Whidbey Island to Portland!

Got up a little later on Thursday, as we had no timed obligations to attend to.  Burt had originally planned a trip across to Port Townsend and the Olympic Mountains, but we all agreed that if given our druthers, we would instead like to tour the Boeing Plant here in Seattle. 

Dinner at Burt's!

Our ferry boat coming in

On the waterfront!

Zappala, Burt, Katy & me on ferry

Based on that, Burt cancelled our ferry reservation, only to find that the Boeing tour had no places for us on Thursday!  Oh well!  Instead, we took Burt out to breakfast in Oak Harbor, after which a short hike was planned.  As I was a bit chilled in the morning, I pulled on R’s sweater and climbed into bed for a few minutes … waking up at 2 pm when the hikers came home!  I think I am still trying to catch up from the early eclipse day, as well as several very late nights (for me at least!) lately.

We then packed up and left Burt’s house at 2:45 pm (5 people into his Subaru, which was a rather tight fit!) to drive to Seattle to have dinner with Burt’s daughter Kristine, and her husband Milen.  It is truly a long way into Seattle! We didn’t get home until 11:45 pm! This time, we drove to the ferry that goes to Everett, Washington (home of the huge Boeing plant).  We had to wait about half an hour for the next available ferry.  R and Katy and I walked along the quay and it was just a beautiful afternoon.  The ferry arrived promptly and only took about 15 minutes to cross to the other side.  However, as we were getting off the ferry, we could see the line-up to get to Whidbey Island!  The line for the ferry must have stretched a mile easily – there was going to be some waiting, that’s for sure. 

MB, Kristine, Katy, Burt, Zappala & Milen

R's gazpacho

My Salade Lyonaisse

R's Ling Cod

My flatbread!

Traffic into Seattle about 5-ish was very heavy, (pretty much a nightmare!) but we eventually made it to Kristine and Milen’s house.  It’s in a very nice Seattle neighborhood, and is really lovely!  Nice hardwood floors throughout, and a modern kitchen and a nice large deck and backyard.  Their kitchen window view is lovely, and apparently depending on what time they leave, they don’t have too bad of a commute.  Milen and Kristine both have Ph.D’s in the field of mathematics.  Milen works for a company that has some ties to the Gates Foundation.  He works on mathematical modeling of diseases and works directly with various countries in trying to come up with plans to overcome them; I think that’s the basis of much of the Gates Foundation work, which is to be admired.  Milen is very passionate about what he is doing, but the travel does get a little much at times.  Kristine works for Microsoft, but I’m not sure doing what.

We went to a restaurant called Maree Restaurant and Bar, which is French and excellent!  I had a Salade Lyonaisse (frisee with a poached egg and lardons and croutons) and a flatbread appetizer with a garlic sauce and prosciutto and parsley – excellent!  R had their gazpacho to start, followed by ling cod, which he said was excellent.  For dessert, R and I shared a Chocolate Raspberry mousse, which was incredible!  We had Sancerre for wine, and enjoyed it very much.  There being seven of us for dinner, we didn’t get back to Kristine and Milen’s until somewhere around 9:30 pm.  Part of the reason, Burt informed us, in coming in for dinner was to pick up Aly, their miniature collie (a real cutie!) as Kristine and Milen are leaving on Saturday for Bulgaria, Milen’s home country. 

So, with Aly in the back of the Subaru, and the five of us jammed into the front, we headed back to Whidbey Island.  It was something like 97 miles, and took about 2 hours 15 minutes.  Really exhausted by the time we pulled into the driveway, but of course had to be up this morning to catch the 7:15 am ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend.

Heading toward Port Townsend!

More Port Townsend

Blue Moose Cafe -- very funky place!

My Scooter!

Up at 5:14 am and was glad I had taken the time to get the suitcase organized and packed.  We were ready to go about 5:40 am, and tried to get out the door without waking the whole house; it would have worked except for the fact that Aly woke up and started barking, which I’m sure the others definitely appreciated!  So glad we had this chance to see Burt and Whidbey Island, as well as spend a few additional days with Bob and Katy Zappala!

Lovely drive to the ferry port, and everything ran like clockwork.  We parked the car on the ferry and then headed upstairs to the lounge, for the great views!  It took about half an hour, and then we were driving into Port Townsend!  Decided we needed to stop for breakfast, and found the very funky and out of the way place called the Blue Moose Café!  Wow!  The reviews were right!  I had one of their “scooters” – scrambled eggs in a tortilla with other things.  I had breakfast potatoes along with the eggs, with salsa and sour cream.  Really tasty!  R had scrambled eggs with grilled veggies and cheese and cottage fries.  Like me, he very much enjoyed it!

R's scramble!

Great place for breakfast!

Bridge over the Columbia

Interesting bridge!

From Astoria!

Then across the street to the big Safeway to get some sparkling water for the trip south.  We decided that as we didn’t have to rush today, we would take the coast route where we could, and it was absolutely lovely!  First from Port Townsend south and west to the big bridge over the Columbia, where we crossed to Astoria, a former fur trading spot.  (Big Lewis and Clark area!)  The bridge over the Columbia was having (of course!) some road work, and we got stopped almost at the peak of the bridge!  Feeling the bridge move as other traffic went by made me very nervous, but fortunately, things soon began to move again.

Heading now down the Oregon coast, we stopped at Seaview for lunch at a McDonald’s, and then started heading southeast toward Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb of Portland.  Truly, there was incredible traffic heading toward the coast – campers, kayaks, boat, bikes – you name it, it was on the move!  Reminded us of driving into Paris once on the 1^st of August – the traditional day that the French take their month-long vacations – unreal! 

Stopped at a Costco for gas, just down the road from our hotel – and yes, remember we’re in Oregon, and they pump it for you!  Still very odd!  Got to our hotel a bit after 3 pm.  We’re in a nice suite at the Homewood Suites, #431, very comfy.  Had to decide between Hurricane Harvey which is about to make landfall in Texas (and yes, Jim Cantori still stands out in the middle of a hurricane and tells people to keep themselves safe … duh…)  and the Seattle/KC preseason football game. 

As it turns out, there is a Sweet Tomatoes (same chain as Souplantation) right next door to the hotel, so we decided to go there for dinner tonight.  Had nice salads and I added a baked potato; excellent, and we enjoyed it very much!  Now back in the room, and I am getting ready to post.  We had meant to stay two nights in Medford, Oregon, and do some wine tasting, but our long drive on Tuesday sent us back to the drawing board.  So, Portland area tonight, and tomorrow in Medford, and Sunday night in Sacramento.  Hopefully we’ll be able to fine a winery or two along the way!

More later!

m

xxx