A New Year

Sunset on the Pacific

With the new year comes the promise to revive neglected projects.  My blog is one such example.  Although I have continued to travel and rack up memories and photographs, I have become derelict in my writing.  Having just returned from 3 weeks visiting the Pacific Northwest,  my camera is brimming with memories and my mind the accompanying narrative.

We spent our first week  in Vancouver, where we took advantage of the opportunity to take an early morning ferry to Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia.  We had fun poking around Chinatown, the second oldest in North America after San Francisco.  Fan Tan Alley has cute touristy shops, art galleries and of course, chinese restaurants.  The narrowest street in Canada, it measures only about 2.5 feet at its narrowest.

Another day we  all braved the wobbly walk across the  Capilano Suspension Bridge;  then later drove to Whistler, where the 2010 Olympics were held.  The snowy wintery mountains put us in a mood for Christmas.

Bicycle in Fan Tan Alley
taken with my iPhone

Fisgard Lighthouse at the entrance
to Esquimalt Harbor

View of Vancouver from Waterfront Park

The week of Christmas was spent in a large house in the University area of Seattle.  We rented a place large enough to accommodate the 20+ Maclauchlans who made the trip.  A fun week, full of eating,  laughter, eating, euchre and sightseeing oh and eating.  Not to mention: a family tattoo night!  Pike Place Market, Seattle Underground and the Space Needle were just a few local tourist destinations we visited.

Seattle skyline through the fog
taken from Alkai Beach

Our third and final week was spent in Olympia, directly on Totten Inlet, at the southern end of Puget Sound.  We had stunning views of the sound and the Olympic Mountains from the deck of our rented house.  The mountains are not very high, under 8000 feet at the highest point, but rise from the waters edge, making their presentation spectacular.   From here we made day trips through the Olympic Peninsula including a stop in Forks, the town from the Twilight series of books and movie fame.  My niece Ana,  a big Twilight fan,  had this high on her must see list.  Another day was spent exploring Mt St. Helens.  The prominent volcanic mountain combined with a bit of uncommon (for the area) sunshine  exceeded our expectations.

Mt. St Helens