Category Archives: Tours

Apples and More at BelleWood Acres

1 Reply

Sansa, Sunrise, Zestar, Tsugaru and Pink Pearl. What do these all have in common?

John Belisle talking about some of his favorite apples

They represent just some of the varieties of apples grown at Bellewood Acres in Lynden, Washington. John and Dorie Belisle grow 20 different varieties of apples – some you might recognize like Gravenstein, McIntosh and Honeycrisp.

Besides being a working farm, Bellewood Acress also provides education to children and adults alike. A self-guided tour is offered that includes the orchard, packing shed, juice parlor, bakery and farm store. Each year in their garden, the Belisle’s grow something new. This year it’s Atlantic Giant Pumpkins, but because the Northwest has suffered from a lack of sunshine this year, the ginormous pumpkins probably won’t be that big.

At the packing shed they pack over 200,000 pounds of fruit a year. In the coolers you can see the sizing tables. The largest apples are sold in the Farm Store, medium-sized ones go to the grocers and the sweet little ones make their way to some of the local school districts.

A breakfast of hot, flakey apple turnovers and Bellewood Acres Bubbly makes a great start to your day

After learning about the farm and taking a tour, a visit to the farm store should be on your agenda. Apple pie, apple turnovers, Bubbly, peanut butter and gifts galore await you. I’m sure you’ll leave with lots of goodies for your dining table and maybe even some décor items. I know I did.

Floating on a Fall Foliage Cruise

4 Replies

Every once in awhile I venture outside Washington’s boundaries to see what’s going on in our neighboring states. In Post Falls, Idaho, which is only a hop, skip and a jump from Spokane, Washington, I discovered the Red Lion River Queen, an authentic paddle-wheel boat that cruises up and down the Spokane River.

The Red Lion River Queen docked at the Templin Marina.

I love to sit on the upper deck of a boat, watch the shores for wildlife and feel the warmth of the sun caress me. Sipping a drink, while doing so, makes the experience just about perfect. This cruise does that and more.

In order to enjoy one of these excursions, you’ll have to act fast because the last one of the season leaves the dock on September 25, 2011. I highly recommend these narrated tours.

From the water side you can see the $7 million home that Amway built. Nobody lives there now – the complex is just used for events. Besides the mega mansions situated on the river’s shores, you might see osprey and you’ll definitely see fall emerging in a symphony of colors.

The house built by a gentleman who worked within the Amway Corporation.

 

The River Queen holds 100 people (60 on the enclosed lower deck) , has a full bar on board and it’s easy to move about the cabin or step outside to the upper deck (holds 40 people) for an even better view.

The Wine Down at Sundown cruises, offer appetizers and wine tasting from Coeur d’Alene Wine Cellars. Sign up soon because the last departs on the evening of September 16, 2011.

 All aboard!

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

1 Reply

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.

Tarry at Cherry Wood Bed Breakfast and Barn

2 Replies

In Zillah we found a most unique place to stay – Cherry Wood Bed Breakfast and Barn.

Teepee interior at Cherry Wood

You sleep in tall teepees that are completely furnished with real beds, a refrigerator and mirrors. The floors are either stone or brick depending on the teepee. You do have to venture outside to use the porta potties or the showers, but it’s worth it for the view of the Yakima Valley and experiencing the sites, sounds and smells of nature.

Try the “Twilight Tubs” for romance or bonding with your BFFs. Bath salts are supplied, and you can enjoy candles and drink wine while relaxing in the soaking tubs. Pepper Fewel, the owner, drew a vivid picture of what it’s like to recline in the tubs under the stars and it was a mighty appealing picture.

After breakfast in the morning, you’ll want to get dressed for a winery tour on horseback. For four hours, you’ll ride a horse, fit to your riding level, to three different wineries, which might include Cultura, Agate, Silver Lake or Two Mountains, and have lunch. If you choose to buy wine at any of the wineries, it is picked up for you and brought back to Cherry Wood so it’s there to enjoy when you return.

Getting the horses ready for a winery tour

Fewel says most of her horses were rescued and then trained for trail rides. Horses that run up to the gate in the morning are the first ones chosen for the winery tour that day. The ones that hang back don’t have to go.

This is a tour I’d love to try. What better way to enjoy the countryside, experience the lushness of the wineries and get a little exercise to boot.

A Ride-Along We’ll Not Soon Forget

3 Replies

About two weeks ago, my husband, grandson and I had the opportunity to take a ride with the Seattle Police Harbor Patrol Unit. This came about through a purchase I made at a fundraising auction. I’ve always loved seeing how the police work and have ridden along before, but always in patrol cars. This was a first and now my favorite ride along of all.

The sun gods offered us one of the most beautiful days so far this summer, so being on a boat on Lake Union made the time even more perfect.

The two officers who took us out shared all kinds of information about the Harbor Unit and it boggles the mind all the different events they have to be prepared for. Almost every officer in the unit dives, their boats have firefighting capabilities so the officers are also trained in firefighting and of course, they have to be skilled in boating. This is all in addition to their regular police training.

The Harbor Unit patrols both Lake Union and Lake Washington with a fleet of seven boats. Our Seafair celebration on Lake Washington this coming weekend is their busiest time of year.

During our tour, we responded to a call of a small oil spill from a docked boat. Nothing too dangerous, but a frequent occurrence for the Unit.

If you get a chance to ride with a police officer, in any jurisdiction, I highly recommend doing so. It truly is eye-opening.

The houseboat from the movie "Sleepless in Seattle."

Delightful Diablo Dam Boat Tour

3 Replies

Last weekend, my husband and I took the Skagit Tour on Diablo Lake, located just off the North Cascades Highway near Newhalem. I remembered taking the same trip in my tweens and it stuck with me. Then it combined a ride up a pulley contraption, a boat tour and a farm-style chicken lunch where you passed around platters of chicken and bowls of mashed potatoes (even then that was my favorite part).

Diablo Dam

 

I’ve been wanting to go again to see if it was how I remembered it. Because Diablo Dam and two other dams in the area create the majority of the power for Seattle City Light, they had always handled the tours before. Then last year, the economy forced them to cancel for the year. This year Seattle City Light partnered with the North Cascades Institute and the North Cascades National Park to bring the tours back.

The day begins with a healthy buffet lunch, organic salad makings, soups, macaroni and cheese, plus a variety of desserts. After a short orientation by one of the park rangers, you’re free to wander the grounds, check out the gift shop or hike down to the boat launch. I visited the gift shop and found out a mama black bear and her two cubs had been sited on the property just four days before. I sincerely hoped I didn’t meet up with her.

We boarded the Alice Ross III (she’s had two predecessors) at 1 p.m. for the narrated boat tour of Diablo Dam, which was built in 1920 and Diablo Lake. We passed by two islands – one named Deer Island, because deer actually swim out to it to sample the grass and another named Monkey Island.

Ranger Lauren telling us about Monkey Island and other stories

J.D. Ross was the supervisor of Seattle City Light when Diablo, Ross and Gorge Dam were built. The story has it that he was quite a showman. So he populated one of the islands with monkeys and when the boat tour went by passengers saw monkeys swinging through the trees. In no way is this a climate monkeys like so every night a zookeeper had to take them to a warm place to sleep. Now the monkeys are gone.

When you go on this tour, you’ll hear lots more stories like the one about Monkey Island. I highly recommend it as informative, educational and above all, very pleasurable. It’s not the same tour of my childhood, but it’s still a very good one.

Mount Rainier, a Spectacular Beauty

1 Reply

Near Graham, Washington

She’s the definition of majestic and our grande dame of natural beauty. Mount Rainier starkly contrasts to Mount St. Helens. Both are major volcanic icons. But Mount Rainier hasn’t erupted yet so she stands tall and snowcapped. Natives say, “The mountain is out,” when the sky is clear and she towers over us. She is “the mountain.”

We’re always in search of the best place to see Mount Rainier – one of those is driving south on First Avenue South in Federal Way. I’m sure there are plenty of others, too, depending on which side of her you’re looking at.

At Visit Rainier you can find out all about lodging, restaurants, Mount Rainier National Park, hiking and Paradise. That is the actual name for one of the entrances to the mountain – Paradise. So very appropriate.

You can spend the night in lodges at the historic Paradise Inn or the National Park Inn where you can see glaciers, stunning waterfalls and wildlife all within a few steps of your room. At the Jackson Visitor Center you can join in a ranger-led tour and learn all about this volcano.

Other summer activities include mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding and mountaineering. If you go, plan to spend at least the day. Mount Rainier may look like a white ice cream cone you can reach out and touch, but it’s actually about a three-hour drive from Seattle. Or you can take a tour with Evergreen Escapes and let them do the driving.

If you come to Washington and want to see the best of the best that we have to offer, go to Mount Rainier.

Cranberries: Treasured Berries

5 Replies

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.

Northwest Trek: Where Everyday is Different

Leave a reply

One of my favorite outings has got to be Northwest Trek, our 725-acre wildlife park. On any given day you may spot bighorn sheep, deer, Roosevelt elk, caribou, mountain goats, bison or other animals in their natural habitat. This is not a zoo, by any means.                                            

Instead, you hop on a tram that navigates roads through lakes trails and meadows that are home to more than 200 free-roaming North American animals. You’ll only see the animals that feel like being seen that day. But some of them often block the path of the tram to get a closer look at you.

Every season brings a different look to the landscaping as well as to the animals that might be visible. With spring comes lush greenery and baby animal season, in summer the calves and fawns are much more prevalent, come fall and you’ll hear bugling as that’s considered rutting or breeding season and in winter the place is quiet and even muted should snow decide to fall.

 

Besides the wildlife viewable from the tram, grizzlies, black bears, wolves, bobcats, lynx, cougars, owls and more have taken up residence in some very natural exhibits.

Events ‘r us should be the nickname for Northwest Trek, because something is always going on. Next up is Trek Trails Weekend on June 4 and 5 where they open their newly renovated trail system. Along with that, the staff has come up with a Quest-like scavenger hunt. Follow clues to find letters and when done, unscramble the letters to discover a surprise at the end.

Posting Everyday in May – A Big Challenge

1 Reply

Today I’m starting participation in a Blogathon, which means I’ve been challenged to post every day for the month of May. I’m doing this for many reasons – to post more regularly, to learn about blogging, to meet other bloggers and to gain new readers. I have one guest poster scheduled and hope to get more, on Fridays I’m going with a list theme (for example, my favorite farmers’ markets in Washington) and there will be various other themes fit in.

To write a post everyday will be difficult, that’s a given. But you can help me out. If you read something you like or find interesting, please share it with your Facebook friends and your Twitter followers or whatever social media group you engage in. Thank you very much.

Taking a Waterways Cruise    

Today’s post is about the Easter brunch cruise we thoroughly enjoyed. This one is a bit different than the Argosy Cruises that depart from the waterfront in downtown Seattle.

They are called Waterways Cruises and either tour Lake Washington or Lake Union. The boats are smaller yachts. Waterways offers a wide variety of cruises from lunches to brunches to sunset dinners and from skirting the shores of Lake Washington so you can see where some of our resident billionaires, like Bill Gates, live, to exploring the houseboat communities on Lake Union (think, “Sleepless in Seattle”).

Even though we had “silver” clouds the day we boarded the “Olympic Star, the view from the water was still gorgeous and so very different from what you can see from the roads. The waterfront side of most of the homes is their claim to fame, and their most picturesque angle. It is what you would find in a home and garden magazine.

The food was very tasty – especially Chef Udo’s Smokey Thick Cut Bacon, the Poached Eggs on Brioche and the Banana Coffee Cake. When you pair the brunch with a Mimosa, you experience a taste of paradise.

My husband kept commenting, “This would be a great activity to share with out of town visitors.”     

Captain Ron and I after the brunch cruise

Since boat rides place very high on my list of “favorite things,” I plan to take another, Waterways narrated tour to learn more about the homes of the rich and famous or maybe play Bingo or hear the history of Seattle. The choices are endless.