The Senior Scene

This seems to be the summer of islands.
We had a nice two-day adventure to Whidbey Island. I think someone told me that Whidbey is larger than Manhattan. I just can’t imagine all those tall buildings and thousands of people crammed into the space of Whidbey. I rather like the wide open spaces and 196 miles of shoreline.
We had a beautiful drive over the Narrows Bridge, past Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, over the Hoods Canal Bridge and up State Route 101 to Port Townsend. A nice lunch at the Bayview let us watch the ferries come and go and then we were the ones in the line. I am always amazed at how they can pack so many cars, truck and trailers onto one of those and send it out across the waters. It was only a 40-minute trip and then we were on the island.
We headed out to the Inn at Fort Casey, which is now owned by Seattle Pacific University. This area was first established in 1897 as part of the “Triangle of Death” along with Fort Warden and Fort Flagler. These three were built to protect the entrance to Puget Sound. It was said that if the lights were shone from Fort Casey, they could make the town of Port Townsend think it was the middle of the afternoon when it was really the middle of the night. The Admiralty Head Lighthouse was originally built in 1861 and then rebuilt in 1903. Tours are given for those who want to climb the stairs.
Coupeville is the first town settled on the island and the second-oldest town in the state. We visited the Compass Rose bed and breakfast, built in 1890 and now the home of Jan and Marshall Bronson. They gave us a wonderful treat of champagne and truffles at the end of our busy day of touring and invited us to view all the antiques and interesting things they picked up during their 30-plus years in the foreign service and military.
Langley offers galleries showcasing local artists, a marina, areas for watching the gray whales that pass by in March and April, and marvelous restaurants. Our lunch at the Langley Cafe included fresh mussels from Penn Cove just around the corner. You can’t get any fresher than that. We took time to wander the streets and poke about in the shops.
The weather was perfect, the group congenial, and a fun time was had by all. I wonder what island we can explore next. Well, there is always the trip to Costa Rica in February. Now that is an interesting island. Come along and see what it is like.
If you don’t want an island, go for a canal. Join us in April 2015 as we transit the Panama Canal from Tampa to Vancouver. Rates are still great for this 19-day trip. Need a roommate? We will try to match you up so that you don’t have to pay a single supplement.
For reservations and further information, call me at 253-927-8207 or ask to be put on the email list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Summer is such a wonderful time. It lets us get out and do, even if it is just in the garden. But there is so much outside our yard that it is hard to stay home.
Several of us went to Orcas Island for a little outing. The San Juans are known the world over for the splendor, and there they are right in our back yard. We just don’t usually take advantage, and so off we went.
It was an early start from Tacoma, as we didn’t want to take a chance on missing the ferry out of Anacortes. As it was, we had great traffic conditions (now there is a rarity) and made it early and just in time for the earlier ferry. That allowed us to arrive in Orcas with time for lunch, shopping and sightseeing in East Sound. These small villages have some of the most amazing things to see and shops to visit. You can tell they rely a lot on the tourist trade, and we were happy to cooperate.
Our stay was at the Orcas Inn, built in the 1800s and now owned and operated by the niece of one of our travelers. It is very conveniently located just as you get off the ferry, which also means that it has magnificent views. The rooms were quaint and each different. Mine had a lovely balcony to sit n and enjoy a glass of wine while watching the ferries come and go between Orcas and Shaw Island. I also got to watch the birds come and go from a nest snuggled in a crook of the inn.
An early morning breakfast at Maimi’s gave us a start on the day, and from there it was off to explore the island. Crow Valley Pottery was our first stop to look at pottery, garden art, jewelry and paintings. From there it was to the top of Mount Constitution for a surround view. You could see Vancouver, Mount Baker, Anacortes and Birch Bay. The day was sunny and the views spectacular.
A side trip to Olga (were we really looking for the nudist colony?), and then we headed to Rosario for a tour of the resort, a stop at the museum and down to the Cascade Bay Cafe for lunch on the deck.
We packed a lot into the day but still made it back to the ferry landing in time to have Orcas Island ice cream before boarding and heading home. If you haven’t done it, you really should explore our own back yard and see this beautiful area.
Perhaps we will head to the ocean for an overnight next. Get on the e-mail list to find out about this possibility and more. Fancy brochures are now available for the October 2015 trip to Israel and the February 2015 trip to Costa Rica. Space is still available for the Vancouver to San Francisco cruise in September and the Panama Canal trip in April.
For reservations and information, call me at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Linda Finch wrote this article.

It is so nice to have beautiful weather and be able to get out and about. We had a wonderful trip to the Lilac Gardens down in Woodland and then lunch at the Oak Tree, which has been revamped and is now part casino.
The Dinner Date group drove to Olympia for dinner on the water at Tugboat Annie’s. It was another beautiful evening and we even toured the capitol grounds before returning home.
As I write this, we are getting ready for two fun trips. The first is to Harrison Hot Springs for a two-night stay, and the second is up to Orcas Island and an overnight at the Orcas Inn. You will hear about those next month.
A couple of new exotic trips have been added to the schedule for 2015. We now have Costa Rica in February for nine days and then Israel in October for 10 days. Reservations are being taken for anyone who might be interested.
In the meantime, we have a nice group developing for a quick little trip on Island Princess out of Vancouver to San Francisco departing Sept. 24, and don’t forget the Panama Canal in April 2015. It is very possible that the new canal will be open and we will be able to boast to everyone that we have been through it.
Many things come up at the last minute, so be sure to join the email list for up-to-the-minute information on what is happening. Now is not the time to be sitting home alone when you can be out doing things and making new friends. Singles are always welcome, and we do our best to try to make roommate arrangements if necessary.
A little P.S. to the Hawaii trip that you might find interesting: We always recommend trip cancellation insurance in case something happens before or during your trip that might make a change in arrangements. In our case, it did. One of our group fell and injured herself. We were pleased to learn that her cancellation policy took care of ambulance, doctors, x-ray, hospital stay and even provided an escort for her return trip home. The insurance company stayed in constant contact with me, the patient and her family. Please always ask about insurance when taking one of our longer trips. It certainly paid off here.
For further information and reservations, call me at 253-927-8207 or get on the e-mail list at linda.finch@gmail.com.

Rain and sun, rain and sun. That’s how our trip to Maui turned out.
As with the Seattle area, Hawaii was breaking records in the rain department. We were so lucky where we were in the up country of Maui. We had rain every evening and it just nicely cooled things down. During the day we could drive a mile or so and find beautiful, sunny weather.
And drive we did. We put over 800 miles on the vans during our stay. Once again, we spent two weeks learning all about the island we were on. Maui is more like two islands joined by a deep valley. It is 48 miles long and 26 miles wide (only six miles at the narrowest point of the valley). The population is 155,000 residents, plus an average of 42,000 tourists. Over 2 million tourists come to this island every year. Our log cabin home was in what is called Up Country just out of Makawao, a cowboy town, on the way up to Haleakala Crater. We were next to the Sacred Garden in the middle of jungle vegetation with a beautiful river running through the property. Almost every day we would take off for some part of the island to explore.
Our first adventure was to Iao Valley and the Iao Needle, a 2,250-foot rock formation surrounded by lush, green mountains. There are beautiful views from the top of the lookout back through the valley and into the town of Wailuku. Of course, we also had to have a stop at Costco to stock up on provisions for our stay.
On another day, we headed out to Kihei, Wailea and Makena Beach. We had lunch at the beautiful Grand Wailea Resort with all its pools, sculptures, waterfalls and beaches. You can drive for hours just looking out the windows.
A full day was spent on the Road to Hana, Fifty-six one lane bridges and 617 curves each direction. Around each curve you would find flowers, a waterfall, or just more jungle vegetation. It was an amazing day. We stopped at beaches to watch the surf crashing over lava rock, picked up banana bread at a roadside stand, and had lunch at Hana Ranch.
Lahaina is an old whaling port, now loaded with shops and restaurants. We did our thing and then all met up again under the giant banyan tree (planted in 1873). It takes up the entire city park with all its extended trunks and branches dripping with vines. We had such a great time that we even came back another day to explore the Kaanapali coast and have dinner at the Hula Grill.
One day we drove to Maalaea, where we boarded a catamaran and took off looking for whales. We were very lucky this late in the season to see a couple of them. We saw puffs of water where mothers were swimming with babies and even had a chance to catch a couple of tails splashing about.
Haleakala at sunrise is a spectacle not to be missed. It was a very early start for the two-hour drive up to 10,000 feet on very windy, curvy roads, and it was very cold at the top. We wrapped ourselves in blankets and watched over the crater as the sun rose above the clouds. A Hawaiian couple did chants to the rising sun, and the rest of us snapped picture after picture. On the way down, we stopped for breakfast, and as we continued we were able to see some of the hardy souls who were doing the bicycle trip down from the top.
We did so many other things that I don’t have space to write about but we thoroughly enjoyed. There were beaches, farms, hills and pools. There were art shows, galleries and stores. You need to be there to see if all. I hope you will join us another time.
You need to sign up now for the fun trips of the future. We have Vancouver to San Francisco in September; Memorials of War: Normandy and Paris in October; Puerto Penasco on the Gulf of Mexico in November; and then Tampa to Vancouver through the Panama Canal in April 2015. Call or e-mail Linda Finch at 253-927-8207 or linda.finch@gmail.com.