Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Evening Drive Home From Hood Canal


Hello, Dear Friends, when I left you in my last post
we had spent the day at the 'My Girl Drive-In' - 50's style diner,
 to celebrate Bill and Judy's 50th anniversary and Bill's retirement. 


Ramblin' Man and Bill worked closely together 
for many years and we were happy to share 
this special occasion with our dear friends. 

After the party we took a quick drive over to see their 
new home. 


Judging by the street signs,
we were sure we were lost.........


but we soon found our bearings! 


The road followed the beautiful Hood Canal. 


In between there was peaceful farm-land. 


We arrived at a small inlet and pulled in
to the marina. This lovely community is where Bill and Judy 
will be spending their golden years. 
They live next door to their daughter and husband
and two little grand-sons :) 

How perfect is that?


Here's another view of the marina and inlet. 


Some of the beach cottages along the bay.

I love the little red one :)

There was no traffic or noise except for the put-put-put
of a boat's motor starting up, the slapping of waves, and a few children playing. 

We passed bicycle riders and people walking dogs. 


We stayed for a short visit at their lovely home, 
then all too soon we had to say goodbye, 
with promises of many more visits to come. 

The sun was getting low and the geese 
were looking for a sleeping place
as we started the 3 hour drive back to our foothills home. 


The view from the cottages:)
Western sunsets are long and slow
with slanted, golden rays this time of year. 


It truly looks like a place frozen in time. 


Although, we did see signs of new life. 
This is a beautiful working farm 
with a very lovely farm-yard. 

I can't tell, but I think these might be berries. 

We do see produce at the markets 
marked 'Hood Canal' sometimes. 


This is an interesting, weathered old barn
on the side of a hill. 


All of a sudden, the road turned and started downhill. 


At the bottom, there was a little beach, 
called Norwegian Point. This was once
a bustling fishing port. 

You can see my shadow as I take the photo! 


I love these charming little buildings. 


Beyond the warehouse, you can see Admiralty Inlet
on Hood Canal.


But it was this that caught my eye.....
a cruise ship, and moving at a fast clip, too!

This gives you perspective on how large and deep Hood Canal is. 


I wish I were on it, waving from my balcony!
 Coming from Seatlle and perhaps going to 
Victoria or Vancouver, British Columbia.


Or maybe to Alaska........
Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage.....
Some day..........


But for now I am quite content to be right here :)


There was a charming sandy beach with 
picnic tables and just when I thought it couldn't
get any better at that moment, 
a little pod of porpoises started jumping around!

You can see their dorsal fins to the bottom-right. 


Every time I tried to get a photo of 
their antics, they would be underwater
in an instant - so this is the best I could do! 

I was zooming as far as my camera would let me. 


We sat on the picnic table and watched the ship go by
while the porpoises jumped and the sun went down.

We tried to guess the name of the mountain beyond,
but we couldn't get our bearings.

I believe it might be Mt. Baker near Bellingham.



With the long journey ahead of us,
we reluctantly said good-bye,


But we will be sure to return.


One last glimpse of Mt. Rainier from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
as we leave this watery world and head back to our foothills home.

xoxo

Thank you for joining me and sharing your sweet thoughts,
fun stories, and lovely memories, dear friends.

I love getting to know you one smile at a time.

xoxo

In friendship we find nothing false or insincere;
everything is straightforward,
and springs from the heart.

-Cicero-

35 comments:

  1. What a pretty, picturesque area that your friends are settling in! I have always loved the look and feel of a small fishing/marina village. Love those cottages! And that cruise ship! So pretty with the mountains in the background.
    Have a great rest of your week!

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  2. Dear Karen, thank you for this wonderful pictures from this beautiful area!
    Hope, you have a lovely rest of the week, sending Love and hugs and Blessings,
    Claudia xo

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  3. Looks beautiful but those roads are so hilly! How nice for your friends to be so near their family. x

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  4. Lovely pictures from your little trip! So nice to see this place...beautiful!
    Love from Titti

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  5. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Great to dive at that time with such marvellous views. So beautiful. B x

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  6. It was wonderful to see the beautiful area your friends now live. Technology is amazing that we can see such stunning areas of the world. A beautiful post.

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  7. Love to see these types of roads. Beautiful pics pf clear sky, buildings and water. Enjoyed seeing them.

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  8. A perfect end to your amazing trip.
    The road you travelled along was very undulating and the Hood Canal is indeed huge.
    I'm sure your friends will be very happy living there and who wouldn't with all that gorgeous scenery to gaze at. I really enjoyed your roadtrip, thank you for sharing.
    Have a terrific Thursday Karen :)x

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  9. looks like a lovely ride home!! such diverse scenery which you captured beautifully!! i LOVE a good, fun, road trip!!!!!

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  10. Your friends Bill and Judy will be living in a lovely place for sure! How nice that they will be near their family as well. I'm sure they're very happy about this new chapter.

    The scenery is beautiful! (I like the red house too) ;)

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  11. What a neat retirement home. I know it will be a peaceful existence for them, well, maybe until the grandkids come over. hehe.

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  12. What a lovely trip that must have been. I like the view of the ship on the canal. Those big ships come into Victoria all the time but I have never been able to snap a photo of one on the move.

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  13. Hello Karen, oh I love how pretty the area looks where your friends will be living. I love the houses along the water and the scenery is just so nice. I wish your friends happiness in their new home. It will be a fun to visit them there. Hope you are enjoying the summer. Take care and have a lovely end of the week.
    Julie

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  14. Karen, these places are so wonderful!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Love

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  15. Oh Karen, I loved everything in this post and especially those super fun, hilly roads. Your friends live in a splendid place but so do you. :)
    Thank you for the lovely tour. Have a happy weekend! xx

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  16. Dear Karen,

    Love the area where your friends are going to live. It's looks very peaceful. Thank you for showing us around your beautiful area!

    Have a lovely weekend ahead.

    Madelief x

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  17. It sounds like you enjoyed the drive as much as the visit!

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  18. Thanks for sharing your lovely drive. I enjoyed learning about what you saw and was pleasantly reminded of driving through WA several times. It's so exciting you got to see the dolphins playing! Yesterday while driving by the Columbia River my friend and I were delighted to see two paddle wheel boats, one a cruise ship! xx

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  19. Oh I love a good drive in the country or at the beach!
    Fantastic scenery Karen...thanks for the tour!
    Your friends are very lucky indeed...
    have a wonderful weekend..
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  20. A different place I've not heard of before.. glad I was able to pop in from being away for so long..but dear friend I remember you always... love all the photos.. fun roads to drive for sure.. and I did not know that cruise ship could go down the Hood Canal.
    Hugs

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  21. So pretty! What a quaint area you were able to drive through. Another destination to visit out west!

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  22. Your friend lives in a pretty area, Karen. The bridge picture is fantastic! What a sweet picture of the geese. Geese are special to me, as I heard they mate for life. The water is beautiful. But if I had a chance to live near the water or your lovely mountains, I would choose that, as your home is nestled around all that wonderful forest. As I get older, I've been longing to live in the mountains. You surely are lucky, Karen. County your blessings, my friend.

    ~Sheri

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  23. I so enjoyed your pictures, Karen! This is why I so enjoy road trips! Gorgeous scenery.

    Your friends are really fortune to live next to their daughter and SIL...maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I would love it!

    Thanks again for sharing! My husband and I have been to this part of the country but not long enough to explore. Someday soon, I hope.

    Jane

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  24. This is such a nice place to live... or stay with friends for a while!

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  25. Beautiful photos! Thanks for taking us along ♥

    summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

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  26. They are retiring in a lovely area and being close to the kids and grands is always nice... Such a pretty drive you had and looks like lot's of rolling hills, I would love to take a cruise but as I get motion sickness very easy I am afraid to try one. So neat to sit there and watch the world go by and the sun setting, sounds like a perfect day all around!

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  27. Those roads look like they'd be very interesting to bike on. I wonder if the momentum from going downhill would be sufficient to carry one uphill. I know they'd make for a very challenging run. The countryside is beautiful, and the view of the marina is lovely. Neat to see the cruise ship, and it's pretty awesome you got to see the porpoises!

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  28. Thanks for taking us along on your lovely drive, Karen. It is nice to see your part of the world. I wish you a wonderful weekend.

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  29. How absolutely beautiful, Karen...such a wonderful drive with new vistas over every hill. Love the Norwegian Point area! Thank you for sharing!

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  30. Hi Karen, wow the view on your drive home is beautiful.You captured some great shots. Truly a piece of Heaven right there. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend. xo

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  31. Hi Karen, wow the view on your drive home is beautiful.You captured some great shots. Truly a piece of Heaven right there. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend. xo

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  32. Hi Karen, wow the view on your drive home is beautiful.You captured some great shots. Truly a piece of Heaven right there. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend. xo

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  33. Hi dear Karen ,,, que vistas más hermosas , que lindo viaje amiga ,,, espero que tengas un buen fin de semana junto a los tuyos
    Cariños

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  34. Dearest Karen,
    You did seal a lot into your hearts on that brief visit!
    The beauty of the surroundings, rekindling fond memories from work time shared and decades of friendship that survived the high and low tides of life.
    Oh, what a perfect time of the year for traveling with such clear view too!
    Thanks for faithfully taking your readers along, for the joy of the ride.
    Happy weekend and hugs to you,
    Mariette

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  35. I so enjoyed the drive with you.
    Some lovely photo's and so interesting to see the Norweigan Point area, over the years places change don't they.

    Glad you had a good journey back home though.

    All the best Jan

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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