Olympic Peninsula: Bremerton to Port Townsend

July 1st, 2012

Sunday – July 1, 2012

We left Bremerton early and drove south on Route 3 south to Route 106 along a scenic road which followed the coast of the Hood Canal. It was drizzling lightly and 59 degrees. It looked like it would be another gray day, although the weather forecasters predicted some sunshine.

Picnic Tables Waiting For Better Weather

Long Walk in the Rain

Summer Cottages on The Hood Canal

Native American Casino – The Lucky Dog

Rain On Dabob Bay

Wild Flowers Along the Road

Victorian Building in Port Townsend, Washington

Cheerful Signs in Town

Port Townsend Bluegrass Buskers

Writer’s Workshoppe Window

View of Puget Sound From Port Townsend

Olympic Lodge – Port Angeles

Corner of the Lobby

Lobby of the Olympic Lodge

Photo of Olympic Lodge with Mountains Visible

Leaving Vancouver on Canada Day

June 30th, 2012

Saturday –  June 30, 2012

Naval Ships in the Harbor

We checked out of Hotel Le Soleil in Vancouver and said our good-byes and thanks to the staff for a pleasant stay. The valet brought around the car and off we went. This is a holiday weekend for the celebration of Canada Day tomorrow on July 1st. Many streets in Vancouver were closed to traffic for the weekend and transformed into pedestrian walk-ways.

Bremerton Harbor

Our plan was to drive about five hours and to arrive somewhere on the Olympic Peninsula. We calculated that it was about 200 miles from Vancouver to Seattle so we expected that leg to take about three hours. It took about an hour to get to the US/Canada border and that’s where our plans fell apart. All three lanes of traffic stopped and we all crawled slowly to the gate. We sat in line in the car for a little more than two hours, slowly inching forward until we finally reached the border gate. Two minutes later, we were on our way, but far behind our plan!

Hope on the Horizon

We stopped at the next town for cups of coffee and a chance to get out of the car. We continued south on Route 5 and spent the rest of the day driving. At about 5:00 PM we arrived in Bremerton, WA. We consulted tripadvisor.com and chose the Hampton Inn located right on the harbor near the Convention Center and the ferry. We discovered that Bremerton was the home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. There was a huge Naval base there and we saw several old ships near the shore.

The Battleship Turner Joy

We checked in, dropped off our luggage, and walked along the harbor in front of the hotel. It was still drizzling slightly but it didn’t feel especially cold. At the end of the walkway there was a battleship tied up at the dock named the Turner Joy which was available for tours.

Walkway Along the Harbor

We walked for a short while. It was getting late and we were tired from driving and being in the car all day. There had been heavy traffic during most of the drive and especially around Seattle. It had taken us six hours to drive 200 miles from Vancouver to Seattle, including waiting time at the border. At the end of the day, we were happy to have found a clean reliable hotel for the night.

Last Day in Beautiful Vancouver

June 29th, 2012

Friday – June 29, 2012

Clouds Over Vancouver

On our last day in Vancouver we wanted to visit some more places on our tourist list. After seeing Haida artist Bill Reid’s monumental sculpture at the Museum of Anthropology, we wanted to visit his gallery in town. It was located in a lovely little building near an open area called Cathedral Place.

Entrance to the Bill Reid Gallery

Looking Across Cathedral Place

Cathedral Place was a grassy oasis or sanctuary in the center of downtown Vancouver complete with flying buttresses and copper roofs. It would be a lovely place for the office workers to have a picnic lunch on sunny days.

The Bill Reid Gallery was a small jewel of a museum which displayed a variety of his works. Reid was a carver and painter but also created statues in bronze and made jewellery in gold, silver, and precious gems.

Museum of Vancouver

Afterwards, we drove to the MOV in Vanier Park across the Burrard Bridge. The museum had exhibits of the history and development of the city of Vancouver. Like many Canadian museums, the exhibits had actual items from historical periods of time.

Crab in Front of the MOV

View of Vancouver From Vanier Park

Graffiti Wall

This photo is from a small piece of a huge graffiti wall which was created by the people of Vancouver after the home hockey team lost the Stanley Cup to its arch-rival.

Art Deco Fashion Exhibit

This was a temporary exhibit of beautiful Canadian fashions of the 1920s and 1930s. You have to wonder what future generations would show of our current fashion scene.

Neon Exhibit

This was another temporary exhibit of neon signs which were used in Vancouver before a local beautification committee outlawed the gaudy signs throughout most of the city.

Historic Reproduction

This was part of the permanent exhibit which demonstrated the early settlement of Vancouver. Other sections showed how the people lived in the early days.

1955 Ford Fairlane

This automobile was from the exhibit of life in Vancouver during the 1950s. This exhibit made me feel old! This car was identical to my mother’s first car except hers was orange & white. I learned to drive in my mother’s ’55 Ford with white-wall tires!

Back of the Crab

Back view of the stainless steel crab. I like this photo because it looks like the crab is jumping out of the water and trying to reach the heavy gray clouds. He might be complaining about too much rain!

Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach is located on the western side of Vancouver. What other major modern city has a gorgeous sand beach within walking distance of down-town?

Stanley Park

I had to take this photograph as we were driving through Stanley Park to show the magnificent old growth redwoods and evergreens in the park. One brochure described Stanley Park as the “crown jewel” of Vancouver.

View of North Vancouver From Stanley Park

North Vancouver

The clouds lifted and blue sky appeared above the tall buildings as we drove around the outer loop of Stanley Park admiring the beauty of the city and saying our good-byes to beautiful Vancouver.

View of Downtown Vancouver From Stanley Park

Japanese Garden, MOA, and Shakespeare

June 28th, 2012

Thursday – June 28, 2012

Today we planned to go to two of our favorite Vancouver sights: The Nitobe Memorial Japanese Garden and the UBC Museum of Anthropology. They are both located near each other at the end of the Westside Vancouver peninsular on the University of British Columbia campus. We first went to the Nitobe Memorial Garden which is supposed to be the most authentic Japanese garden in North America.

Nitobe Memorial Garden

Reflection and Beauty

Harmony Bridge

Lantern

A short walk from the beautiful Nitobe Garden is the Museum of Anthropology which is affiliated with the University of British Columbia. This is one our favorite museums in the world! The building is a fabulous place to house and exhibit artifacts from people around the world. MOA also has the best collection of Northwest Coast First Nations art we have ever seen.

Totem Poles

First Peoples Screen – Crossroads

The Great Hall

Canoes & Poles

Entrance Gates

Bill Reid’s Raven and The First Man

The Museum of Anthropology also has more than 10,000 objects from people around the world on display in their new Multiversity Galleries. This is an amazing area! A visitor could spend many hours looking at treasures in this gallery.

African Percussion Instruments

There was a small sign under these drums which said, “Please Touch Gently” Each had its own unique sound when a visitor rapped on them. What fun!!

African Headdresses

Whimsical Owls

Pacific Northwestern Coast Baskets

First Peoples Masks

The mosaic below wass made of different kinds and colors of granite and was created by artist Susan Point to greet visitors at the Welcome Plaza. The Museum of Anthropology and the University of B.C. was built on traditional Musqueam land.

Mosaic at MOA

After we spent many delightful hours exploring the MOA, we left and went to dinner at a restaurant on West Broadway called “Go Fish”. We had tickets for a Bard On the Beach performance of The Taming of the Shrew. After a good dinner we drove to Vanier Park where the Shakespeare Company’s tents were set up for the summer season. It was a very good performance and we had a really good time. Vancouver twinkles at night and we drove back to the hotel after a full day.

Full Day in Vancouver, B. C.

June 27th, 2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The sun was shining brightly this morning, so we hurried outside to enjoy the day!

One of Vancouver’s Artist Mosaics

A Cruise Ship at Canada Place

The Sky Train

Chinatown Gate

Street Signs in Chinatown

Historic Building

Chinese Almond Cookies

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park Entrance

Lotus Flowers

Garden Path

Serenity Pond

Granville Island Public Market

Safe Harbour

Under the Granville Island Bridge

Bride on the Gelato Line

Granville Market Cherries

Market Craftsman

Craftsman’s Hands

Blue Heron

Preparing For Canada Day