Along Highway 26 between Colfax and Washtucna there is a barn I have often admired and today I pulled over and snapped the photo. Since I know nothing else about the barn, I’m including a photo from the other side of the mountains in North Bend and another random highway scene with a tree.
So I spent some quality time on I-84 today. It runs along the Columbia River on the Oregon side and is really a pretty road. Most importantly it had virtually no snow, though the waterfalls along the way were frozen and that was pretty cool. I stopped to get gas and remembered again that I’m not allowed to pump my own gas!
LAX is the jump off point to my 14 hour flight to Australia. It is the 6th busies airport in the world. My flight was Quantas 108.
When dear daughter was in middle school, she didn’t want to go anywhere with her parents. The idea of going up to Seattle was abhorrent to her, but we dragged her along anyway. We stopped at Uwajimaya and the Kinokuniya Bookstore (525 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104) and she fell for it — hard. Ever since we have been visiting Seattle’s International District at least once a quarter. Today, my now happy travel companion and I went up to Uwajimaya because we were having an udon craving. We can’t go to Uwajimaya without buying those little chocolate mushroom cookie treats and visiting Kinokuniya. She walked away with a present for her friend, a manga and a CD. The store is packed with manga and all types of traditional, Japanese language books (novels, cookbooks, art, history, etc.). We found both The Hobbit and 50 Shades of Grey in Japanese! There is also a large music selection and plenty of adorable stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, stickers, pens and miscellaneous. Parking is free for up to two hours with store validation. http://www.kinokuniya.com/us/
By the way, when we got home… she thanked me for taking her!
A group of women with vintage campers that go fly fishing and camping together? How cool is that?! Of course I had to go check it out when they convened at Cabela’s at 1600 Gateway Blvd NE Lacey, WA 98516. The mission statement of Sisters on the Fly is “Offering empowerment and sisterhood through exceptional outdoor adventures. As a group of women we challenge ourselves in all that we set our mind to. There is no age, color, religion or political group. All women who want to share in the adventure of “sisterhood” are welcome. This “sisterhood” has grown to more than 2,400 women since inception in 1999.”
As you can see from the photos the vintage trailers are darling and lovingly decorated. Bare in mind that these are little spaces which usually have a bed, table, stove, fridge and some storage. Because of the size, they are difficult to capture in a photo, but the website has more photos and there are a couple of books available. The women are really nice also!
http://www.sistersonthefly.com/
Cabela’s is the world’s foremost outfitter (that’s their tag line!) and it is indeed a huge store with a large display of animals arrange in a nature setting. There is also a piper cub plane hanging from the ceiling. Besides an abundance of merchandise, there is a gun library and a restaurant. It reminds me of REI, but with more of an emphasis on hunting/fishing. There are 39 Cabela’s with more being planned.
http://www.cabelas.com/
Today was a traveling day with stops at the Dallas Fort Worth international Airport (DFW), George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and SeaTac International Airport. The photos are a mixture of the three spots.
I’ve always pictured myself as the type of person who would be happy going from hostel to hostel and traveling the world. And I’m pleased to say that the two hostels I stayed in met my expectations. The three women leaders stayed together in one room, which is just fine since we got along so well. The hostel had several common rooms where visitors could talk, play games, read, watch tv, etc. and a large dining area. I visited with one woman who was hiking with several of her girl friends, staying in hostels along the way. One of their husbands was following in the car with all their luggage 😀 These ladies were in their 60s, so hostels aren’t limited to youth anymore.
To see more about this hostel, go here http://www.syha.org.uk/hostels-in-scotland/highlands/pitlochry.aspx
During the evening we went to see a Scotsman who demonstrated putting on a kilt and showed traditional Scots weapons.
Yesterday’s new place of the day was the Air Traffic Control Tower at SeaTac Airport. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says “Air traffic controllers earn relatively high pay and have good benefits. Median annual wages of air traffic controllers in May 2008 were $111,870”. Wow. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos108.htm
It isn’t the best photo that I’ve taken, in fact I made my daughter take it as the car was moving!
The BC (British Columbia) Ferries in Canada are amazing. Dear daughter, my dad and I took the Spirit of British Columbia Ferry from Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver, BC) to Swatz Bay (on Vancouver Island, north of Victoria). On the way to Victoria we took the Spirit of British Columbia and on the way back we traveled on the Spirit of Vancouver. The photos are of both ships.
While I’ve been on my fair share of ferries, none of have matched these ships for size and style. They hold 410 vehicles (including up to 34 semis) and 2,100 people (passengers and crew). Amenities include Seawest Lounge, Pacific Buffet, Coastal Cafe for hot & cold dishes, Coast Cafe Express for lighter fare, Passages Gift Shop, video arcades, play areas, work/study stations, telephones, elevators, wheelchair-friendly decks and washrooms. The trip took over two hours, allowing time to enjoy the spectacular scenery as we traveled through the San Juan Islands.
We have been members of AAA for years now. Some years we don’t need any road service and one recent year I used it four times (once on the Narrows Bridge on a Saturday night when my friend’s car got a flat). It is worth the price to have the piece of mind. And they are invaluable for trip planning, supply my family with maps, guide books and good advice
Note, the AAA Tacoma office looks nicer than this lackluster photo!.
www.aaa.com
