Look at this -- date palm trees growing in the ground on an ordinary downtown street -- not in some pot in a greenhouse. It means that Seattle is a most acceptable place to live, in my book.
Ferry gliding away from Seattle on a gray day.
The Shell oil rig, Polar Pioneer, that is waiting in Seattle to come to Alaska to drill for oil in the North Sea (it's the yellow-based object, with blue and white tower rising to the left of the blue crane) On Saturday a group of the project's opponents gathered around it in kayaks; today, all was quiet.
Seattle waterfront, with the Seattle Eye, and loading cranes for the ships.
Peg taking pictures of the fish stalls at Pike Street Market. Her company uses a motivational film that features the fish-throwing workers at the market.
The monk fish at the same stall. Apparently they are good eating despite their appearance.
Veggies at Sosio's at the Market, our favorite stand.
After supplying ourselves with bags of fruit from Sosio's and pastries from le Panier, we set off for Seaview on the southwest coast of Washington, just a little north of the Columbia River. It has been a vacation spot since about 1870.
It's the season for Scotch Broom -- I had forgotten how really bright it is and how much of it lights up the spring roadsides.
This Scotch Boom variation is growing beside the beach at Seaview.
Much of the southwestern Washington area has depended on logging Douglas fir,and cedar over the past century, leaving clear-cut areas like this.
Sometimes trees were left behind, standing out among the young trees planted a few years ago.
Another sizable industry near Seaview is oysters from Willapa Bay and the area, with left-over shells used as a handy substitute for gravel. Willapa oysters were in demand in the early part of the century by people from all over the world.
A National Wildlife Refuge protecting miles of wetlands was lovely to look at, but with hardly any birds. They've all gone north?
Wild blackberries, about to bloom.
Then we were in Seaview, walking from Jim's brother's home to the beach.
The way lay along streets with dozens of houses left from Seaview's early summer tourist heyday in the later 1800s/early 19000s.
This dates from 1882, when people came to Seaview by ship and railroad -- there was no road.
Later, there was a road, with RVs, some of which stayed behind to make a "hotel" of sorts. You can rent most of these by the night.
New homes are being built.
The rhododendrons are at the height of the season.
Some are a little past prime and dropping flowers.
Nearer to the beach, the evergreens were wrapped with Spanish moss.
Juvenile gull, blending in with the sand.
Signs along the beach warned of heavy riptides and unreliable currents.
Lots of small jelly-fish cousins,
vellela vellella or "wind sailors," have been washing up on the Nortthwest beaches recently. They started off bright blue and squishy, but now are flat, dried and gray.
Horse riders on the beach.
Jim and his brother Rick at Rick and Linda's home.
Iris at Rick and Linda's.
Calla lilies -- Linda says that they grow like weeds.
We dined at the Pickled Fish. Only the lead plate under Starters involved said pickled fish, however, and the chocolate pot de creme had nothing pickled in it at all.
Sunset at Seaview, from the town.
Clematis on the side fence.
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