Shall we explore Coupeville?

Even though it was a dreary, drizzly morning here in Langley, we gathered ourselves together after breakfast and sallied forth towards Coupeville, a little north from here and situated in the “elbow” of the island.  As we drove, the rain became heavier and we feared that our morning would be best spent indoors, perhaps in a museum or gallery but more probably in a coffee shop!  As I understood it, there’s a lively arts scene in the town and we’d been led to believe that it’s worth a visit.  So, we carried on through the rain.

But lo and behold, when we reached Coupeville, the rain had stopped and there was even a hint of sunshine.  Woohoo!  We parked the van outside the (closed) Museum and crossed over the road to the Information Centre.

A bronze boy and a bronze dog were the only “life” we’d seen on the street so far, but sure enough, in the centre was a well-meaning but somewhat unhelpful woman who couldn’t suggest enough places to visit beyond Coupeville but when challenged to tell us what we needed to see in this, her own town, seemed totally stumped.  In answer to our question about a lively arts scene, we learned about the Memorial Day Parade and an arts week sometime in August, but for now?  Well, not a lot to report. We thanked her, gathered a few leaflets and maps and retreated to the car.  Driving back along the (closed) main street, feeling disheartened, we decided to head back to Langley which we felt sure could keep us entertained for a few hours.

The sky had brightened here somewhat by the time we set out once again, this time on foot towards the Village Pizza for lunch.  Very good it was too.  The guy there said that the weather would turn and the sun was due at 2.30pm and sure enough, out it came.  For an hour or two we basked in the warmth of the sunshine and wandered around “our” little town.

The rain had left everything fresh and green, the hanging baskets and small planted boxes along the street were pretty.  Why did we want to venture further this morning?  Langley is a charming town with plenty to see and do.

The Chocolate Flower Farm and Garden Shed had a fascinating usp, with specimens right outside

Whilst in the market in Seattle, we’d tried some Chocolate Mint herb, too – there seems to be quite a market for a chocolate garden!

At the next corner, we stumbled upon a little more yarn bombing, with a label attached offering details of the nearby yarn stores.  One was just across the street, so of course, we dropped in.  KnittyPurl proved to be a delightful store with a fantastic selection of yarns and patterns – some beautifully knitted samples too.  I was smitten with a single hank of Malabrigo which was the colour of a gorgeous Tiffany window – purples, blues and lime green.  I dithered – should I bring it home or not?  In the end, I decided not…since I wasn’t too sure what I would do with one skein, beautiful or not.  The friendly assistant told us of a recent YarnShopHop they participated in (which might explain the preponderance of yarn bombing?) and generously shared the freeby pattern they offered to participants.  How kind…

Further along we spotted more yarn bombing and later, learned that only a few days ago there was trouble.  Hmmm.

Quite a few pieces of knitting survived in spite of the upset and we thought they added to the charm and added a bit of personality to the town.

There was a well stocked quilt store in this courtyard, together with several interesting independent bookstores.  What a great place!

We’d shopped yesterday in the Star Market but entered through the Main Street door rather than the car park, thereby missing the glorious planted roof of the car park attendant’s booth.  The Star Market is a fun,quirky store with heaps of personality and this little feature fitted the character perfectly.

Around the corner, the planters of the Moonrakers bookstore were another shining example of the lovely, individual nature of the businesses in Langley.  Of course, we went inside and spent a happy half hour browsing the shelves which were full of less run-of-the-mill titles – not a bestseller or a blockbuster in sight!

With one last stop in the Whidbey Island Soap Company (leaving with a great lavender and bergamot shower gel), we were nearly “home”.  There was just time to step outside onto the beach to take a few driftwood photographs before the rain began again.

Langley is such a great place to be, full of personality and with huge individual charm.  Wherever we went, we were greeted with a warm welcome and we were happy to potter and browse.

Sorry, Coupeville.

Off we go

But first, look at this!  We ate dinner at the Steelhead Diner again last night and feeling a little more awake than last time, I could take a closer look (and photograph) the fishing flies.  This one was labelled with the following details:

 

Isn’t it pretty?  Love the purple!

Anyway, Hushpuppies were on the menu and Mary suggested we give them a try.  They tasted good, even if she did think that any self respecting Southerner wouldn’t recognise them!

This morning we loaded up the car and set off immediately after breakfast (at Lowells again) having put together a picnic of delicious cheese, bread and peaches from the market.  We were heading north, eventually to cross the bridge over to Whidbey Island, where we had rooms booked at The Boatyard for a couple of nights.

First, a little retail therapy at an Outlet mall, though none of us were really in the right frame of mind and our only purchases were one bag and three soft drinks!  Though there was a Chicos outlet there, we noted that almost everything was labelled “Chicos Additions” and was, we suspected, made for the outlet market rather than being reduced “real” stock.  Highly coloured, very patterned and mostly made of synthetic fabrics, these were generally not to our taste at all.

On then, through the rural scenery of dark greens under grey skies, towards La Conner, a small town noted in our guides as being worth a visit.

Spot on – a fine main street with a handful of individual shops in historic landmark buildings.  Just right for a potter about around lunchtime, especially since the sun had come out by now.  We looked around a couple of stores, one of which had several lovely things to tempt us, but we resisted the urge to buy and returned to our picnic instead!

La Conner was a delightful place and we very much enjoyed our stop.  I love this little corner with the poppies, their colour looking especially good against the pale grey clapboard building.

From here, it was a breathtaking ride through the lovely Skagit Valley and on towards Anacortes and the bridge over to the islands.

Such a blue/green landcape, this, becoming more wooded as we reached Whidbey Island.

Whilst the others photographed the view, I was looking closely at the wood, thinking that these patterns could prove useful for the NYC art course next month!

Finally, we reached The Boatyard Inn and boy, were we pleased with our (ok, Mark’s) choice!   We have a wonderful suite overlooking the water, complete with comfortable sitting area and fully fitted kitchen.

After eating out three nights in a row, it’s great to buy in a few bits and pieces and sit and watch TV in such comfort!  Mary, too, has a similarly well equipped room and the warm welcome from Mynda, the innkeeper, was delightful.

We have a fair bit of driftwood to explore tomorrow, too!

So, overlooking the Saratoga Passage, we’re sitting here eating M&Ms, drinking Blue Moon beer and watching the 25th Anniversary performance of Les Mis on the TV.  How good is that?

Sunny Sunday

Jet lag?  What’s that? 

A stack of blueberry pancakes, a cup of spiced “Market Tea” and a view like this – can there be a better way to begin the day?  I don’t think so.

We wished the fish good morning and went on our way, admiring the reflections in the Seattle Art Gallery windows as we passed.

We planned our day, exploring the suburbs of the city and Lake Washington.  Yes, we knew the Sketchbooks were in town, but read originally that Sunday was to be “invitation only” during the very short noon-4pm opening.  By the time we read that this was an error, we’d decided to do other things – and anyway, did I really want the reminder that I failed to complete my sketchbook?  No, not really.

So, with blue sky overhead we drove out towards the eastern part of the city and found ourselves in Kirkwood, where I left a surprisingly small number of dollars in Michaels in return for an equally surprisingly large bag of goodies!  With sets of alphabet stamps on sale of $1 each, I couldn’t leave them behind, could I?

Next stop, Redmond, where we stopped for drinks and had a reminder that Starbucks isn’t the only coffee shop in town!

From there, it was only a step to the Columbia Winery.  This beautiful place was quite at odds with the remainder of the area – with another winery opposite, the two opposing mansions faced each other across a remarkably busy road.  Five tasting glasses of the same Cabernet Sauvignon later (each was from a different year of production), I would have loved a plate of the cheese from yesterday!  Delicious wine, it was rather enlightening to sample the different vintages – 2005 was the star, undoubtedly, but the $48 bottle of “Peninsula” blend beat the lot.  However, at that price, we chose not to bring home a souvenir!

Back across the bridge then, for a late Sunday afternoon on the terrace with the papers.  Like weekend papers everywhere, they were light on news, heavy on adverts but at least we resisted the temptation to snooze!

Tonight, we’ll return to the Steelhead Diner across the street, where hopefully I’ll be more awake than I was last Friday!

As for the Sketchbooks, well, the reports say that there were queues to view them (with such short opening hours, is that a surprise?) so hopefully I wasn’t missed.  I’ll see them in Brooklyn sometime.

In the city

We decided to leave the car in the garage today and spend the day exploring the city.  Our hotel is just across the road from the Pike Place Market, making it a clear choice for the second stop.  First was a delicious breakfast at Bacco, next door – our usual American fare of corned beef hash with eggs, sunny side up for he who loves that kind of thing and French Toast for me, who doesn’t. 

Over to the market, then, a mere step away…but oh, look, on the corner there’s a cheese shop where they’re actually making cheese.

Yes, another unscheduled stop to take a look, to taste, admire the wonderful selection and giggle at the sight of the people watching the cheese being made.  Definite photo of the day material!

Oh, and a few doors down there’s the original Starbucks shop, not that we were ready for coffee already, since we’d only just had breakfast.  Still, we had to take a look and see what’s what…say we’d been there and all of that.

Finally, finally, we made it across into the market.  So many interesting things to see – first of all, the most gorgeous flowers.  Lupins, iris and popplies in abundance, many made up into lovely, colourful bunches.

Then of course, there was fish.  Lots of fish! (some of it flying…)

Wouldn’t this be a great staff training event?

The vegetable displays were also interesting and not without the occasional (plastic) surprise.

On then to the old part of the city, Pioneer Square, where the trees are wearing woolly jumpers.

After a mooch around, looking for the Elliott Bay Bookstore which we later found out has relocated, we stumbled upon this waterfall garden on the site of the original United Parcel Service depot.  Beautifully planted with maple trees, this was a haven of peace in an otherwise rather bleak urban landscape.

There were some great manhole covers in this area, though.

We didn’t linger in this area for long, finding it less interesting than we all remembered from previous visits.  Instead, we wandered back downtown, to the “retail core”, as described on the maps.

I loved the Tiffany window display, minimal though it is.  Shame about the reflections.

Then it was back to the hotel, to sit in the afternoon sunshine on the roof terrace overlooking the bay.  As the ferries sailed to and fro, three large cruise ships left for Alaska and we sat quietly reading our Kindles in a small oasis of calm.

This evening, we returned there after our fish and chip supper (gelato for pudding) and all agreed that it’s been a great start to our holiday.  Here’s hoping the sun will shine tomorrow, when we plan to explore a little further afield.

Saturday in Seattle

We spent way too long at Gate C64 yesterday afternoon, because though they’d managed to check in themselves and their luggage, a couple of people didn’t make it to the plane at the new C wing of Heathrow’s Terminal 5.  Sitting on the plane whilst their bags were offloaded, the captain’s reassurance that our flight would have a tail wind the whole way didn’t really placate us.  But, eventually we were off on our summer road trip, starting in Seattle.

By the time we’d arrived, met Mary and picked up our vehicle, we were trying to convince ourselves that it didn’t really feel like gone midnight, that we were fine and didn’t really long for our beds.  After all, it was only 7pm here.  Fortunately there was a great restaurant directly across the street.  The Steelhead Diner fitted the bill perfectly and when we turned up without a reservation to find that a booth was instantly available, we knew it was meant to be.

The fishing flies in the divider between our table and the kitchen were lovely and would have provided plenty of interesting distraction were it not for the fact that we had a fair bit to catch up on.

Plus, of course, we had to choose.

Then, whilst one of our travelling companions decided to make an entry

another dived head first into my (delicious, local hefe weisse) beer.

Fortunately, she escaped without harm and dried herself off on a napkin.

Needless to say, we were tucked up in bed by nine and slept right through till    5-ish this morning.  Now around 8am here and fortified with cups of tea and coffee, we’re both showered and dressed. I’ve begun my road trip journal, uploaded photos from yesterday, unpacked a little and still have time to blog.  Who says jet lag is a nuisance?!

Mary will be with us shortly and the fun will begin.  Elliot Bay is looking ok – a little overcast perhaps but the weather forecast isn’t too bad for a day exploring the city.

Good morning Seattle!