Hi Mary! Sorry about that, but seeing that there were no posts today at the Idylls, I figured I was the problem. So I decided to post our vacation pics here for you. Ei
Good Morning Idylls!
Im sorry IÂve been such a bad Idyll, but life is pretty hectic here right now and lots of changes going on, which I canÂt get into right now, but will try to do some catching up here. We just got back from a whirlwind visit to the Northwest (was waving to T as we went by....Hi T!). You guys(sorry, you can take the gal out of Chicago, but you can't take Chicago out of the gal) have not been far from my thoughts and while in Seattle I saw this sign and well, I had to take a picture...LOL! Of course hubby thought I was nuts, but humored me anyway!
{{gwi:179351}}
Washington is a gorgeous state! The city of Seattle has many hills and in that respect reminded me of San Francisco....my legs were not use to that kind of workout, but turned out it was great preparation for the hiking we would do later on our trip. Seattle is a pretty city with lots of gorgeous plantings everywhere. Here are a few pics of plantings that are all around the city in public areas (I was really impressed)!
IÂm going to copy this next year (the moss, black mondo grass and stone part)! :-) Just havenÂt figured out where IÂll put it yet and need to find someone who can grind a stone for me...LOL!
{{gwi:179353}}IsnÂt this lovely? Check out that *BLUE* hydrangea!
{{gwi:179354}}
CanÂt tell the scale in this pic, but IÂm guessing those hydrangeas were about 5 feet tall. And look!....they have my favorite Dahlia; Dahlia 'Fascination'. Sniff, sniff, theirs look better than mine and they are in a public area! :-(
HereÂs a container that made me think of all the gifted Idylls:
{{gwi:179356}}
Again, the size is deceiving...this was a *huge* container!
These fuchsias made me think of Deanne. :-)
{{gwi:179358}}I think they must be perennial here! Thick woody stems and at least 5 foot tall...IÂm green! Still, couldnÂt help but think how they could be made to be even lovelier under DeanneÂs skilled hands. :-)
PikeÂs Market was a blast...IÂve never seen anything quite like it:
{{gwi:179360}}
Isles and Isles of fresh fish and seafood....
{{gwi:179362}}
Fresh vegetables and fruits *everywhere*....I *loved* these hanging peppers...just gorgeous and bought a bunch to decorate AnitaÂs Santa Fe style kitchen! :-)
{{gwi:179363}}Bunches of flowers for miles and miles. They brought me to my knees! :-)
{{gwi:179364}}What I would give to have this kind of selection at home...and as little as $5.00 per bunch! The dahlias were unbelievable. I wasnÂt able to capture their beauty, you really need to see them in person, but the colors were amazing and the size...OMIGOSH! It seems everything grows huge in Washington. :-)
{{gwi:179365}}
While in Seattle we took the "Underground Tour" and I enjoyed that. The history was fascinating and our tour guide very entertaining and humourous, but my pics didn't come out.
Once you are out of SeattleÂs city limits, you donÂt have to go very far to be in the thick of nature....astounding! We also were very pleased to have all bright and sunny days while on our visit. We did lots of hiking once we left Seattle and as I mentioned, the hiking up all the streets in Seattle was good preparation for all our nature hiking. We hiked 14 miles through the Ho rainforest and we didnÂt get nearly as far as we wanted, but turned around after 7 miles, as we were afraid it would get too dark when we tried to head back.
Here are some shots of the Hoh rainforest! :-) Yes...LOL...it *is* pronounced just as you think and I did blush when during a conversation with a waitress, I mentioned how we had just hiked the Hoh...LOL! I didnÂt realize how that would come out! :-) Anyway, it is a temperate rainforest:
{{gwi:179367}}
{{gwi:179369}}
Waaaaaay back in the distance you can see me at the end of this HUGE felled tree!
{{gwi:179372}}
Yes, *everything* seems to grow huge in Washington. HereÂs a huge Cedar Tree we saw along our drive heading to the lodge we would be staying at for the night:
{{gwi:179374}}
img src="http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL518/2464791/7189371/188703625.jpg";
Also on the way to the lodge, we stopped at Lake Crescent:
{{gwi:179375}}
We arrived at the lodge, which was very quaint and rustic! :-)
{{gwi:179376}}
Not the pampering my poor legs were looking forward to, but a sweet place, with lovely views and I enjoyed stepping back in time! :-)
{{gwi:179377}}
Do I look tired?...LOL! :-)
{{gwi:179378}}
As pooped as I was, there was no rest for the weary and the next day we hiked Hurricane Ridge for 8 miles total:
{{gwi:179380}}
{{gwi:179381}}
{{gwi:179382}}
The next day we stopped at Dungeness Wildlife Preserve.
{{gwi:179383}}
We hiked here too, but at this point I lost tabs on how far I hiked! Wish I had a scale at home to see if I lost any weight from all this hiking...LOL! Of course, I donÂt know what I weigh anyway, so I guess it didnÂt matter! :-)
I was hoping to see some seals or Beswick SwanÂs (but I was told they are winter birds there). I think I may have spotted some eagles, but they were waaaay up and I didnÂt have my binoculars! :-( We did see some waterfowl, but unfortunately I donÂt know what kind, but not the kinds of ducks I am use to seeing. We arrived at Dungeness very early in the morning and headed to the spit. As you can see, it was still quite misty out!
{{gwi:179384}}
{{gwi:179385}}
The next day (our last full day in Washington) we stayed in Port Townsend.
{{gwi:179386}}
Lots of charming Victorian homes. HereÂs the B&B we stayed in:
{{gwi:179388}}
Ahhhh....at last some rest for my weary bones! :-) Ahhh....now *here's* what I'm talking about:
{{gwi:179389}}
A view from our little porch:
{{gwi:179390}}
gardeningmary
deanneart
Related Discussions
Calling Mary (maemae0312) Mary - Mary!!!
Q
Mary Marie Anne
Q
looking for mari_mari_mari
Q
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary is back in her gar.
Q
Marian_2
chloehoover
Full_BloomOriginal Author
Marian_2
babs_clare
Sue W (CT zone 6a)
Lara Noles