Seattle and Beyond

As we approached Seattle we again saw the awesome Cascade Mountains with their centerpiece, Mount Ranier.


The view as we approached the mountains was as awesome as ever but we also got a good look at something that has been on our minds very much in recent days.

Rick got this shot of the enormous fire threatening folks in the Wenatchee valley. We'll be headed that way in a few days. Fortunately, everyone is safe and out of harm's way now. We landed in Seattle, picked up our 'trusty steed' for this journey, and headed for the port of Edmonds for the ferry to Kingston on the Olympic peninsula.

After a short wait we loaded up and got underway for a brief, but delightful cruise across the Puget Sound and into Appletree Cove which shelters the port of Kingston.


It is amazing what beautiful sights we have happened upon. Here are a few that greeted us as we neared shore.

Then, it was on to Port Angeles for the night. We'll check in tomorrow with more. See ya!
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Colorado Rocky Mountain High

As we wing our way westward I thought I'd fill you in on our itinerary. (Of course with us that remains very fluid!!). First, for those of you who have traveled with us before, you might have noticed a new "Traveler". Our son Rick joined us this time so he could spend some time with his cousins in Washington state. We plan to begin this adventure in Seattle and then take the ferry over to Port Townsend. From there we'll head west to Port Angeles. On Sunday morning we will begin exploring the Olympic Peninsula and the extraordinarily diverse ecosystems there - including the more than one million acre Olympic National Park and one of the planet's few 'temperate rain forests'. We will be on the lookout for lots of creatures and will try to make sure we share them with you. Along the way we plan to visit the small town of 'Forks, WA', the setting for the movie and book series "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer - so if any of you are 'vampire aficionados' we'll keep an eye out for them!! (Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, I don't think you can take a picture of a vampire so we won't be able to share any photos of them with you. sorry!!) We will spend some time exploring and eventually wind up on the remote coast at Ocean Shores, WA. From there we'll head back eastward and will have some surprises for you. Stay tuned!!! For now, though, we'll check out the incredible scenery flowing beneath us and try to get some pics to share with you. Here's one shot Linda got as we crossed Missouri.


We'll be back with more.



OK - now we're in Denver and I'm going to send this post before we head out again. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any pics of the Rockies from the airport because of smoke from nearby fires. We're still anxious about family folks in Washington and this was a heavy duty reminder. Anyway, here are a couple of shots. We'll check back in from beautiful Washington. See ya!

PS - When we got into the airport we saw these two guys ... (look closely at the top rail) waiting for a "flight?"



RAV

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Location:The "spacious skies" headed for "purple mountain majesties."

First Update...

Well, we made it to Charlotte and got checked in. Then .... In accordance with our long-established tradition, we made a bee-line to the bar to toast our traveling buddy, Lou .. Who is taking this trip with us!!! I'll explain that in a bit. Here is the gang in Charlotte...




Back soon!



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On The Road Again

OK gang, we're heading out for the great Pacific Northwest!!! Cat's out, Hummers fed, house sitter on board, almost packed up ..... Head 'em up, move 'em out!!! On to Charlotte to collect our son and on to the airport. We'll check in again from there. Hope you packed something warm 'cause we'll be in some cool places (in more ways than one!!!). Glad to be together again!!!

SCTravelersX3.


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Hummers

Hey gang,

As we noted the other day, we're getting geared up to head out again to see what we can find in the great Northwest.  I wanted to make sure we could have you along as we checked out the neat stuff we hope to see so I tried posting some video footage.  I had a few problems so I thought I'd practice with some stuff from home.  Since we have these amazing hummers around during the summer, I took some footage of them to see if I could get it out there.  Here is the result.

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On The Road Again........

OK gang, it won't be long until we're off again to check out this wonderful world of ours.  We've been sticking pretty close to home in recent months to take care of family obligations and some personal business.  But - we are getting itchy feet and want to get back out there - with you along, of course.  This time we will again be heading to the Pacific Northwest where we hope to visit some of our favorite places in Washington state and several Canadian provinces.  We will also get to see two of our favorite nieces and their families in Eastern Washington.  they have some really cool stuff so you will want to make a special effort to be there when we go to Wenatchee and Cheney.

This will also be a nice change for us because our son will be joining us for the first half of the trip.   He won't be able to make the whole trip because of work obligations back home and will be leaving us in Spokane.  After that we'll head up into Canada to spend some time in Calgary, Banff and points West in the Canadian Rockies.  I'm hoping we won't miss the changing of the leaves completely and if we don't we should have some spectacularly beautiful stuff to show you.

Anyway - rest up and get your warm clothes out of storage because we'll be traveling in much cooler temperatures than the ones we've been enduring for the last several months.  We look forward to being back on the road with you - we've missed you!!!  See ya soon.

First Friday in Ridgeway

Old Town Hall

By now I think everyone knows that Linda and I make our headquarters in the suburbs of the amazing metropolis of Ridgeway, SC, population 380 or so, depending on the day of the week.  Sherwood maintains our 'big city' point of contact in 'big ol' Columbia, our state capitol. Well, the SCTravelersX3 feel fortunate to have both places as "home" because each offers loads of opportunities to experience life in South Carolina at its best.  For a number of years we have seen continuous improvement in the availability of theater, art, symphony, ballet, literary programs of all kinds and a general commitment to the arts.  When we first came to Ridgeway we were involved in some early efforts to develop an "Arts Council" and I am pleased to say that in recent years, the community has come together to make it happen in a big way.  For the last couple of years Mayor Charlene Herring (her husband was instrumental in those early efforts to establish the Arts Council) and Mayor Pro-Tem Donald Prioleau (who was also on the Town Council at that time) have done a spectacular job promoting Ridgeway and, particularly, the arts.  We just celebrated our second annual "Arts on the Ridge" festival and our little town was really hopping.  Over the last year the merchants in town have sponsored "First Friday" on the first Friday of each month. 

The Century House - Now our City Hall

The merchants stay open late and there are numerous sidewalk exhibits of special offerings.  This month, First Friday coincided with the "Arts on the Ridge" and it was really wonderful.  Numerous businesses sponsored musical groups and refreshments and at "The Century House" a marvelous art exhibit, reception and awards ceremony was the highlight of the evening.  The Century House is a beautiful structure and has a ton of history behind it.  When we first came to Ridgeway the Century House was in very limited use. (Including being the local site of the Fairfield County Library.)  The building was on the verge of collapse and before long it was condemned and could not be used.  As we pointed out earlier, at that time we were trying to stimulate interest in an Arts Council and, specifically, using the old Ridgeway High School building for that purpose.  Both buildings - high school and Century House - were on the Register of Historic Places but it became apparent that only one of the structures could be saved.  The vote went to the Century House.  Now, several years later, the investment has paid off enormously.  While I truly lament the loss of the beautiful school house structure, the Century House is absolutely gorgeous.  The picture to the left is looking from the front yard back toward Main Street.  In the center of the picture, just to the right of the water tower, you can see the rear of the old Police Station - listed by Guinness Book of Records as the worlds smallest police station.  In the picture you can also see the peaked turret of the Old Town Hall (see the top right picture) which now houses the "Yesteryear" restaurant.  The most important thing, however, is that the art we saw on exhibit was stunningly good.  But most impressive was the fact that while the "professional" or "adult" categories showcased extraordinary art in many styles, the "youth" categories were equally impressive.  We are also excited to be invited to the premier event of the Blythewood Arts Guild tomorrow.  Blythewood is a neighboring community and the creation of this new organization promises to take interest in the arts to a whole new level in our area.  But, as we get ready to close this post about our wonderful town we want to point out the d

Ridgeway Town Flag

elicate ties that bind one era to another.  As you might recall, a couple of posts back we were down in Charleston and we took time out to visit Fort Moultrie.  During our visit we met General P.G.T. Beauregard who was the commander of that installation and who later gained fame as the military leader who captured Fort Sumter and ushered in the conflagration we now refer to as the War Between The States.  Well - as you can see from this historic marker, almost exactly four years after that episode in Charleston Harbor, General Beauregard appeared in the midlands of South Carolina in a far different role.  I suppose the proverbial "bottom line" is that - whether you are seeking cultural events or 'living history', our area can probably accommodate you.  Please take the time to visit us soon.  We'll be back with our new 'adventure plans' in the near future.  See ya.