Nothing exciting except it was greasy and delicious; who doesn't love cheese grits?  What was exciting was the town's ice cream shop, Milky Moo's, where I had the Boll Weevil Special - a peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter chips, marshmallows, and Oreos.  It was a true representation of the farming history of the area.  Brilliantly, the shop puts a single marshmallow at the bottom of the cones to prevent leakage.  Milky Moo's also was Food Network's Alabama pick for their 50 States, 50 Ice Cream Treats list - a list that I can't believe I didn't know about sooner!

Hannibal, MO to Clarksville, TN

Today’s last day of driving was a mad dash.  We woke up before sunrise and hit the road.  We drove through more corn as we headed toward St. Louis then started seeing the markings of a large city – developments, strip malls then tall buildings in the distance.  Since we were in such a rush, we didn’t have time to stop in the Gateway to the West, but we did see Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals play, and the Gateway Arch from the highway. 

South of St. Louis was more of the same – corn – as we crossed into Illinois and Kentucky.  Finally, just before noon we crossed into Tennessee and were immediately in our new city Clarksville.  And so ends our long distance travel for now.  It is quite the rite of passage to travel across the United States, and I actually hope to do it again.  Driving every day for a week is not too bad as long as the day’s driving does not exceed seven or eight hours.  I don’t think I would want to do more than a week; I definitely had reached my breaking point by the sixth night.  I look forward to exploring some more of America’s smaller tourist attractions.

Sioux City, IA to Hannibal, MO

Today was by far the longest day of the trip.  We made several interesting stops, but that meant getting to our final destination much later than desired.  To top it off, when we got to our hotel in Hannibal, they had booked us in a smoking room and had no non-smoking pet friendly rooms.  They were nice enough to find us another hotel with a non-smoking pet room, but the new hotel was so dingy and smelled like mold.  I don't know what would have been worse - mold or smoke?  Despite that aggravation, we did see a lot in Iowa and Missouri.

The drive was mostly through corn fields.  Our first stop was the John Deere factory in Waterloo, IA.  We unfortunately couldn't take the 90 minute tour because the dog was in the car, but we did go to the gift shop.

Someone is excited about tractors!

After John Deere, we drove a bit further east and stopped at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA.  Along the way, we listened to Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella.  The movie Field of Dreams is based on the book, but basically everything that happens in the movie happens in the first chapter of the book.  I definitely prefer the movie.  It was neat to see a baseball field in the middle of a corn farm, but it was not the most exciting stop.

When we arrived at the Mississippi, we saw her might because the direct southerly route we wanted to travel was totally flooded.  We had to go further east into Illinois then swing back southwest before being able to head south.  It was a cumbersome detour that really cut the time we had in Hannibal.

Hannibal, MO was a bit of a dumpy town, but the downtown area where Mark Twain's house is was cute.  We ate at Lula Belle's restaurant, which is in a former bordello.  Afterwards, we took a quick tour of the street where Mark Twain lived, which has been preserved.  We saw several landmarks from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer including the white picket fence and the home of Sawyer's crush, Becky Thatcher.  I would have liked to be able to actually tour the attractions, but we were there way past closing time.

Twain's House

HIstoric Hannibal, MO

While this road trip has been a great experience, we are all ready for it to be over.  Six hours to Clarksville, TN!

Someone is ready for this trip to be over!

Rapid City, SD to Sioux City, IA

Today was a long day of flat driving.  For as far as the eye could see everything was flat.  There were the occasional herd of cattle clustered in a grassy field, but otherwise, flat grass and corn.  Before leaving Rapid City, we of course had to visit the South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base.  It was an air and space museum not much different from all the others we have been to (Andy loves planes!).  They did have an interesting exhibit about the Berlin Wall and the Berlin Airlift since some of the pilots involved in the Berlin Airlift were from Ellsworth AFB.  This base was also home to many underground nuclear missile silos during the cold war, and the museum had a replica of what one of the control rooms would look like.  They also offered a bus tour to a silo, but we unfortunately did not have enough time to see that.

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

The other interesting thing today was the world's only corn palace!  The small town of Mitchell, South Dakota decorates the outside facade of their civic center with corn.  There are panels of corn cobs making different designs and sections of the outside walls shingled with hay.  They also have the hallways of the civic center busting with corn history and facts.  They use the space in front of the stage in the hall for a giant gift shop and some other exhibits.  The walls of the inside area are covered with corn cob artworks.  It is truly ingenious because it gets people into the town and utilizes the space in the civic center on a daily basis.  As if that was not enough, across the street is a little village of gift shops.  Definitely the kind of thing I hoped to see on a cross-country road trip!

Corn Palace - all decorations are made of corn

Wall panel on inside of building made of corn cobs

Display of everything that is made of corn

After a lot of time in South Dakota, we entered Iowa and soon stopped for the night in Sioux City.  Sioux City has undergone a lot of downtown revitalization.  There is a lovely park along the river and a rejuvenated historic district where we ate a great Italian meal.  Tomorrow there will be much more flat driving through corn fields and hopefully more kitchsy Americana to stop and see! 

Billings, MT to Rapid City, SD

First thing in the morning the dog and I took a lovely walk around Billings.  The area of the city we were staying in was flanked by a rim of rock that was probably seven stories high.  It was very picturesque with tree lined streets and a beautiful green park near Montana State University Billings.  Soon after, we hit the road and stopped at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.  Being very ignorant of this aspect of American history - thanks Manchester school system - it was very educational to drive around the battlefield.  The whole situation is so sad and embarrassing for our country.  It is terrible that a group of people's whole way of life was canceled out by greed.  The landscape of the area is vibrantly green and hilly with very few trees dotted along the river.  I could just imagine the Sioux and Cheyenne peoples roaming the area on the hunt for buffalo.

Little Bighorn Battlefield

After this brief stop, we spent the rest of the day on the interstate traveling through Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.  Despite being on the interstate, there was quite beautiful scenery.  It isn't like driving on the interstate on the east coast where there is so much traffic and commercial strip after commercial strip.  The interstate we traveled on today rarely went through a town and if it did the town was teeny tiny.  Take for example Buffalo, Wyoming where we stopped for lunch.  This town was very picturesque with lovely little western buildings.  We ate at a pleasant city park along a creek where I saw the most amazing playground ever - three stories with six slides!!  After lunch we passed into South Dakota.  Our first stop in South Dakota was a rest area with some very informative signs about the Black Hills and two very friendly welcoming committee members.  We were soon on to Rapid City where we ditched the dog and headed to Mount Rushmore (again, the difficulty of traveling with a dog in summer).

I-90 in Wyoming

There is nothing much to say about Mount Rushmore except that it was cool and touristy.  It was a lot like traveling through Crawford Notch in New Hampshire where tourist attractions like Storyland, Santa's Village, and Six Gun City abound.  The towns just outside of Mt. Rushmore were like western towns on a movie set with lots of neon lights added.  I am glad we went though so now we can say we have seen it with our own eyes.  We rounded out the day with a very heartland meal of fried cheese curds, chicken fried steak, and lemon meringue pie - good thing I had a salad for lunch!

Mount Rushmore

West Yellowstone, MT to Billings, MT

After a short morning walk around West Yellowstone - a town with every type of western souvenir anyone could ever want - we headed back into Yellowstone Park.  Am I ever glad we went to see Old Faithful the evening before!  Yellowstone is a crowded place.  We waited in a short line to get in the gate then about ten minutes later we were stuck in a small traffic jam - an elk was swimming in a pond next to the road.  All day trying to find parking required some patience, but nothing was impossible.  We headed towards the north of the park today to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  Before getting there, we decided to stop and see more geysers because how can one ever have enough geysers?  First, we stopped at Gibson's Falls, Artists Paint Pots, and the Norris Basin where the Steamboat Geyser, Emerald Pool, and Porcelain Basin are.  Definitely, not great to have a dog in Yellowstone in the summer.  Since we couldn't bring her on any trails and we couldn't leave her in the car, we had to take turns seeing the attractions, which took twice as long.  There were many short trails (1-1.5 miles) around the geyser basins that we would have liked to hike on, but since we were going separately, it was not possible.  We saw a glimpse of what there is to see in the north part of the park, but we definitely have to go back sans pooch.

Gibson's Falls

Artist's Paint Pots

Porcelain Basin

The real attraction of the day was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It was amazing.  I have never seen the Grand Canyon, so probably this canyon would not have seen as amazing if I had.  However, it was the most beautiful canyon I ever saw.  The walls made a huge V shape down to a turquoise river.  The walls also had many varied browns, reds, and oranges due to the thermal activity.  It was quite the sight.

Upper Falls at Canyon

River in Canyon

Canyon Walls

On the way to the northeast exit of the park, we had a nice hour long drive through some very different terrain.  This area of the park was more mountainous with sections of forest and alpine meadows.  We did not catch a glimpse of any big horn sheep, but we did see hundreds of bison lounging in a meadow along a river.  We also saw a very ornery bison walking down the middle of a lane with many cars behind it.  No one seemed to mind though - it is the bison's territory after all - and it was a good thing no one minded because that bison was in no hurry to get off the road.

Once we exited the park, we entered back into Montana then back into Wyoming then back into Montana.  We traveled along the Beartooth Scenic Byway, which may have not been as quick as the interstate but was certainly beautiful.  Very soon after entering into Montana for the last time, we began to climb Bearclaw pass.  This 10,900 foot pass was at the same time a glorious and terrifying ride.  And of course, we drove into a huge thunder/hail storm just as we approached the top of the mountain.  I don't even know why/how they ever built this highway.  We were basically dangling off a cliff.  The view was spectacular though - alpine meadows, snowcapped rocky mountains - it was worth the fear and extra driving time.  By the end of the treacherous stretch, I was ready to be done driving, but we were still 59 miles from Billings, our stop for the night.  Luckily, Montana's speed limit is 70 mph on two lane back roads.  When in Rome!   We sped along north and arrived in Billings safe and sound.  Now I need a good night sleep for tomorrow's long drive to South Dakota.

Missoula, MT to West Yellowstone, MT

Our great day started with some morning exploration of Missoula.  Thanks to several recommendations from friends, who knew we knew so many people who had lived in/visited Missoula, I had a delicious Mocha at Liquid Planet, wonderful bagel sandwiches from Bagels on Broadway, and got a great view of the city from the end of Whitaker Street.  We also visited Fort Missoula Historic District where we saw much of the old Army base and lots of logging and farming equipment.

View of Missoula from the top of Whitaker Street

 
After leaving Missoula, we headed east over the Rocky Mountains.  Even though we took the interstate, it was a gorgeous drive.  Most of the landscape continued to be scrub land mixed with irrigated farmland.  Just before Bozeman, MT we left the interstate and headed south towards Yellowstone National Park.  As we entered the Gallatin National Forest the landscape became much more forested.  Although it was all evergreen forest, the trees were definitely not as tall as the forests back in the Pacific Northwest.

About 90 minutes south of the interstate we entered West Yellowstone where we quickly dropped the dog - poor abandoned thing - at the hotel and headed for Old Faithful.  Since dogs are not allowed anywhere in the National Park except parking lots and daytime highs tend to be sweltering in a parked car, we jumped on the opportunity to see the geysers of Yellowstone without worrying about a hot dog in the car.  And what a great decision it was!  Going at dusk meant thinner crowds and great light hitting the hot springs.  I knew Yellowstone was quite the attraction, but I had no idea how many geysers there were.  Once we got about ten miles into the park, there were geysers everywhere we turned.  We first stopped at the Fountain Paint Pot, which was a gurgling splattering mud hole.  There were also many other hot springs and geysers about this area.  It was a jaw-dropping scene.  I did not expect the landscape to be like that at all.  We could have spent the rest of the daylight stopping at all the spots along the way but decided to head directly to Old Faithful.

Fountain Paint Pot

We arrived just minutes before the next eruption.  There was a lot of steam then suddenly water started gurgling up over the edges.  Finally, after about five or ten minutes of waiting, the water and steam shot up about 130 feet into the air.  It was truly one of the most spectacular things I had ever seen.  After the natural show, we headed to dinner at the Old Yellowstone Lodge cafeteria.  Feeling like a classic Yellowstone meal experience, I had bison meatloaf, which was delicious.  A little after dinner we even got face-to-face with a wild bison chomping on grass near the geysers.  We had a lovely sunset walk around the rest of the geysers near Old Faithful - there were many.  I especially enjoyed the artwork warning visitors not to step off the path at risk of death by scalding.  Sadly, the family of a child who died by falling off the path in 1970 commissioned the artwork for the public outreach campaign.  We successfully did not fall off the path; however, there were several areas along the boardwalk where a visitor might get scalded by a erupting geyser - a bit scary.  After exploring the surrounding area, we circled back in time to see a second eruption.  On the way back north, we stopped at most of the other geyser basins.  We saw Biscuit Basin, which got its name from the biscuit like rocks that were spewed from the geyser after a strong earthquake in 1959;  Grand Prismatic Lake, which is the largest hot spring in the park; and the Great Fountain Geyser, although we didn't stay to see if it would erupt because the mosquitos were out in droves.  Driving through the park we also saw bison, elk, and a porcupine.  This is truly an awe-inspiring place that I feel so lucky to be able to visit.  Everyone NEEDs to come here!

Old Faithful

Kennewick, WA to Missoula, MT

We had a long but beautiful drive today.  We decided to continue on the backroads, which took us through some gorgeous and varied terrain - much better than what we would have seen from I-90.  First, we traveled through the rest of southeastern Washington, which continued to be scrub-steppe.  Because of modern irrigation, the scrub-steppe surrounds beautifully fertile fields.  We saw quite a few vineyards, wheat, apple orchards, and crops we couldn't identify.  We also drove through several very cute towns such as Walla Walla and Pomroy.  Near the Idaho border, the scrub-steppe got more mountainous as we headed along the north border of the Blue Mountains.  These bare mountains were unlike the densely forested mountains of western Washington.  I have never seen a state with such varied terrain, but that is probably only because I come from the land of tiny states.

Blue Mountains near the WA/ID border

Heading to Idaho

Once past the Blue Mountains, we went on to Idaho.  Our time in Idaho was quite enjoyable because we almost never were not in a state or national forest.  We started by driving along the north border of Winchester Lake State Park.  This area very quickly turned more forested but not densely forested.  The hills there were almost identical to those desert hills of eastern Washington, but with smatterings of evergreen trees.  We stopped in Orofino for lunch.  Orofino is interesting mostly because Lewis and Clark stopped near there to make dug-out canoes.  Their high school mascot is the Maniacs because of the nearby state hospital (obviously they don't worry too much about political correctness).  They are also apparently very concerned about pedestrian safety because they have little orange flags at the start of crosswalks the idea being the pedestrian picks up the flags and walks across the street with them for higher visibility.  The only person we saw crossing the street did not pick up a flag.  After Orofino, we drove through Clearwater National forest to the Montana border.  This area was much more densely forested.  It is also the trail taken by Lewis and Clark's expedition.  Almost the entire day, we were driving through forest along the Clearwater River then the Lochsa River, which was a beautiful way to travel.

Clearwater River near Orofino, Idaho            

Eventually, we climbed the Lolo Pass where we passed into Montana then found our way to Missoula where we will spend the night.  A nice surprise was our hotel's two giant indoor water slides.  Missoula is quite pleasant - totally surrounded by mountains of the scrubby desert variety - and we will hopefully do more exploring of Missoula tomorrow.

Tacoma, WA to Kennewick, WA

And so it begins...  After a later than expected start, we decided to drive to Kennewick, WA last night.  Not sure there is much of interest in Kennewick except some boat races in July, but it is half way between where we were yesterday and where we are going today.

Despite the fact that it was dusk when we left Tacoma, we decided to take one last (for now) drive through the Mt. Rainier National Forest and Mt. Rainier National Park.  This is one of my favorite drives in Washington because the road is a long corridor of tall, lush evergreens.  I had driven through the area several times in the last year on the way hiking or skiing but had never gone at dusk.  It was too cloudy to see Mt. Rainier, but the darkness and the weather made for an eerie mist hanging above the valleys.  As we climbed up Chinook Pass to cross over the Cascades, we saw more and more snow.  In fact, Lake Tipsoo, which in a few weeks will be a glistening lake surrounded by dense wildflowers was totally covered in at least five feet of snow.  As we started to descend out of the mountains, we entered Wenatchee National Forest.  We saw many deer and elk grazing on the side of the road.  At one point we passed a whole pack of elk starring us down for interrupting their meal with our car noise and light.  I had never seen an elk up close but was fascinated by their collar of scruffy looking dark brown fur.

The landscape was as I expected - typically Washington dense evergreen forests - until we got to the other side of the Cascades.  Almost instantaneoulsy we were in what looked to be scrubby desert with only a smattering of short deciduous tress.  The ecosystem is called shrub-steppe and is so different from the west side of the mountains because the mountains catch all of the precipitation as it moves west.  In addition, the temperatures in this area are much more extreme unlike the western part of the state where the ocean makes the temperature fluctuations more narrow.  Despite the natural ecosystem, this is a huge agricultural area.  We saw many apple orchards and tons of fruit stands.  Too bad it was nearing midnight or we could have got some delicious Rainier cherries.

Unfortunately because of the darkness of our first day of travel, we have no pictures to show for our efforts.  However, after so many days of waiting for movers and dealing with the mess of moving, it is great to be in control of our own schedule.

Road Trip

After 13 great months in Washington, we are about to embark on an American dream - a cross-country road trip.  Of course, since we are only going as far as Tennessee, it is more of a nearly cross-country road trip.  I have been looking forward to a cross-country road trip for more than a year - since we were initially hoping to drive to Washington from Maine last year.  That plan didn't work out, so my road trip book and grand plans were shelved.  Now, we will do nearly the same trip in reverse.

Starting in Washington, we will take a more northerly route through the top part of Idaho to Missoula, Montana then on to West Yellowstone, Montana.  We will dip into Wyoming to spend a half day at Yellowstone then back to Billings, Montana and on to Rapid City, South Dakota where we will visit Mount Rushmore.  From there, we will head on to Iowa seeing first Sioux City then stopping to see the Field of Dreams.  After Iowa we will start heading south along the Mississippi.  After a stop in Hannibal, Missouri to visit Mark Twain's hometown, we will continue our southern journey through St. Louis and on to western Tennessee.

Since neither of us have ever seen this part of the country, we are very excited.  I am especially excited for all the cowboy attractions there are to see along the way.  How fun it will be to travel for seven days straight while five months pregnant is yet to be seen, but I am looking forward to the adventure!

Victoria, British Columbia

It may be a little lengthy to get there - three hour ferry ride from Seattle - but Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island is well worth even just a day trip.  My friend Ellie and I started very early in the morning and hardly made the ferry because of epic I-5 traffic.  There is nothing like running to catch a boat to start a trip off on the right foot.  We took the Victoria Clipper, which is pricier than the Washington State Ferry (WSF), but much more convenient since the WSF doesn't go to Victoria but instead goes to another port on Vancouver Island.  The easiest part of the clipper was that we were able to book a package that included ferry passage, a day tour, and hotel.  The trip up Puget Sound was quite smooth although I didn't risk going without motion sickness medicine, which turned out to be a good move as the water got rough as we moved from the sound to the Strait of San Juan de Fuca.  Once we arrived in Victoria, we seamlessly got on a bus for our day tour.

The tour gave us some highlights of Victoria and Vancouver Island as we headed to the famous Butchart Gardens.  The gardens were created by Jennie Butchart on her and her husband's property outside of Victoria.  While the Japanese, Italian, and rose gardens are all beautiful, no garden I have ever seen is as breathtaking as the sunken garden.  The sunken garden was created in the depleted limestone pit (Mr. Butchart was in the cement business) when tons of topsoil was brought in at the beginning of the twentieth century to cover the dug up pit.  The result is an enormous hole filled with a garden.  The effect is a lush oasis.  We entered the garden by descending a grand cement staircase.  Throughout the space were several ponds, raised beds, trees, waterfalls, and secret sitting areas.  There is even a huge rock in the center of the garden (the limestone that was of inferior quality) with another cement staircase that can be ascended for a bird's eye view.  It brought to mind what Eden may have looked like although Eden was probably a lot sunnier.

Sunken Garden

 (Left to Right - Italian Garden, entrance to Rose Garden, and Japanese Garden.  Photos by E. Pittinger)

After our garden tour, we had a brief rest at the hotel then headed out to see Victoria.  There is an obvious British influence in the city from the various old-style pubs to the architecture.  Government street is reminiscent of many of Britain's high streets with plenty of shops and restaurants.  There are also many tea shops and places to get high tea.  The Empress Hotel is the premiere place for high tea but was a little above our price range at $66 a person.  Instead, we had tea at Murchie's Coffee Shop where I had a delicious apricot tea and raspberry tart.  After an afternoon of shopping, we had a great fish and chips dinner (the best I have ever had) at Red Fish Blue Fish.  The fish stand is tucked in the harbor and has only outdoor seating, but the product is delicious.  It was a bit cold to sit by the water, but we did it anyway to get the full effect.

Early in the evening, we headed back to our hotel, the James Bay Inn, an old style hotel on the more residential side of the harbor.  The hotel must have been very comfortable because I was asleep by 8:30!!

Orcas Island

Last year, when we visited San Juan Island, we had hoped to get to Orcas Island, one of the islands in the Strait of San Juan de Fuca that comprise the San Juan Islands, but did not have time.  We decided then that we would go back to camp on Orcas Island since a large part of the island is state park.  On Memorial Day weekend, we had our opportunity to take this long-awaited camping trip.

Orcas Island is a little like two bells connected by a thin cord.  The Washington State Ferry arrives on the west side of the island in the town of Orcas and Moran State Park is on the east side.  The town of Orcas is very small, but has the essentials - a few gift shops, grocery store, and restaurants - which made our long wait for the ferry leaving the island more bearable despite the drizzle.  On the way to Moran, we passed through Eastsound, the largest town on the island.  This was a quaint village with some resorts and some artisan shops.  It was great to have this as an option on the morning of the trip that it really rained.

The state park really provided plenty of activity options with so many miles of hiking trails.  On one afternoon, we hiked to Cascade Falls.  It was a two mile moderate hike from our campground.  The falls were not terribly large, but the lush green surroundings they were nestled into made them worth the trip.  Another day, we hiked up Mt. Constitution, the highest point in the San Juan Islands.  The hike was difficult at first in that it was a very steep grade.  Eventually, the trail began to wind along the face of the mountain then continued up to the summit.  The top was very crowded as there is a road to the summit; however, the clouds were so thick there was hardly anything to see anyway.  There is a stone observation tower, but that did not improve the view.  The descent was much easier, obviously.  The trail took us to Twin Lakes then Mountain Lake, where we walked along the shores directly back to our campsite.

Cascade Falls
Photo by E. Pittinger

View from the top of Mt. Constitution
Photo by E. Pittinger

By far the most exciting part of the weekend was kayaking.  We had been kayaking in the San Juan Islands before, but this time, we stayed very close to shore, which allowed us to see the sea life on the rocky cliffs of the island.  We saw many purple star fish and some seals.  Though the best visitor by far was a bald eagle.  On our previous kayaking trip in the San Juans, we saw many bald eagles from a distance.  On this trip, the eagle was perched on a rock close to the water and did not move for several minutes despite our group's approach.  It was a clear illustration of why kayaking is one of the most perfect ways to watch wildlife.

Photo by E. Pittinger

Despite a little rain and chilly northwest temperatures, it was a great trip.  Hopefully, we will some day return to this area for more northwest camping.  Of course, the chilly weather did not stop me from taking a dip in Mountain Lake.  It wouldn't be a vacation without swimming!

 

Photo by E. Pittinger