Washington State

Places to visit in the state of Washington

Relaxing in South Whidbey’s Tranquil Beaches and Woods

With summer finally arriving in the Northwest, we looked around for somewhere to go for a week of vacation. However, as everyone knows, travel during the summer of 2022 has been a challenge. Everyone seems ready to travel after two years of pandemic mode. The result has been high airline prices amid flight cancellations. We weren’t interested in that. So we considered a road trip, but with the price of gasoline, that didn’t seem very practical so we looked around…

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Cherry Blossoms Beckon to the University of Washington

One of the spring rituals one hears about in Seattle is the blooming of the cherry trees at the University of Washington. In an area known as the Quad, cherry trees line the four sides. When they bloom in mid-March, locals enjoy the spectacular display. My wife and I had never visited the University to see this show so when the clouds seemed to be clearing on a Tuesday afternoon, we decided this was the day we would check out…

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Climate Pledge Arena: Seattle’s Newest Wonder

On a recent newscast in the Seattle area, the newscaster referred to the newly opened Climate Pledge Arena as Seattle’s newest wonder. While I don’t normally think of sports arenas as wonders, I thought it was an interesting comment on this renewed arena. Seattle has had a football field, a baseball field, and now is excited to have a hockey and basketball arena. The opening of Climate Pledge Arena has been a big deal for the city of Seattle. For…

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Olympic Peninsula: Seabrook, Beaches, and Sunset Clamming

Our last day on the Olympic Peninsula was originally supposed to be a trip back north to explore Ruby Beach and other beaches in that area. However, on our way down the coast on Wednesday, we realized how long that trip was. After such a busy week, we just didn’t have the energy to drive back. We decided instead to just hang out along the coast near our hotel. It turned out to be a decent and interesting day in…

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Olympic Peninsula: Quinault, More than just a Lodge

Early in our marriage my wife and I spent a night at the Quinault Lodge. What I remember most about our time was dinner. During dinner we were suddenly told that we needed to evacuate the dining room because of a fire in the kitchen. We all went out onto the back lawn standing around until the staff finally instructed us to return to our tables. Now over 40 years later we would return to the area to see what…

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Olympic Peninsula: Rialto Beach to the Hoh Rain Forest

Olympic National Park is somewhat unusual in that there are bits and pieces of the park scattered around the Olympic Peninsula. Not only that, but there is such a wide variety of locations. On this day we would explore two different locations. First would be Rialto Beach along the Pacific Ocean. Later we would discover the drama of a temperate rain forest. To get to these locations it was time to change accommodations so we packed up our car and…

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Olympic Peninsula: Touring the Juan de Fuca Highway

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the channel that lies between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. It is odd that the name has a Spanish origin, and it turns out that the story behind the name is even more unusual. Whatever its name, the area is a beautiful region that often gets overlooked on visits to the Olympic Peninsula. We decided that our visit would be sure to include opportunities to enjoy the beauty of this beautiful and…

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Olympic Peninsula: Sequim Spit and Salmon Spawning

On a beautiful, sunny Monday, we were going to backtrack. Sequim is a town between Port Townsand and Port Angeles. It is probably best known for its fields of lavender. However, we had other places in mind to explore. We drove past it on Saturday evening, but today we would return and explore its wonders. The first thing we did, however, was have breakfast. I had read about a great breakfast place in Sequim. Since breakfast is my wife’s favorite…

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Olympic Peninsula: Above the Clouds at Hurricane Ridge

If you are visiting the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic National Park will probably be at the top of your list. Of course going up to Hurricane Ridge is one of those must-do activities in the park. We have been to Hurricane Ridge a few times over the years, but it was time for another visit. I had looked at the weather forecast and decided that Sunday would be a good day to travel up to Hurricane Ridge. (My daughter thinks…

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Olympic Peninsula: Port Ludlow, Port Townsend, and Old Forts

The Olympic Peninsula is a large part of the state of Washington. However, we had never taken the opportunity to really explore it. We have visited a few areas, but never spent a lot of time in the region. This year as we approached fall, we wanted to get some more traveling in. However, all of our original ideas fell away as COVID seemed to be everywhere, and we didn’t want to take too much risk traveling. Finally we concluded…

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