ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Hawaii’s Plantation Village showcases the restored living quarters of the sugar cane workers who worked on Oahu’s last sugar mill. Laborers came from all over: China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Portugal and Puerto Rico. Many of the buildings that housed the workers are on display, complete with furniture pieces, articles of everyday living and other... Continue Reading →
Since the strong winds continued to blow this morning, we decided to go back to the Bishop Museum, after finding out too late yesterday that it was closed. Bishop is considered the finest museum of Hawaiian arts, culture, history and anthropology in the world. The Hawaiian Hall itself is worthy of a visit all by... Continue Reading →
Anyone who has ever visited a department store in Japan knows that an entire floor is devoted to food. The second floor of Shirokiya (third level of the mall) extends that experience to Hawaiians. Like in Japan, there are restaurants that prepare food as well as small family-owned businesses. Most of the food is purchased for... Continue Reading →
One of the most visually striking areas in the Pacific Northwest is one that looks strangely Southwestern. In the arid deserts of eastern Oregon, there are formations that are as unusual as anything in Arizona. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is also a mother lode for fossils from the Cenozoic era when ancient mammals... Continue Reading →
One of the best nature walks you can take in Vancouver is along the Seawall, a 22-km path that passes by stunning views of the ocean and the city, built to protect the coastline from erosion caused by the many marine vessels that ply the First Narrows. Though its S-shaped path stretches from Kitsilano Beach... Continue Reading →
In the summertime, Kitsilano Beach is very popular with locals who swarm here to sunbathe. There is also an outdoor salt-water pool, the longest in all of Canada. The beach faces Burrard Inlet, across which is a grand view of the Vancouver skyline. A footpath takes you to Vanier Park to the east, the Burrard... Continue Reading →
One of the most spectacular areas along the Oregon Coast is the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. It also is the highest viewpoint of the ocean accessible by car in the state. Over 2,500 acres, the highlights include a geologic blowhole (Spouting Horn), a long, narrow crack cleaved in the coastal basalt (Devil's Churn) and a... Continue Reading →
One of the glorious native shrubs that grows along the coasts of California and Oregon is the western azalea. It is really not an azalea, but rather a rhododendron, a deciduous one at that. When in bloom, the shrub is very prolific. Since it was late spring, our road trip coincided with its peak blossoming... Continue Reading →
Steven Spielberg saw its primeval potential for Jurassic Park 2, the backdrop for the T. Rex chase scene. Fern Canyon is an impossibly verdant gorge, carved out millions of years ago by a retreating sea, its vertical walls literally covered with walls of ferns, five species of them, and mosses. Water seems to seep out... Continue Reading →
A replica of the Trinidad Head lighthouse sits on a bluff overlooking the sea. It is really a memorial to those lost at sea, whose names are on plaques along a concrete wall nearby. The lighthouse itself still is perched on the headland, not accessible to the general public. The fog bell that was originally... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 