Our first stop after Seattle was Bainbridge Island. We caught a morning ferry and arrived in Winslow, a charming town, just as the stores opened. I didn't take any photos in Winslow, but I did do some shopping. I bought a lovely necklace which I wore to the wedding in Portland later in our trip, and a fabulous sling bag which I used nearly every day of our trip. It functioned as a purse and a camera bag with room for a lightweight fleece or rain jacket. Winslow has one of the nicest travel shops I've every encountered. 

After a nice lunch at a diner in Poulsbo, we drove to the Bloedel Reserve which we had read about in our preparation for the trip. The pamphlet that accompanies the map describes the reserve as "a living work of art, a museum in nature." It was quiet the day we were there, and we had the walking trails mostly to ourselves. It is indeed, a "tranquil" experience and would be perfect as a spot for "meditation and reflection." We enjoyed it as a chance to stretch our legs before heading to the Olympic Peninsula and a lovely spot for some photographs. I originally intended this as a post for "5 in 5" for September, but had difficulty uploading photos to my computer on this trip.

This photo was originally planned for the Summer Scavenger Hunt: #9- a bridge, as well as #7- a curving path (of sorts.)

The Bloedel Reserve was originally owned by Virginia and Prentice Bloedel who owned the property for nearly 30 years, after purchasing it in 1951. This home, built in 1931 served as their residence fro 1951- 1986. Mr. Bloedel believed in the "restorative power of nature" and interestingly, was color-blind so was more interested in creating a scenery of textures rather than colorful flowers. The home is now used for concerts and other gatherings.

One of our favorites on the reserve was the Japanese Garden. This shows the sand and stone garden.

All along the paths were benches for sitting and reflection. I thought the tree roots that "framed the bench" were fascinating.

I liked this plant, but have no idea exactly what it is. I would have enjoyed having some signage that told the names of some of the more unusual plants. (Although, truthfully, they may only have been unusual to me!)

And a closer look.

The next stop on our road trip was the Olympic Peninsula-coming soon!

 

Our September road trip through Washington and Oregon started and ended in Seattle. We had a day and a half at the beginning of the trip and two and a half days at the end. Knowing from a previous trip that the Seattle traffic is difficult, at best, we chose a hotel in the Capital District, and walked everywhere. The weather at the beginning of the trip was perfect, but it rained most of the last two days we were there. The first of these photos are from a tour we took the first day we were in Seattle. We made several stops and had time to walk about and explore.

Our first stop was Pioneer Square. Our tour guide made some suggestions, but we had about half an hour to explore on our own. A delightful discovery was the Waterfall Garden Park tucked away at the corner of a busy intersection.

Pioneer Square was the site of the first settlement in Seattle. Originally all the buildings were made of wood, and nearly all were destroyed in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Very quickly they were replaced with brick structures that remain today. It's become a trendy area with lovely shops and restaurants. We returned the last day we were in Seattle, and had a wonderful dinner at Taylor's Shellfish Farms, a restaurant recommended by our tour guide.

Although the sign says "Flower Shop," it's also a bakery and I had one of the best pastries of my life there. When we went back at the end of the trip, I was disappointed to discover the pastries were all sold out. 

We also had a brief stop in the Freemont Neighborhood and got to see the famous troll under one of the bridges. 

The next stop on the tour was the Ballard Lock and Salmon Ladder at Lake Washington.

Here are the salmon. There were none in the fish ladder while we were here.

The last stop on the tour was Kerry Park, primarily for a photo op of downtown Seattle. Luckily, we took the tour on one of the nicest days we had in Seattle, so we had a great view.

After the tour we visited the Chihuly Museum and Gardens. We've seen two fabulous exhibitions of Chihuly's glass work. The first was at the Atlanta Botanic Gardens and then several years later at The de Young Museum in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The last exhibition we saw was in St. Petersburg, and we were so disappointed in it. This museum and garden, however, were not a disappointment, although several of my favorite pieces had also been featured in the exhibit at the de Young.

The museum is located right next to the Seattle Space Needle. I loved the reflection of the Space Needle in this glass ball in the gardens.

And of course, a shot of the Space Needle itself.

We walked from the Space Needle down to the waterfront.

And of course, made a stop at the Pike Place Market. The flowers there are extraordinary and very inexpensive. The fish, although fresh and plentiful, can be a bit more expensive. The last day we were in Seattle we took a food tour of the Pike Place Market. It was lots of fun. We learned a lot about the history of the market and Seattle itself, and had some wonderful food as well. It was raining pretty hard that day, so there aren't any decent photos. 

On our last rainy days in Seattle we went to Wings Over Seattle. It's a very touristy attraction, but turned out to be a lot of fun. You feel as though you are flying through the air, swooping down cliffs and over Elliot Bay, the Cascade Mountains, as well as the other major geographic features of Washington State. 

We also enjoyed the Seattle Aquarium.

Sarah and her family had been in Seattle in July, and told us not to miss the amazing Seattle Public Library. I would love to be able to spend more time there.

A view from one of the upper floors of the library.

I'll end with one of my favorite shots of the waterfront at sunset on our first evening in Seattle. The ferry in the photo is off to Bainbridge Island, which was our next stop on the trip.