Washington travel

The Pioneer Cemetery on Camano Island

/ Roadtirementvintage / 12 Comments

One of the interesting locations on Camano Island is the beautifully kept Pioneer Cemetery. The five acre graveyard has a white picket fence along the road and has  a brick column set-back entrance. It is across the road from the Visitor’s center and park.

The gates were closed and locked, so we did not enter the cemetery grounds. Those interned cover nearly 150 years. The oldest marked stone dates from 1880. Records of those offer a remarkable insight into the history of Camano Island.

Veterans from WWI, WWII, and Korea rest here. The earliest birth date listed is from 1827. Recommended is this website with a total listing of the markers in the cemetery. The research was performed (cemetery walked) in December of 2008.

Fun soccer game and pizza/burger dinner

/ Roadtirementvintage / 15 Comments

Another look at Sher

It is so much fun watching young kids playing sports, especially when one of the athletes is your grandson! Tonight we all went to an exciting place named Arena Sports. One end of the place was filled with over 80 high tech video arcade games. Play these and redeem for prizes.

Our grandson, left, on the “field” waiting for the ball

But we were there for the soccer game our grandson was to play. He is in first grade and plays once a week in a league at Arena Sports. There were eight kids in his group/team. The first half of the session is spent learning the basics. There are two coaches giving the kids a four to one ratio of coach to players. The second half of the session is an actual scrimmage game with half the kids in colored vests, thus establishing teams.

Pizzas, burger, tots, soda and beer. Best possible food with which to watch your grandson’s soccer game.

Really good pizza and burgers are also available at Moe’s Kitchen at the Arena. We had a couple of pizzas, and I popped for a bacon cheeseburger and tater tots. The beer was good, too! The food was surprisingly good. Those in our party that had pizza were impressed with the quality.

What was most fun, as you can guess, was watching our grandson out there playing soccer. He was so energetic, constantly on the move, and playing very well. (No prejudice there. None.) He can really kick the ball and score goals consistently. It is evenings like this that make us so proud of our grandson, and also very proud of our daughter and son-in-law for the excellent job they are doing raising him. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be here with them.

Historic and haunted Stanwood Hotel and Bar

/ Roadtirementvintage / 29 Comments

Several years ago we found this neat old place in the historic town of Stanwood, Washington. Stanwood was originally a lumber, mining and shipbuilding town. The Hotel was first opened in 1894, and a plaque on the front of the building proudly proclaims the local historical society taking note.

Stanwood Hotel and Bar

The hotel has a rather raucous history as you might expect from what in reality was a frontier town. Over the years some unseemly characters took part in rather unseemly activities at the hotel and bar. Some of these events have led many to believe that spirits of the past still roam the bar and hotel. Current staff and patrons have reported repeatedly seeing apparitions in Victorian age clothing. Some have been pulled at and pushed. I personally had a weird feeling of being observed in the hallway to the restrooms, an area with lots of reports of activity. Paranormal investigators have been here with results that are hard to refute.

Dark door to back hallway were stuff happens!

Great fish and chips

 

 

 

 

 

Our pre-snack refreshments

 

Today the bar offers some of the best ‘Bar Food” in the state. We stopped here after our trip around Camano Island for a snack. My snack turned into a full order of delicious fish and chips. Sher had what turned out to be a huge basket of the best fries we’ve had in a long time. Hat’s off to our bartender: she makes a great margarita!

The Stanwood is now back as a full service hotel. All the second floor rooms have been remodeled with modern baths. Not only can you get a great meal, but you can stay in a piece of Washington’s history. Check it out, they also have live music sometimes.

Camano Island and the Cavalero boat ramp

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

What a beautiful day it was for some exploration. Sunny with temps in the mid 60’s promised a great weather day. So we were off to Camano Island, a 15 mile long island north of Seattle, close to the San Juan Islands and the Canadian/US border. The island has State Parks, beaches both public and private and other recreation as well as many residences, some located on the water.

Lots to see and do on Camano Island

A very tall Indigenous fisherman

The information center was closed when we were there, possibly by employment or covid reasons. The large map gives a great snapshot of the island. Several metal sculptures dotted the park around a huge kids playground.

We drove nearly the whole island. Wanting to see some of the homes on the water we found to be a bit of a challenge, as steep narrow roads were the order of the day.  We did finally find a community of lovely waterfront homes that was flanked by two gated, private beaches.

Long necked heron in the water

Beautiful water and land

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the Port Susan water

We saw folks collecting pieces to take

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this is where Maj collected rocks

 

Finally we spotted, quite by accident, another road that looked to be headed to the water. It turned out to be the steep drive to Cavalero boat ramp, with a fair amount of gravel parking next to a sea wall of timber with the boat ramp on one end.

The scene was calming and beautiful. A heron was loafing in the shallow water, large driftwood piled up on the rocky beach added character. The tide coming in was obvious at the end of the boat ramp. We were delighted with how quiet the place was because there were no boats on the Port Susan water. Sometimes it’s best to just sit and enjoy. That’s what we did for a while before we left the quiet and calm beach and the still waters.

Sunday evening gathering of friends

/ Roadtirementvintage / 17 Comments

Sunday turned out to be a gray rainy day, including a couple of claps of rolling thunder, which is not common in Seattle. Our daughter invited her best friend and family over for a relaxed evening of food and fun.

Pepperoni, foreground and veggie, background

Loaded with everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing better than hot pizza for supper with friends. The pizza came from Bravas Pizza and Pasta in Snohomish. Oh my it was so good. We have dined there before on previous trips.

A seasonal craft beer from a Seattle brewery. Very good, 8.8% ABV

Our daughter’s friend relaxing with “grown up art”.

 

 

 

 

 

The evening’s activities included eating, watching the highlights of the day’s football games, watching the Emmys, eating, watching movies, eating and drinking. Did I mention eating? We had a wonderful time, and Sher and I enjoyed meeting and interacting with our daughter’s friend, husband and daughter. A relaxed Sunday evening always proves to be a great way to get ready for the coming week.

Sunday morning doughnut treats

/ Roadtirementvintage / 45 Comments

Talk about a diet buster, but oh, so good! Our son-in-law treated us all with a box of delicious, I mean delicious doughnuts from the Frost store in Mill Creek, Washington. There is something about a lazy Sunday morning that just cries out for fresh Long Johns, Bismarks or Apple Fritters. These delights have rightfully earned the title of Best Doughnuts in Washington State.

Not much left of our grandson’s treat

Our 6 year old grandson had a ball with his sprinkled and icing topped doughnut. He had a very unique way of devouring it. He started from the top, eating the icing and sprinkles layer first, and subsequently went round and round in a circle until the doughnut was gone.

What’s left of the doughnuts. The Apple fritters come in a bag.

We actually visited the Frost store during our January 2020 visit to Seattle. At the time we were wintering in Austin and had stored the RV for a month and flew to Seattle. This was if you remember right before COVID hit the nursing home in Seattle. This is the link to our article about the Frost store. The article has mouth watering photos including ones of fancy coffees.

Delivered lunch makes it easy

/ Roadtirementvintage / 16 Comments

Greek Fries and Avgolemono soup

Use their flatware

Sometimes it is easier to take care of lunch with a phone app to order your lunch delivered. We did that yesterday by way of the Kafé Neo Greek Restaurant  in Mill Creek. (Yes, we’re still in Seattle area.)

 

Roasted lamb gyro

Vegetarian gyro

This fine Greek restaurant has a great lunch menu with plenty of variety for any tastes. Ordering for delivery has several benefits. Sounds funny, but you can use the flatware from the restaurant. That’s several pieces of your silverware that you won’t need to wash! Plus you don’t have to get out of the house, and can continue whatever you are doing. Sher and I realize that it seems like we’re becoming a travel and food blog. So be it, you have to eat, and we are enjoying new culinary experiences.

We were very satisfied with our selections from the Kafé Neo. The gyros were quite large, and ingredients delicious. The Greek Fries were topped with Feta and came with a unique dipping sauce. I particularly enjoyed the chicken with rice Avgolemono soup. If you’re looking for either inside dining, carryout or delivery the Kafé Neo will be a good choice. Here is their website.

Our first hard cider tasting

/ Roadtirementvintage / 16 Comments

We have been exploring craft beer breweries, wineries and distilleries for quite a while. These adventures have expanded our horizons covering alcoholic drinks well beyond the local supermarket. We had the opportunity to take a new expedition into the world of Hard Ciders. We really did not know what hard cider was until we met Hammered Dwarf Cider.

Flight of four hard ciders

We found out that yes, hard cider is true cider, made with apples, but with an alcoholic kick similar to beers. The Hammered Dwarf Cider company offered several different versions. Sher and I both had a flight of ciders, four different ones.

The menu board

All of the ciders had a similar feel, ice cold, refreshing and with that little alcoholic kick. Of the four samples we liked #5, Wizard’s Elixer as one of the best. Made with different cider apples, it delivers 6.9% ABV (alcohol by volume). We also enjoyed #7 , a 7% ABV tart cherry known as Purple Hill. In addition to the ones in our flights,  we also sampled #1, the rose colored 6.6% ABV Princess Pie. This delightful hard cider that was fermented with whiskey, peach and Marion berries in a whiskey barrel.

 

This experience was very interesting and informative. We’ll now be looking for other hard cider producers and put them on our future lists of places to visit along with wineries, breweries and distilleries.