ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Whenever we visit our daughter in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, the subject of where to eat lunch often comes up. This is not a simple proposition. In most places, the decision might come down to the closest restaurant or a family favorite, usually involving driving there. In the case of Ballard, which has seen... Continue Reading →
There aren't too many destination restaurants in the Georgetown area. Good restaurants, but not great. Occasionally, I'll stop at Maruta Shoten and pick up things to go, like their terrific garlic chicken wings and well-made sushi. In the northern part of Georgetown, almost to the SoDo district, is Marco Polo Bar & Grill, which has... Continue Reading →
Situated on Orcas Island, Turtleback Farm Inn is listed in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Other travel publications have chimed in with equally effusive praise, backed by the reviews of the many visitors who have stayed there. Susan and Bill Fletcher purchased the farm when they were simply looking for a second home,... Continue Reading →
Several years ago, Orcas Island residents opposed plans to develop Turtleback Mountain, once privately owned by Norton Clapp of the Weyerhauser Corporation, and sold to a foundation. They filed a lawsuit in court and won. The mountain is now an island preserve. Additional trails beyond the logging roads have been developed in the park, with... Continue Reading →
Ever since the closure of La Famiglia many years ago, Orcas Island didn't have a good Italian restaurant to go to. Portofino hardly qualifies since it's mainly a pizza joint. That all changed when Bill Patterson purchased Chimayo and opened Sazio di Notte. His plan was to convert Chimayo, a favorite Southwest restaurant among locals, to a... Continue Reading →
The venerable Bilbo's Festivo, a popular and long-time Mexican restaurant in Eastsound, is now Chiladas, after having gone through several ownership changes. The current one is Bilbo's original owner. While the menu has changed and aims higher than standard Tex-Mex fare that mostly (though not entirely) made up its previous menu. Now, the entrees represent... Continue Reading →
Over the past few years, good friends of ours have invited us over to their cabin on the shores of Lake Chelan. Prior to a wedding in 2009 and our friends' invitation two weeks later, we'd never been here. In the summer, it is a very popular playground for water sports, rarely raining here as... Continue Reading →
After visiting the Sky Tower, we decided to have dinner on our way back to the hotel. While walking along Wellesley, we came across Homeworld BBQ Restaurant. The menu posted outside seemed interesting, so we ventured inside. At around 5pm, there weren't any other customers. We decided to stay and eat. The experience was good.... Continue Reading →
At 382 meters (1,076ft), it's hard not to miss Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand. Today, there was a good deal on admission, so we rode the glass elevator to the observation platform, 192m straight up. The view of Auckland was breathtaking from there. The tower reminded us of the Space Needle... Continue Reading →
The receptionist at our hotel suggested that we have breakfast at Café Melba, a small but popular restaurant in a section of town called Vulcan Lane, an alleyway lined with small shops and restaurants. We walked since it wasn't too far from the hotel, thanks to good directions by the staff. We started off the... Continue Reading →
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