Category Archives: Museums

San Juan Island Museum of Art and Sculpture Park: A Must-See

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I visited the Sculpture Park for a close-up look for the first time this past weekend and found I was intrigued. My grandson also enjoyed this adventure. Sculptures created in various media by a number of artists are artfully placed throughout the landscape giving off splashes of color, reflections and hints of pieces that make you want to come closer and study them.

The Sculpture Park was first created in 2001. Each year the installations are added. To fully enjoy all the Sculpture Park has to offer, you can go to their next event on Saturday and Sunday, September 3 and 4, 2011, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. where performance artists interpret their sculptures and the theme of the day is art, food and music.

 

To find the Sculpture Park, head to the west side of San Juan Island from Friday Harbor. It overlooks Westcott Bay and is a stone’s throw from Roche Harbor.

The mission of both the Museum of Art and the Sculpture Park is to connect people with art that inspires, challenges, enlightens and educates. The Museum is located in the town of Friday Harbor at 285 Spring Street.

 

Carr’s One-of-a-Kind Museum: What a Gem

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This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting a museum like no other in the Hillyard district of Spokane. That’s why it’s called the “One-of-a-Kind Museum.” Marvin Carr is the owner.

Carr's Museum Sign

A little background about how Carr’s collection got started:  He worked for the railroad, but was forced to retire due to an injury. That’s when he decided to put his energy into building a museum. He collects what he likes and has many “firsts” and several that are the “only one in the world.”

What I found amazing is he doesn’t have a computer or a cell phone, yet he still buys one piece a month to add to his collection. People call and ask if he wants what they have to offer. When he does buy a piece, he researches it extensively at the library so he knows the history behind it.

That’s why when he gives museum visitors a personalized tour, which he does for everyone; you come away with a wealth of knowledge. At 84 years of age, Carr is very sharp and tells some fascinating stories.

When you enter the museum, you’re greeted with life-size lady mannequins that seem so real you want to introduce yourself to them. Then there’s a powder blue limo owned by Jackie Gleason, an 1800 carousel horse, and life/death masks of several movie stars on the wall. Carr showcases the ship, Royal Louis, built out of matchsticks, the oldest typewriter in the world and German nutcrackers that go through 130 different processes before they are declared, “finished.”

One of the many squirrels exhibited throughout the museum

Carr has even made some of the exhibits. I suspect some of those might be the many different character squirrels spread throughout the museum.

What really impressed me about the museum was how clean and organized it is. All the exhibits and the floor are spotless. Although there’s no common theme for what’s there, other than they are items Carr likes, it’s not cluttered or in chaos.

I’d tell you more, but I really want you to visit the museum and see for yourself this hidden treasure in Spokane.

Carr’s One-of-a-Kind Museum is located at 5225 N. Freya, Spokane, WA  99217. Phone:  800-350-6469.

Cranberries: Treasured Berries

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Cranberry wine at the Cranberry Museum and Gift Shop

You probably think cranberries grow in water like the ad for Ocean Spray depicts on TV. Actually flooding the cranberry bogs with water is one way that they are harvested. They can also be dry harvested.

Most of the cranberries grown in the Long Beach Peninsula area of Washington are sold to Ocean Spray. Other commercial cranberry producing states include Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Because the soil and climate of Long Beach closely resembled that of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where commercial cranberry production was already established, Anthony Chabot cultivated cranberries in Long Beach in 1883.

Cranberry harvesting equipment

 

If you’d like to learn about the history of cranberries, Long Beach boasts a Cranberry Museum and Gift Shop. See what role the cranberry industry plays in the economy and look at historical artifacts and equipment built and used especially for cranberry farming.

Celebrating the cranberry is a regular event in Long Beach, with the Cranberrian Fair Harvest Festival. This year it takes place October 8 and 9, 2011. Foods, crafters, bog tours, and more will showcase the area’s rich heritage during the 91st Annual Cranberrian Fair. Collectible Cranberrian Fair buttons will sell for $5 each and cover admission to all events.

A cranberry bog in May

If you love this antioxidant-rich, scrumptious berry, here’s a recipe The Shelburne Inn makes:

Cranberry Raspberry Mousse

From The Shelburne Inn

1 12-oz package cranberries
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup water

Place cranberries, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil slowly until berries “pop” and sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and reserve.

1 ½ cups cranberry “sauce” from above mixture
2 cups raspberries, frozen but beginning to thaw
½ cup cranberry juice
2 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz “Crème de la Chevre” from Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy
1 cup sugar
2 ½ cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Place the 2 Tablespoons gelatin in a small  pan with the cranberry juice and stir it in. Set it aside to soften, about 5 minutes. Heat slowly to dissolve the gelatin and allow this mixture to cool.

Beat the cream cheese and “Crème de la Chevre” with the sugar. Combine the cranberry sauce and frozen raspberries. The heat of the sauce will help thaw the raspberries. Add one half of the berry mixture to the cream cheese/sugar mixture. With the mixer running slowly, add the softened, dissolved gelatin mixture. Then gently fold in the rest of the berry mixture.

Whip the cream  and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold it into the mousse and the spoon it into glass serving dishes. Chill if not serving right away. Top with whipped cream made with heavy cream whipped with powdered sugar and vanilla. Optional: you may add a little cinnamon to the whipped cream.

Yield:  12 large servings or 20 small.

Black Diamond: A Blast from the Past

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A giant table and chair set at the Black Diamond Bakery.

When a local talks about Black Diamond, another local’s first response is, “Did you go to the Black Diamond Bakery?” That’s because the bakery not only sells very tasty bread that is fresh baked in their 107-year-old brick oven, but also has a fine restaurant, coffee shop, a Northwest shop, a gift shop and is a popular gathering place.

First opened in 1902, the Black Diamond Bakery answered the needs of the coal miners in town. A guy named Willard Hadley built and ran the bakery for years. He installed the special oven that is heated by a wood fire that makes the bread taste so good. Only five bakings can be done a day, which yields 500 loaves, so you don’t want to come at the end of the day hoping to buy some bread. It will be all gone. The frosted whole wheat apple cinnamon rolls are a family favorite and I highly recommend them.

If you want to enjoy your bread as part of a meal, you won’t regret it. Whether you opt for French toast or an omelette with toast, or one of those meatloaf sandwiches you’ll have trouble getting your mouth around, it’s all good. The restaurant also serves dinner, which I’m sure is wonderful, but I’ve not had the chance to try it myself.

A jail out of Black Diamond's history.

After loosening your pants you might want to take in some off the other offerings near the bakery. One of my favorite haunts is the Black Diamond Museum, which is open on Thursdays from 9 a.m.-4p.m., Saturdays and Sundays (winter) from 12 p.m.-3p.m. From the train caboose to the jail to the “Danger” sign in sixteen languages, lots of history can be explored both inside and outside the building. Chances are whoever mans the desk when you visit will be glad to tell you some delightful stories.

A caboose in front of the Black Diamond Museum.

Pick up “A Tour Guide to Historic Black Diamond Washington” at the Bakery and treat yourself to a driving tour stopping at points of interest like St. Barbara’s Catholic Church which cost $2227 to build in 1911 or the Mine #14 Hoist Foundation, believed to be the only artifact left from the Black Diamond Coal Company that is still in place.

Visit www.blackdiamondbakery.com and www.blackdiamondmuseum.org for more information.

Win a Book: The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle

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Hot off the press, The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle by David Volk reveals all kinds of secrets for living the good life – for less – in Seattle.

 

Did you know you can get free passes to advance movie screenings by signing up for the JW Film Club, www.janetwainwright.com/filmclub.htm?

Or that selected appetizers are free at Oliver’s at Mayflower Park, www.mayflowerpark.com/olivers.asp, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday?

Or you can take a free beginning yoga class on Saturdays at Samadhi Yoga, www.samadhi-yoga.com?

Okay, that’s all the info I’m giving away. The book’s pages are packed with deals and discounts, plus it’s an entertaining read because David is a very funny guy.

David says, “Even though the book is all about free and cheap stuff you can do in Seattle, it isn’t about badgering merchants to save 5 or 10 cents on a purchase. Instead, it’s all about quality of life and finding ways to do things you would already do, for less.”

If you win the book, David will be happy to sign it at his next reading at Third Place Books in Ravenna, 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15th.

At his readings he always offers a prize to the person who brings in the best cheap bastard deal (as determined by the audience). You could be the proud owner of a screaming monkey doll, a carabener calculator, a mooing cow flashlight/key ring or something else.

Lastly he mentions deals almost daily on his Facebook fan page, The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle. You can also subscribe to a daily deal e-mail list at david@davidvolk.com or go to his blog at cheapbastardseattle.com. If there’s more than one good deal a day, you’ll find the additional deals only on his blog.

To win a copy of The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle, make a comment on this post and the winner will be announced on Thursday, February 3, 2011.

More Top Travel Trends for 2011: The Washington State Version

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More of Thomas Stanley’s predictions and the Washington State destination that matches.

Train display at Freighthouse Square made completely out of Legos

  • Ride the Rails:  We have train travel covered here – from short 45-minute excursions to crossing the country on Amtrak – it’s all available for travelers in Washington State. My favorite short rides include a stop at the train museum and a jaunt from Snoqualmie to North Bend (www.trainmuseum.org) and the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad (www.mrsr.com) that departs from Mineral.

 

Longer excursions are available on Amtrak (Amtrak.com) going north/south or east/west. But the best news of all is Amtrak opened a new stop at the Icicle Station in the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth last year. Daily service is now available.

  • Experiential Family Travel:  A simple definition of experiential travel says it is travel we live through, instead of look at. That can mean dining where the locals eat like Downrigger’s in Friday Harbor (www.downriggerssanjuan.com) or drinking coffee at Undertown in Port Townsend. Staying at a Bed and Breakfast also qualifies. States Inn and Ranch (www.statesinn.com), also in Friday Harbor, ranks as one of my all time favorites. The locally cooked breakfast from scratch was so delectable, I couldn’t eat regular food for a week afterwards.

Hurricane Ridge, courtesy of the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau

If you want an all-inclusive experience, try hiring a Native American Guide to tour the Olympic Peninsula (www.nativeamericanfootprints.com). Highlights of these tours include dining on salmon cooked the Indian way, which is by far the most delicious way of cooking salmon, speaking with the elders of the tribe and hearing their stories, making your own hand drum and much more. This tour has now taken a spot on my Bucket List.

  • Bucket List:  Just a few suggestions here – The Space Needle, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, snowshoeing, winery touring and The Museum of Flight.

 

  • Top Picks for 2011:  These are my choices. Whether they turn out to be trends or not, you can’t miss with visits to the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, Lake Chelan or taking the North Cascades Scenic Drive.

Top Travel Trends for 2011: The Washington State Version

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Happy New Year to you all.

View of Mt. Rainier

Thomas Stanley, COO of Cox & Kings laid out his top predictions for the kinds of travel people want to take in Luxury Travel Magazine recently. Lo and behold, I discovered that every one of his trends can easily be experienced right here in Washington.

Here’s how:

  1. Travelers will be taking Multi-destination Vacations to basically get more bang for their buck or their time off. Since we have almost every kind of terrain from mountains to forests to desserts to the Pacific Ocean and you can easily drive from one to another in less than a day, this is ideal. One way to do this would be to start in Seattle (www.visitseattle.org) for city activities, drive to Mt. Rainier (www.visitrainier.com) and stay overnight and then go to Tri-Cities in eastern Washington (www.visittri-cities.com) to experience wine country.

 

  1. Group Tours will increase in popularity. I can easily recommend the eco-friendly Evergreen Escapes tours (www.evergreenescapes.com). This winter you can choose from the Woodinville Wine Trail, Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier and more. Or tour Seattle by land and water with Ride the Ducks of Seattle (www.ridetheducksofseattle.com), a laugh-a-minute tour.

 

  1. Then there’s Contemporary Cultural Travel. We’ve got this one more than covered with the Seattle Art Museum (www.seattleartmuseum.org), the free Frye Art Museum (fryemuseum.org) in Seattle, Tacoma’s Art Museum (www.tacomaartmuseum.org) and Museum of Glass (www.museumofglass.org); and if you’re on the far side of the mountains take a gander at the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture (www.northwestmuseum.org) in Spokane.

 

  1. Resurgence of Tour Guides and Travel Agents. I don’t know any tour guides personally, but what about checking out some of the tours offering guidance via a CD at www.washingtonfolkarts.com. There’s Othello to Omak, Leavenworth to Maryhill, the Cascade Loop and several more.

 

  1. Learning Vacations rank high on the charts.  This February you can learn how to make cheese over a three-day period in Lynden (www.wsu.edu/creamery/basicplus.htm). Roadscholar.org (formerly Elderhostel) offers many learning opportunities for seniors including the study of  “Seabirds and Shorebirds of Coastal Washington in Port Townsend. We also have the Stonerose Interpretive Center (www.stonerosefossil.org) in Republic where you can dig your own fossils.

 

More to come on top travel trends for 2011.

Cape Disappointment: A Pleasing Experience

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Description of Cape Disappointment

Contrary to the name, Cape Disappointment does not disappoint. The name came from Lieutenant John Meares of the British Royal Navy. In 1788 he was searching for the mouth of the Columbia River and when he saw it, it appeared to only be an entrance to a bay. So he named the shallow water area where he landed, Cape Disappointment.

Fast forward to 1805 when Clark’s (of Lewis and Clark fame) ship became trapped by a fierce storm in the same location for six days. Clark called this spot Dismal Nitch. These days, the nearby Nitch offers one of the best panoramic views of the Columbia River.

Outside the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, located at Cape Disappointment, the Pacific Ocean stretches out of sight. A very sensual adventure is created by the fresh smell of the sea permeating the air, cormorants gathering on a rock and a ship’s horn blasting in the distance.

Below the surface of the sea lies a graveyard of as many as 2,000 sunken ships. Before the two lighthouses were built – Cape Disappointment and North Head – more than 700 lives were claimed by these treacherous waters. Sailors often experienced trouble crossing the Columbia River bar, the area where the tumultuous flow of the river rushes into the ocean waves.

Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment

You can tour the North Head Lighthouse, take a hike guided by a park ranger or picnic and swim on Washington’s own Waikiki Beach. Exhibits in the Interpretive Center highlight Lewis and Clark’s time exploring the Lower Columbia River and their arrival at the Pacific Ocean. Cape Disappointment State Park anchors the area with miles of trails, another interpretive display and camping sites.

The largest nearby town, Long Beach, also has a bounty of activities to pursue and some of the best restaurants in the country. Long Beach is probably best known for its annual Kite Festival.

Friday Harbor’s San Juan Historical Museum Reveals Vivid Local History

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"The worst county jail in the state of Washington."

When I’ve driven by this place in the past, I thought the museum was only the one house I saw behind the sign. So I’d never made the time to check it out as a full-on history museum. I was blown away by what I saw this past week, because the entire museum is not one building, but eight, the grounds cover 1.6 acres and the place tells fascinating tales of San Juan Island history.

Paper mache replicas of farm women doing needlework around the kitchen table.

Currently located on the James King farmstead property, each of the eight buildings – a carriage house, a milk house, a barn, the Scribner log cabin, an old shed, the resource center, the farmhouse and the first county jail – lets visitors discover what island life was like over a century ago. The two-level farmhouse was built in 1894 (29 years after the civil war) and housed three bedrooms upstairs. In later years it was turned into a rooming house for teachers. Filled with furnishings and items you needed to live, the farmhouse stirs memories of simpler days.

At this time in history, there was no organized ferry service in Friday Harbor – that won’t happen for another thirty years. The 1887 territorial census says 550 residents lived in all of San Juan County. The James King farmhouse was recently completed and 72 years later it became a part of the San Juan Historical Museum.

Let’s talk a little more about the jail. They always seem to depict at least some of the character of a place. It was originally built near the Court House in 1894 and cost $234.50. It had three cells and an office. From the 1890s until 1971 local lawbreakers were locked up here until it was declared “the worst county jail in the state of Washington.”

At that time it was turned into a storage shed. During its reign as county jail its most notorious guest was Richard Straub who hanged on the lawn outside the jail in 1895 – San Juan County’s only execution.

Throughout the different buildings you’ll find artifacts like “noiseless” typewriters, adding machines, a wheelchair and an old switchboard. One display is a turnkey for twisting out aching teeth which really looks like an instrument of torture. Two original horse-drawn carriages, the rudder from a shipwreck off Hannah Heights and so much more dating to the turn of the century.

Bring a lunch to enjoy on the outdoor picnic tables.

Plan ahead to partake of the many activities the museum offers through out the year.

For more information, visit:  www.sjmuseum.org or call 360.378.3949.

Tour or Stay at Brown’s Point Lighthouse

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Stove in the museum at the Brown's Point Lighthouse Keepers Cottage.

On a recent Saturday I took a tour of the Brown’s Point Lighthouse and Cottage in Brown’s Point, led by Barbara Heimers. She was visiting from the east coast for her niece’s wedding, which was set to take place in a few hours in front of the lighthouse with an up-close view of the beach. To keep herself busy, she deeply researched the lighthouse so she could voluntarily lead the free tours that afternoon and she gladly shared that knowledge with visitors.

The Brown's Point art deco Lighthouse.

Open Saturdays, between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from March through November, these tours cost nothing. Although by now Barbara has returned home, many other knowledgeable guides also lead the tours.

History

In 1887, a lantern hung from a post at Brown’s Point warning ships that they were approaching the entrance to Commencement Bay. Then in 1903 a wooden light house was built, also to warn ships and it needed a lighthouse keeper.

Oscar Brown and his wife, Annie, became the first lighthouse keepers at Brown’s Point that same year. They arrived with a cow and a piano. Their daily tasks included keeping the kerosene light burning and the fog bell ringing (Brown’s Point is one of the foggiest places in Washington, so this was very important), and Oscar kept a journal of daily activities plus gave music lessons to the neighborhood children. In 1939 Oscar retired and the United States Coast Guard took over the Lighthouse Service. At this time almost everything in the lighthouse became automated.

A kind of living museum has been established in the basement of the cottage showcasing many of the furnishings of life in the early 20’s times like an ice box, iron, treadle sewing machine and so much more.

The three-bedroom Brown’s Point Lighthouse Cottage rents for $800 a week, but guests must take over some of the Light Keeper’s duties – daily maintenance, conducting tours, raising and lowering the U.S. flag and making daily entries into the light keeper’s log book.

Barbara thought the appeal of lighthouses had to do with a reminiscence of simpler times

When people had to help others and everything wasn’t done by computers.

Whether you choose to stay in the cottage (available from May – October) or not, a tour is well worth your while. For information or reservations, visit www.pointsnortheast.org.

And it’s right on the beach.