Travel

64 No More

/ Tracey / 9 Comments

Fun on the 101

To celebrate enrolling in Medicare and to do something we hadn’t done yet, my husband and I drove the Olympic Loop (Highway 101 around Olympic National Park) in Washington State. It’s about a 9 hour drive, if you don’t stop anywhere, but there are lots of places to stop. We thought we’d make a spontaneous three day, two-nighter trip this past summer.

We didn’t expect the profound popularity of this idea with people who had planned further ahead. Being excellent planners and retired were not “success factors” for this trip. Instead, the single vacancy at the Kalaloch Lodge on the Pacific Coast dictated our itinerary. It turned out to be a great one.

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Help Me Pack

/ Tracey / 20 Comments

It’s been over a year since we had a big trip. Instead of traveling abroad, we’ve been focusing on health, hobbies and home. I’ve also been taking writing workshops (but not blogging), art classes (without producing anything independently), and doing too much volunteer work. I will write about these things one day, but first I need some help.

The cat is of no help.
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Not Looking For, But Found … in Japan

/ Tracey / 15 Comments

When I first met my husband what I was not looking for, but found, was someone who shared my love of Japan. His best friend lived there and he’d been visiting Japan for decades. I had lived in Japan twice as a military dependent, and also visited many times. We both had a strong connection with Japan.

Due to pandemic restrictions and our lack of business or family status, Japan had been off limits for us until reopening in October, 2022. We happily planned a two week trip that would put us there in cherry blossom season. We knew it would be crazy with tourists and we found more than we’d ever seen before. Even though the mask mandate had been lifted, most Japanese citizens continued to wear them in public places. We found a high correlation between “maskless-ness” and obvious tourists. It made sense, but it was unexpected. We discovered several other things we weren’t expecting as we wandered the cities of Yokohama, Osaka and Nagasaki.

Quiet moments while sight seeing, in spite of nearby crowds: a monk praying at the monument in Hypocenter Park, Nagasaki; school children waiting for instructions from their teacher in Yokohama; and a business man admiring a plum free in full bloom in Kaiko Hiroba Park(Yokohama.)

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Hiking For Chocolate – A Visit to Kauai Botanical Gardens

/ Tracey / 12 Comments

Have I pulled you in? There’s more! Fresh air and exercise, beautiful grounds, flowers and fruit, family history and enthusiastic guides. We love Kauai’s North Shore and each time we go, we try to find at least one thing we haven’t done before. This time it was touring a botanical garden.

Hiking the Property

Kauai Botanical Gardens is nestled within a neighborhood of Princeville. The warnings on the website are cautionary, but with good reason. There are inclines, natural trails and bridges that get slippery when it rains. Fortunately, the weather was perfect. Sunny, not too hot, and no mosquitos…..yet. On a good day, unless you have mobility challenges, I would consider this an easy hike. For the physically fit, it’s more of a stroll. The gardens are on private property, developed by the Robertson family as a hobby over 20 years ago, and later expanded into public tours (see preceding link.) The owners and guides are prepared for the unprepared visitor, offering safety tips, walking sticks, umbrellas, bug repellent, restrooms and cool water. Billed as a three hour tour, there are plenty of opportunities to pause and rest in this beautiful setting. We ended up not needing the walking sticks, but I still posed for this shot. Along side of me is one of several red sealing wax palms along the way.

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Ferry Lucky – A Tourist Again

/ Tracey / 18 Comments

After nearly three years (pandemic, cancer, moving), we are enjoying the fun of planning and anticipating travel and being tourists! Since moving to Washington State in January, we’ve had many local ferry rides but recently took one over the border into Canada. This was a special trip, planned entirely by my husband as a birthday treat for me.

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In Search of the Lighthouse

/ Tracey / 21 Comments

We weren’t planning to do the whole thing. It was 5-1/2 miles to the lighthouse and 5-1/2 back, hiking over rocks, driftwood and whatever else a low tide reveals on Dungeness Spit .

It had been a couple years since doing any long distance walking, and a year since I’d done anything over 3 miles. Slowly regaining my endurance following cancer, I agreed to try half of it. It would be a challenge and a nice way to spend time with friends.

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A Sign of the Times, Vacationing in Coachella Valley

/ Tracey / 30 Comments

We love spending time visiting Coachella Valley in December, visiting friends and family. Only no one was going in 2020. We had to get out, so we packed up the car and headed west for a two week road trip anyway. In our planning for the trip, we knew some of the things we normally do would not be open. However, our favorite thing to do wherever we vacation, is visit National and State parks. This was still an option.

We stopped in West Texas and Arizona for rest and to visit friends, but our ultimate destination was a vacation rental in Indio central to several parks. Shortly after we arrived, California went on a serious lock-down. We even got an emergency alert on our first hike. That night, we had a nice dinner at one of our favorite outdoor dining spots, then stocked up on groceries. We would spend the rest of our time hiking and picnicking during the day, then cooking meals hunkered down at “home” each night.

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Variations of Violet

/ Tracey / 21 Comments

In response to Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge Views in Violet, I’m scrolling through my photo log recalling experiences where our photography brought variations of the color violet.

The following photos are from Orkas Island, Washington….an absolute dream land. We love the Pacific Northwest and are missing it so much. Here are lavender plants near a harbor restaurant and my favorite pottery place, Orkas Island Pottery (now reopened!)

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