Razzmatazlady

Category: Travel Commentary

  • On The Road Again

    Ohits Tidying Up Muffin

    Today we’re leaving beautiful Winslow on Bainbridge Island, Washington. It’s been lovely to be here even though the weather hasn’t been all that balmy. We’ve spent quality time with my two sisters and my brother-in-law.
    I discovered a walking trail that wasn’t here last year. I’ve browsed through my favorite shops and discovered new ones. We’ve had lunch at two of the harborside eateries that we were familiar with and, since we could now compare them with last year’s visit, we’ve chosen a favorite.
    We missed the library’s monthly book sale, this year, because we were busy doing other things but we’ll be back and that’ll be on our list, for sure. It’s fun digging through the stacks of books that the library needs to weed out. We always find a treasure or two. I like chatting with the other people who are book hounds and are on a mission to find something special.

    We enjoy this particular housesitting assignment and feel as though we’ve made new friends. Well, we have made new friends. Not only Ohits and Muffin (the cats) but their “humans”, as well. That’s a great little perk.

    In any case, we’re headed back to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. And we are NOT traveling by train, again. Still haven’t recovered from that last one. Nope, we’re flying. Flying? GASP! I’m not looking forward to it, mind you. But, I figure it’ll be a couple of hours of misery rather than a couple of days.

    I. Can. Do. This.

    Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted…

  • More Bainbridge Island…

    We’ve returned from our outing and managed to snap several decent pics! This is one of the ferries that travels between Seattle and Bainbridge Island. We were on the other side of the bay but I used my zoom. Dark clouds were rolling in just about then.

    Here are two shots of boats in the marina. There are hundreds of boats! All kinds from small sailboats to yachts!

    I love the reflections on the water in the picture above. Almost looks like a painting. In fact, it would make a great painting! Good idea. Maybe I’ll paint it. Sometime.


    This is cool, too…all those masts standing at attention. Just waiting for someone to climb aboard and set sail.

    Just up the road we stopped so I could take this picture of the Seattle skyline. A little bit of sunshine making a brave effort to get through the cloud cover…

  • Winslow, Bainbridge Island

    A pretty garden near the house. I think the gate with the leaded glass is such a neat idea.
    We have several gardens back home and I’m always looking for great garden art. I think this spring I’ll try to find a similar piece.

    It’s sunny (so far), today, so Jack and I are going to take a drive around the island. Not sure how long the sun will last, however.

    My sister has this to say about weather in Washington state, “High of 40, Low of 40” and “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute and it’ll change.” So far she’s right on both counts! But I guess if the climate was any different there wouldn’t be all the lush, beautiful, green landscapes that are famous in western Washington! And that would be sad, indeed.


    Here’s a close-up of more art in this same garden. I think this is a sculpture of a spirit from the folklore of Alaska but I’m not really sure. I’m going to try to find out. Maybe Mother Earth? Notice the owl “cap” on her head. Isn’t it so intriguing? I love it.

  • A Couple of Pictures from Port Angeles

    I really wanted to get some spectacular shots on the way to Port Angeles. However, even though it was sunny, it was cold and windy and I took this through the windshield of the car. Not fabulous but it’ll have to do. This is the view when you drive down into the Discovery Bay valley. The scenery is wonderful; however, zipping along in a vehicle is probably not the way to get the best pictures!

    Driftwood at Ediz Hook

    There is a spit of land in Port Angeles called the Ediz Hook. It’s more than three miles long and it protects the Port Angeles Harbor (which is the pacific northwest’s deepest harbor). Back in the mid-nineteenth century the people would burn driftwood at the very end to provide light for the ships that came into the harbor. President Abraham Lincoln eventually authorized the construction of a lighthouse. The lighthouse is no longer there – I think I read somewhere that it was sold and moved and is presently a private home.


    The Ediz Hook is a very busy tourist attraction during the summer months. On a clear day you can see Victoria, British Columbia. We drove out there to see if I could get some good photos but it was just a bit too cloudy for good shots of Victoria. Here are a couple of pictures of the driftwood that is strewn along the beach there. As I made my way down to the shore, I noticed that somebody had stacked little stones upon the rocks. I don’t know how long they’ve been there. But it was kind of neat, I thought, so I took a picture.


    Then, as we were driving back, I took these pictures of the view of Port Angeles from the Hook. Doesn’t look like the busy town that actually it is. Really, none of these pictures do justice to the actual landscapes. Oh well.

    I’ve come to the conclusion that, unless you’re a pro, it’s hard to translate the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula in a simple photograph. Guess you just have to see it to believe it.

    In any case, it was a great trip!

  • Going to Port Angeles

    We’re going over to Port Angeles, WA today to see my sister, Val. It’s her birthday and we’re going to celebrate it and then do a few little things around her house.
    I’m going to take the camera and try to get some nice shots to post tomorrow (or later today). It snowed at Port Angeles last night and there might be more snow tonight but right now it looks pretty good. It’s partly sunny but cold – so what! It’ll be a beautiful drive if the roads aren’t icy and if they are we’ll just turn around and come back – flexibility is our middle name.
    I’m going to take pictures today regardless of where I am, by golly!
    Later, ‘gator.
    1/28/2008

  • A Ferry Ride to Bainbridge Island,WA

    I took some photos while we were on the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. It’s a gorgeous view from any vantage point on the ferry.

    I took this shot of another ferry heading from Bainbridge Island to Seattle. You can see the famous Space Needle which was constructed for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. It’s towers to a height of 605 feet (184 meters).

    This is a cool shot of a sailboat we passed with a view of Mount Baker (10,778 feet) in the distance. Mount Baker is an ice-clad volcano in the North Cascades of Washington State. “After Mount Rainier, it is the most heavily glaciated of the Cascade volcanoes” (United States Geological Survey-USGS).

    According to the USGS, it’s located 31 miles due east of Bellingham, WA. And considering that Bellingham is 78 miles north of Seattle, that’s one heck of a distance!

    From the other side of the ferry I could see Mount Rainier volcano (14,410 ft) in the distance. Hard to believe that it’s about 100 miles south of Seattle!

    Although I was looking into the sun, I still got a great shot. It’s our third trip to Bainbridge Island to housesit. It’s good to be back.

  • Why I will never ride the train again. (The Sequel – Part II)

    I snapped this picture through the window of the train as we were going around a curve.

    After our “very good night’s sleep” we left the hotel and hailed a taxi to take us to Los Angeles’ Union Station which I am certain is one of the most beautiful train stations in the country. Not that I’ve seen all that many. But it’s got to rank up there in the top ten.

    We boarded Amtrak Coast Starlight Train #14, Car 2412 in great anticipation of the beautiful scenery we would surely see along the way. As hesitant as I was to continue traveling via railway, I was being a good sport. (Jack’s bribe of a kitchen remodel played only a very small part in my newly revived enthusiasm. Really.)

    We were assigned seats #29 and #30 and after stowing our carry-on bags above our seats we settled in for a pleasant journey. The train glided out of Union Station. It was a beautiful sunny day.

    Seated just behind us were two guys who introduced themselves to each other and then decided to go to the lounge car for a beverage. They came back a few minutes later, each carrying a beer. It was about 10:30 a.m. Not a good omen.

    They settled in their seats and proceeded to get acquainted. One of them (I dubbed him Chatty Chuck) talked non-stop. I mean, NON-STOP. And he was LOUD. And he was an expert on EVERYTHING. After more then an hour of not being able to concentrate on my book we found the conductor and requested new seats at the front of the car.

    Our request was granted. It was great. We could barely hear Chuck and his new friend. We traveled this way for quite some time just enjoying the scenery and visiting and feeling quite smug that this train trip would be a piece of cake. Wrong.

    And now a brief commentary of the “very unfortunate events” that unfolded:

    • Near San Luis Obisbo, California – The train came to a stop and we were told that there was a car stuck on the tracks. An hour or so later we moved forward.

    • Near San Jose, California – The train came to a stop (again) because there was a car crash near the tracks and we could not proceed until the tracks were examined to be sure there was no debris on the tracks. An hour or so later yadda, yadda, yadda…

    • Near Chico, California – Well, this time the train couldn’t come to a stop and actually sliced a vehicle in half! As it was explained to us, a young woman who was extremely intoxicated got her 4 x 4 stuck on the tracks. She ran down the tracks toward the approaching train to try to get it to stop. As intoxicated as she was, she did think to jump out of the way just in time to save herself but, of course, we were traveling much to fast to stop before hitting her car. Investigation ensued and shortly thereafter we were moving, again.

    At this point we were running just a couple of hours late. Not so bad.

    • Klamath Falls, Oregon (about 100 miles north of Klamath Falls, actually) – The train came to a stop (yet again). We were told that there was another train stopped ahead of us for some reason or other and we couldn’t proceed until it did. An hour or so later we were advised that there was an eight foot mud slide on the tracks ahead of us. WHAT????

    So it was decided that we would pull forward to a spot where the engine pulling our train could be moved from the front of the train to the back of the train and it would take us back a hundred miles to Klamath Falls. There were busses at Klamath Falls which would take us to our various destinations. I cannot tell you how disturbing that news was. I cannot describe to you how much I dislike bus trips. We wracked our brains trying to decide what alternatives there might be when we got to Klamath Falls.

    • In the meantime, we were chugging along for who-knows-how-long when we came to yet another stop. The railroad track was broken and we could go no further. I am not lying. That’s exactly what happened. How we got over that broken track going north, I couldn’t tell you. So we were trapped between an eight foot mudslide and a broken railroad track. Great.

    A repair team was dispatched to our location. The track was repaired. By this time I have lost all track of time. It was probably three hours or so later before we were again on the move. We arrived in Klamath Falls. There weren’t enough busses. We were herded onto a bus that was just one step up from a school bus. No, maybe one step below a school bus. It was supposed to be a tour bus and let me tell you that it totally put me off the idea of a bus tour.

    That was about 7 p.m. Five hours and two stops later we pulled into the Amtrak station in Portland, Oregon. There was a train waiting to take us to our final destination, Seattle, Washington. Arrived in Seattle at approximately 4:30 a.m.

    We’re flying back to Los Angeles. Already have our tickets.

  • Why I Will Never Ride The Train Again (The Sequel – Part I)

    “Begin at the beginning and go to the end, then stop.” (White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland)

    O.K., will do. Let’s see…the Beginning? Well, that would be when we checked into the hotel in downtown Los Angeles to spend the night at the “newly remodeled” Ritz Something-Or-Other. The name is not important unless you’re planning to stay there (and in that case please contact me for the name so you can find other lodging). It looked lovely from the outside and even from the lobby. The Very Reasonable Rate should have tipped us off. We’re from the midwest and we tend to give the benefit of the doubt, however.

    Went up to our room on the eleventh floor. On a positive note, it did pass my “clean” test (and believe me, if you traveled with me you’d realize the enormity of that statement). It was recently painted. The bathroom was very clean. Basically, the room was just large enough for the bed. There was a shabby dresser perpendicular to the shabby nightstand but you couldn’t open the drawers because the nightstand was about two inches too deep. Not that I had any intention of using the drawers, of course. Obviously the remodel did not include the furnishings.

    The telephone did not work. No dial tone. Went down to the front desk to report it. The desk clerk sent a young lady up with a new telephone. She removed it from its box and plugged it in. It worked.

    There were little wires exposed between two sections of the internet cable. I was skeptical but bravely plugged it into our laptop. It worked. So far, so good. We doubt that these particular accomodations would have passed an electrical inspection as there were little wires running from the ceiling lights in the bedroom and bathroom. They were “disguised” with paint that matched the walls. Didn’t fool us, though.

    Long story short – we had a good night’s sleep and caught a cab to Union Station early Friday morning. It was a very good thing that we had a good night’s sleep…

    To be continued…

  • A Quickie Post Before Boarding The Train

    We’ll be leaving for the train shortly so this has to be quick. We had a fine trip from Phoenix. It’s only about six hours to Los Angeles from there. The scenery is not breathtaking by any means because it’s mostly desert but you have time to really observe what IS out there (tongue in cheek). For example, just east of Quartzite, Az is a road called Sore Finger Road. Yep, Sore Finger Road. Makes you wonder who’s finger it was and why it was sore, doesn’t it? And where it might lead.

    Then right around Palm Springs there are fields and fields of wind farms. Hundreds of wind turbines generating energy. I really do think they’re pretty. They rotate slowly, almost lazily. Rhythmic. Reminds me of dancers with their arms stretched wide. A silent ballet.

    Then you travel through towns like 29 Palms and Thousand Palms. Wonder how they got their names. I’ll have to check that out.

    Well, time to go – I probably won’t be able to post anything until we reach Seattle. But here’s a website that I stumbled upon that looks yummy! Check it out. http://www.extremechocolate.com/

  • Seeing The Sights

    What a wonderful trip we had, yesterday! We drove to Sedona, AZ which is famous for it’s beautiful red rock formations.

    I took pictures but, honestly, none of them do justice to the beauty of those soaring red cliffs. They are truly magnificent! Amazing!

    Spectactular!

    Ya gotta see it to believe it! Here’s a picture just to prove we were actually there, though!

    The weather was cool and crisp but no wind and the sun was out. Perfect.

    Then we went to Montezuma Castle National Monument whic is about half way between Sedona and Phoenix. It’s the site of a prehistoric village of the Sinagua, an Ancestral Pueblo people who lived in the area for centuries before Columbus discovered the New World.

    According to the National Park Service, it has been described as the best preserved and most dramatic cliff dwelling in the United States. Check out this picture! We learned that it was the women who constructed the cliff dwellings!! The men were out hunting and gathering, I guess.

    A very fine day of sightseeing.

    Tomorrow we’re leaving Arizona. Heading back to Los Angeles where we’ll leave our vehicle and catch the train for Washington State.

    I know, I know… I said I’d never ride the train again but you will recall that Jack bribed me with the promise of a new kitchen. I am admitting that I can be bought.