Escaping the Winter Blahs

The holiday frenzy is over and the Christmas decorations are put away.  As much as I love the Pacific NW, about every year at this time the dark, dreary days of winter seem to loom ahead for an unbearably long period.  I long for warmer temperatures, sunshine, beautiful beaches and adventure!  Fortunately many years I've been able to make a mid-winter escape.  For people living on the west coast, a trip to paradise can be fairly affordable and is only about a 4-5 hour flight away.  Hawaii is hard destination to beat for pure relaxation.  No need to make sure your passport is valid, no currancy to exchange, you can speak the language and the water is safe to drink. One of my most fond adventures in Hawaii was on a trip to Maui a couple of years ago.  We did the Haleakala Volcano Sunrise and bike downhill.  I know the Haleakala Sunrise is a bit of cliche, but sometimes the reason things are popular is because they are really great experiences. 


The sunrise was gorgeous and as it rose we were treated to the Hawaiian chant to the sun performed by one of the interpretive naturalists at the Haleakala National Park.  The whole experience was very moving and added added a uniquely wonderful Hawaiian cultural experience.

We opted to rent bikes and do the famous Maui Downhill Bike Ride after the sunrise.  It was fantastic - beautiful scenery at every hairpin turn!

See more details about our adventure on top of Haleakala, the full story is on my Squidoo page: Maui Sunrise and Downhill Bike Trip My favorite Maui Travel Guidebook:

The Seattle Christmas Ships

The Seattle Christmas Ships at Edmonds, WA

The Seattle Christmas Ship festival will be starting again the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This is one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season.  The colorful parade of boats decorated with Christmas lights is led by the Argosy Spirit of Seattle which has a choir on board singing Christmas Carols.  Each night for about a month they travel to a specific destination around the Seattle area People can purchase a ticket from Argosy to cruise on board the Spirit of Seattle or on one of the "follow" boats.  Private boat owners are also invited to decorate their boats and join in the parade. On any given night the procession may include large vessels like tugboats and large luxury yachts to kayaks and everything in between.  Spectators on the shore gather around bonfires in numerous parks to watch one of the best free holiday light displays pass by.  Visit my Seattle Christmas Ships page on Squidoo for more photos, details and the 2011 Christmas Ship Schedule.

Marymoor Off Leash Dog Park

It has been called Doggie Heaven and Doggie Disneyland - perhaps those are overstatements, but the 40 acre Marymoor Offleash dog area is definitely a great place for dogs and their people.  We try to beat the crowds that can sometimes make it a little too congested and chaotic for our easily overstimulated border collies, so we got there just after the crack of dawn on a not-so-nice Saturday morning.  It was pleasantly uncrowded and the dogs had a great time - no rain and they came home tired and ready for a nap.  Meanwhile we humans enjoyed the beautiful fall colors on a pleasant walk through the trails and along the river.  See more about our adventure......

Skagit River Bald Eagles - They're Back!

The arrival of November in the Pacific Northwest means shorter, dreary days and noticeably colder weather, but it also signals the return of the Bald Eagles to the Skagit River.  The Skagit River is the largest bald eagle winter resort area in North America.  The eagles come south from Alaska and northern Canada for the warmer weather, large trees to lounge in and the all-you-can-eat salmon and steelhead buffet served up on the Skagit and its numerous tributaries.



Skagit River Bald Eagle in Winter

Fortunately for residents and visitors to the Pacific Northwest the Skagit River eagle wintering area is only about 2 hours from the Seattle area.  A trip to the Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area makes a great day trip.  It is possible to see the amazing spectacle of sometimes more than 100 eagles in a few short hours along a 10 mile stretch of the river.  Eagles can be viewed from several turn-outs along highway 20, but one of the most enjoyable ways to see the largest number of eagles up close is to take a float trip down the river with one of the professional river rafting companies.   The eagles start arriving in November and reach their peak numbers in late November and December.  They start to depart in January with most being gone by the end of February.  If your goal is to see the maximum number of bald eagles, the best time to see the most is by taking a trip to the Skagit in the next 2 months.  For more details see my Skagit River Bald Eagle Float Trip.

Seattle and Pacific NW Haunted Places & Ghost Tours

Does Halloween put you in the mood for scary stories of haunted places and Ghosts?  The Pacific Northwest has its share of places where paranormal activity has been reported that some people believe are haunted.

For those who would like to go on a ghost tour, today's daily special on Groupon is a Seattle Ghost Tour! Click here to get your Spooked in Seattle Tour at half price on Groupon!


The Pike Place Market is believed by many to be Seattle's most haunted place. There have been numerous investigations done at several locations around the market. You can do your own tour of the market looking for ghosts if you know where to look. If you would like to find out more of the details about the Pike Place Market Ghosts and where you might find them, visit this page: Seattle's Haunted Pike Place Market

Another place that many people think is haunted is the Point Wilson Lighthouse near Port Townsend.  Here is the link to the story: Port Townsend's Haunted Lighthouse.

Perhaps you'd enjoy a trip to historic Port Gamble which also offers haunted tours;

Port Gamble, WA

Or how about a hike to the ghost town of Monte Cristo.

Monte Cristo, Washington Ghost Town

Happy October Hauntings!

A Fun Activity for October - Boo Your Neighbor

It's Time to Boo Your Neighbor!

I must admit at first this may not seem to be about the Pacific Northwest, but then maybe it is.  Booing your neighbor is a fun family Halloween or fall activity that also helps people to get to know their neighbors and helps to thaw the dreaded "Seattle Freeze". 

If you haven't heard of it before, it basically follows the old tradition of the May Day basket, but with a Halloween twist.  You select a couple of neighbors and leave a container of treats on their door knob along with a "We've Been Boo'ed" sign and a poem letting them know how the game is played, ring the doorbell, run and hide.  Kids can help put together the package and usually enjoy delivering the treats.   You can make it a dog-friendly activity if you leave the treats in the course of taking a walk with your dog.

For more details about how to Boo your neighbor along with links to websites with free downloadable poems and signs go to my You've Been Boo'ed page!

Halloween Shrunken Heads from Apples

Washington State is known for its apples and the orchard harvest is in full swing.  In case you have an apple tree or make a trip to the orchards and buy some apples, I thought I'd share a fun and inexpensive Halloween decoration you can make using those Washington State apples!

With a few simple kitchen tools and a little time you can turn this:

Into this:

Simply take an apple, peel it, carve features with an apple corer or pumpkin carving tools, give it a lemon juice and salt bath, add some eyes made from cloves, dried whole peas or peppercorns, teeth made from rice or seeds and watch the apple transform as it dries into a ghoulish shrunken head Halloween decoration!  For detailed step by step instructions about how to make shrunken appleheads for Halloween, visit my Squidoo page:  Shrunken Apple Heads