travel

Washington State Ferry between Kingston and Edmonds

/ Roadtirementvintage / 5 Comments

The Washington State Ferry System operates across the Puget Sound and the Salish Sea using 20 different terminals. These terminals are ports for the largest ferry system in the United States. Some of the ferries take vehicles, some are for foot travel only.

Waiting in line to get to the terminal

Ferry is approaching the dock, back left

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our recent road trip with family we traveled extensively on the Olympia Peninsula in the western part of the state.  We reached the port of Kingston and prepared to take one of the vehicle ferries on a 30 minute trip across Puget Sound to the port of Edmonds.

We were the first car to board the ferry

Lots of seating in the passenger lounge on the upper deck

 

 

 

 

 

We had a two hour wait to board the ferry at Kingston. It seemed like the wait on the road was not long, and we were actually first in line to board as we wanted easy elevator access to the passenger lounge.

This is the second ferry that runs the Kingston/Edmonds route

Downtown Seattle, 27 miles off, Space Needle far right

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rather short voyage was interesting. The scenery was something to see, not what landlocked Hoosiers are used to, that’s for sure. The Seattle skyline on the horizon was impressive, with the well recognized outline of the Space Needle visible 27 miles from our vantage point in the middle of Puget Sound.

Forks, Washington, home of Twilight saga books and movies

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The Twilight series of books followed by 5 movies captured the attention of a multitude of fans. Twilight tells the romance/adventure/scifi story of  a family of vampires, wanting to protect teenager Bella from a rival group of vampires. Oh, least I forget, there is also a tribe of Native Americans who happen to be shape shifter wolves who start out as sworn enemies of vampires.

Taking our typical tourist scene.

The Twilight books and movies were set in Forks, Washington, a small historic lumber town that claims to be the rainiest town in the contiguous United States. Even though most of the filming was done elsewhere, the town has grabbed onto the popularity and welcomes tourists.

Bell’s ’53 Chevy as described in the books

Bella’s ’63 Chevy featured in the movies

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting that described in the books, Bella drove a 1953 Chevrolet pickup truck. In the movies, she drove a 1963 Chevrolet truck. The movie’s original ’63 Chevy and a red ’53 Chevy are parked outside the Forks Chamber of Commerce.

Forks Chamber of Commerce

Forks has a long history in lumber business

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from the Movies: Left to Right, Jacob Black, (Shapeshifter wolf), Bella ( in love with Edward), Edward Cullen (vampire)

Forks is a small historic town on the Olympia Peninsula on Washington’s west Pacific coast. Since the debut of the intriguing vampire, shapeshifter wolves teen romance series of 6 books and 5 associated movies, this little town has become a mecca for Twilight fans world wide.

 

 

Massive amounts of driftwood logs on Washington’s Olympic National Park’s Ruby Beach

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Sher and I recently visited family in the Seattle area. We all took a two day road trip to  the Olympic Peninsula and other places. The natural beauty of this far north western part of the state provided one eye opening scene after another.

Driftwood logs on the shoreline

Driftwood logs, sea stacks in left background

 

 

 

 

 

Washington State Olympic National Park is on the Pacific coast in the north part of the state.  This national park has stunning scenery and beautiful coastlines. Highway 101 follows this coast and near the north end of the park it runs next to Ruby Beach. Dramatic “sea stacks”, rocks remaining after ocean weathering are visible from the shore.

Islands in the background off shore

People enjoying the beach, small islands almost gone background

 

 

 

 

 

Ruby Beach is home to an unbelievable amount of huge driftwood logs. Tidal currents have for centuries been responsible for the migration up and down the coastline  of the driftwood logs. Many of these weather worn logs have no doubt been on different parts of the beach over the decades.

 

Guy Johnson entertained us at the Oxford Saloon in Snohomish

/ Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments

When Sher and I visit our family in the Seattle area, we always plan at least one trip to the Oxford Saloon in Snohomish. The Oxford (built in 1889) has quite the history, It was a brothel, a speakeasy and is documented as being haunted. Great food and good music highlight many enjoyable times we have had at the Oxford.

Guy on the Oxford stage

Roaming the crowd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The evening we went the food as usual was delicious. (See our recent write up here.) Who was playing that evening became clear when Guy Johnson came in with his guitar, gear and a colorful coat. Guy is  a  singer, songwriter and performer from nearby Lynwood. He treated Sher and I with our genre of music: 60’s and 70’s!

Sher and I made our own dance floor!

We had the opportunity to chat with guy between sets. He shared with us some of his history, including details about his band. He was most generous with his time speaking to us. Guy is a very talented musician and he makes that guitar sing. We had a delightful time at the Oxford with not only our family but sharing stories and music with Guy Johnson.

You can find Guy Johnson on his Facebook here.

Vegas Fun – 2025

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We had a blast in Las Vegas! It was the first time either of us had been there.

We stayed at New York New York

We had a nice room, very clean and nicely decorated. A nice view from the window. We could see some of the roof top roller coaster. Lots of people were riding it and seemed to be having fun. Too scary for me and Maj.

Looking out the window.

We played some of the slot machines. We would win then lose. Had fun, but no big jackpot wins.

Frankenstein slot machine
Delicious food
The Hershey Shop

So many flavors of M&M’s. We didn’t buy candy because we couldn’t decide what we wanted. I did get a Reeces peanut butter milkshake, which was so good. It even had a real peanut butter cup in it. Maj and I got a baseball cap there.

Sites as we’re walking around.

I said walking around but really it was scootering around. Both of us have trouble walking long distances so we rented scooters. It was very easy getting around with them.

One of the highlights was seeing a Penn & Teller show. They are fantastic.

We had a fantastic time, our trip was full of laughs. And, the people were all so helpful and friendly.

Dinner at haunted saloon

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We couldn’t visit Seattle without going to our favorite haunted saloon in downtown Snohomish.

The haunted doll is still sitting high on a shelf.

Haunted doll in glass case.
Entertainment the night we were there.
Fun history
Good food. Plate of nachos.
Fish and fries!
Blackberry gin smash
Fun decor
We didn’t see any ghosts, but a fun time!

Disneyland Forward $1.9 billion multi-decade Disneyland expansion plan approved

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Deadline Hollywood reports today: “The Anaheim City Council gave its unanimous approval early Wednesday to Disneyland Forward, the $1.9 billion, multi-decade Disneyland expansion plan. The 7-0 vote came early today after an eight-hour public hearing that started Tuesday night, during which Anaheim residents, Disneyland cast members and officials from nearby cities spoke about the plan’s advantages and problems.”

Walt Disney ‘Partners’ statue at Disneyland AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The $1.9 Billion project will take years to develop. The Anaheim City Council approval removes many zoning restrictions that have severely limited what projects Disney could pursue on its properties. Restrictions removed include allowing uses other than hotels and parking lots. Construction could begin within 30 days, and is projected to create nearly 9000 construction jobs.

 

Turkey vultures get a bad rap

/ Roadtirementvintage / 4 Comments

Some people are afraid of them, most state how ugly they are, many shudder when they think of what turkey vultures eat. Turkey vultures are, regardless of their reputation, wonderful birds that play a very important role in the ecosystem. They consume any dead animal carcasses they find, thus removing any rotting carcasses.

Warming up or drying out

What some think about the Turkey Vulture

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey vultures tend to roost at night in large groups. Their body temperatures lower overnight, and the next morning these large birds often spread their wings wide and hold them spread out. This behavior allows them to raise their temperatures. This behavior also is thought to dry wings.

Some more fun facts about Turkey Vultures

  • They can soar for  hours at a time, rarely flapping wings
  • They clean up the carcasses of dead animals, keeping diseases down
  • Wing spans reach up to six feet
  • They stick their heads in carcasses, so no head feathers
  • Buzzard is not the correct name for turkey vultures
  • They DO NOT kill dogs, cats, or children

And finally, a group of Turkey Vultures roosting is called a “committee”. When they are soaring in the air on thermals they are a “kettle” and when eating they are a “wake”.

Large, wonderous and impressive Pileated Woodpeckers

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Here are a couple of videos we took and some facts about these eye catching forest  birds. Pileated Woodpeckers are crow-sized birds (16 – 19 inches long) with a flame-red crest on top of their head. Their wingspan can be up to 30 inches.

The Pileated Woodpecker’s primary food is carpenter ants, along with other ants, woodboring beetle larvae, termites, and other insects such as flies, spruce budworm, caterpillars, cockroaches, and grasshoppers.

Pileated Woodpeckers stay with the same mate for life. Pairs claim forest territories up to 150 acres or larger. They loudly drum on trees with their beaks all year long to announce the boundaries of their territories.