OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON STATE
My wife and I spent four weeks at the end of May and beginning of June 2025 in the USA Pacific Northwest and around Monterey Bay, California visiting family and friends. Our first stop was visiting my brother and his wife in the forests outside of Olympia, Washington State. My brother's wife is a fantastic gardener, and many, many years of planting and designing have left this most beautiful place.
Our arrival in Washington State coincided with the last of the magnolia blooms.
Of course, what would be more PNW than a fern garden.
I just adore these young ferns . . . they seem so beautifully primordial.
Late Spring and so many different kinds of flowering plants were in bloom.
Astonishing flowers all over my sister-in-law's garden.
This astonishing garden is carved out from a stand of old growth Douglas fir and cedar.
Many wonderful. visual treats to discover while strolling through this garden.
My sister-in-law has a very good eye for garden arrangements.
My brother gave a detailed tour of their garden. I took the opportunity to take this family photo (l to r: me, my nephew, my brother, and my niece).
In addition to her outstanding garden designing, my brother's wife also collects Christmas ornamentation which she uses to make these amazing miniature dioramas.
We got out and around his house to some Puget Sound docks and restaurants.
A serene late Spring day in the Pacific Northwest.
A classic PNW view: The Olympic National Forest in the background with snow-capped peaks still visible. We spent two weeks in and a round Olympia, Washington.
Out on the sailboat docks I managed to take this 'fine art' photo. Beautiful. [We also drove down to Salem, Oregon to visit freinds, but I have posted photos from there elsewhere in this blog.]
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MONTEREY BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
We flew from Seattle to San Jose, California where our Thai friends picked us up and took us the the famous Santa Cruz wharf for [a not very good] dinner. We came out of the restaurant to this view. Stunning.
Our friends live in Marina, California. Marina is a new town built on what was once a U.S. Army post, Fort Ord . . . and where I was born! This is my homecoming: returning to the place I was born.
Their house was in walking distance to the Fort Ord Dunes State Park.
It is a lovely stretch of the California Pacific coast.
The wild dunes were covered with a variety of flowering plants.
The vast areas covered in ice plant were in bloom as well. I used to play in this stuff when I was a pre-teen . . . the stains NEVER cam out in the wash!
Our friend took a day off work and we drove around to see the sights. Here we are on the Monterey town waterfront.
Such a beautiful seaside path.
Monterey Bay offers a lot of photo opportunities.
Monterey Bay view.
We walked along the bay until we came to Lovers Point Park.
There were some interesting trees and bushes along the coastal walk.
We saw some sea lions (foreground) basking on the rocks.
The point park was full of very friendly and brave squirrels.
Beautiful trees in Monterey . . . on our way back to the car for more touring.
We continued our drive down Highway 1, the famous coastal road along the California coast. There were some incredible homes built along the sea . . . Yes, I could live here.
We, along with a couple hundred people, went to the view point of the famous Highway 1 bridge south of Big Sur. It was worth it. A very beautiful scene. [We stopped in Carmel for a sightseeing, lunch and shopping too . . . but I took no photos there.] We headed back to make dinner at home.
The next day we did what must be done along the California coast: we visited a winery.
We bought a wine tasting set, five kinds, with snacks . . . it was a good thing our friend was driving that day!!!
One of our adventures was going to a u-pick strawberry farm. We had lots of fun here picking baskets full of the most delicious strawberries ever!
The most delicious strawberries I have ever had.
As my wife is a big time golfer, we had to take a pilgrimage to the Pebble Beach Golf Course. Here we are at the famous 18th hole.
We really enjoyed staying with our gracious friends. A highlight was walking to the coast for the sunsets several evenings.
Our last day: the sun setting behind an immense fog bank. We had a great four week vacation in the States. I am not sure when I will be back again.