What a day! Fall has truly arrived. It is really blustery & the leaves are beginning to blow all over the place!
I think today has also been rather productive. I've gone over the remaining of September's budget, had the 'check enigine ' light checked out, hoovered the house, unloaded dishes...went to the mall where surprises abound! I bought THREE bottles of hair spritze for only $6 more than the regular fistic one! Had a free hand massage@Aveda, which was simply brilliant! Then I spent a bit of cash I shouldn't have on a fabulous pair of Mary Janes & cap sleeved corset top--so stylish!

Well, I guess that's it for this wee blog from my phone. Does that mean I can call it an iBlog??

Hmmm...here's a test to see if I can truly blog from my phone. If this works, having SMS will be even better!! Really, I've not fallen in a hole. :)

01 July 2009

So, it is the first of July...and I've not blogged in a very, very long time.

Any real reason-no. Plenty of excuses.

So, I decided this morning to jump back in.

Today, that means giving you a photo of flowers in Victoria.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Canada Day!!

Peninsula Part 1

So...I thought I'd finally post up some photos from my February trip to the Olympic Peninsula with Miss Brenda. I am sure this is thrilling news to all of you out there in Bloggerland! ;)

We chose to take the ferry over since it was later evening when we set off. Anyway--ferry's are fun! We were told we'd have to wait a full hour for the next boat...luckily this proved false and we were off in a flash!


We stayed at the Forks Motel, which is rather nice. We were off the next morning to see what we could see on Second Beach. For breakfast we stopped over at the Thriftway for some very nourishing donuts :) YUMM!!!

That Saturday happened to be Valentine's Day. On our way into the market we were greeted by an older fellow in a ball cap, a flannel shirt and wranglers (if I wasn't mistaken) with a jovial greeting of: "Happy Valentine's Day, Ladies!!" It was spectacular...and we were off!



As you can see in the above photo as well as the one here...it is truly as green in the rain forest as one might imagine they'd be.

To reach Second Beach, one must park in a small lot off the side of the road and walk 1.3 miles (2.1km) through this lush landscape to reach the beach area.

The tree in the photo above reminded us of a giraffe for some reason. How about you? Giraffe or no???



It was rather wondrous...one moment you're traipsing over a squishy green trail and the next you're looking at this massive pile of driftwood--the entrance to the beach.

I somehow managed not to photograph the very classy outhouse that is standing right by the trail on the forest side of the driftwood mass. It is classic I tell you!





The views were spectacular! The morning was rather overcast, but mild. If you look down in this shot you can see a bit of an opening in the rock face...this, my friends, is where we were headed.




Here is a shot from near the water's edge. The waves were incredible. The beach here was mostly sandy with very (very, very) small pebbles. We would soon learn that the beaches in the area are all made up of a variety of pebbles...some very tiny-yet not quite sand...then there are some much larger-almost what one would call rocks covering large areas of beach!



This was our goal: tide pool! The sky was still rather dark but it was comfortable out. There were lots of barnacles and mosses on the rocks.

There weren't very many large pools to see sea creatures in...but we did find a few :)




As you can see here, the anemones were mint green. I think all that we saw were this color. They have this odd bit on their outsides that makes them look like shite when they are tucked up and afraid.

The sun was out a bit for this shot...much brighter! Now, I'm new to the sea, I found all of this to be unfamiliar and fascinating-WOW!!


As the tide began to rise...we turned to trek back to the trail head. During one bit of darker sky I turned and took this shot of the sea stacks reflected in the rising waters.


Sea stacks--who'd a thunk???



This is the final shot I have for this post.

We spent a bit of time looking at all sorts of driftwood. It is beautiful. This bit took our attention for a few minutes.

What do you see in these bits of wood? Do you often see the art that is nature? How do you capture it?

Things I'm Grateful for #10

Ah...the weekend.

Here in the Puget Sound we have high clouds and sun. The arcadia door is open along with most of the windows in the place. Though I still have that nagging feeling deep down that the sun may come and never go away, allowing the temperatures to creep up and up and up until it is sweltering by 0800...I am enjoying that it is a rather nice day!

Last weekend I was in Portland with a friend. A friend who really loves the Twilight movie. She has been to all the places where it was shot. She had been to Carver Cafe once before and suggested we should eat there for lunch.



We went over a bit early (we were starving) and had some brunch. It is a small place-much smaller than it appears in the movie. We sat down right away and the place was already rather full. Since another two folks had come in with nowhere to sit, the staff asked if we'd mind sharing a table. It was set for six...there was plenty of room...we said "of course not".

I ordered a half size biscuit and gravy with a side of bacon and some coffee. I'm sure this is shocking information-ha ha ha!

All I can say is WOW! The biscuit was amazing and the bacon was just like I remember having up in the high mountains. The gravy was good...not the best, but very tasty none-the-less. This was some seriously good grub!

Of course, as all the small towns up here impacted by Twilight, this place is using the phenomenon to help their business as much as possible in these tough economic times.

Behind the counter is a cut out heart with a polaroid of Waylon Forge that says "R.I.P. Waylon". They have a guest book for Twilight fans and they sell black tees that say "I got a bite at Carver Cafe".

We were informed by the man sharing our table that the establishment has had many owners, but the food now is the best ever (no argument here!). He also let us know that the film crew completely redecorated the place prior to filming. If you're ever in Damascus, OR, I recommend stopping by!


This is what I'm grateful for this week: Great diner food found in cozy little corners of the world!









A special bonus...having the folks you share a table with buy your meal. What a friendly place!

Do you enjoy hitting up little local eateries when you travel about? Any foods you like to try out whilst there??