Tea & Biscuits

One of our favorite things to do in Victoria (our usual Canadian stop) is have high tea at the Empress. We were delighted to find that the Fairmont (Hotel MacDonald) offered high tea this afternoon. We were interested to find out that they have a Tea Sommelier on staff -- how very British! We both chose the Buckingham Palace Garden Party variety -- "a heady Earl Grey with a delicious cream flavor". I mean, I'm sure other teas are lovely, but as a nod to Grandpa, it's usually Earl Grey every time! Plus there were cute little sandwiches, desserts, and scones. Nice warm, British, scones with Devonshire cream. Happy sigh.

After tea, we headed over to West Edmonton Mall. It's the largest mall in North America, so we thought we'd need a couple runs at it. We pulled in to the parking lot with the other shoppers, somehow found a parking place, and began our shopping adventure. It stalled pretty quickly when we couldn't figure out how to get in. I mean, we are two fairly bright people, but entry was a mystery. We were standing at the edge of the parking structure, just willing a door to appear. We finally saw some people coming out with bags from a door a floor above, so we scurried up a flight of stairs, and found ourselves in a large Asian Supermarket. In the fish section. But, that's hard to forget, so we did manage to find our car again when we left!

The mall is huge, and we really only scratched the service. We walked one portion of one floor. We watched a little of the sea lion show, saw the Santa Maria from above, and watched the end of a hockey game (orange won!). 

We didn't really shop -- a little overwhelmed, to be honest. Plus I was wearing these gigantic boots that seemed impossible in my mind to take off. We did wander around Sephora a bit, but that doesn't really count. ;) And then dinner. Each family has those restaurants that they grow up in. Certainly Benjamin's, and then Spazzo's were our favorite spots, as they were on the top floor of Key Bank Building in downtown Bellevue.  We were treated like family by the staff and thought of these restaurants as part of the fabric of being an Acton.  But if we were loose, it was Jungle Jim's. I don't know how many years they have been gone from Bell Square, but it's been a few! Anyway, they have one here! Not quite the same, but reminiscing filled in the gaps. :)

We also found a cupcake booth! Joy - tell Nora I ordered the unicorn cupcake. She's rubbing off! ;)  We also bought a sleeve of macarons, and they are begging to be tried! I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Thelma & Louise do Canada

I could really benefit from having one of those court reporter people follow me around all day, recording my every whim. I had some great blog ideas today, but now that I'm sitting in front of my computer, I'm drawing a blank. Truth be told, it has been such a long day.

T & L started their adventure yesterday at the Ramada Inn in Portland. Our flight left early this morning, so an overnight in Portland seemed like the ticket. Plus, if you stay at the Ramada, you get ridiculously cheap parking for the duration of your trip, and you don't have to fight with the rest of Oregon in the economy parking. The only issue is that you have to stay at the Ramada. This Ramada. I can't really bring myself to describe all the horrors of the room, but I will say that my less picky, non-germophobe travel partner was also a little freaked out. I may have showered in my shoes...

After arriving in Edmonton, we had what may have been the best car rental experience of our lives.  With one small caveat. I mean, it's been YEARS since I've operated a GPS. Usually Siri takes us easily wherever we want to go. And uses a British accent to boot! But, we're not in Kansas anymore (or within our cell network), so we opted for the add-on navigation. Which apparently has to be initially fired up outside of the parking garage to connect with GPS. But it has a nifty setting called "simulate" which takes you through the route in real time, even measuring your current speed, and matching that to the speed limit. But....let's say you take a wrong turn, the simulate setting doesn't actually tell you that. Do you get where this is going?

Me: Take the next left in 650m.
Mom: Where?
Me: Oh shoot -- you missed it! Take the next left.
Me: Oh no -- you missed it again!
Mom: THERE ARE NOT LEFTS TO TAKE!!!

So we've seen a part of Edmonton, or more specifically Wetaskiwin County, that most people don't get to experience! Don't worry too much about it -- we rewarded our perseverance with a Tim Horton stop. Oh Canada!

On our way back to Edmonton, still in search of our hotel, we detoured to Elk Island National Park. They have a large herd of bison there and are leading the way to bison conservation in Canada. We didn't see the large herd, but did see one lounging in the sunshine on our way out. Gobs of beaver dams to see, and just some really beautiful scenery. 

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to high tea at the Fairmont! 

Best for Last

Our last day in the Redwoods got lost in an allergic reaction -- that's really the best explanation. I did write a rather humorous beginning to the blog which included my prediction that I was going to die by mosquito plague, but it seems a bit melodramatic now. The last night of our vacay had me riddled in mosquito (or something else...) bites, and a massive allergic reaction to something in Newport. You may think the two are related, but I had the same such reaction on the way down. If you could have bought stock in Benadryl a few days ago, I would have personally made you a millionaire.

Anywho...(Sidebar, my spell check thinks that should be two words. Anyone else feel passionately about it being one?)...We saved one thing for our drive out of Cali -- Stout Grove.  I'm glad we didn't see it on the way in, because everything would have paled in comparison. If you're driving south, and can stop for one thing, make it this. The drive to Stout is...another dirt road! This one had lots of pullouts and really only had a couple of harried situations. The drive is a nice windy "stroll" through massive trees.

 

This picture is slightly out of focus (see above about a dirt road!), but it gives the best feel of the drive. The space between some trees was just narrow enough for a vehicle. It felt magical.

The Stout Grove itself is astounding. One of the things that made it so jaw dropping is there is almost no covering on the forest floor. You can see this giants from floor, to as far as the eye can see.

We don't really have the pictures to show, but another WOW of this grove was the tree damage. A massive flood knocked out many of the trees. Inches of rain, shallow roots on the trees (a redwood trait), and lack of ground cover, made for a perfect storm. I've read a lot in the last week, and honestly I can't remember which flood this was. Either 1955 (which eliminated the town of Dyerville), or the 1964-65 winter, which came on the heels of the tsunami. I'm all researched out. Thinking about this forest floor full of water and then giant trees falling, and being knocked around is terrifying. 

This grove was full of amaziness. Enjoy a few more shots!!

I just can't describe the feeling of standing amongst these trees. I suppose being a PNW girl, trees are trees. This park wasn't really on my radar until I read At the Edge of the Orchard. Chevalier wrote about stumbling across these trees in a way that made me want to see it myself. Can't wait to get to the Sequoia Park now!!  

#findyourpark

Until next time -- T&L out!

Kurt Vonnegut, Chevy Chase & John Voight

You know what happened before iPhones and constant connectivity? This:

Who was in "Harry and the Hendersons"?
No -- it wasn't him. Who is Angelina Jolie's dad?
No -- the guy -- that funny guy.
Third Rock from the Sun? His nose is all wrong.
Why are you looking at his nose?
Kurt Vonnegut?
What? NO!

And on, and on. The face in question was....

No -- it wasn't actually Christopher Walken, but it's not a bad representation right? This is apparently one of Paul Bunyan's BFFs whom we saw at Trees of Mystery.

Trees of Mystery is a tourist trap, but they're doing a really nice job and preserving the trees on their property. And they have an awesome gondola on the property that takes you up in the tree tops. 

One of the groupings of trees they had were called Cathedral Trees. They had two such groupings on site. In reality, they are called Fairy Rings. I had read about them on an NPS page, and was tickled to see them in real life. Fairy Rings sprout from the burls of a parent tree, and grow closely together, often in a circular shape.

Trees of Mystery is worth a stop if you're in the area, despite what you may think from the side of the road! A few more shots:

She could not be happier in the trees!

Afterwards we went on the Coastal Drive, because what is a day without a dirt road adventure? :)  This is a nice short drive that gives some amazing views of the Pacific. We saw beautiful scenery, seals, pelicans, and a log that I pulled off the road to observe. Sigh.  Not every seal turns out to be a seal... 

Along this road is also an old WWII radar station that was disguised, at the time, to look like an everyday farm house. It was built with cinder block and a wooden facade. Much of the wooden facade is missing, but since the "bones" are of cinder block, everything is in amazing condition.  And bonus, we did not see any Japanese submarines (or Russian ones -- Dad -- that's for you!).  ;)

From there, we went to look at...big trees!! LOL.. Actually, this one was named "Big Tree". And yes, it was big... ;)

On our way to dinner we drove through Prairie Creek to take one last look at the elk. I know -- there are elk everywhere, but I love them. I was so delighted to find a herd on the North Coast after leaving the Snoqualmie Valley herd.  We were able to watch two youngsters tangling their horns up, right over the "Danger -- Wild Elk" sign.  Ironic. It was like a three-way battle with the sign being the third party! 

Our evening ended with a wonderful dinner at the Eatery in Trinidad. Tomorrow we begin the trek home. I think we will visit some more giant trees...and maybe eat a sheet cake. If you didn't watch Weekend Update tonight -- do it!!! 

See ya tomorrow!! 

Find Your Park

I think this has been a blog title before, and possibly a FB post, and definitely a hash tag, but seriously: do it. Find. Your. Park. Do all the other things that you're already doing - call your senators, speak out against injustice,  run for office, educate our youth, protect your neighbors... but then, go find your park. National Parks represent the very best in both nature AND humanity. Nature did it's work hundreds of years ago, but people, PEOPLE, are the ones who woke up and saved those spaces, decided they were amazing and worth protecting. Governments, yes, but ordinary people like you and me too. Yes we had nothing to do with the natural creation of the wonders in National Parks, but there is something special about the human side too. Today we stood in a space where over a hundred years ago, people spoke up, and worked together to save this old growth forest.  Our government has had some weeks like this one, and (sigh), probably will again, but they've had some amazing weeks too. Just nice to remember.

Today we spent the morning in Tall Trees. We got a permit!!!! We weren't the first people knocking down the door of the visitor center, but we were second.  :)  I read somewhere that they only issue 50 or so permits a day, and that small number made for a magical experience. We saw people hiking, but we were never with people, just passing (or being passed, LOL).  It made for a very peaceful discovery of these tall trees.

Tall Trees is a grove of...tall trees!! Ha! It is an old growth forest that has some of the tallest trees in the forest.  The locations of the tallest trees are no longer released to the public, but back in the day, this was the location of the known tallest redwood. Most of the trees stand at least 320ft, with a few towering well above that. These giants are located at the bottom of a steep trail, that is lined with amazing redwoods. It isn't until you reach the bottom and are on the Tall Trees Trail that you realize the absolute girth of these giants. There is no way to really describe the size of these giants, and few of our photos really show the size. On the way out we acknowledged that our photos were not going to show what we really saw today. That's why the actual experience is so dang good!

These evening, we headed south to the Avenue of the Giants. This is a 31 mile drive through the Humboldt State Forest, which houses several separate groves, making for an impressive drive. There are several stops along the way, with interpretive signs and trails, and of course, we did a lot of hopping out of the car and checking things out. At one such stop we encountered this curious sound.

Earlier in Tall Trees while we were taking a break from the uphill hike, we were startled by a "snuffling" sound nearby and made quite a racket getting off that section of the trail. That experience fresh in our minds, we were a little cautious in exploring. Well, obviously not that cautious since we figured it out. Truth be told, one fearless traveler plunged in to the forest, and the other felt compelled to follow. The age old question: who is Thelma and who is Louise? :) Anyway, the interesting sound ended up being a fallen smaller tree rubbing up against one of the redwood giants. We could feel the vibrations in the trunk when we put our hands on it. Very cool.

Avenue of the Giants took longer than expected, and we again dined late, and returned home even later. But what a day.  :)

Fern Canyon

There is a portion of 101 that takes your breath away with the ocean views: sand dunes, rock stacks, rolling waves etc. And then, there is a portion (that lasts several hours incidentally) where there is nothing to see, and absolutely no cell reception. As the passenger, I love researching with my phone --  anecdotes about the towns that we drive through, wacky history and interesting tidbits. This was total radio silence (except our awesome playlist!). In retrospect, what a blessing to have several hours TODAY away from any sort of media...

But we made it!!!

We left Newport bright and early, and arrived in...  no idea where. You know, California! Someplace with really tall trees and a prairie, a little after 4pm, and made a bee line for Fern Canyon.  I say bee line, but the road in was... Well, it was a typical National Park road that leads to something awesome. Much shorter than some of the others that we have traversed, but slightly more terrifying due to the narrowness of the road. By this time in the day I was pretty car sick from the back and forth on 101, so I hopped in the driver's seat to have a little more control over the ride.  Dirt road, unfamiliar car, one-lane passings... It was like the Road to Hana, in that as the driver I think I was shouting like a roller coaster most of the time. We went over hill and over dale (and through two streams!!).  Mom shot this video going back, and watching it, I am completely shocked at how SLOW we are going.  Perspective, apparently. The ghostly colored plants to either side of the road are a testament to the dustiness of the road.

What we LOVE about National Parks is that you are wandering around someplace normal one minute, and the next you are staring at something unexpectedly amazing. Such was Fern Canyon. It is exactly what it sounds like -- a floor to ceiling canyon filled with ferns on both sides.

The ferns have a feathery quality to them -- looked almost like bird plumage from some angles. My Master Gardener BFF says there were several types of ferns -- five fingers..... And some others that I can no longer remember....

In my proof-reading I can see that I am having some issues with staying in one tense. I'm telling you, I SEE IT, but I'm moving on. :) I'm so tired. We are getting up early tomorrow to hope to get a permit for the Tall Trees hike. This morning I handled the morning so well, that I changed outfits three times. Honestly. This does not bode well for the upcoming get-back-to-work-program.

Good Night! Tomorrow? Really big trees. :)

Help! Making a Playlist...

Last summer's mid-year Thelma & Louise adventure had us in Zion National Park. This year, we are headed south to the Redwoods! We both read Tracey Chevalier's At the Edge of the Orchard this year, and it renewed a desire to see these huge giants. So tomorrow night we are off! Road Trip!!!



When we devised this trip in the early summer, I had grand plans to serenade the driver with my new found ukulele skills. As you can see from the video below, I have not made epic progress. I think practicing regularly is key, something I failed to do. You know the saxophone came so easy. I know I practiced, but I also know that I got lucky with some woodwind talent. Anyway... I have made progress in other things though: Since this video was created, I have gotten a haircut, lost the lisp I somehow acquired for this recording,evened out the sunglasses tan, and stopped waggling my eyebrows so much. I mean, honestly....

So...since I will not be strumming our way to the Redwoods, I am in dire need of playlist recommendations. I love country, show-tunes, folk-rock, and anything with a big band sound. My travel partner has the irritating quality of liking anything. ;) Also, we love duets. I mainly am writing that to see if my travel buddy is reading this. She HATES duets because I play them over and over until we can get the parts right. So, I'm looking for anything having to do with Americana, exploring, road tripping, driving, friends, trees, and...duets. :)


See you in the blog-o-sphere!