Showing posts with label WAWeekend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WAWeekend. Show all posts

Sunday, August 31, 2014

WAWeekend: What's New in The Yakima Valley

The Yakima Valley – where I was born and raised – is in the center of Washington State’s agricultural lands.  Once it’s only claim to tourist fame was its more than 300 days of sunshine each year.

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These days  the sunshine is just an added benefit. It has become a place where wine roads, ale trails and hiking/biking paths intersect.

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Hop yards - hops are used in the valley's ales
We returned to Yakima a couple months ago because I was researching an article for The Seattle Times.  I was in search of ‘what’s new?’.  Let me tell you I found plenty. 

If you’ve not had Yakima on your travel radar it is time to adjust your compass and head out for some incredible hiking and biking and then hit either the ale trail to local craft breweries and distilleries or set out to sample wine at the dozens of wineries that are scattered throughout the area.

Where to Go and What to Do in the Yakima Valley?
Just click this link to my article in The Seattle Times for my recommendations!

Map picture

Sunday, August 3, 2014

WAWeekend: A Taste of the Ol’ West

Prior to heading off for Greece this summer we took a quick road trip to the Yakima Valley, a part Central Washington’s wine country, and had a taste of the ol’ West at a new eatery in an ol’ building in the heart of downtown Prosser.

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So join us for lunch at the Horse Heaven Saloon. The Scout will even hold the door for you:

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The doors by the way are made of Brazilian Purple Heart wood, a wood used in area hop kilns which are the processing plants where hops are prepared to use as flavorings in beer.  For you gun enthusiasts out there: The photo on the left shows the door handles which are replicas of the Old West Cavalry single revolver with seven inch barrels. The two inside handles are models of an 1897 25 –32 caliber Winchester and a 1970’s model 32 caliber.

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The bar has been made from repurposed old growth Douglas Fir and old combine wheels.  (Combines with wheels like these were used in the harvest of hay and grain in the Yakima Valley and are the precursors to the modern-day mammoth versions).  Here those wheels separate the bar seating from the restaurant seating, making the place family-friendly. . .kids can eat in the restaurant which is separated from the bar per Washington State’s rather goofy law on the subject.

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The walls are covered with murals that pay tribute to the Saloon’s name, Horse Heaven Hills. The name, by the way, is attributed to a Valley pioneer, James Gordon Kinney who in 1857 is said to have noted the knee-high grasses covering the rolling hills in the area and the large herds of feral horses grazing there.  “Excellent forage and comparative isolation. . .This is surely a horse heaven!” he is credited with pronouncing.

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This one pays homage to the old beer truck deliveries.

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Being a cat lover I had to include this one.

If the décor wasn’t enough reason to head here, the food is.  And the menu describes it as a Western-themed gastro pub. The chef, Laurie Kennedy creates a variety of dishes that could include seared ahi to specially prepared chicken gizzards.  While the full bar provides any type of adult beverage, you might want to try a Horse Heaven Hills Brewery beer handcrafted by Gary Vegar.

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We were there at noon and decided to share a sandwich and each have ‘just’ a cup of soup. . .both were so large that we could have skipped one or the other but the food was so good we managed to eat it all without a bit of hesitation!

If you are in Central Washington, this eatery – now open for just under a year – is worth a visit.

Prosser is about a 3.5 hour drive from Seattle. The nearest airports are in the TriCities and Yakima.


Horse Heaven Hills Saloon
615 6th St. (Main Street in this small town)
509-781-6228
Check their web site for hours and menu and some fun photos or find them on FB.
Linking up:
Inside Journeys – Foodie Tuesday

Monday, June 30, 2014

WAWeekend: Canal cruising the “Venice of the West”

In need of a shot of the beach, we headed to Washington’s Ocean Shores on an early spring weekend. Actually, I was researching an article about this place on the coastline of the Pacific Ocean; the place once envisioned to be the “Venice of the West”. That story appeared Sunday, June 29th in the Seattle Times but here's a bit more temptation for you:

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Back in the 1960’s developers had a plan to turn this entire peninsula in southwest Washington into a California-style resort home development and built 23-miles of canals (to provide more waterfront lots, some say) and also because they hoped to attract boating enthusiasts to the area.

The development never quite took off but the city that was created as a result of the project now attracts some four million tourists each year. They flock to the area for birding (some 280 species) and the beach – a six-mile long stretch of flat, drive-able (it is a state highway in places) beach. 

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We’ve visited on a couple of previous occasions but like so many who visit, never have gotten far from the beach. We had no idea how much the area has to offer outdoor enthusiasts. Researching articles does make one focus a bit more closely on places.
 
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One of the most delightful discoveries was the maze of fresh-water canals that link to Duck Lake, both located just a couple miles back from the beach. An even better discovery was the company that rents electric boats so even those of us “Boatless in Seattle” folks can enjoy the waterway that winds past homes and wooded areas that front the canals.
 
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These electric boats put along at 5 mph, which is good for this ‘no wake’ zone. . .and it was about the speed a ‘land-lubber’ like myself could handle when it came my turn at the wheel.

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Owners Tom and Nancy Kimzey take you out for a brief training session to make sure you know how to navigate the waterways and even more importantly how to dock the boat when you return it!

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You can rent these cute little cruisers by the hour or half-day. (There are no restrooms aboard but there are back at the boat company headquarters.)

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If you are headed to Ocean Shores make it a point to go cruising on the canals – you’ll be glad you did!  To reserve a boat call 360-289-0487 or 360-790-2623, www.oselectricboat.com 

We are back in Greece hoping to put a new twist on an old tale for you! (For my blogger buddies out there, I apologize that I've been a bit scarce but internet has been spotty at best.  I'll be back visiting your posts as soon as I am more fully 'connected'.) See you then and thanks to you all for today’s visit!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

WAWeekend: Paintin’ The Town ~ Toppenish

With the apparent return of Spring in the Pacific Northwest, we are resuming our WAWeekend feature highlighting some of our favorite Washington State places:
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Yakima River Walkway - Yakima
I grew up in Central Washington’s Yakima Valley; about a 30 minute drive from today’s featured town.  Three decades ago this small farm and livestock center was simply a town you passed en route to the Tri Cities on the Columbia River or points further south in Oregon.

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Wine grape vineyards that have put the Yakima Valley on the map were still in the infancy stages. That ‘Washington Wine Road’ that now brings thousands to the area these days was just a plain old highway.



There was no reason to go to Toppenish unless you were employed at the huge U and I Sugar processing plant located just outside town – sugar beets were a big crop around the area back then.
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U and I Sugar Plant remains - 2010

Then the sugar plant closed in the late 70’s. The town’s crime rate was high, its mid-century buildings run-down and graffiti-covered. And then a group of enterprising folks had an idea. . . fast forward. . .

Toppenish 2014: "Where the West Still Lives"


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Toppenish, now with a population of some 9,000,  says it is the place "Where the West Still Lives". It does - in the old west murals - some 75 of them on buildings in its revitalized downtown – so many, that the tourism folks have created a map to help visitors find them all (a link is provided below).

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The first weekend in June each year a new mural is created during the town’s Mural-In-A-Day celebration. A 5k fund-raiser run kicks off the event, and then spectators watch from bleachers as a new mural is created.  This is the Mural Weekend in that small town and the newest creation, number 76,  will be installed at the U and I sugar plant – it will greet visitors arriving in town from the exit off Interstate 82.


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And these days, I’d be the first to tell you that a stop in this town is a must when traveling the Washington Wine Road through Central Washington. In addition to the murals, you’ll find close by:

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Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center - Toppenish
* The Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center (museum, restaurant and RV park);
* The Yakama Nation’s Legends Casino
*A Hop Museum (which is well worth a visit whether you are a fan of brewskies or not).

If You Go:

Tourist Information:  www.visityakima.com


Map picture

Follow this handy map of murals: http://www.visityakima.com/newSite/travel-maps/muralMapFrBk-web.pdf

Linking up with:
Weekend Travel Inspirations

Saturday, March 15, 2014

WAWeekend: ‘Coasting’ in Washington

We are in the betwixt and between travel season . . .

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KoOlina - O'ahu, Hawaii

. . .not quite ready to give up the afterglow of winter in Hawaii and just about ready to start packing for our return to Greece later this spring. . .

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Pireaus, Greece April 2013
. . .so we decided to head to the Washington State Coast for a quick getaway this last week.

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Ocean Shores, Washington State



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And did we ever time it right!

Although still brisk enough to wear a jacket, we had sunshine and blue skies – every day!!

The photo to the side illustrates what the coastline usually looks like: wet and rainy. In fact, that was the weather two years ago when we visited Iron Springs Resort on Copalis Beach. This year we stayed a few miles south in the city of Ocean Shores.


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View from Quinnault Resort - Ocean Shores

Both times we’d gone to the shore to watch the winter storms and each trip held its own kind of beauty; one showing the gray foreboding wet, wild side of the sea and the other its cheerful bright side.

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Dogs and Drivers are welcome on Washington State Beaches

We’ve decided it is impossible to pack the correct clothes because you never know what might greet you. Once on a near 80-degree sunny mid-July day in Seattle we headed to the beach only to find it fogged in and so chilly we turned around and came home instead of pitching the tent in which we’d planned to spend the night.

Travel DEAL:

Generally, The Scout, seeks out the ‘deals’ but sometimes they appear in our inbox as well, as did this offer from Iron Springs Resort, a collection of cabins on a beach side bluff that were purchased, refurbished and reopened two years ago. 
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Interior of one cabin at Iron Springs Resort

They are so nice that it was difficult to pass them up this trip to try something new, but reluctantly, we did.  However, had this deal been going on I know we wouldn’t have been able to pass it up:

Three nights for the price of two!
April 1, 2014 - June 15, 2014
Enjoy two nights at Iron Springs and we’ll spring for the third*! 
(Call 360.276.4230 or 1.800.380.7950 for details)
*The Three for Two package is available for stays between Tuesday, April 1, 2014 through Sunday, June 15, 2014. Offer not valid for stays between May 23, 2014 through May 26, 2014. Additional nights available at our standard seasonal rates. Standard taxes, cleaning and dog fees apply. Reservations made prior to March 11, 2014 are not eligible for this special. Book this package by calling 360-276-4230 or 1-800-380-7950. Online booking not available for this promotion.

If you go:  Ocean Shores and Copalis Beach are about a two hour drive from Seattle. 

Stay safe where ever your travels take you this weekend.  Thanks for the time you spent with us today.   Hope you’ll join us again on Foodie Tuesday – when we are serving up a taste of Greece. 
And  if you aren’t receiving our posts in your inbox, just sign up in the box to your right to do so – it is free.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Pacific Northwest: Luxury for Less

When the Pacific Northwest winter weather is frightful you can find some luxury getaways with rates that are quite delightful!

No joke.

I’ve found a dozen good deals to be had for a fraction of the cost of  high season rates – all at high end places within a few hours drive of Seattle.  Today I tell you all about them in an article I wrote for the Seattle Times Travel Section.

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Some resorts provide rain gear - be sure to ask when making a reservation!
You recall we visited Tofino on Vancouver Island’s west coast in September and paid just under $300 a night at the Best Western. . .the deal I found for The Times at the luxury resort just down the road (a perfect place to do some winter storm watching) is amazing in comparison.

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We spent a few hours gazing at Saratoga Passage from our deck on The Scout's birthday trip

You may also recall me telling you about the road trip we took for The Scout’s February birthday last year when we ended up at a luxury resort on Whidbey Island, an hour’s drive/ferry ride north of Seattle.  Well, they’ve got the same great deals this year for mid-week stays.

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The Inner Harbour - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
I didn’t overlook those fabulous city getaways or ways to find other deals there – I’ve included deals in resorts from Victoria, B.C. to Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma as well.

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View from Benson Vineyards -late winter, Chelan, Washington Wine Country
There are also deals to be had at luxury spa resorts and wine country getaways. 

Now that I’ve sparked the travel bug in you, head over to the Seattle Times to see which resorts and hotels are featured.  (And please note: there are plenty more deals to be had out there, but there was a limit to the number of words in print.)  Click this link to get to my article and happy winter wonderland travels to you!
We have some more money-saving travel tips for you on Travel Tuesday so see you back here then!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

WAWeekend: Roslyn ~ A Warm Welcome

Roslyn, a once-thriving coal mining town in Washington State is a place to peek into Pacific Northwest history. It is also a place where the warmth of welcome is the norm, not just some tourist promotion jargon.

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Building in Cle Elum, Washington
Roslyn and its next-door neighbor, Cle Elum, are about two hours drive from western Washington’s Seattle and an almost equal distance from the TriCities (Pasco, Kennewick and Richland) in south-central Washington. The mid-Washington location is one reason why my childhood friend, Mary, and I chose them for our one-day girl’s getaway last week. 
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The Cle Elum train station now houses a restaurant and historical displays
The two of us also have ‘history’ here  because we’d fallen under the area’s spell decades ago while college students. (Ellensburg, our old college town, is about 30 minutes drive from here.)

We were overjoyed to find that its magic was as powerful now as it had been, and it quickly wrapped us up all over again in its spell. . .

The Coal Mine Beginnings


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Tribute to Fallen Miners in front of the old "Company Store"
Roslyn and Cle Elum are tucked away in the state’s Cascade Mountains. The coal discovered deep inside those mountains was needed to fuel Northern Pacific Railroad trains.

The first coal was shipped from Roslyn/Cle Elum area mines in 1886. In fact, the worst coal mine disaster in the state occurred in May 1892 at the Northern Pacific Coal Mine No.1 when an explosion and fire in the Roslyn mine (burrowed some 2,700 feet below ground) caused the death of 45 miners. Mining continued here until the last mine closed in 1962.

The Northwest Improvement Company Store (‘the company store’), pictured above, was the hub of the Roslyn community back in the town’s mining heyday and today, just like the town’s historic district, is on the  National Register of Historic Places.

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Roslyn, Washington cemetery

The Roslyn Cemetery, founded in 1886, is an amalgamation of some 25 separate cemeteries and the 5,000 graves on this 15-acre wooded site represent some 24 nationalities.  The cemeteries reflect the far reach of the mines more than a century ago. Miners hailed from as far away as Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Italy and England.  Many of those miners rest in these cemeteries and their descendants still live in the small town.

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The Runner Stumbles featured this church
Jumping ahead to a bit more modern history, the Immaculate Conception Church that towers over the town was featured in a 1979 movie, The Runner Stumbles, starring Dick Van Dyke and Kathleen Quinlan, that was filmed in this small town.

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Northern Exposure was filmed here
Many of you – if you were followers of that quirky, but insanely popular television show Northern Exposure (1991 – 1995) that was filmed here -- will recognize this building as it was used in the show’s opening. Businesses report tourists still arrive because of it. And the café is still serving up meals!

The People

I’ve long said that once a ‘place becomes people’ it becomes even more special than its history or fame has made it.  Mary and I met two such individuals in Roslyn, both deserving a mention:

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Joyce Welker of Dingo Wild Dogs of Roslyn
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Mary and Joyce posed for the shutterbug
Joyce Welker, is the owner/operator of a hot dog stand -  Dingo Wild Dogs of Roslyn - on the town’s main drag.  She was setting up for lunch as we walked past . . .the fact that we’d brought a picnic lunch didn’t deter Joyce. She was introducing a new pulled pork sandwich that day and told us that we had to sample it.  We visited with her for nearly half an hour. Next time we’ll skip the picnic!  

Her small kitchen/storeroom, behind the grill, is an old red rock mine scale shack (fitting for a mining town, after all).  She does her biggest business after 10 p.m. when the local bars close down their kitchens, she told us.  But for the non-night owls, she’s open Fridays and Saturdays from noon – 3 p.m.

We had, pardon the pun, one blooming good time – just around   the corner from Joyce’s on the other, of the town’s two, main streets:

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As we’d driven into town, I’d announced (as the shutterbug in the car), “We’ve got to walk back here so I can take a photo of that yard!”   By the time we got back, the owner of the house and creator of this masterpiece, was out working in the garden. She gave me permission to take a photo or two. . .then she invited us up onto the porch for a closer look at those baskets:

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RoslynDC2013 013By this point we were talking about ourselves, our husbands, her husband, their life and ours. 

She offered to show us  her back yard,where we continued visiting, and then  - because she decorates the yard for each season – she invited us in to her basement store room (think the elves workshop at the North Pole). 

By then it didn’t seem unusual at all when she invited us into her home to see a  few photos of her seasonally decorated yard (framed photos, newspaper clippings and awards).

RoslynDC2013 021Once inside we got around to  introducing  ourselves by name. 

When it came time to leave we each hugged this lady who only an hour before we’d not known, vowing we’d come back again when we could stay longer, have a libation and do some real visiting!




Not every visitor to these small Central Washington towns will meet our two new friends, but I know where ever you go and who ever you meet will likely greet you with that same small town warmth of welcome. We are certainly planning a return!

If You Go:


Map picture

For area information: Visit the Cle Elum/Roslyn Chamber of Commerce site by clicking this link.

Suncadia Resort, a large planned unincorporated community and resort complete with houses, condos, lodge and golf courses and  covering an area of 6,300 acres is nearby.

Roslyn’s Swiftwater Cellars winery is located on the Suncadia property near the historic Roslyn No. 9 Coal Mine.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

WAWeekend: Clamming–Can you dig it?


We’ve just returned from Vancouver Island’s West Coast. While there, we decided it might be fun to return during the winter’s stormy season (and when hotel rates were hopefully lower).

But then the voice of travel reason set in and we recalled that trip to our own Washington coast – Copalis Beach –  a winter or two ago. . .

We had a dazzling taste of a winter storm and an equally satisfying taste of the razor clams for which this area is known.  Copalis Beach is less than a three-hour drive from Seattle; not a few hours drive plus a few hours longer ferry ride to return to Tofino, British Columbia.


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Copalis Beach - Washington State
Having watched razor clam diggers at work on Copalis Beach  during our visit, but not quite understanding the what- and how- of what they were doing, we were further tempted to return when we got an email this week from Iron Springs Resort, (where we had stayed on the last trip) about a clam digging activity for folks like us.

Iron Springs Alderbrook 2012 093Actually, the guided Clam Digging Package offered this fall is designed for guests who are newcomers or who could use a few tips for spotting and catching the speedy bivalves:

If you sign up for the package, you’ll be part of a small group and you’ll have. . .

· Official clam digging license, available in the General Store at check in (licenses are required in this state and the cost of the license is extra)

· Digging essentials – clam guns, shovels, clam bags, lanterns and headlamps (Which save you from having to purchase one of those wacky ‘guns’ they sell along the roadside and in shops along the beach).

· Wine or hot cocoa, upon return from the beach (you may be chilled enough to opt for hot cocoa but a celebratory wine sounds good as well!)

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Clam cleaning station - Iron Springs Resort
· Clam cleaning tutorial and tools at the Iron Springs clam cleaning station (a real plus because we watched them do this as well – you need to know what you are doing.)

· Razor clam chowder recipe to prepare in your cabin
(Let me tell you, that if this is the same recipe as the thick, savory chowder served to us during our visit – you will love it!)




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Razor clam chowder - Iron Springs Resort

If You Go:

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Package Details: The package costs $50 per adult and $25 per kid, plus the cost of clamming license and cabin rates (starting at $149 a night), and can be booked through the resort’s reservation desk (1.800.380.7950).

And, of course, the “fine print:” Package is based on availability and the announcement of the official 2013 recreational razor clam season.

Realizing many of you live too far away to participate in the package, there is a recipe for clam chowder included in this post, One “Clam” Good Time. . . and more about  Iron Springs Resort here.

That’s it for now.  Have a great weekend and see you back here on Travel Tuesday when we’ll go ‘Beyond the Bar at Nanaimo’!

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