South Lake Tahoe in September

I'm on a quilting retreat with nine other like-minded ladies.  A very productive time is being had by all, but the interesting thing is the visitors we had today.

Baby One

Mama Bear

Baby Two

 We all stood at the railing of the deck and watched the cubs in the trees for a good long time.  There were actually two other bears here this morning.

Some scenes of the retreat.  

Last Days---a little late

Nothing but trouble with the net for two days...Super 8 in Crescent City was so slow that I could not post, and then at my daughter's the wireless was down!  Got home and got busy.  All of this is not an excuse, but a sorta reason.

Drive from Yachats was beautiful.  I do love the Oregon coast.  Sienna and I stopped at a little quilt shop in Brookings.  Crossed into California, where there is apparently not an agricultural check station any more.  And so on the Crescent City.

 I had decided to stay in Crescent City because I wanted to see the place where the tsunami of 2011 hit land so disastrously.  I remember seeing on TV scenes of the boats being destroyed by the waves.  There doesn't seem to be any evidence of the tsunami now, and all was peaceful and scenic.

Leaving Crescent City after a wonderful breakfast at the Northwoods Restaurant, we were off down 101 toward Santa Rosa.  We soon came upon a whole bunch of cars on the side of the road. We saw why, a herd of elk calmly grazing next to the road.  They looked fat and healthy, and were certainly a sight to see.

My favorite jewelry factory

The Plaza in the center of Arcata

              We stopped in Arcata to visit the Holly Yashi jewelry factory (think Christmas presents) and then walked around downtown Arcata.  A strange place, no doubt...although there is a nice quilt shop called Fabric Temptations.  Sorry, Sienna, but that was the last quilt shop.








A common sight along the Oregon and California are tsunami warning signs, with evacuation routes posted!  My question is, "How would you know?" although I did see some warning sirens like the old air attack sirens I remember as a kid in Los Angeles.




Stopped in Ukiah for coffee at Schat's Bakery, then finally made it to Santa Rosa.  My daughter Surani took us on a tour of her house, which is being "deconstructed" and redone.  Down to the bare studs, as you can see.

Day 10---Bigger than Bodega

Top of the steps down to the beach

Looking south

Went for a beachcombing walk along the beach behind the motel this morning.  Fog bank off in the distance, but it was a nice day, sunny, windy and pleasant

And looking west

We left the motel about 9:30 on our drive down the coast.  A little light fog which soon cleared up.  What a beautiful coast Oregon has, between the ocean, the mountains and forests.

Dalingtonia or pitcher plants

 We stopped at a wayside where a short walk brought us to a boggy area where Darlingtonia californica live.  They trap and dissolve insects for the nitrogen in their bodies.  Interesting seeing them in their native habitat.

This is what is "bigger than Bodega"

Notice the ATVer on the top!

We stopped at a couple of places in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  The extent of the dunes is amazing, being 40 miles along the coast, from Coos Bay north.  They are huge, as you can see by the pictures.

Queen Anne's Lace
a common wildflower

A dandelion-kind of flower

A creek in the dunes

Climbing a dune

Me trying to climb a dune

Coos Bay bridge

Sea stacks near Port Orford

Fish and chips, onion rings

Fish wrap and salad

Crescent City Marina

We stopped in Port Orford for the view, then for lunch at The Porthole in Gold Beach.  As you can see, we ate well.  Sienna's quota of one quilt shop a day was met in Brookings, and after that we were soon in California.  Stopped for the night in Crescent City, where we walked the Marina, which appears to have recovered from the tsunami in March 2011.

Show no fear!

Day 9---On to Oregon

                                photo by Sienna Landry

Sienna went with Billy and Simer to the UBC campus yesterday.  Simer gives her a hard time about choosing to go to UW when she could have chosen UBC.  Below is an evening view of the Undergraduate Library.

Sienna and I really enjoyed our jampacked days in Vancouver and vicinity, but it's time to say goodby and head back home to California.

We left Vancouver at about 9:45 with 940 miles on my odometer from the trip up, and a nearly full tank of gas...filled up in Bellingham on my way up, the third tank of the trip (full at home, filled up in Cottage Grove OR...I love my Prius).  After about 45 minutes at the border, we finally were on the road.  Traffic was great through Seattle, not so great around Centrailia.  I always seem to hit traffic on that stretch in central Washington.  Slowed us down to zero at times, but we finally reached Portland, just in time for the evening rush, and boy, does Portland have rush...reminded me of San Jose.  Finally through Portland, we stopped outside of Salem for coffee and a short walk.

Back in the car, we left the freeway at Corvallis, a University of Oregon town, also in a novel series by S. M. Sterling which I really enjoyed.  A beautiful drive through the coast range on Oregon 34 brought us to Waldport just as the sun was setting.  Down the coast in the evening fog, we are in a motel called Deane's Oceanview.  A funky 50's kind of motel, I really like the retro feel.

                                              Photo by Sienna Landry

Day 8--Metrotown to the Beach

A map of the three layers
of Metrotown Mall

Started off by going to Metrotown Mall in Burnaby,  a huge place.  Three stories, too much mall for me.  Simer and Sienna went looking for boots and anything else they could find.  I walked around for an hour and then met up with them.  We then left for the beach on a beautiful day, 70's with a light breeze.

Spanish Banks

The beach was crowded, but very nice.  We had fish and chips after parking...a trick in itself.  With my parking mojo I found a place not 300 ft from the fish place, and in the shade.

The second sticker is pretty good too.

We went home where JJ and Devin Robbie, his son, had come for a visit.  On the way home we saw this bumper sticker which I really like.  Think about it.

Devin Robbie and JJ

Like Robbie's son Jarron, Robbie has grown so much in the last year.  I have forgotten how fast kids grow.  I enjoyed seeing them.

Sienna getting a facial from Amar

Day 7---Butter Chai and Babies

 Our first outing of the day was to Granville Island, a major tourist attraction.  Got there early and walked around looking at things.  Filled with fruits, vegetables, flowers, clothes, jewelry, clothing, etc, etc, etc.  We were searching for butter chai, which we found at Granville Island Tea Company.  Worth searching for, very tasty spiced tea.

A dalia with very striking colours

Simer and Sienna with public art

Relaxing...I bought a hammock

On the left, fabric I bought for Simer for her 2nd quilt.  A wonderful batik star...with a limited size so she won't go crazy.

An idea for the future

Simer and I went to Richmond to Fabricland to get some cream fabric for background for her quilt.  While there I saw this piece of fabric...what a great idea for applique on wholecloth.  Don't like the colors, but think what wonderful colors could be used.

Robbie, Miriam and Jarron came over this afternoon.  Jarron has changed so much in the year since I've see him.  He's 18 months old now, walking and talking.

Me, Miriam, Jarron, Sienna and Dalbir

Day 6--Park and Pork

On Simer's bucket list was the horse-drawn tour of Stanley Park, and she accomplished that today when she took Sienna and I on the trip.  This was a very enjoyable ride, and a recommendation for anyone.

Our trusty steeds, Pepper and Matlock

Sienna and Simer on the ride.

At a stop on the ride we saw the totem collection at the park.  Our ride leader, Heidi, said that totem is translated as "our clan" or "our kin."

Sienna and I infront of the totems

The Girl in the Wet Suit

Lion's Gate Bridge

After we left the park we went to a barbeque restaurant for lunch.

I had spare ribs, while Simer had pulled pork and Sienna had poutine and a caesar salad.  A good meal, as you can see.              

After we ate we drove to Rokko Saris.  I had bought some sheets (chumbal) there last year and wanted to see if they had any new patterns.  Not only did they have new ones, but they also have what they didn't last year, cotton yardage!  The top left is the sheet, while the others are the yardage, which they call African yardage.  I don't know where it is made, says Holland on the selvedge, but I don't think that's its origin: possibly African after all.  Price was right too, $22 for a queen sized chumbal and $18 for four yards of the open cloth.

This evening I went to Hillcrest Community Centre for swimming, while Sienna went with Simer and Amar to Queen Elizabeth Park.

The swimming area of the centre

Sienna with "The Tourist" at the top of the park

A beautiful sunset of Vancouver from the park