Days 2&3 - Art, Alpacas, Lavendar, Parks, Orcas & Yachts in the San Juan Islands - Art, Alpacas, Lavendar, Orcas and Yachts



Historical Society
Topographical Interactive Map
San Juan Island

(Continuing my San Juan Island Trip in July 2017)

We hit the ground running Monday, starting with an interview with  town/island leader, Barbara Marrett, over an amazing Breakfast. (Seriously, I am going to have to try and recreate the baked eggs in tomato we ate at  Cynthia’s Bistro).  We talked about island life, the tight knit community, and their ties to the orcas and the Salish Sea.  It's hard to deny the beauty of the area that just draws you in, and her story reflected that pull.  I have always been curious about small town island living and what brings people there, and she let us pepper her with questions about Friday Harbor's growth and laid back nature, the (sometimes) hassle of being cut off from the mainland, and her history that brought her to the island.

After our breakfast education we were handed off to another amazing town leader - the executive Director of the Whale Museum, Jenny Atkinson.  She spoke to us for hours about the orcas and other whales that visit the Sound. Adding to what we learned the evening before from Maya's Legacy (whale watching tour), we were getting a crash course in the local ecosystem.  She spoke passionately about the resident orca pod and how connected people on the island are to it. The reason the whale museum started naming the orca's was the fact that locals are able to identify so many since the people and orcas grow up together and these orcas are often found near the island coast line. Islanders are able to pinpoint births and deaths in the pod since they are such a regular site around the San Juans.  Sadly, they numbers have plummeted.  The Whale Museum  mission is education everyone they can on the majesty of these mammals. After our talk, we were given a tour of the museum, and next thing we knew we were well past noon and well past the schedule that Lesley had made for us to maximize our time.  So, after some purchases (I had to adopt a whale to support their mission), we headed out.

Before we left Friday Harbor and drove into the heart of the island, we wanted to stop by the Art Museum.  Although we had planned for the Art Museum on Monday before our ferry, we found out it would be closed... quick schedule tweak and we made it.  The museum is small!  Really 2 main rooms.  It was hosting an exhibit on native masks  - masks from private collectors.  Much of this stuff was never seen in public.  And it was glorious.  These pieces tell stories but the museum let them speak for themselves - you had to pull up piece information on your smart phone using your scanner!  It was a smart way to show these pieces.

 

The BIG Event of the Year - I Was There

I planned this trip to Nashville over a year ago.  The Washington Post published an article asking "where will you be?" and it left me wondering "where."  So, I started researching over a year ago for this one day - August 21st. 

Nashville from the Cumberland River

After talking it over with my boyfriend, we started looking out west in Wyoming and quickly found out that even a year in advance, we were too late to the party.  Rooms were booked in the path of totality.  This was beyond frustrating - I wanted to be ahead of the curve and instead I was playing catch up.  So, out came that Washington Post map and we looked at areas all over the west.  With the path cutting from Oregon to South Caroline, we had options - or so we thought.  Everywhere we looked was booked.  So, we gave up on our western wishes and started looking at alternatives.  We already knew that Charleston would be out as a option since we visited last year AND the summer weather runs a higher risk of storms.  In the center of the country, a few mid-western cities had options - St Louis, Kansas City, Nashville... I had been to all of them but John had not.   Nashville seemed like the best option.  He really wanted to visit and my last trip there was over 10 years ago. It was the biggest major city on the path.  When I found a room with a decent rate in the burbs of Nashville, and I locked that in immediately.  With rooms booking around $700-$800/night, finding something under $150 was a treasure.  Decision made!

 

Months in advance, I purchased our solar goggles (not paper glasses) and I started shopping for camera necessities.  I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into trying to photograph this event.  I am much more of a nature photographer and this was beyond my area of knowledge... so out came the books, the research and lots of questioning others.... I ended up "wishing" for telephoto lenses for my mirrorless camera (wishes not granted), purchasing a fancy tall tripod and some new filters for the telephoto in my possession.  I was not going to wait until the last minute.

The Hermitage

I also wanted to plan the trip for fun outside of the main event.  Price gouging was already underway a year in advance.  This meant we needed to lock things down, but after looking at the airline prices, and fuming over the prices (of over $700/person), we decided to drive to Nashville.  This would give us more flexibility and add to our mobility in the city.

Flash forward a year, with an ambitious itinerary laid out, we left for Tennessee on a Friday afternoon, well ahead of the crowds... or so we thought. After a night in Knoxville, we arrived at the Hermitage to insane crowds.  People were parking in the grass fields.  As the afternoon temperatures soared, the line to view Andrew Jackson's house kept growing.  It was here, that we heard for the first time that Nashville was unprepared for the crowds of the weekend.  We waited for over 1.5 hours to walk through the home; afterwards, I walked some of the grounds, before we both retreated to the air conditioned museum.  But these lines meant that our plan to visit Belle Meade had to be scrapped.  We had enough time to make it to Brentwood, check into the hotel, change and head into the city for our dinner cruise. 

Day 1 - Bucket List Trip - San Juan Islands

We landed in Friday Harbor on Sunday morning.  Immediately, we left the ferry and made our way to the first of many interviews my friend would be conducting while on the island.  Instead of sitting at the table quietly, she lets me flex my skills and ask questions.  When she plans these trips, she fills our time with stuff I love (and she loves too), so these interviews are great ways to learn more from experts first-hand.  This trip, the interview queue was filled with goodies – the historical society, the Whale Museum, a local town councilman, a kayak guide and a whale watching tour captain. 

 

After some breakfast and the first interview, we headed to the “American Camp” side of the island.  American Camp is actually what it sounds like – a place where troops  stayed and trained.  American camp was on the southern tip of the island – some of the most inhospitable land on the rock.  Meanwhile, the English camp set up a community on the north western side of the island.  Why?  They were waiting out a conflict (almost war) over a pig! Yep – you read that correctly too.  When the maps were drawn during westward expansion, the San Juan archipelago was never taken into consideration.  England considered it part of Canada since Vancouver Island is right there and the official border line dipped around its southern point, but the growing United States viewed it as their territory… so residents from both sides lived there.  A whole whopping 35 of them.  And then came a fight about a pig eating in someone’s garden.  An American shot an English pig.  We almost went to war!   A compromise was reached where the fighting would wait, troops would occupy the island for both sides until a resolution could occur.  So 200 troops from each side came to the island.  The British claimed a protected inlet that afforded them easy access to calm waters, wood, and deep soil.  They built a community so rich that people did not want to leave; their traditions, such as the holiday balls continue today.  Conversely, the American side was exposed, pest ridden and the conditions were miserable.  Obviously, the United States ended up with the islands, but the British won over the local’s hearts.  Today, you can see Canada wave that British flag from someone’s front door (not really, but it’s a short ferry ride to Victoria).

Back to the National Park visit (really the National Historical Park)….



South Beach

Cattle Point

I was still seriously sick.  Miserable was more like it.  I had all the symptoms Nyquil was famous for… sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching… but I was not resting.  I wanted to see stuff.  Lesley had been working on this trip for months.  I wanted to rally.  So we started slowly, with walks along gorgeous Cattle Point and  South Beach, and holy moly, even in this protected area are there so many logs of driftwood.  We walked some of the beach looking at some awesome forts people made from the wood before we headed over to the lagoon area.  I had a bright idea that I could do some walking.

The plan was to walk the trail to Jakles Lagoon - it was a mile in and a mile out.  Being that I felt awful, I thought that was a good way to get my feet moving and not completely pass out.  So off we went, and we walked... and walked some more.  We laughed as a bald eagle soared over our heads, and I hacked by part of my lungs every time we walked up the slightest hill.   And we walked much more than a mile.  When we finally saw a trail marker sign for Third lagoon, we knew we missed a turn somewhere.  But that misstep turned into a glorious hike (if not for my incessant hacking).  We walked through temperate rainforest, and then out to the burnt exposed fields of the southern edges, and back into the forest to see lagoons filled with logs.   What was supposed to be a 2 mile easy walk turned into a 4 mile hike.  I was sweaty and thirsty and in desperate need of a shower... but before we could head to  our tiny (miniscule) hotel room, we had to hit up the National Park visitor's center, so I could get postcards, magnets, and check out the park museum (it was there we watched the informative park video about the war over a pig).

After getting cleaned up (and making sure we were presentable again), we went back to the docks for an amazing evening with Maya's Legacy.  We were going Whale Watching on a small tour - there were only 14 of us, and this boat was the best thing I had ever ridden for whale watching.  Small, fast, smooth and LOTS OF WINDOWS and SPACE.  If you have ever been shoveled out of the way on a tour so someone can get to the bow of the boat to see, you know what I am talking about.  Well, Maya's took care of all that.  Space on the bow and stern, and the cabin's windows all raise up.  You have a 360 degree view all the time.  Anyway, this boat was built for speed, and good thing too because the crew got word that the orcas were in Canadian waters about 45 minutes away. 

Off we went through some of the most beautiful scenery you can dream up for the Pacific NW.  And then, there they were... 5 orcas... a family... hunting!  We saw a mom, a few of her children ranging in age and a visiting male, and he was massive.  We watched for almost a half an hour.  Our guides we fantastic!  They were full of information - talking about natural behaviors we witnessed, talking about the familial bonds, their relationship within the great community.  We learned about the resident pod of orcas versus the transient pod (that we were witnessing).  We talked of food and the greater ecosystem.  Our captain, who serves as President of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, spoke to us about the deeply declining salmon stocks, and how undamming Pacific NW dams could help the resident pod.  Heck - I even learned a few things I didn't know about these majestic animals.  The crew has so much respect for them, and this was evidenced by them never calling them killer whales (so much wrong with that term - they are not whales, they are related to dolphins... but I digress)

After several hours of eco-bliss, we were back on land and starved.  Luckily one lone sports bar was open to feed us because we had not eaten since breakfast when we docked, otherwise it was going to be a granola night.  We chowed down on BLTs and nachos, lots of water and looked over our pictures.  It was an amazing first day.  We headed back to our tinny tiny room and crashed hard.  We had another big day ahead of us. 

12 days at Sea, 5 Islands and Some Big Apple Fun

This was it, my last trip of the year and it was a HUGE one... it was going to be my longest cruise ever and it was taking me to a bunch of new places.  To say I was excited would be putting it mildly.  Things seemed to be lining up nicely; I planned a great evening out with my city friend to see the limited run of Sweet Charity, I was coming in early to squeeze in another show that day, I had a great room not too far from the train station, my train was on time and the weather was holding out... I was all set for my cruise out of New York... ummmm, cruise out of Brooklyn.  (Note to Cunard:  you should differentiate these boroughs... they are not the same place and it can take an hour to get from Manhattan to Brooklyn, just saying).

After I rolled my bags through the streets of New York for a few blocks, I quickly checked into the Element, grateful I didn't stay deeper into midtown... I was weighed down in luggage (I was going away for 2 weeks on a fancy boat and need everything), so my arms and back were relieved to find the hotel. I looked worse than Millie moving into the city, just ready for a room and the Element checked me right hours early!  Woohoo for SPG status!  After resting up and re-bundling up, I headed for TKTS not really worrying about scoring tickets to my intended show target, Holiday Inn... I had no idea the city would be this packed on a weekday ... but there I was at the booth, getting the last ticket to the show.  Phew!  I was lucky.  So, off to Studio 54 I went, to the most uncomfortable seats in all of the theatre district for anyone over 5'2".  The theater itself is gorgeous, and even had a tree in the lobby, but those seats leave no space for longer legs... I am sure the people in front of me don't appreciate my knee in their back anymore than I appreciate the tension either.  I ended up shifting and squirming through act one, hoping for intermission to stretch.  The seats even made it difficult for me to toe-tap my way through the climatic dance numbers (the whole reason I went)... if you saw the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, you know I was waiting for the jump rope garland routine... it just is not as much fun watching people dance their hearts out when your knees are killing you.  But I might just have to rewatch that routine a few dozen times to see all the tricks on each rope - there was a LOT going on! 

I had no such issues in the small Pershing Square Signature Theatre, off Broadway to see the 50th Anniversary production of Sweet Charity!  These tickets were hard to come by, and you understood why when you stepped into the tiny theatre.  We were 3rd row - you could see spit flying from the casts' mouths, you could step on the stage and dance with them... (temptation was killing me).  I make no secret that I love Sutton Foster... I think she is the greatest thing to come off Broadway in my generation.  A triple threat and she doesn't just dance, but she owns the stage. 

This production allowed us to see her charisma, mannerisms, charm, wit and flash up close. 

This small production stripped down and laid bare the hurt and humiliation Charity faces and you watched it all play across Sutton's face... you just wanted to give her a hug.  You wanted to tell her it would be okay, but you knew it wouldn't because even though "If My Friend's Could See Me Now" is funny and playful, even silliest number in the show, it showed just how desperate and sad, lonely and vulnerable Charity is.. this production just plain broke my heart in a million pieces (and ignited feminist ire as her last suitor talked about how she wasn't pure enough for him.) 

What a treat to share this intimate theater experience with a good friend and that amazing cast.    We headed off to dinner and raved to Oovina's staff about our amazing evening.  we were the only ones eating out that late on a Wednesday - we had the place to ourselves. The place was lit up to create an almost theatrical setting, with silver grape vines above our heads, purple floor lights and sleek settings.  And the food was scrumptious - we tried a little of a lot! Amazing food, amazing company, amazing last day on land! 

Cruise Day!  I scrambled to pull myself together and headed off to Brooklyn.  I was meeting friends at the terminal, so I was on my own for a while... I worked my way through the endless lines, waiting rooms and finally into the boat... when you have 2 weeks worth of clothes and 4 formal gowns (told you it was a fancy boat), you have a lot to unpack.  I wanted to settle in and get things up and out of the way before my friend and their "almost" 2 year old made it into the room.  It's a good thing I got things somewhat organized because it went crazy almost immediately.

I will say it, this was a cursed cruise.  I truly felt for the captain and crew... for the families... for my friends.  Before I get to my good stuff - let me just say that a cruise that starts with a likely death (woman overboard on night 1), a couple's so savage breakup that they defy customs and leave the ship at port never to return on 2 different islands, a fire, racist and ignorant comments, and a gang of unruly teens stealing stuff and playing pranks just might be cursed... I don't think that this is what anyway wanted on the Queen Mary 2's holiday voyage (if ever).  It was truly a horror story at times. Me, I let my Jersey Girl flag wave boldly, I was not having any of this craziness... I called out horrible people that made comments about kids, ethnicities, and classist behavior.  I was not going to tolerate being told to move because someone thought I was loud, the kid was loud or whatever else bothered their sensibilities.  It was nauseating how nasty some people could be... so I kept myself busy.  On days that we spent at sea, my friends and I played trivia, lots of trivia. We visited the planetarium (yeah, they had one on the boat).  Attended lectures from the college professors brought aboard (Caribbean history, pirates and Broadway).  I tried my hand at Bingo 3 times!  Went to almost every entertainment performance - seeing the boat performers, and special guests (including London stage star Ruthie Henshall).  We hung out on deck/at the pools where the little munchkin liked getting into the water.  (I am not mentioning the food because it was horrible).  It was a lot of relaxing time... And I was ready for the islands. 

Five Islands.  Lots to see.  And I had plans for each of them.  The first day I hit the ground running - St Maarten!  I was off on a hike, up the highest peak to see some views and a hike down.  And it rained... oh yes, it rained.  They warned us the trail was muddy and slippery... and it was.  The walking sticks provided (that I wanted to turn down),

were, in fact, handy.  I made my way to the back of the pack so I could hang back and snap some pictures... our guide could not identify many of the features we were seeing and my eyes needed time to scan.  Otherwise, I would have missed sights like the snail, the spiders and the incredible trees!  I was so busy taking pictures I did not notice that my lens cap fell off my camera's attachment, so by the time I made it down the island, I was capless and had no idea where to look.  Good thing the tour dropped me off in Phillipsburg where I was able to replace it in one of the camera shops in town. Turns out that Philipsburg was the largest Caribbean city we were visiting (until St Thomas, and even then I think its bigger than Charlotte Amalie).  There were endless stores peddling diamonds; in fact almost every island we visited peddled diamonds (it was horrible).  In  Philipsburg there was at least some diversity of shops filled with textiles, local crafts, boutiques, and liquor.  I was able to find some Larimer, my lens cap, get some food, take some pics of colorful island bungalows and the beach - a great way to cap off a wonderful hike.  This was a great start.

Fried Foods, Huge Veggies, Rides and New Kids = Delaware State Fair

It has been a few years since I have been to a state fair. In fact, the last one that I remember attending was the Alaska State Fair about 4 or 5 years ago. And it left quite the impression – how could it not with cabbages larger than a pre-teen? (Not kidding – I saw one that weighed in at 136 lbs) I have to say that the Delaware State Fair wasn’t even on my radar until the New Kids on the Block announced a stop there… and while it did not make sense to me at the time, I had to take it. Fair equal summer fun and everyone knows I love a good New Kids show!

Off I headed to Harrington, Delaware and its State Fair Grounds… in fact, this place looked oddly similar to the Pumpkin Chuckin location when I went to go see giant gourds flung through the air via air cannons and catapults. * Cue the jokes on Delaware being so small* (Poor DE)

As with any state fair, there is much to see and do. There were quite a few barns to house the animals – it is a requirement for any state fair to have cows, horses, ponies and other assorted domesticated farm animal on hand. And if we did not see them in the barns resting, we saw they in the arena show (horses), or at the races (hello, pig races). Straight out of a FX television show, there were side-freak shows – see the smallest horse on Earth, see the 2 headed lamb, and see the reptile woman (does that qualify as a human or animal?) Had to skip the bearded ladies, the tiny ladies, the snake ladies (wait, why were all these ladies?)

When you think of state fairs, you think of food… right? I think state fairs are synonymous with some of the worst sounding artery-clogging concoctions every dreamt up. I could never wrap my head about the fried stick of butter! I still refuse to try fried Twinkies. I have relented on fried pickles, only because I lived in the South for a very short while and I think I wasn’t allowed out without saying I liked them! Here, I stared at a sign for fried lemonade and ran… why, oh why, in the extreme heat of the day are you going to fry lemonade AND how does that work? In reality the only fried fair food I want is a funnel cake (or some Zeppolis). That funnel cake was fantastic, perfect to share and just enough. The entire day, we tried to make the best fair food choices we could. Barbeque, roasted corn, a roasted turkey leg, sausage sandwich , a fruit smoothie, plain iced teas… lots of tea. Did I say it was HOT? It was a scorcher. And soda was not going to quench our thirsts. Its not easy to avoid the corn dogs, fried gator, the fried Reeces, fried everything really…

You can’t eat all that and go on rides. And I wanted to ride some thrill rides. I was always the thrill seeker as a child; the crazier the ride the better it was. As I have grown up, I may not frequent Six Flags, the Boardwalk, fairs or other parks as often as I used to, but damn if I don’t go straight for them when there are in front of me! So after a sweet ride on the big ferris wheel, it was up the “Freefall” like attraction that dropped you ten stories. My evil laugh came out in full force as we fell; I think my date’s stomach is still up there somewhere! There was a boardwalk style rollercoaster that jerked you around in lady bug carts… a horrible horror house… some swings … and this contraption called the Scorpion that left even me dizzy (after this, my date was out)… spinning in three directions, I could not even “spot” to keep my head on straight. This ride is not for the weak! No more partner in crime after I climbed my way through a Grease style fun house singing “You’re the One That I Want” (you have to sing that as you work the moving stairs), nor when I rode yet another spinner! I can't get enough.

After all that twisting and turning, we headed towards the veggie houses to get out of the sun and into some AC. While there were no huge cabbages, we did see large watermelons, big eggplants and garlics that I would love to have in my kitchen. There were tables that looked like vitamin rainbows. Plates arranged in rows filled with green beans (yum), peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes stretched in rows at least 30 feet long. I was drawn to the beets that remind me of my nana, her garden and her wish for us to like them (I do now Nana, I swear). There was a cannery section where judges taste-tested so many jams, marmalades and gooey goops I am sure they didn’t need to eat for days. The flower sections were just as colorful full of beauty in sight and glorious scents. My eyes, nose, heart, mind (and skin) enjoyed the show and the much needed break from the sun.

The main event of the fair was the concert, held at the race track. I never tire of seeing these guys. And the show that night was no exception. It was the first time I ever had a date to a New Kids show. There is a first time for everything and this was honestly a blast. It was a concert, it was a party, it rained confetti. We danced, we laughed, we sang. How could this not be fun? And I got to watch a newbie marvel at the show, the sound, the energy … and to have someone that had rolled their eyes at your “favorite group” admit that they are amazing live and they had a great time– HA! I win! I never understand why this is a surprise to people. They are still putting out music and honestly, as adults, would I be subjecting myself to something bad and wasting my money? Please – New Kids rule! I made them a new fan – I deserve a hug, a #twug and maybe a dance… man, am I getting greedy!

All in all it was a fabulous day at the fair. Cows, Rides, Funnel Cakes and New Kids, oh my!