February 2018 in Seattle Saved By TEXAS
Our fifth winter in the Pacific Northwest has turned into one of those that most people think of that have little experience in this region. This winter has been record setting in terms of rain, cold temperatures, think 30's, and of course the cold and flu season. The beginning of February was one of recovering from the flu and cold bugs and finding indoor activities especially with the grand-kids.
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| Another Longhorn in our future? Who Knows what this world will be like 17 years from now? |
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When we did have a sun day we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island to check on the boat and take short hikes in our favorite parks. We always go to Fort Ward which is located on the shores of Rich Passage that leads from Elliot Bay to Port Orchard and Bremerton. Since there were significant WWII military installations along this route this fort guarded the passage.
In 1903, Fort Ward was officially commissioned as a seacoast fort with the primary objective of protecting the Bremerton Naval Shipyard. Two gun batteries are located in the park. During World War II, the navy used the fort as a radio station and training school for communication personnel and installed a submarine net across Rich Passage.
https://biparks.org/map-location/fort-ward-park/?mpfy-pin=1764 |
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| The heavy moss provides a convenient alternative to traditional graffiti. |
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| Two gun turret bases remain |
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| views of the Olympics and especially the Brothers Peaks |
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| Fay Bainbridge is another great place to visit on Bainbridge. This special February day is crystal clear allowing all The Mountains to come out and play. |
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| We could see all the way to Whidby Island in the center of this pic and all the Cascade range beyond. |
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| Low tide in Eagle Harbor |
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| As we boarded the ferry to leave we can say goodby to SNOWBALL just across the harbor in Eagle Harbor Marina. |
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| A rainy day activity. Big D learns new skills and I get a haircut. |
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| 100's of Serendipity type artist had a hand in sculpting this magnificent piece made of thousands of small wood pieces glued together |
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| John Grade’s large-scale sculpture, Middle Fork, echoes the contours of a 140-year-old western hemlock tree located in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. |
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| If the sun came out in February, so did we, no matter what the temp was. |
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| AHHH- Austin , sunny and 70 degrees. First we went to our Brookdale property to check out the new paint and found a couple of small projects like replacing the water cut off housing. |
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| Fourtunately we have a neighbor across the street that knows a lot more about trees than us. He recommended the we go to Shoal Creek Nursery and talk to the experts Sam or James there. So we pulled off some bark and took a couple of picks. |
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| James diagnosed it as Carpenter Ants and sold us this. |
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| Then he said to feed the treees in two months with these organic products. |
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| Judging by his demeanor we learned that if we had been keeping our tree healthy then the carpenter ants would not be a problem in the first place. |
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| We planned on some fun on South Congress. We planned on a afternoon at the Continental but our son suggested we also check out the Chicken Shit Bingo at C-Boys Heart and Soul. |
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| The rules, be sure to buy a beer fist, the IPA with the Goose on the spigot isn't bad. |
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| Just a short walk down south congress and your in the thick of it at The Continental |
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Cheated Death One more time by driving I-35 to Cowtown to spend a couple days with the Admirals dad. We are continuing our effort to help him downsize his 3,000 square foot hobby shop. We loaded up nearly 5 full tall file cabinets full of high school annuals dated from 1929 to the present and took them to the Travis County Archives located in the Old Tandy building, the one on the right.
see: http://access.tarrantcounty.com/en/tarrant-county-archives.html |
"Our mission is to collect, preserve and offer for research documents which are a record of Tarrant County history. To give a hint of the variety of our holdings, explore the various options from our guide to collections. We house more than 600 named collections in a more than 10,000 square foot facility located on the fifth floor of the Tarrant County Plaza Building."
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| More Serendipity, on the first Floor of the building is a Conference Center named after the Admiral's Step Uncle. He was the president of Tandy for many years and put technology in the hands of the masses through Radio Shack. |
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| Our oldest Grandaughters latest Art projects, She is into fabrics and design and is headed to University of Texas next year. |
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| Yes, 5 Cats |
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Our son was determined to take us to get some Mexican food at a new spot, El Alma.
Not sure if I was going to like this place, a lot of Millennials in there. This is NOT Tex Mex, it is more like interior Mexican food. |
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But it has a 2018 Austin flavor
Veggie Verde Enchiladas
spinach, mushrooms, rajas, smoky
tomatillo salsa, raw hemp seeds.
white rice, black beans. $15 I can not tell you how much I liked this food, definitely going back for more on the next trip. |
Our trip to Texas saved us from the cold Pacific Northwest and flu bugs We returned to Seattle eagerly awaiting the turn of the seasons and begin our new journeys aboard SNOWBALL.
