Chihuly Glass

Dale Chihuly is an artist from Tacoma, Washington who specializes in blown glass.  We have been lucky enough to see two large exhibits of his work, one in Seattle and one in Oklahoma City.

Seattle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oklahoma City 

 

 

 

  

Leaving Lincoln Nebraska

Today we are leaving Lincoln Nebraska, heading (circuitously) to Minneapolis.

Here is the latest map of our travels to date.  You can click on the map if you want more details.  Be patient though, it may load slowly.

  

Washington and Oregon

After New Years we started heading south.  Our first stop was in Tacoma at Dash Point State Park.  It was cold, overcast and rainy.

Dash Point State Park is situated in a forest with tall trees.  Getting a satellite signal was challenging.

Dash Point State Park, Tacoma, Washington

Satellite receiver is on a table on a slope to get a clear enough view of the sky.  I used some trailer leveling blocks to level the receiver.

Leveling the satellite receiver

After a few days in Tacoma, we headed south to cross the Columbia River and visit Portland for a few days.

Entering Oregon on I-205

The Portland skyline is dominated by Mount Hood

 West Face of Mount Hood

North Face of Mount Saint Helens

Burger Family

The A&W Burger Family used to adorn A&W restaurants across the country in the 1960's.  Each character represented a different size burger.  Today, only the Papa Burger remains on the menu.  They were replaced in the 1970's by Rooty, the great American root bear.

The A&W Burger Family

Harvey is named after the rabbit in the film of the same name.  His only purpose here is to scare children.

Harvey the Rabbit

Portland Bus Passengers

If you are looking for good pie (fruit pie, quiche, meat pies) then Lauretta Jean's in Portland is the place to go.  We've been here twice and not been disappointed.  Good coffee too.

Best Pies in Portland

We continued south and stopped in Eugene for a couple days.  Our favorite restaurant in Eugene is Bar Purlieu, a French inspired farm to table restaurant.

Bridge across the McKenzie River

The north side of the tree.

Armitage Park, Eugene, Oregon

Charcuterie at Bar Purlieu, Eugene, Oregon

Leaving Eugene to the south, you start to climb into the Klamath mountains.  We got above the gloom for a while, then descended back into it.

I-5 through Klamath Mountains in Oregon

I-5 through Klamath Mountains in Oregon

We spent the night in Grant's Pass at a nice county park on the Rogue River.

Schroeder Park, Grants Pass, Oregon

The next day we crossed over Siskiyou Summit and began the long descent to Redding

I-5 through Klamath Mountains in Oregon

Hannukah and Christmas

We all met in Port Townsend and then drove to Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, for Christmas and Hannukah.

Before leaving for Tofino we celebrated Aren's 21st birthday.

AJ getting Aren's cake ready

Nice hat Aren

The trip to Tofino involved two ferries, a border crossing and a long narrow steep winding road in the rain through the dark.

Leaving Port Townsend

Ferry to Nanaimo

Arriving at Nanaimo

A much better wood eagle than the one we saw in Tahoe

Hanging out with an old friend

In Tofino we enjoyed the rugged scenery and some incredible restaurants.  We had mostly nice weather for the two days we were there and were able to get out and walk around.

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Back at the lodge we relaxed with coffee and snacks by the fire.

On Christmas Day we drove back to Victoria to meet Adrianne for Christmas Dinner and to celebrate the first day of Hannukah.

This was the first time we had all been together since Christmas 2021.

Sesame Street sock reunion

Port Angeles, WA from the ferry

Back in Port Townsend we enjoyed a few quieter days together.

The third night of Hannukah.  Plus two candles for Shabbat.