ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
During a hike through Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, my wife and I came across the most breathtaking madrone we've ever seen, probably because it stands by itself in a grassy field just north of Alexander's Castle and thus given the freedom to spread its wings. As majestic as the Western red cedar... Continue Reading →
In its northwest corner, Washington State is blessed with one of the world's great ferry systems. Taking the sailing between Seattle and Bainbridge Island on a beautiful sunny day, I became lost in thought staring out at Puget Sound and was reminded again how fortunate I am to live here.
The lava sparkles. In a sea of black, rocks reflect light like mirrors. It's eerie enough to walk through a lava field where the ground beneath seems scorched by a cataclysmic firestorm, inhospitable to life, meager vegetation struggling to stay alive. Here in Newberry National Volcanic Monument in Oregon there also happens to be an enormous... Continue Reading →
It’s hard to miss the strange but spectacular rock formations as you’re driving through Terrebonne on US 97. The last time I visited Smith Rock State Park in central Oregon was in 2011. Even though ill with a slight fever, I managed to get down to the foot of these rocks to admire them as well... Continue Reading →
Loco moco is not the first thing I'd normally order when breakfasting in Hawaii. Steamed white rice topped with a fried egg and brown gravy sound tasty enough, not so different in concept from an egg benedict really. It's the ground beef patty that gives me pause, the potential always there for lean and rubbery... Continue Reading →
It's pretty much a sure thing that where there is a line out a restaurant's door, therein lies good food. The first two times I walked past Eggslut in L.A.'s Grand Central Market (GCM), the queue was astonishingly long. No other food establishment in the Market came close to being as popular. I'm not particularly keen... Continue Reading →
Any pretensions I had that a good vegetarian ramen could never be made was dashed recently. The revelation happened when my sister-in-law had me sample her OG Ramen from Ramen Hood, a completely vegan stall in Los Angeles' Grand Central Market. Visually, it looks like a 'typical' ramen, broth like milky tonkotsu, slices of chashu floating on... Continue Reading →
"Spokane Doesn't Suck." Did it take a young, Texas migrant who moved here recently to defend his new home by marketing apparel decorated with these words? Derrick Oliver loves Spokane. Spokane is Washington state's second largest city—for now—with over 200,000 residents. It could be overtaken by Tacoma any day now. Yet, if you ask folks... Continue Reading →
Exasperation sometimes ends up for the better. Along the San Gabriel Valley Asian food mecca of Valley Boulevard, I was looking for a restaurant (whose name I couldn't recall) where several of us had wonderful noodle soups many years ago. (At my age, my memory plays tricks; Kam Hong Garden is in fact in Monterey... Continue Reading →
Monday was a fine sunny day to visit Seattle Center. The Space Needle is so tall (605ft/184m) that it can be seen from anywhere on the 40-acre campus, even through leafy trees.
zoomeboshi 